Bad opinion about Polish people - rumour or the truth?

Here at Greece , we have too many polish but never we didn't heart anything bad for them....actually we have good opinion about them

I also heard that when I was living in Germany, however what I bear in mind is that the German telling me this was a totally narrow-minded tosser who had never left his village in 60 years, let alone Schlweswig-Holstein.

Polish are thieves, hey man, u stole my idea ;) Where r u from anyway? LOL

In Toronto, people generally have a good opinion of Polish people. But then, the Polish population here does not stand out as much as the Chinese or Italian populations do.

Maybe this thread should be renamed to: I Had my (fill in the blank) Stolen in (fill in the blank)

I`ve never had anything stolen in my travels although when I visited Venice, there were signs everywhere saying to watch for pickpockets.

When my family was still living in Poland (in the early 1980s) my mom had her wallet stolen in a store during a busy time of the day.


Wow, what a b*tchy thing to say!

A couple of years ago, I visited several cities across the world that had a bit of a reputation for crime (not going to name them... don't want to get sucked into offending anyone here) in a 6 month period. During that time, I had my credit cards stolen from my handbag and a couple of weeks later had my handbag stolen - a gorgeous Mulberry one, a b'day present from my husband :( . Where? Both instances in quiet wine bars just a few blocks from home....

Whever you go in the world the guidebooks always say, "watch out for pickpockets and thieves" and detail parts of cities where it's not safe etc. Usually it's public transport and places where you might go "after dark"... :)

In reality, tourists look like tourists and are usually easier targets for thieves. :)

awwwww.... Its always the worst when something of sentimental value gets stolen.


Our house was robbed during broad daylight in a nice suburb in Toronto. They ran out of time because they probably heard someone coming so they only got to a few things (dvd, mom`s jewelry, $3000 cash that my dad had just withdrawn from the bank and left it in his nightstand drawer because he didn`t expect to be robbed the next day)

Very true, but I'd also say that pubs near offices that attract the Thursday / Friday night post-work crowds are also rich pickings. You see a big pile of coats and bags in a corner, as everyone goes off to chat and mingle.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly are everywhere, in every country.

When I was visiting Poland in 2003 I witness an incident in Warsaw. A black woman dropped her wallet on the crowded street. Poorly dressed man who walk behind her picked up the wallet run to her and to her surprise returned it to her. She could not believed what happened .

she should have given him something in appreciation.. I would have, not saying she had to, but that would have been honorable thing to do seeing that he returned her wallet and was honest.. show those around her how good people can be..


this is the truth.. that is pretty much what i was trying to explain in another thread, but it became to intense.. I felt like I was arm wrestling.

As I've seen that she was in shock and speechless.

I'v been coming to poland for just over 3 years now i find most polish good and never had a problem with them,but yes but i do find some of them very rude when it comes to lining up at the checkout in a shop or train station or airport etc,sorry for any older people out there but it always seems to be you, Hope i don't sound to rude,

I'm becoming immune to it, shrugging your shoulders works wonders. My fiancee had a classic at the bank the other day. We waited an eternity for a guy to tell his life story. In the meantime, another old woman said to my fiancee, 'mogę zapytać urzędnika?' and my GF replied clasically, 'yes, after me'. The old woman ignored her and went on to ask anyway.

You know, effects wear off. Episodes like that above have very little effect on me. Old folks are just victims of their times. It was the PKO Polski bank after all. Other banks conduct their affairs courteously :)

I think there certainly exists a bad opinion in Deutschland, with sayings like "Gestohlen in Polen" etc.. Most asked me why in the hell I would be moving to Poland? Although most polish people asked me that too when i got there! haha

The strongest rivalry I have seen is Definitely Germany and Poland though, the dislike for each other is felt on both sides of the border..

but what about those arrogant Brits? ;o) They seem to have a bad rep all over Europe, as the drunken louts who bomb in in their bachelor parties and make asses of themselves! or the charming "face for radio" expats who troll the halls of ESL schools across Poland ;o)

This applies to a specific group of Brits who are arrogant, yes ?

I like Polish people and to hell with the begrudgers!

I like some Polish people, I dislike others.

