Polish Thoughts on Britain and the British

Thanks GreatJoeUK !

Thanks for the compliment.... you have obviously had a good experience in the UK....but i wonder about some of your fellow countrymen on this site?

Definitely. When there were only a few Polish shops in town, they used to rip us off.
Now that they are everywhere, it's nearly as cheap to live on Polish food as it is to live on Indian!
Tanie jak barszcz indeed! lol :)

There's always banter! Most have done well and feel positive. There are from time to time, on both sides, those that will seek to stir. Some stir for fun others are more serious about their feelings

I'm always happy to hear positive comments.
The most negative comments seem to be from the occasional British visitor to the site who see the Polish people as a problem. I'm fairly sure they're a minority.

I do wonder how Poland really sees Britain these days.

I stayed with a Polish family for a few days about seven years ago.
I browsed their record collection and saw a lot of Yardbirds and early Pink Floyd.
That was quite heart-warming, but there must be too many negative experiences of migrant workers who return to Poland with disillusionment in what the UK had to offer.

I'm not asking for arse-licking comments about how fantastic we British are because I know Britain is not the fantastic place some of us think it is, or criticism based on the opinions of certain people who have posted nasty anti-Polish comments on this forum, but I'd like to know what kind of thoughts Poles really have about the place.

My only thoughts are that I don't fit in here. Just like I don't feel I fit in Poland. I could say that I'm on my quest for my place on Earth.

These things are not printed in newspapers - why give them extra exposure. I've seem them - forgot to tell you about the group with blow up dolls on their soulders - you know the sex dolls. Krakow is a special place for Poles - it's not Sidcup highstreet.


You can stick 2 fingers up at me - but that doesn't stop you being a nob. Marian Rejewski, a Polish code breaker broke the Enigma code and created a formula to it's breaking. This formula was adapted to keep up with the extra wheels etc and a computer was created in UK to speed things up. Marian risked his own life to bring the Enigma machine to UK with French help.

It's all here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marian_Rejewski

Before you trash wikipedia - it's one of the fewest sources of information which is not riddled with propaganda and lies (i.e. you friendly old history book) Wikipedia is open and available to people who know the truth. If it's not true - it's edited by others.

Quote - Marian Rejewski and fellow mathematician Henryk Zygalski fled, via Spain, Portugal and Gibraltar, to Britain. There they worked at a Polish Army unit, solving low-level German ciphers. In 1946 Rejewski returned to his family in Poland and worked as an accountant, remaining silent about his cryptologic work until 1967.

...but i always give credit where credit is due..... England did play an important part!...


Today this means nothing - symbolistic crap. They are powerless. England only clings onto power in Northern Ireland and even that is diluted.


Well Germany didn't exist then... and France was being raped by England... and the rest didn't have the strength, experience, skill and confidence.


LOL! ...actually they are. All of Europe, most of scandinavia, Northern Africa and parts of Russia are under German control. They are building rockets to reach USA. They are developing the atomic bomb. WHAT PLANET DO YOU LIVE ON!!!!!!!!!

Further to the truth, it was England determination and inspiration, but the USA led the way because they had the strength to pull it off. On this occassion, Poland could not effectivelly contribute because it was betrayed left,right and centre and used as a pawn to keep Russia happy. But the underground and free Polish army made their mark - which has been undermined mainly by Russian propoganda.

It was an "allied" effort. The bottom line - America bailed everyone out.


...go on James123 - you can have that one.


Author Hugh Sebag-Montefiore concludes that substantial breaks into German Army and Air Force Enigma ciphers by the British would have occurred only after November 1941 at the earliest, after an Enigma machine and key lists had been captured, and similarly Naval Enigma only after late 1942.[19] Former Bletchley Park cryptologist Gordon Welchman goes further, writing that the Army and Air Force Enigma section, Hut 6, "would never have gotten off the ground if we had not learned from the Poles, in the nick of time, the details both of the German military ... Enigma machine, and of the operating procedures that were in use".[20]

Intelligence gained from solving high-level German ciphers-intelligence codenamed "Ultra" by the British and Americans-came chiefly from Enigma decrypts. While the exact contribution of Ultra intelligence to Allied victory is disputed, Kozaczuk and Straszak note that "it is widely believed that Ultra saved the world at least two years of war and possibly prevented Hitler from winning."[

I see you've been busy today Ogorek!........but don't you think your above statement is a contradiction?......You said Wikipedia is ''One of the few sources not riddled with Properganda''.....and then you went on to say that anyone can then Doctor the information in it!....Can we then assume that if everyone comes along and keeps changing the information!....Not everyone could of had their facts right to begin with?....If you see what i mean!! Anyway in the end you went on to admit that it was an Allied effort and Britain did play an important role, while Poland was not in position to do anything very much at that time!.....So i'll leave the rest at that.

since ive come to krakow, i have a new hatred for british tourists. stag nights grrrrr!!!

