News / Polish elites vs German elites [7]

Sorry about typo! Should be koryta not kortyta.

News / Polish elites vs German elites [7]

When Jaruzelski took over in Poland, fanciers of Gierek spread a verse: Wracaj Edziu do kortyta -- lepszy złodziej niż bandyta. (Eddie, return to the trough -- a thief is beter than a bandit.)

The koryto (trough, feedbag ie self-interest and self-aggrandisement) has long been the central theme of Polish politics, ie my own and my family's interests or, at best, my party's interests. Pious platitudes about serving the people, bla-bla are no more than vote-grabbing gimmicks. 'Twas much the same in Piłsudski's time. Does noble, selfless service to the nation exist anywhere these days?

Genealogy / I am researching my family roots in Poland and looking for surname - Kruczek [5]

Kruczek (little raven) is used by about 5,000 in Poland, largely in the southland (Śląsk, Małopolska and Podkarpacie).

History / Poland and Hungary in September 1939 [79]

Many dzięks!

Life / The best Polish song ever! [23]

My wife's favourite is Niemen's "Dziwny jest ten świat" and my imrpession is that many Poles would agree.

History / Poland and Hungary in September 1939 [79]

Very interesting info on Hungary's stance vis-a-vis Hitler and Poland in 1939... anyone know why most Poles (govt, army officials) evacuated to Romania rather than Hungary?

Genealogy / Any Tiutiunik Relatives in Poland?? [4]

You can try the Polish Red Cross Tracing Service:
pck.pl/pages,13.html

News / 100zl note should be phased out. [20]

I've got nothing against the 100-złoty note or the 200 one, but I think a 500-zł one would also come in handy. Not when paying for paying for bread or milk, but when buying a car, fridge or TV set.

Life / Does anyone know where to get Polish ringtones? [3]

TRY: dzwonkipolifonicznegsm.pl/polifonia/rozne/Nokia-3.html

Life / The best Polish song ever! [23]

Żeby Polska była Polską

Genealogy / 'Madej' Family [12]

MADEJ - probably derived from a pet form of Amadeusz such as Maduś or Madek or toponymically from Madaje.

Genealogy / Has anyone heard of Samary? Is it in Poland? [6]

That is funny, because, as you know, in Americanese a boarder is a lodger.... so the lodgers have moved!!!

Genealogy / Wicz and Cyrillic writing [3]

First of all Cyrillic is not a language but a way of writing devised by St Cyril. Endings similar to Polish –wicz to indicate a patronymic (who someone’s fatehr was) are common to all Slavonic tongues. In Russian it is written –вич, by the south Slavs –vić, in Czech and Slovak –viè, in Polish –wicz and earlier –wic (as in Paweł Włodkowic).

All these languages evolved from a common Slavonic root but over the centuries gradually moved away from it and became more distinct. That was also the case with Old English which was much more similar to German than modern English is.

Genealogy / Inglat / Inglot , Flejszar , Bytnar , Szajar [2]

Inglot is a real strumper as for meaning. In the list of similarly rooted surnames currently used in Poland is one Inglese which sounds like Spanish for English, but that is a very thin clue indeed.

FYI, there is a Polish science ficntion writer (born 1962) named Jacek Inglot:

pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacek_Inglot

Any facial resemblacne to your family? Here are the names which possibly share a root with Inglat/Inglot
Inglant
Inglat
Inglatowski
Ingler
Inglese
Inglewicz
Inglik
Ingling
Inglink
Inglot
Inglott
Inglowski
Incidentally thre are only 2 people named Inglat but more than 1700 surnamed Inglot, largely concentrated in the SE corner of Poland around Krosno, Przemyśl and Rzeszów (former Austrian-ruled Galicja).

The others look to be Polish-spelled Yiddish occupational names:
Flejszar (German. Fleischer = butcher)
Bytnar (German Büttner = cooper - went into Polish as bednarz)
Szajar (German verb scheurn - to scour, scrub, Scheurmagd = scullery-maid - went into Polish as szorować; or Scheuer (granary, grain shed, barn).
Hope your Dad enjoys this infomation.

Language / Formal "you" and Informal "you" : which is which? [46]

When talking to a peasant farmer, wouldn't you say: "Gospodarzu,może macie jakąś kurę na zbyciu?"
Would anyone say: "Czy pan ma....?"

How about "Tata byli już w kościele?" In some parts of the countryside it is normal to address elders in the third person plural.

Life / What really represents Polish people? What would be the symbol of Poland... [51]

The cover could be a collage with the white crowned eagle spreading its wings and encompassing: the white & red chessboard logo of the Polish Air Force, the hussar wings of Sobieski's forces that saved Europe from the 17th-century Muslim invasion, Our Lady of Częstochowa, Polish mottos "For your freedom and ours" and "God, Honour and Homeland", the Polonaise (dance), Polish folk dancers, the bread & salt welcome, bison, the Warsaw Mermaid, the King Zygmunt Column, Wawel Castle, busts of JPII, Wałęsa, Copernicus, Chopin, Piłsudski, Madam Curie, etc.

