News / Germans: Geh raus of Poland's business! [61]

I repeat, Crow! If a fellow Yank utters said epithet, no problem. If some snot-nosed Euro-Yuppie follows suit, there's a problem:-)
If an African-American jokingly refers to his compatriot by the infamous N-word, ok! If I or another Caucasian were to, definitely NOT ok.

Germans have a long history of looking down on the Poles as a farmland of slow-witted dullards, fit to feed and mass-produce for Germany, but for not much else, if anything. Same view of Denmark. A land of butter, cheese, dairy and pretty girls, but take it seriously? You must be kidding.

This once pervasive attitude has largely changed, except perhaps among the Pegidists.

News / Germans: Geh raus of Poland's business! [61]

I guess I can see the wisdom in what you say! If you're talking about yourself, aka "Heini, you dumb kraut!" etc.., it can be seen as roughhousing among friends:-)

Other than that, if someone were to call me a "kraut", I'd be bloody insulted!

News / Germans: Geh raus of Poland's business! [61]

TheOther, if you respect the Germans so much, why LABEL them Krauts?
-:)

For someone who's talking out of their "rear end", ahemm, this rear end has been around the block a bit. I know from whence I speak!

News / Germans: Geh raus of Poland's business! [61]

Don't feel in any way slighted, ktoś old fella! Pan-Germanist arrogance discriminates all too EQUALLY throughout the continent. Just ask the Danes, Norwegians, French, Italians, and particularly the Spaniards for whom Mallorca has been dubbed by German vacationers often as the "fuenfzehnte Bundesland":-)

The Poles are by no means the only ones being high hatted by the Germans.

Classifieds / ANY FOREIGNER (NOT POLISH) FAMILY ADVOCATE IN WARSAW [39]

And I hope my "adwokat" will also be my "adVocatE", not merely some dude collecting a bribe but calling it a fee:-)

Classifieds / ANY FOREIGNER (NOT POLISH) FAMILY ADVOCATE IN WARSAW [39]

@rozumiemnic,

You couldn't be more right:-) Scandis especially are particularly loathe to admit to English errors (..while merrily correcting and laughing at my Norwegian)!!

Classifieds / ANY FOREIGNER (NOT POLISH) FAMILY ADVOCATE IN WARSAW [39]

My answer again would be, "An advocate? Fine, but are you also looking for an attorney?"

Face it, the poster merely translated into English from his native language, that's all! I just wanted to be sure I REALLY understood him:-)

How often have all of us abroad run into literal translations into English? Once in Oslo, I was told by the restaurant owner, "Please don't have children at the bar!" to which I replied (in English, though I know some Norwegian) "I agree. A hospital is far safer."

The dude didn't even crack a smileLOL

Classifieds / ANY FOREIGNER (NOT POLISH) FAMILY ADVOCATE IN WARSAW [39]

If you'd said to me "I need an advocate", and I understood no other language than English, I'd be confused and would politely ask for clarification:-)

Food / A recipe for hootch? Bimber taste in Poland. [42]

Thanks for the compliment, Johnny Boy! I was all of thirty-something at the time, but maybe I did look far younger than my years betrayed:-)

Anyway, he assumed I was either Polish or possibly German, figuring who but another European would care a hoot about local hootch.

Food / A recipe for hootch? Bimber taste in Poland. [42]

When last in Poland, I asked someone where could I find "real" bimber. The person asked me which kind. Apparently, there are many different bimbers in Poland. Or maybe the dude had already imbibed so much he was talking rot:-)

Classifieds / ANY FOREIGNER (NOT POLISH) FAMILY ADVOCATE IN WARSAW [39]

@jamshaid, are your asking for a lawyer who is not Polish? I guess some people may have misunderstood your request:-)
"Advocate" doesn't necessarily just mean "lawyer" (prawnik) in English, but can mean any person who supports your cause, legally trained or not!

True, we have "Office of the Public Advocate" here in the US, but walking into a law firm and or other business and proclaiming you are "looking for an advocate" might get your some odd looks indeed.

Life / Do expats living in Poland speak Polish? [233]

Still no excuse for ignorance, InPolska! Your point is well taken, however. The thing is that expats miss out on so much by not at least knowing the basics of the target language, be it Nicaragua, Poland, Russia or Sweden. Sure, chances are far, far greater that an expat being transferred to Stockholm will find many more average people who speak at least superficially fluent English, sometimes even French or a bit of high school German, than say, in Novosibirsk, part of respect for the people with whom you're doing business is a modicum of knowledge regarding their mother tongue, unbalanced as the playing field may be:-)

Life / Do expats living in Poland speak Polish? [233]

Expats living in any country other than their own should ideally learn the language of the country in which they are living, despite how "fluent" in English as the natives may appear to be:-)

Life / Are Polish people so chaotic and disorganized like Germans say? [89]

Germany has become far less orderly over the past several years of Merkel's chancellorship! This image did conform to reality up through the end of the 80's and into the early 90's to be sure. Now though, it's basically over. While old habits do die hard, the younger the Germans, the more multi-culti and even the '68ers are considered old hat by the current generation:-)

Life / Are Polish people so chaotic and disorganized like Germans say? [89]

I think a great deal of this discussion to date sounds like cultural stereotyping, although many a cultural stereotype is based upon certain collective experiences. While it is true for instance that many Germans DO pride themselves on a high degree of organizational ability, there are plenty of organized as well scores of disorganized Germans, the latter merely confirming the exception to the "rule".

When once in Spain on business some years ago, I was expecting a lazy country, more used to a siesta than a hard day's work.