Dtaylor......Are they really that bad? I can't believe there can be that many in Krakow....I mean its not as if the Poles don't know how to drink alcohol themselves?

Yes,and they seem to know how to handle it better in public aswell. Incidents that would end up in casualty over here have ended up with 2 groups of people coming together for the remender of a night out over there.

Ogorek,you may be interested to know that Bletchley Park holds an annual " Polish Day" in honour of the first breakers of Enigma, I shall be attending next year with some collegues in various historical sociaties to put on some small dysplays in rememberence of the Polish armed forces.

Is that to make you feel better about what happened to Poland in the first weeks of the war?

what the heck is your problem aj, and wtf are you on about?
You are plainly getting up on the wrong side of somebodies bed these days,take an asprin,lie down in a dark place and come back to talk with the grown ups when you are feeling better.

Looks like mega inferiority complex.

I said if the information was not true - it will be edited (i.e.corrected) or removed. The info in Wiki regarding Enigma still remains - because it's true. It actually happened. For example, if I were to write that Hitler never existed - it would be corrected or deleted - becuase he did. If I were to write that ajgraham doesn't know what he's talking about - it would remain - becuase it's true. You know the truth is out there - it just needs to be accessed.


thats correct, but you conveniently omit to say that we were talking about how the Enigma code was broken and how it got into the UK and how that helped the allies to win the war. Read the info link I sent about Marian. You know this information is only the tip of the iceberg. You really don't understand what happened during the last 70 years - what happened between Poland, Ruassia, Germany, France and England. You have no idea - which makes it more anoying when you try to debate them based on propaganda and what your history teacher told you. My grandfather faught Germans in the morning and Russians in the evening during those 2 weeks in 1939. England and France were supposed to attack in the west. That was the deal. They didn't. Betrayal. Fact. We got over it. Life goes on - but conveniently no brit ever acknowledges that - or even knows that. Every time you post onto this forum you have no idea how much you insult the honour and integrity of a proud nation with your arrogant ignorance. Apart from that you seem ok :)


What seems normal in the UK is not in Krakow. Culture is very different. If you were to live in Krakow for a while - get used to the culfure - you will notice this stag behaviour more. To people who live there think it's vile. The staggs don't seem to have any respect - in a land where respect is real.


If you found out what really hapened to Poland in the first weeks of the war - you would not post such insults - because you are human with humility.

That should be the UK, not England.
In any case, hardly anyone in the rest of the UK gives a toss about NI.
It is SOME of the population of NI who are bothered about it.

Wales or Scotland are not clinging onto power in N Ireland. They want to be free as is most of Ireland.

What nationality is the Prime Minister?
What nationality are members of parliament?
How did the Scots and Welsh vote in devolution referenda?
Have you asked any English people what they think?

Learn something before you talk such rubbish.

Well its not that i have a problem with the Poles i don't....Its just that i keep on responding to this Polish mythe of cracking the codes and winning the war and saving the Universe from destruction etc etc....All i have said is that it was a much more complicated story than that, in which Britain played the most important part......This fantastic success story they keep going on about was more to do with Britain than Poland....Why should we be slagged off by them?....but it obviously means more to them than it does to us because of what happed to them in 1940.....Britain has the pride that we were one of the victors....without the Enigma Code etc what else would have restored Polands pride?.....So what do they do...They blow everything out of all proportion to their input!........and as for me ***** everyone off on this site!!....Is it the truth you don't like or what?......I can feel another avalanche of statistics coming on....Don't bother folks because i know the real story.


No it doesn't mean that Ogorek.....People have been complaining about Wikipedia for a while now, because anyone can Doctor the information on it......including you!!


I can't be arsed arguing with anymore about this!!

Ah...


What ?

Ogorek....The whole world knows what happened to Poland....I have never said anything about this... I can understand how bitter you must feel about it!

Trust Greg to jump in half way through.....havn't you got a bone to fetch?

the snp won the last election polls, but i will say this, why isnt there an english independance party? im scottish and would like to be independant, so why cant the english vote for the same thing?

I might register a little surprise at this question!

and leave it there hehe

;) why not? britain now is breaking up, shouldnt we end this stupid union which the scottish king james V started?

Yawn...

I was going to say something else.... but what the f-ck.....Britain is Britain......Where as Poland will always be just Poland!!....judging by the people who run that place!!

Aj, I'm proud of you, you're getting smarter every day.

poland has a good future, aslong as the young generation rise and take over the backward politicians....can i vote living here?

I'm afraid my answer would get me into trouble without meaning to!

It's not that I think they shouldn't get to - just surprised at a Scot thinking they'd need to lol. I'd think of other countries as breaking away from England - because that is where the power has been residing i.e the need for a Scottish parliament because control was in London and not within Scotland's own power.

Again, I'm not sure eloquence has been on my side today/tonight!

its ok, but my point would come down to this, how are norway, iceland and ireland doing. we have the north sea oil in our waters, plus, 1 third of the army are scots regiments, england also have alot to loose, why else are they so against scotland having independance?