The graphic value of kiełbasa is doubtful, since sausage is indigenous to most ethnicities, and using a vodka brand-name such as Wyborowa or Belvedere would cheapen and commercialise the overall effect.

Food / POLISH VEGETABLE SALAD RECIPE [10]

Also sałatka jarzynowa and misnomerwise -- włoska.

Genealogy / The origin of the name "Kosinski"? [2]

RAMPOLLA: No-one using the Rampolla surname or anything close (Rampola, Rampoła, Rąpola, Rąpoła) lives in Poladn at present. Please re-check spelling.

KOSIŃSKI: Originated as toponymic nickname from locality of Kosina. 4 noble lines amongst the Kosińskis, each entiteld to use one of the following c-o-a: Rawa, Rogala, Samson or Pomian.

BEĆ: Follow-up to yesterday's info, might be linked to bet (from German Bett [bed]) but in Polish meaning feather, down-filled pillows in which infants were wrapped. Diminutive is becik, which might have been shortened to just beć????

Genealogy / Is Kraszewski a famous last name is Poland? [5]

Józef Kraszewski was one of the world's most prolific prose writers who left behind some 600 volumes of prose including numerous novels.

Genealogy / Last name "Wujcik"-Immigrated to USA before/during WWI from around Kraków [7]

The Wujciks are rather scattered across the country. The largest number are in Mazowsze (Płock and vicinity 45, Greater Warsaw adn environs 39, Radom 11, Ciechanów 22, Skierniewice 7). Others live in the contiguous £ódź region (31) and the neighboring Piotrków area 16. Down south there are none in the Kraków area, but a few in and around Kielce 12, Katowice 7 and Częstochowa 8.

USA, Canada / Popular US Newspaper offends Poles. [22]

By his own admission Michnik is a Polish Jewish atheist. He once said, a little tongue in cheek: "Żydokomuna to ja!" And he was right on the mark. His father Ozjasz Szechter was a member of the pre-war Stalin-cotrolled subversive Communist Party of Poland. After the war, his mother Helena Michnik tried to sovietise Polish schoolchildren with her Marxist-style history textbooks. And Michnik's brother Adam, a Stalin-era desk-top murderer (with the blood of Polish patriots on his hands), to this day is a fugitive from justice in Sweden. People like Michnik and Kuroń opposed the Polish communist regime only because someone like Trotsky would have been more to their liking.

USA, Canada / Why Americans of Polish orgin do not exist in the USA politics? [34]

Maybe Polish Americans see through all the political hypocrisy, lies and outrageous pie-in-the-sky promises which no one ever intended to keep in the first place, so they want no part of it. Many see all politcians as crooks, careerists and opportunists who are in it only for themselves, their personal careers and fortunes and family interests, despite all the pious platitudes about wanting to serve the people, etc., etc.

I have found a similar attitude in Poland. Since the Polish political iscene is so petty, malicious and ridiculous, many people (esp. the young) turn their nack on politics. One thing that has stuck in my mind was the terse saying of one Polish 20-some-year-old: "Młodzież s-a na politykę!" (Young people don't fancy politics -- to put it mildly).

Love / How do you approach marriage to Polish men ? [9]

In the US and probably in all other countries as well, there are traditionalists who ask the father of the fiancée for her hand in marriage, propose on oen knee with engagement ring nd flowers in hand, and go through the whole rigamrole of engagement party, wedding preparations, rehearsal, nuptial, reception, honeymoon... And there are those who simply elope. (BTW, is there a Polish word for "to elope"?) In the US midwest for some reason Bowling Green is the place to go for a quick marriage, ie for those who can't afford Las Vegas or Reno or don't lłike the glittery cheesiness thereof.

Genealogy / Last name "Wujcik"-Immigrated to USA before/during WWI from around Kraków [7]

Wujcik is either an illiterate Polish misspelling or a deliberate American semi-phonetic respelling attempting to retain something closer to the orginal pronunciation. As such, the attempt was none too successful. Instead of the mispronunciaton WODGE-zick, Anglo-manglers will now say WUDGE-zick -- not much of an improvement! To really achieve that, the name in English-speaking countries should be respelled Vuycheek, but that visually is none too appealing.

Anyway, there are less than 300 Wujciks in Poland but some 88,000 Wójciks. It means the village mayor's son.

Genealogy / Surname Łos from Białystok [28]

Here is a link which can get you started tracing Jewish surnames: nancy.polishsite.us/art24jagafr.htm