USA, Canada / Polish-Jewish survivor of the Holocaust celebrates her 100th birthday [29]


Most didn't leave. They were murdered. The lucky ones who weren't had to flee in the face of a huge army wanting to kill them and heading their way quickly. My friend (who just got his share in some family property seized by the Germans) lost almost his entire family. His father survived only because he was sheltered by someone. When he went back to his own home after 'liberation' in 1945 he was turned away at gunpoint by people wearing his clothes.

History / WWII - who really was the first to help Poland? [900]


Not a particularly healthy environment.

In reality, he was certainly very swarthy, hairy and by today's standards almost a midget. If this upsets anyone, they clearly don't understand Incarnation Theology.

Study / British Council CELTA in Krakow, how would you rate it? [60]


A Master's Degree in Applied Linguistics or in TEFL is generally rather better respected than a 4 week course. After that comes UK Qualified Teeacher Status (PGCE or BEd/equivalent) and after that a DELTA/equivalent.

Nevertheless, a CELTA (or the Trinity equivalent) is the minimum anyone teaching EFL should have before being allowed near a classroom (never mind a one-to-one), and for a 4 week course it is good.

I'd strongly suggest doing it in an English-speaking country though. Training with monolingual guinea pigs is a disadvantage. A plus however is that it's at the Council - doing a CELTA at a state sector organisation is almost always better than doing at a private provider.

History / WWII - who really was the first to help Poland? [900]


He was from the Middle East (and had been a child refugee), and we can guess more or less what he looked like. There's been a lot of archaeological excavations in that city, and there are plenty of skulls of men of his age and period. One of them is probably his. That image is from a computer reconstruction based on a synthesis of all the skulls of approipriate age and sex from the decades around his lifetime.

If he turned up in Torun as a refugee, he'd probably be beaten up by 'Polish patriots'.


Yes, they were serfs, just the same as anywhere else. The szlachta were enraged when the serfs were freed in the Russian zabor.

News / Poland's Party of Law and Justice (PiS) reconstruction [38]


Basically he's dying now and is thinking about what his legacy will be. He's intelligent and knows that the conspiracy theories about the accident are both tasteless and ridiculous.

History / Polish hatred towards Jews... [1290]


You'll find plenty on here if you look for positives rather than just trying to find things you don't like. There are some very good threads indeed, a few started by myself..


Whoever said there wasn't!

History / Polish hatred towards Jews... [1290]


Good, since there is a very high level - even the CBOS poll shows that.


A great deal. There would be very few Nobel prizes without those Poles who are Jewish, Warsaw and Krakow would be very different places too.


It deserves a great deal more - nevertheless, what you refer to as "constant accusations" (despite being neither) must be made - only looking at the positive side of history and ignoreing the negative side denies the truth of the past and the intellectual integrity of the present. It debases those who propagate it.

History / Polish hatred towards Jews... [1290]


That comes with time.

Nobody lives in a bubble anyway - European cultural output reaches around the world.

History / Polish hatred towards Jews... [1290]

I certainly do criticise those countries - odd you'd pretend to think I wouldn't. Just as I'd criticise anywhere with a provably high level of anti-semitism. Like Poland.

History / Polish hatred towards Jews... [1290]


That's a rather obtuse comment.


Do migrants go to Europe now because they love European culture? Or does desperation and lack of choices come in to it?

History / Polish hatred towards Jews... [1290]


Remind me of the name of this forum...


And that somehow rules out the fact that there is considerable antii-semitism in Poland?

History / Polish hatred towards Jews... [1290]


You seem determined to argue- it's worth stepping back and looking at the situation objectively.


That's not much to boast about, given the situation in other Slavic-speaking territories...

History / Polish hatred towards Jews... [1290]


More or less, Kaprys. In any society there's always an element within the population that needs to hate, fear or objectify another group. That group tends to be the most visible minority.


Russians.


Evidently yes, he seems to be that ignorant.

History / WWII - who really was the first to help Poland? [900]

Don't forget the Serfs - most Poles today are descended from them, and the szlachta protested bitterly after partition when they were freed.

History / Polish hatred towards Jews... [1290]


Did they not play their part in life?


As I say, chicken and egg.

History / Polish hatred towards Jews... [1290]


What a creepy thing to write.


No. Neither group has any special claim that the otrher doesn't.

History / WWII - who really was the first to help Poland? [900]


How would you describe those people (the ancestors of most of today's Poles who did not have voting rights?

Work / Studies In Poland, is it easy to survive on part-time jobs? [259]

Foremost purest nonsense. We aren't talking about demographics, we're talking about people who study abroad.

History / WWII - who really was the first to help Poland? [900]


A mistranslation - the szlachta were between 12 and 18%, to large a number to be considered nobility. Freemen is an option there, so is ruling class, so is gentlefolk.


Wow, 'usual suspect who's name, location and life histrory we know', a quote from years ago without any point...

And who's in the closet?

Get a life.

History / Polish hatred towards Jews... [1290]


Geography mostly, proximity and opportunity.


Hard to up sticks and leave once you're somewhere.


Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

Poland was as much theirs as anyone else's.

History / Polish hatred towards Jews... [1290]


No, yours, a far worse person. Read about Aktion T4, Ironside...


Yes there is.

Work / Studies In Poland, is it easy to survive on part-time jobs? [259]

That's for politicians - who right now in Poland are happy to sign the deals to take batches of students.

Demography isn't something that can be manipulated anyway.

Work / Studies In Poland, is it easy to survive on part-time jobs? [259]


Of course. And most students either rent a room in a hall of residence or share one, further reducing the price.

History / Polish hatred towards Jews... [1290]


Chicken and egg. From where did hostility arise, if not from conservatives' fear and suspicion about anybody different. See the post above for an example of that silliness.

Work / Studies In Poland, is it easy to survive on part-time jobs? [259]

A lot are still shared as well, further lowering the price.

Work / Studies In Poland, is it easy to survive on part-time jobs? [259]


These are still very common, and there are even cheaper options sometimes, though mostly for locals.

History / Polish hatred towards Jews... [1290]


That's something worth doing; I'd like to see their faces. I've always made it clear (even in places like Saudi, Sudan and Iraq) that I'm pro-Israel but can see both points of view. It's never caused a problem - there are probably more Israel haters in Hackney than in Riyadh.

History / Polish hatred towards Jews... [1290]


Often (though not entirely), however it certainly isn't anti-semitic, however much a silly poster above would like to pretend it is.

They certainly print comment, diary and faith-based pieces by the Chief Rabbi as well as by Rabbis Witteneberg, Romain and Schochet (a very regular contributor), and famously employed 'Mad Melanie' Phillips for years.

History / Polish hatred towards Jews... [1290]

And now Wulky is trying to pretend the Manchester Guardian is anti-semitic!

He obviously hasn't paid much attention to their editorial team. I wonder what gems he'll entertain us with next...

Life / Driving Offences in Poland - How Fast can you go without being arrested? ;) [56]


A great idea. If it makes one person drive more carefully it's worth it.

The guy who was complaining about people who drive too slowly and safely reminds me of something. I was driving from Warsaw to Kielce (before EU accession funded road improvements and new routes in PL) and a guy in a sports car came up fast behind me. I was driving well under the speed limit, on a dangerous road with bends, slopes and poor visibility. Even driving just under the limit would be too fast for that road. He was honking his horn, gesticulating angrily and overtook as soon as he could at high speed. 40 minutes later I saw him for a second time. This time he was lying dead next to his car.

At least he only killed himself with his driving and not anyone else.