History / Was the holocaust by Germans in Poland the worse genocide in history? [210]

JollyRomek, although factually correct about the vast number of accomplices in such cases as that Demanjuk, a Ukrainian indeed, this was more the exception than the rule, at least in Germany itself. The watch guards in Belsen, Dachau, Orthruf etc. compared with the majority of extermination camps in Poland, were almost exclusively Germans.

To be sure, the orders in ALL cases were given by the German, NOT the Poles, Ukrainians, assorted Balts and so on!

History / Was the holocaust by Germans in Poland the worse genocide in history? [210]

Fact remains, that while Oświęcim aka Auschwitz, Majdanek, Treblinka etc. clearly rested on Polish soil, they were almost exlusively manned, operated and administrated by GERMANS, not Poles (as I stated once before)!

The blame therefore lies solely with Nazi Germany for carrying out as well as having the Holocaust carried out in occupied countries as well as in those territories squarely within the Nazi dragnet.

History / Was the holocaust by Germans in Poland the worse genocide in history? [210]

Brunesis, you seem to have missed my point! Noone here is trying either to relativize or "grade" degrees of suffering and death.

The mass murders committed by Mao, Stalin, Pol Pot or Idi Amin, were essentially the wanton state-sponsored killings on a whim, whereas e.g. in Mao's case the slaughter of his own ethinic Chinese with whom he happened to disagree on purely idealogical grounds. Pol Pot slaughtered indiscriminantly and capriciously which was what made him so feared.

The German Holocaust was conversely based solely on BIO-idealogical hatred; Hitler honestly believed that the Jew belonged to a different species of humanity and was therefore dangerous as it somehow threatened to usurp the rightful place of the German "Volk" (translation: racially pure nation/state). The Jew therefore had to exponged from Germany's midst as he represented the so-to-speak greatest threat to humanity and that he was to boot an "enemy of the state", already a foregone conclusion long before the first gas chambers were even built!

If Jews in Stalinist Russia, Chinese in Mao's China or even fellow Cambodians under Pol Pot's regime did their level best to curry favor by groveling to their "superiors", they too could live, albeit in a permanently degraded state of being. No such choice was left the Jews under Hitler; extermination was to be total, complete with NO margin for error.

History / Was the holocaust by Germans in Poland the worse genocide in history? [210]

What with the present hundredth "anniversary" commemorations of the Turkish massacre of the Armenian community, kindly remember the disturbing threat by Hitler himself when warned that his plans for the Jewish genocide would not be possible:

"Who remembers Armenia"? was said to be his glib reply to those critics within his own ranks.

In fact, the Schoah is generally considered by both Jewish as well as German gentile historians to be a watershed event, unique in its barbarity throughout the annals of recorded man. "Unique" is a dangerous word to use. ALL individual as well as collective suffering is always unique to those who've experienced it. The Nazi Holocaust however had the sole distinction of being the most methodically documented, carried out with nearly the complete support of the German population and with EVERY means necessary by the Nazi government apparatus to expedite the focused killing of a single ethnic group within the Reich as efficiently as possible with no economic expense spared.

For the sheer enormity of the crime, the Holocaust regrettable still stands alone!

Life / Concerns of a Swede who is about to go to Poland for work [53]

....nor atypically for your generation, I can assure you:-)

As a non-Polish speaker though, I'd suggest working, say, at a consulary branch of the Swedish Embassy in Warsaw, whereby you'd be using both your English as well as your Swedish on a daily basis. Here, indeed there might be both little call or necessity for you to speak Polish. For such, there are scores of interpreters eager to perfect THEIR language skills too.

You might also attempt the university route, although without at least a reading knowledge of the language, you could easily find your best efforts stymied!

Life / Concerns of a Swede who is about to go to Poland for work [53]

Thanks as always, Ziemowit!

@
Swedish student, your high-minded aims merely reinforce, to me anyway, your obviously callow youth:-) Not wishing to appear even "more" condescending than I already have undoubtedly, a country truly CANNOT be effectively appreciated without at least a basic working knowledge of her mother tongue. The big question remains, whether you are simply going to work in Poland 'for the experience', to stand out like some sort of curiosity, or to really make a serious contribution to whereever it is you'll be working.

