Aleksander Wat and His Polish-Jewish Identity: The Dilemmas of Identity of the 20th Century Polish Writers of Jewish Background

The present study aims to bring to light the problem of the ethnic identification of Aleksander Wat, an outstanding Polish-Jewish poet. Debating common view of Jew and Pole being synonymous in Wat's ethnicity, the author attempts to trace the development and the transformation of this ethnicity. The author shows the dynamics of its evolution in a theoretical framework in the form of a fluid and dynamic model of ethnic identity. Focusing on the historical context is imperative in asserting that in the case of Wat his comprehension of the Holocaust initiated a process of rebuilding and consolidation of his Jewish identity (the poet's version of spiritual Aliyah). The final phase of the process can also be contributive to othering of his Polish