The EU, aiming at further development of small-scale social, economic and cultural integration across borders, has institutionalised the "Euroregions". This way, the borders are to be transformed from lines dividing societies into zones of intensive co-operation and exchange. As it is well documented, this aim has been reached in the "euroregions" on the German, Belgian and Dutch borders. On the contrary, "euroregions" have been considerably less successful on the eastern borders of the EU.

This article aims at examining the cross-border integration or non-integration in one particular case of the "Euroregion Neisse-Nisa-Nysa". This region embraces adjoining parts of Poland, Germany and the Czech Republic; or more precisely: parts of the Polish district (wojewodship) Jelenia Góra (Lower Silesia), German Upper Lusatia (Saxon) and Northwest Bohemia. The average distance to major urban centers is 75km to Dresden, 75 km to Prague and 100 km to Wroclaw. Officially, the "Euroregion Neisse-Nisa-Nysa" consists of three communal associations of rural communities, cities and districts, whose co-operation is regulated through an agreement on the basis of a specifically developed administrative body, whose leading organs are a "Council" and a "Board of directors". Secretarial offices are located in the towns of Zittau, Liberec and Jelenia Góra.

I will particularly focus on the behaviour and perceptions of youth in Zittau, a German town of 20 000 inhabitants on the Czech and Polish borders. I interviewed two different groups of young people: one group younger than 12 years old in 1989, when changes in Central Europe occurred, and an older group, which was about 18 when the borders opened. I have chosen these two groups following my expectation that they should have different recollections of border regime in the Socialist times. In addition, I conducted interviews with experts. An official of the German border police was among them. Due to time constraints, the results of the interviews of people on Polish border markets could only be partially used here.

There are several reasons that may account for the differences between the euroregion and Western border regions.

Firstly, the economic conditions of Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands are fairly equal. By contrast, the border between the EU and its eastern neighbours coincides with a difference in economic prosperity. Although economically, Zittau is a depressed town in the former GDR, life is considerably better there, than on the other side of the border. It is to be expected that economic differences could result in particular tensions.

Secondly, while borders in Western Europe have been easy to cross for decades, borders between the Socialist states had a distinctive character, impeding informal cross-border contacts until 1989. Normally, these borders could not be crossed without visas or special permits. Obviously, there were variations. Due to the similarity of the political regimes of former Czechoslovakia and the GDR, the border between these two states was more pervious than the border to liberal Poland. After the upsurge of Polish political unrest in 1980 and the unsuccessful imposing of the martial law in 1981, the Polish border was virtually sealed off on the German side.

Thirdly, special historical conditions may account for the nature of present day cross-border integration or non-integration. The border to Poland corresponds to the old border with Lower Silesia. It became a national border only in 1945, as an outcome of World War II. Like the whole German population east of the new Polish border, the German population was expelled and the territory was resettled, mostly with Poles who, in turn, had been expelled from former East Poland, annexed by the Soviet Union.

This exchange of population on the Polish border region meant that, from this time on, cross-border contacts would become difficult to maintain. There were not any definite settlement patterns. Usually, people from different parts of former Eastern Poland were mixed in towns and villages so that social integration and new traditions were slow to develop. For a long time, in this area there existed the fear that the German population might return, although the GDR had officially recognised the new border in 1950. Quite naturally, cross-border contacts were for the most part non-existent.

In the 1970s, the border regime with Poland was eased. Cross-border traffic became possible without passports and visas. Poland became a travel destination for GDR citizens, while personal contacts, especially in the immediate border vicinity, became a possibility if not a reality. Due to the manpower shortage, the industry of the GDR employed Polish commuters in mining and in power plants. As a result, a new border crossing was opened in Zittau in 1972. This crossing was closed again in 1981 because of the threat that the results of the Solidarity movement could spill over into East Germany.

The border to Czechoslovakia was of a slightly different nature. With some variations, it corresponded to the old border of the kingdom of Bohemia. Cross border contacts and traffic were historically common. These contacts did not end with the founding of Czechoslovakia in 1918. Indeed, the population of the Czech border region consisted essentially of ethnic Germans, and social and economic contacts were dense, with smuggling being one of the most important economic cross border activities. So during the twenties and the thirties Zittau profited from the economic prosperity of the first Czechoslovak Republic. Here too, the ethnic German population was expelled at the end of World War II. Yet some connections remained, including a railway built in 1889 between Zittau and Liberec, the fastest and best connection to Czechoslovakia for the population of Zittau.

All of this history has left quite different impressions in the social memory of the border population. Older people who still remember the pre-war situation consider themselves living in a different geographical area than the younger generation, keeping the habit of using the former German toponyms. However, the younger generations that did not share this experience, have a radically different mental map of the region, which is less distinct regarding Polish and Czech areas. As a rule, the former German toponyms are no longer used or even known. This can be regarded as a result of the conscious effort of GDR policy to recast the historical memory as well as a result of border relations during and after the Socialist times.

My respondents perceive Poland and the Czech Republic as unknown and possibly dangerous territories. Their zone of penetration into foreign territory is extremely restricted. On the Polish side, the farthest distance traveled is to the town of Bogatynia, a distance of about 10 km. Hardly anybody dares to go farther inland. Indeed, most of the border traffic leads to an open market in the village of Sinjawka, about 1 km inland. However, in order to get there, people prefer to use their car, which gives them the feeling of security and shelter from the Polish surroundings. The depth of penetration into Czech territory is hardly more extensive. Here, the most important place is the village of Hradek with several restaurants and a discotheque, which specialise in serving German guests from across the border. The town of Liberec, at a distance of 30km from the border, is more important but rarely visited.

