Younger Germans View Poles Less Favorably

Germans are taking on an increasingly negative view of their Polish neighbors despite efforts prompted by this year's EU enlargement to promote friendship and understanding according to the results of a survey released on Tuesday. The study, conducted by the research firm Emnid and published in the magazine GEO Special, noted that negative views are particularly on the rise among younger Germans, which does not bode well for the future of bilateral relations. Only 6.6 percent of German schoolchildren and 11.9 percent of those between the ages of 14 and 29 said they felt sympathetic towards Poles, while 21.4 percent of those between the ages of 14 and 29 said they had negative feelings. Those who claimed to feel the most sympathetic were over the age of 60.