Mniejszości narodowe i etniczne w polskiej przestrzeni publicznej

The main aim of this article is to show how changes in the political and legal system taking place in Poland in recent decades have contributed to the presence of national and ethnic minorities in the public space of the country, as well as how the different minorities could or were able to use the favourable formal and legal transformations. The huge disparity in various manifestations of this public presence (bilingual names of places, offices, schools, the use of an auxiliary language, social and political activity, education, historical heritage) between nationalities is caused by many diverse reasons. Certainly, the favorable factors include the relatively large size and territorial concentration, but the activity shown by activists and local communities, as well as the internal integration of communities may also be considered decisive factors. It is owing to these circumstances, that some of the so-called historical used legal changes to become permanent parts of the public space in Poland.