My co-workers even put my "American"/Protestant-Northern European work ethic to shame. Furthermore, long after Franco, the siesta after lunchtime has virtually been abolished:-)

Life / Queues in Poland - everyone in line is sandwiched [44]

Germans justify their rude behavior by rationalizing that they alone have been Europe's eternal "Land in the Middle", bereft of borders and thus of the luxury of privacy. Therefore, when finding themselves on the open road or in a buffet-style situation, they overcompensate by driving like maniacs or, respectively, storming the bleedin' joint! After WWII, most returning from war had known years of hunger in a way the Allies, even the Russians hadn't to the same degree. Scenes of ordinary German citizens, Nazi or not, rummaging through rubbish bins for food and licking the sides of the lids is enough to make even the most hardened (Jewish much less!!) Germanophobe wring tears from their eyes.

News / Germans: Geh raus of Poland's business! [61]

Well gumishu, Chancellor Merkel's part Polish and so hopefully, things'll change:-)

News / Germans: Geh raus of Poland's business! [61]

Exactly. Post-Ostpolitik a la Willy Brandt would appear to be the order of the day; fewer barriers, more contact:-))

News / Germans: Geh raus of Poland's business! [61]

You guys need Germany a lot more than Germany needs you, hate to burst your bubble:-)

Language / Give me some reasons to learn Polish [126]

Younger Poles' English:

"Thank you from mountain, Mr. Adam! Why it's important for me learn English. This is important affair because much Polish learns English on school......."

I guess this passes for 'acceptable' English when the interlocutor's either another Pole or similarly non-native English-speaker.
Other than that, the above is pretty poor!!!
:-)

History / "Poland's Concentration Camp" ?? [570]

Many Poles of traceable German origin (and with approved Ahnentafeln of Aryan birth) were alllowed to join the German Army. A number of them doubtless turned traitor. Such an impossible thing?? Again folks, the Poles were perfect and everybody else's chopped liver??! What are you handing us?

Work / Teaching English lessons with a native speaker in Poland [10]

Exactly what I'd want to know! According to your profile, you barely speak Polish. Is it really advisable to teach rank beginners the target language without at least rudimentary fluency in the source language of the target learner(s)?? Unless, you're tutoring the wealthy and/or teaching at a major university, e.g. the University of Poznań where the students already are at least intermediate to advanced in English, frankly, you'll be wasting both your own as well as the student's time:-)

Hate to be blunt, but there are SOOOOO many scams out there in the ESL field, it's quickly turning into just another racket (...and we're the ones stuck with the used balls)LOL

However Doug, when attempting to break through in English to zero-beginner Poles with questionable interest as well as background in language to start with, there must be basic foundation in Polish, trust me!! I once taught a mono-lingual Pole enough English to get to his A-levels. If I knew little more than "Jak masz na imię?" and "Co to jest..?", I'd have been merrily up s**** creak without a paddle!!

History / "Poland's Concentration Camp" ?? [570]

@Ironside, apropos Ukrainians, I guess you've never heard of John Demanjuk??? I'd do less posting and more reading, sir!
:-)

History / "Poland's Concentration Camp" ?? [570]

As I wrote above, unless you can't read English, "....obviously NOT ALL Poles...." (oczywiście NIE WSZYSTKIE.....)

History / "Poland's Concentration Camp" ?? [570]

@Ironside and Delphi,

I made statements which are based upon nothing other than pure historical fact! The facts are these, that many (obviously not ALL) Poles were complicit with the Nazis in the execution of genocidal activity, either as willing volunteers or as camp guards, as were quite a few Ukrainians. Either to save their own skin or because they agreed with Hitler's racial theories, the evidence nonethless remains that a large number of Poles did participate.

This is indeed a source of shame, but must be fessed up to!

Furthermore, the Jews have admitted being forced into being capos and Sonderkommandos. So now the Poles were perfect????!!

History / "Poland's Concentration Camp" ?? [570]

Complicit in Nazi genocide the Poles undoubtedly were, though, to their credit, NOT the originators of mass murder, merely, "Helfershelfer", as the Germans put it:-)

History / "Poland's Concentration Camp" ?? [570]

Most of the larger concentration as well as extermination camps were in point of historical fact located in what is today Poland, '38-'44 German-held territory!! Treblinka, Majdanek, Auschwitz (in present-day Oświęcim!), Sobibór along with a number of lesser camps, were situated in Nazi-occupied territory, end of debate.

That many Poles here on PF and elsewhere can't face these bare facts isn't my problem:-)

History / "Poland's Concentration Camp" ?? [570]

"Polish" concentrations camps were indeed located in present-day Poland, at that time, Nazi- aka German-held territory! The camps were administrated by Germans, and not Poles, the latter of whom took part to be sure in a camp guard capacity, which, though indoubtedly brutal, was no comparison with the harshness meted out by the non-Polish higher ups who considered Poles to be subhumans, just a cut above the Jews:-)

Poles today, eager to salvage their nation's past, are quick to condemn those who speak of Poland's involvement in the Shoah. Let us not therefore forget the awfull truth of national complicity.

Polonia / Should Poles help Germans organize protests demanding free media ? [136]

The Germans, it seems, are having not too dissimilar media issues from the Poles! The mainstream German press appears to be backing Chancellor Merkel, yet the ever present rightist publicists are attacking her at every bend and turn. Mme. Szydło however is apparently not being supported by the Fourth Estate in Poland, and herein lies the key difference.

News / Germans: Geh raus of Poland's business! [61]

Ironside@

Apparently, you didn't understand my post! I wasn't implying Poland was entirely reliant on Germany. On the other hand, Poland had been far from completely self-sufficient for many decades.

What do you mean by "....my pantaloons"?? Kindly post either in English or privately in Polish so I can understand what you're trying to say:-)

marekzgerson@yahoo