Behaviour patterns concerning the two neighbouring countries are quite different. The main reasons for crossing over to Poland are untaxed cigarettes and gasoline, both considerably cheaper than in Germany. In addition, the market in Sinjawka offers all kinds of cheap or counterfeit goods like shirts, music CDs, chewing gum, food products, alcohol, spare parts etc. Some go to Poland in order to find a barber or other services. On the basis of these market conditions, personal bonds can even develop. Some buyers even have their own preferred salesperson. This is reflected in statements like: "I am going to see my cigarette dealer".

The main reasons to cross over to the Czech Republic are gastronomical. The Czech cuisine is thought of as superior and restaurants are cheaper than in Germany. Indeed, in the immediate border territory most restaurants are specialised in serving German guests. The same is true for discotheques near the border. However, a certain reluctance to go into foreign territory is common here as well. It is mostly groups of young people who go to a restaurant or to a club. They go to places, where they almost exclusively meet other Germans. Hardly anybody dares to leave the narrow strip, where establishments target German guests.

There is only one exception to this pattern. Some subjects mentioned short term excursions to winter sport resorts on the Czech side of the Giant Mountains (Krkonol, Karkonosze) and in the Czech Jizera Mountains (Jizersky Hory). But here too, the German guests tend to remain among themselves.

On the basis of the restricted foreign territory into which Germans dare to move, hardly anybody referred to complications or conflicts resulting from daily experiences on the border. In this aspect, border crossings possess a higher degree of normality. They are integrated into everyday life even if it is limited to the above-mentioned forms of exchange.

The relationship between the three nationalities of the region is anything but equal. The narrow spheres of German penetration into Poland and the Czech Republic are dominated by the German language: restaurants and discos in the Czech Republic, markets and gas stations in Poland have adapted to their German clients. On the other hand, Czechs frequently travel by car or even by bus on shopping sprees to German malls near the border. Although officially, these malls pretend to address their Czech clients in Czech, no German vendors speak Czech. As a result, Czech or Polish clients have to try to speak German.

Such perceived inequality corresponds to traditional German prejudices on the one hand, and to current economic inequalities, on the other. If for Germans, it is a part of personal cultural capital to be able to speak English or French, this is not the case with Slavic languages. While Germans tend to consider German culture to be inferior to Anglo-Saxon or French culture, they tend to see themselves as superior to Poles and Czechs. To know their languages does not enhance prestige.

Apparently, some new norms propagated by the liberal German media have not been without effect. If addressed explicitly and in public, discriminatory attitudes tend to be avoided. If asked by clearly liberal persons, people may express a certain amount of embarrassment because of language deficiencies. But there is rarely any willingness to undertake steps to overcome this. In contrast to English and French, Czech and Polish language skills are not seen as beneficial for social prestige.

Indeed, Poland and the Poles tend to be considered to be even inferior to Czechs and the Czech Republic. The respondents have evaluated the Czech Republic much more positively than Poland in the areas of infrastructure and economic development. The perceptions of the two countries as they circulated in stories and rumours about the Poles and the Czechs corresponded to the perceived differences in prosperity. Although these rumours are never experienced first hand, but rather overheard and passed on, they are taken for granted. Favourite examples of this are stories of car theft in Poland and by Poles.

If the perceived reality does not correspond to their expectations, German observers tend to express amazement looking for explanations, which can confirm the original expectations. When confronted with Poles possessing symbols of economic prosperity such as luxury cars, expensive appliances and fancy clothing, the German reaction was often one of surprise. Their implicit or explicit assumption was that this prosperity had to have some illegal origins. This way the moral hierarchy between the nations could be preserved.

Despite their obvious contacts with both their Czech and Polish neighbours, subjects generally deny having cross-border relations, since these are understood primarily in a private sense. The fact is that the open-border situation of this region makes it nearly impossible for its inhabitants to completely avoid contacts across one or both borders. But indeed, aside from these economically motivated contacts, private contacts are not widespread. One would naturally assume that a visit to a discotheque on the Czech side of the border, for example, would provide the possibility for such private contact. However, the German youths are among themselves in these places. If they go to a Czech discotheque they do it in groups of friends in order to be in a socially supportive environment. They have the intention of meeting there their German friends. There is hardly any curiosity towards new and foreign experiences. But this attitude reflects the inclination of most of the youths, which prefer to spend their free time in familiar places with familiar faces.

Keeping in mind the historical background, the difficulties of German-Polish and German-Czech relations can be easily understood. This indeed, is clearly reflected in the interviews, which I conducted. Because of the limitation of border traffic, most of the subjects interviewed hardly had any border experience with the former Peoples' Republic of Poland. Due to its impermeability, they had neither idea of the country on the other side of the border nor any curiosity to learn about it. The border was marking the end of the world, and they turned away from it. Today, the respondents remember simply that the border had been closed once, but do not give any further thoughts to the background of the present border situation. The border experience with the Czechoslovak Republic was described in different, sometimes nostalgic, terms. Compared to the drab nature of the GDR, Czechoslovakia was famous for its tasty cuisine and its comparatively well-equipped shops. Even in this case pre-1989 memories are restricted and rarely go beyond shopping sprees and visits to Czech restaurants. Vacation trips to the Czech mountain resorts of the Jizera mountains and Giant mountains as well as tours to the town of Liberec were also frequently mentioned. In this respect border relationships to the Czech side have remained stable.

My opinion is that integration as experienced in the Western euroregions will still take a long time to develop on the eastern border of Germany. The population in this border region shares no common history, no identity, which transcend the border, and even no idea that any history has ever existed. With the exception of a very narrow now familiar strip at the border, both foreign countries are seen as uncanny and dangerous territories. At the same time, the differences in economic prosperity seem to constantly reproduce respective fears and perceptions.