The same goes for every country

Hello everybody :)
I am a French student and I have a story to tell about Poles to show how people can be wrong to judge a whole nation from what they know about several people.

I know 2 Polish women (and the funny thing is that they are both blond with blue eyes, same age and both called Bozena, but anyway).

The first woman I have known (about 8 years ago) was a friend of my mother who turned out to be a lier, a thief and who slept with a lot of men (she was married).

At that time I was quite young and I have had a very bad opinion of Poles in general since she was the only one I knew.

Unfortunately I remained with the impression for a long time.

Three years ago, I started university.
It happened that the dean was a 38 year old Polish woman called Bozena... ok no problem, I did not really care, just still had that bad opinion.

She finally happened to be one of the most wonderful person I have ever met.
She is extremely kind, tactful, calm, close to students, she speaks perfectly French, even better that some of us. With motivation and hard work, she managed to be the head of a university, she is also a teacher of French for foreigners.

She is the most human person I've ever known, she is highly respected for that, she is very accessible for students even if we are a lot, she listens to us, she helps us, she has sympathy and she is very smart.

This enabled me to change radically my opinion about Polish but also about the fact that it is a great mistake to consider a whole nation through few people.

I have lived in Poland for 5 years and I have a good opinion of Polish people. Educated, cultured and very low crime. Come on I am from the USA, where a person gets shot dead everyday of the week in many cities. Polish people are humble peaceful people and I have walked the streets all hours of the night with little fear, while in the US or London or Paris, you can not. Polish people are hard working and good people generally.

There is a lot of truth there, mbiernat. Cultured? Some are, some aren't. Like everywhere. Safer than the US? Mostly. Some parts aren't. Educated? Some are, some aren't. Generally yes. Humble? Yes, but that's changing.

Very low crime? Maybe, fancy a ticket to Wołomin or Pruszków?

There is an area of Wroclaw called the Bermuda Triangle. Why do you think that might be ?

I guess it's not because they were Bermuda shorts ;) ;)

To be honest the Triangle in Wroclaw goes more on past reputation these days.

I think a lot of problems are caused by town planning and new developments in old, run down, urban areas. The mix becomes: those who have and those who have not. This seems to lead to more crime in my opinion.

I agree, Wrocław. Poles are beginning to take on that most irritating of Western ways. I know that many Brits think this way. I mean, to want what your neighbour has and play by foul means to get it.

So 1 good Pole +1 bad Pole = a nation of good Poles?

Isn't it great when you meet someone like that? I think it's rare and should be cherished. I have met very few people in my lifetime that leave me with that wonderful feeling of true admiration for how they are. When you do meet somebody like that, it leaves a profound impression on your soul.

I actually live with person like that. The only but I have aganist her is...she is not Polish.

Yes it is great, have the opportunity to meet such wonderful people is one of the most pleasant thing in the world.
And you can say yourself that people are finally not that bad, as daily terrible events could make think.
It gives hope regarding human beings :)


It's a bit different, I would say:

1 wonderful Pole + 1 bad Pole= a nation of very good Poles :)

Ive never been the vicitm of crime in Poland through all my travels and having lived here for three years, then again ive never been a victim of crime full stop except in business where its well accepted and for that matter admired by certain scandelous individuals.

Im always hearing stories about gassings on trains and foreign reg cars being nicked etc.. So far no problems and I dont forsee any either.

My wife had £300 stolen whilst waiting in a cue to get the money changed at a post office a few years back. She recalls a sweet old lady standing behind her then she placed the purse down for a second to talk to an old friend "stupid i know" and when she remembered about the money it was gone along with the sweet old lady. Oh well i expect she needed it more than us even if we were skint at the time.

Ohh actually ive just remebered another 'sweet lady' at the bank shafted me for 200 pln. I had 20,000 pln to pay into the bank, during the course of her counting it and my attention being distracted it became 19,800 pln. As i hadnt counted the money i assumed it was a miscount, the fault of the person who gave it to me. This was not the case i found out later.

She used slight of hand and fair play to a certain extent. Now i watch them count like a hawk. Had that in England as well though these bank clerks shaving a tenner here and there make a tidy little sum.