Again, even before I went to Sweden, I made sure my basic language skills were in place. Othewise, I'd have been just one more young, bothersome American lad out for some free Swedish tailLOL

Gość123456, Sweden has long since been a mecca (no pun intended with the present "Islamization" of Stockholm's Old TownLOL) for foreigners, particularly American draft dodgers in the '60's, not merely for her high standard of living, but her (perceived!!) open attitudes towards, among other things, SEX:-)))

Where poor ol' Ingmar Bergman found only uptight Lutheran piety, outsiders saw mostly blue movies, e.g. "I am curious yellow" etc..., as well as those hot, international model-types like Gunnila Knutsson doing Noxema commercials on American TV.....

While the Swedish "system" has many reasons to be touted, Poland's universities ain't nothin' to sneeze at either! Kraków, Warszawa and Lublin have world-renowned faculty (pity I can't think of any at the moment) and Poland too has many research scientists as well.

I've found most Poles more intellectually curious than many Swedes I've met. The latter have grown up since 1945 with such a silver spoon in the mouths, that they don't even notice its tarnish over the past several decades. They had it too comfy for their own good; the Poles on the other hand under Communism, had to prove hardship.

Please keep to the topic.

Life / Concerns of a Swede who is about to go to Poland for work [53]

@
Swedish student, apologies for pressing the point again, but a year's an awfully long time to fiddle around trying to get by in English. OK, you do as you see fit. In your shoes though, I'd be frustrated as could be:-) Maybe a few days in blissful ignorance, after that, I'd go nuts!!

Life / Concerns of a Swede who is about to go to Poland for work [53]

SwedishStudent,

I'm still unclear as to your intentions about learning Polish:-) Surely, you'll be able to find employment without, but with, it'll make ALL the difference, trust me!

In this way, I repeat, Poland is NOT like Sweden.

Incidentally, I'm fluent in Swedish and Polish, but even if I weren't I'd only go to another country without knowing the language purely for vacation purposes!

Life / Concerns of a Swede who is about to go to Poland for work [53]

You intend eventually to learn the language, I take it? Swedish, English and German are all fine within the EU itself, however, they won't help you all that much in Poland:-)

On the other hand, the more ahistorical, culturally deficient etc. the world is fast becoming, I frankly don't believe anyone would notice the bleedin' difference if you spoke "good" English in Poland or not. "Adequate" would most likely do just fine.

I'm not discouraging you from your job search, quite the contrary. I'm only bringing to light some of my own thoughts (..for whatever they're worth).

Life / WHY DO POLES USE ENGLISH WORDS IN CONVERSATION? [396]

I remember once many years ago in London hearing two Poles conversing in English with heavy accents using typical Britishisms of the time: "Aj tink hi'ss doink bladdiy goot job!" or "Luk aht dawss tu snawggink.(Look at those two snogging = kissing) etc.

Work / Has anyone had experience of teaching with Berlitz Poland? [20]

Berlitz-US used to hire exclusively native-born and educated teachers. Now, they'll even hire teachers with accents and questionable grammar!!

How the mighty have fallen:-)

Life / No Easter Bunnies in Poland? [7]

Whenever I've seen Polish Easter celebrated, i.e. in areas such as Greenpoint, Bklyn. or Maspeth, Queens, it's usually quite an elaborate affair with lots of yellow and green draped everywhere, plus the traditional stick-to-your-ribs repast on Easter Sunday:-)

.....but NO BUNNIES!!!!

Life / No Easter Bunnies in Poland? [7]

Easter may well be not as commercial, however many Catholic Poles have told me, that it may even be a holiday of more solemn significance:-)

Food / WHAT DID YOU EAT FOR POLISH EASTER TODAY? [45]

Przypiękne!

Pisanki i baranki są "szczyt" Wielkiej Nocy:-)

Beautiful!

The hand-painted Easter eggs and small paschal lambs are the high point of Easter:-)

Life / WHY DO POLES USE ENGLISH WORDS IN CONVERSATION? [396]

Just the opposite happened to me at a (supposed) Polish eatery. I asked for "wędlina", to which the Polish-American waitress replied snappishly, "D'ya mean "smoked sausage"??! So why didn'tcha say so?"

LOL

Life / WHY DO POLES USE ENGLISH WORDS IN CONVERSATION? [396]

Poles, like many non-Anglophones, believe English simply sounds "cool" (...even if a vast number can't even understand a bloody word of it!!)

