Mieszkańcy pogranicza zachodniego o niemieckich sąsiadach a Polacy o Niemcach

The paper includes the results of the sociological survey accomplished in Zgorzelec (2010), Gubin (201 3) and Słubice (2015). In each case the same methodology was applied – structured interview with probability representative samples. The paper focuses on issues: 1. The emotional approach of the inhabitants of Zgorzelec, Gubin and Słubice, i.e. declared level of liking, indifference or antipathy towards German neighbours, and the opinions on mutual relations. 2. The readiness for contact with a German neighbour appearing in different roles (“the close ones”, “professional”, and the roles “connected with the market”). 3. The type of contacts with Germans – the reasons of mobility to the neighbouring German town by the inhabitants of Zgorzelec, Gubin and Słubice and frequency of border crossing in order to achieve particular goals. Interethnic relations in the situation of geographical vicinity and the open border are shaped on different grounds than the ones in the interior. We try to compare the results of the research accomplished in the borderland with the data obtained from the research done on the all-Polish sample (by the Institute of Public Affairs). The paper includes also methodological reflections (about comparison of researches within borderlandstudies and research on borderland effect).