Nowa Huta and other achievments of PRL (People's Republic of Poland)

Do you think it was a great achievement for communist Poland? (serious question)

Not only communist - other places in Europe had to build new towns after the war too. Nova Huta (good architechture, good facilities etc) is an interesting example because they were trying to show people that the system could work.

yes... (serious answer....)

From a Nowa Huta guide book:

Nowa Huta was intended to be an 'ideal city'. It took up the age-old quest to build the perfect urban environment, a dream project since the Renaissance, although one that was rarely realised as few could fit the bills of those excitable architects. Nowa Huta echoed the Renaissance model on many levels. Its rigid geometry and the careful manner in which each element was located, be it a school, a town hall or a park, would certainly have pleased Leonardo - it even borrowed classical idioms in some of its ornamentation.

Wasn't the Nowa Huta project a better one than today's gated communities projects made to one template?

Nowa Huta: Krakow's Brutal Brother: krakowpost.com/article/2509

There was no business justification to build NH in/near Kraków. It was done purely to break the spine of the city which came out unscathed (pretty much) from war preserving its independent, catholic and bourgeois populace and traditions. The commies hoped that the poor peasantry which would settle there would constitute a counterpoint to those traditions but they eventually failed miserably! :-)

Certainly an achievement in terms of making collaborating with the regime semi-acceptable.

It's sad how much you don't know and even less understand, Harry.

Well unlike your Harriet I was 8 when communism was ending so i do remember how it all looked like and how we had to stand in line for hours to buy things, or how cops were 10x more respected than today. You were still getting your pielucha changed 8 times a day, poo poo baby :)

Respected? I don't think anyone respected the Milicja in the slightest.

Except of course, loyal members of the Party who actually stole from Poland as well as collaborated against it. Like your father, for example.

Son milicja went into a bar everyone got up and lined up by the wall, milicja came to a disturbance in a home no one dreamed of taking a swing at a cop they'd beat him like a dog and he couldn't do anything about it. Respect, they might have not liked them but they did respect them.

Only out of fear, not a true version of respect.

I know that you've got no idea of respect (what with telling women that their mothers are prostitutes) - but really, you must be seriously deluded if you think that people did those things out of respect.

People obeyed the Milicja, but they certainly didn't respect them.

Exactly. Fear of any person of authority was prevalent.

To me respect out of fear is still respect, doesn't matter if someone likes me or not. I've heard (from older people) that in Stalinist communism (50s) if a milicjan beat you for no reason you needed something like 21 witnesses to have a case against him.

That's rather sad.

That's when you are wrong. Fear has nothing to do with respect.

I think they build it there because Krakow had the workforce and engineers needed to pull it off. Usually the simplest explanations are the correct ones.

You're making a conspiracy out of it.

No conspiracy here. Coal has always been in Silesia and has always had tons of educated people. Read some history man.

I'm not sure if what said has anything to do with my statement.

Na dekel ci piere, bo kajś ten boroczek podzioł swoje brele... you wanna teach me about Silesian history lol. Go ahead.

Silesian you may know well but you do not know about the world around you. Learn, read and get yourself educated.

So not true. The MO were reviled NOT respected. They were reluctantly obeyed because they had the power. We all thought of them as bumbling idiots, kretyni!

Well go ahead, this is your chance to educate this dumb Silesian about his and his extended family history and about people who spent generations working in coalmines and steel plants.

I'm sure you're one of those people who would teach native Americans about their heritage too. Dude, please stop it. you're killing me.

what were other achievements of PRL beside NH?

This stuff brings some memories Penn. :)

Keep it up. I remember seeing something like that as a kid (forgot what it was called) in the movies before Star Wars lol

edit: Kronika right?

...Radziecki saper LMAO

I got a new comeback for dope. Dope, Pierdolisz jak Radziecki saper...

The commentator in that movie kept saying Pa>L<ac, do you think he was he Lithuanian? Most of my Polish family pronounces very distinct "£" in that word. I thought it was strange.

I got accent in my Polish so I'm all effed up now.

Funny,every Warsawian I know tells me the same joke...."where do you get the best view of warsaw? from the top of the palace of culture as its the only place you cant see the Palace of culture..."

being a luvvie though I like the idea and qiute like the architecture too :)

i liked NH, even though there is nothing to do... always got to the center... of Krk....

Armed Forces, the largest non Soviet Poland Warsaw Pact army.

MARZENIA USKRZYDLĄ NAS... do roboty... do roboty... [clapping hands]

in warsaw,

i need your input on this. come on over and say something please.

After watching it for an hour and half if feel brain-rejuvenated.

I see it Now!. my life's educational process has been completed!!!!!!!!!!! YAY

Mr. in_warsaw {harry}. I'm talking to you... We were so close.... I believe if have stuck with our goal, meaning, pay taxes and support out military, we would have made it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! we were so close.... for god's sake.... Just 10 more years and things would have turn up. OMG!!! what have we done!!!!!!!!!!!!

WTF was i thinking back than... [while seeing flashes of propaganda movies in my mother's womb], i should have worked harder and payed more taxes....

I'm a traitor ... shame on me for not sticking with the Russians doctrine.. err Polish legacy of making the world a better place...

I feel so ashamed now. :(

Someone please talk to me i feel so lost now :(

Highly unlikely: communism was not sustainable long-term from the economic perspective and that meant that it would never be accepted socially. And of course it was not what was best for Poland.

However, with that said you are of course most welcome to move to Poland and work with us on making the country a better place. Peace Corps no longer runs projects in Poland but there are plenty of other ways in which you can help out here. What do you say?