Others will liberally pepper their conversation with American/British vulgarisms in an effort to fit in with a cool crowd. In this respect, the Dutch are the worst offenders:-)))

History / Your favourite Polish Patriotic films [49]

Thanks!

History / Your favourite Polish Patriotic films [49]

....sounds like the reaction of the crowd I was with when I first saw "Zakazane Piosenki"! When the first strains of the Warszawianka began, I saw my neighbor start dabbing her eyes with a tissue. And by the time our heroine played by that wonderful actress whose first name's Szarafka (or something like that), slowly began singing the final stanza of the above tune, there was scarcely a dry eye in the house (including my own).

Life / From Sweden to Zakopane (permanently), possible? [23]

Which Polish city/town is most similar to Goteborg paa Alven? I know only of Wrocław nad Odrą, but unfortunately, I've never been!

Polish won't be that hard for you. You already know Swedish and English:-)

Life / From Sweden to Zakopane (permanently), possible? [23]

D'you plan on visiting any other cities in Poland, Chris? I'd recommend Szczecin.

Language / Frustrated Polish Learner -- people in Poland try to speak to me in English [31]

Stand yer ground there, xerxes2 ol' man! Don't let 'em scare you off from some honest communication. If you really truly knew only a few words and your partner was actually "fluent" in English, then I'd probably say "Screw it! Speak English."

Apart from that (as this is not the case here), keep on speaking Polish and sooner or later they'll relent:-)))

Work / How to find work in Warsaw "if u don't speak Polish" ! [176]

JollyRomek, I somehow doubt that if English were your first language you would've missunderstood my prior post(s):-)

Work / How to find work in Warsaw "if u don't speak Polish" ! [176]

OK, JollyRomek. Let's just concede you're right! Is it a "must" to know German to integrate into German society?

In my long experience, whenever I've decided to do Germans a favor and speak in English with them (..only for their practice, of course), the results have often been questionable, at best:-) I've never really understood them, and they've never really understood me. As civilized humans, we've merely ended up being polite to one another. We've ALWAYS had to resort to speaking German. They felt weird, granted, but at least I understood exactly what they meant and they could express themselves naturally.

When last in Poland, in Szczecin (Stettin to you), I was invited to a journalist's talk. If I hadn't spoken Polish, the entire evening would have been an exercise in futility.

Perhaps the problem lies in the fact that you don't quite understand what I mean:-)

Work / How to find work in Warsaw "if u don't speak Polish" ! [176]

You mean "mUmbo-jUmbo"??

I've travelled enough throughout the world, i.e. Europe and Israel, to know that lack of knowledge of the target language where one is visiting/working or living can be a tremendous deficit, that's all I'm saying!!

Everyone abroad claims to know English. Everyone in America claims to have a driver's license. Not everyone does, and frankly, not everyone can. Some of us are less talented with languages, same with driving. So why not simply ADMIT IT??

Finally, yes, I can pass judgement about Poland because I too have been there, albeit not for long. I still have acquaintances with whom I remain up to date.

Work / How to find work in Warsaw "if u don't speak Polish" ! [176]

To one who reads, e-mails, interacts, i.e. webcams etc. on a daily basis, it's scarecely "amazing", it's simply normal!
Yes, I live here in the States. And yes, you live in Poland. Why should any enlightened, sentient being claim amazement by stuff which most other enlightened people take for granted??

Work / How to find work in Warsaw "if u don't speak Polish" ! [176]

How to find work in Warsaw......."? Easy! Lots and lots of Poles know German, others Russian or French, many still, some variety of EnglishLOL

You know uuat aj tolkink??
:-)

History / Your favourite Polish Patriotic films [49]

Films in general nowadays don't seem to have "character actors" as in former times, since it seems so relatively few people as a whole have either character or personality any longer! Scripts/Dialogue reflect the times, and these are sorry times, I'm tellin' ya.

History / Your favourite Polish Patriotic films [49]

Sure, 'cuz the actors in those movies BELIEVED what they were performing, not imitating what they've been scripted to say!

History / Your favourite Polish Patriotic films [49]

Right on! "Popioł i Diamanty" along with "Kanał" remain true resistance era classics. Black and white - always the actor's best friend.