This article examines the experiences of Polish-speaking subjects of the German Empire during World War I. Fighting for wartime empires tended to be retrospectively defined as involuntary service to a “foreign” cause. But the author of this article argues that it was very difficult to distinguish ostensibly passive “compliance” from ostensibly active “patriotism.” The apparent tensions between a German imperial agenda and Polish nationalism also proved to be highly navigable in practice, with German war aims often seen as not only reconcilable with but even conducive to the Polish national cause. Drawing on a recent wave of relevant historiography in English, German, and Polish, and incorporating further analysis of individual testimonies, the article explores the various ways in which “non-German” contributors to the German war effort tried to make sense of their awkward wartime biographies.

中文翻译：

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灵活的祖国：第一次世界大战期间讲波兰语的德国公民的“爱国主义”

本文考察了第一次世界大战期间德意志帝国讲波兰语的主体的经历。为战时帝国而战往往被追溯性地定义为对“外国”事业的非自愿服务。但这篇文章的作者认为，很难区分表面上被动的“服从”和表面上积极的“爱国主义”。德国帝国议程与波兰民族主义之间明显的紧张关系在实践中也被证明是高度可控的，德国的战争目标通常被视为不仅与波兰民族事业相协调，甚至有利于波兰民族事业。借鉴最近的英语、德语和波兰语相关史学浪潮，并结合对个人证词的进一步分析，