Genealogy / Trying to track down heritage - Ostmina and Nowelhozycze? Any places like that in Poland? [18]

If your grandparents emigrated to Australia, there should be a record in the National Archives.

naa.gov.au/collection/fact-sheets/fs227.aspx

Have you found those already? Maybe the ship's manifest or the naturalization records give you a better clue of the place of origin of your ancestors.

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


It was impossible to attack mainland USA from Europe.


Bigger threat to whom and to what? Were both world wars really fought for freedom and democracy, or maybe for something sinister like global influence and military/economic power? Did Britain and France declare war on Germany because they loved Poland so much, or because they wanted to prevent the Third Reich from becoming a global competitor again? If it was really about freedom and democracy as it is always claimed, why didn't they declare war on the USSR, too?

Travel / Ryanair flying domestic in Poland? [46]


That's JetBlue.

USA, Canada / For my dad... "free Steve Wlodarz" He is serving life without parole in a United States prison [32]


Why on earth would someone who's innocent voluntarily accept such a plea deal? That doesn't make sense unless this person knew he was guilty. To be honest, I suspect that there is more to the story than you are willing to tell us.

History / Restitution Sought by US Holocaust Survivor Family of Expropriated Property in Zywiec, Poland [24]


Guess we can close the British Museum then... :)

Life / Polish people and racism. [943]


Guess we have to talk about the definition of racism then. I for one wouldn't consider sending 250,000+ illegal economic refugees from the Middle East, Africa and Asia back to where they came from or preventing them from reaching European shores in the first place racist, but telling a muslim asylum seeker that he is a dune coon certainly is.

Life / Polish people and racism. [943]


But they love the money they get from the EU, don't they... :)


There is no justification for racism whatsoever.

History / Restitution Sought by US Holocaust Survivor Family of Expropriated Property in Zywiec, Poland [24]

Lyszo, the problem is - once you compensate one group of previous owners (Jewish), you'll most likely have to compensate the other group (Germans) as well. Poland cannot allow that for obvious reasons. Polish authorities are paranoid when it comes to claims dating back to both pre-war and WW2 times.

History / Restitution Sought by US Holocaust Survivor Family of Expropriated Property in Zywiec, Poland [24]


I can't see why Germany would be legally responsible for the failure of the Soviets and the communist Polish government to return stolen real estate to the rightful owners after the war (provided that the property survived the destruction). Interestingly, even today many land records from the pre-WW2 era are locked up in Polish court archives and are not publicly available.

USA, Canada / Is there any chance that I can go right now to the US and start a life over there? [19]


Yes, I understood. You were using the Polish name Poznan though, which is simply wrong in this context.

USA, Canada / Is there any chance that I can go right now to the US and start a life over there? [19]


They came from Posen, Provinz Westpreussen, German Empire, and settled in Posen, Michigan, USA. :)

• 
  posen_michigan_polis.jpg
  

History / When will you Poles give back German land and the cities which you robbed? [557]


Well, we are talking about the definition of "rightfully" at the moment... :)

History / When will you Poles give back German land and the cities which you robbed? [557]


That's what I meant. Where does it end?

History / When will you Poles give back German land and the cities which you robbed? [557]


So can the Germans, the Austrians, the Russians, the British, the French...

History / The story about German- Polish reconciliation [194]


Not true. That's how the reunification (and later the so-called "Solidaritätszuschlag") was sold to the people of West Germany, and don't forget that the GDR was one of the most developed countries of the Warsaw Pact. Industrial pollution was the norm, but nobody expected to find whole districts that were completely ruined by the chemical industry for example. The commies were very good at hiding their skeletons in the closet.


Come on, why do you think he had the nickname "Birne"? In German, that wasn't only a reference to his physical stature, but also a mockery of "his provincial background and simple language" (Wikipedia).


What I meant is something else. He was clever enough to use diplomacy and personal bonds in his favor and to the advantage of Germany. Kohl was a good friend of Gorbatchov at that time, which made things a lot easier.

History / The story about German- Polish reconciliation [194]


Nonsense. Everybody expected the GDR to be an industrialized country with a highly developed infrastructure, but instead it turned out to be a polluted, ex-communist hellhole with industries that were so run down that nobody could rescue them. It took billions upon billions of DM and EUR to clean up the mess that the SED comrades had left behind, and in the meantime the people of East Germany lost patience and simply moved to the west where a (at that time) better life with much higher wages was waiting. Pretty much the same thing that happened in Poland.

Kohl was an idiot, but you have to give him one thing: he was a very clever politician who made the reunification possible.

News / Poland's President-Elect Duda leads in public trust - CBOS poll [185]

Which one?

News / Poland's President-Elect Duda leads in public trust - CBOS poll [185]


The moment Poland leaves the EU, the much needed subsidies would stop and the country would have to take back millions of citizens that are currently working in other EU countries. In short: Poland would be dead - economically and socially. You want that?

History / The story about German- Polish reconciliation [194]


Have you been home recently? You have some very strong opinions about east Germany and the German government.


Such as?

History / The story about German- Polish reconciliation [194]


You forgot to mention the Gauck's function is only a representative one. Unlike the Reichspraesident, the president of modern day Germany has no power - something that was implemented by the allies after WW2 to prevent another Hitler style power grab. So whatever Gauck says ... who actually listens to that guy?

News / LGBT hate speech to be banned in Poland [208]


Dunno, but to me that has a very strong taste of "1984". If a government doesn't like a certain school of thought (no matter what that is), all it takes to control the people is to make an opinion illegal? Shudder! Who decides what constitutes hate speech for example?

News / If Poland were in the Eurozone... [39]


Is was there when the Euro was introduced. What actually happened was that some companies started to switch their prices from DM to EUR on a 1:1 basis, even though they were legally obliged to use the correct exchange rate of 2:1 (DM/EUR). Over night, a beer didn't cost DM 2,- anymore, but EUR 2,- for example. Same happened with dry cleaners, hairdressers, grocery stores and countless other products and services. It was a major rip-off, and the German government simply pretended that it didn't happen.

News / LGBT hate speech to be banned in Poland [208]

Maybe they can charge Polish citizens, but they have exactly zero, zilch, nada chance to prosecute someone in the USA for hate speech which targets Polish nationals. There is something called freedom of speech here, and nobody will take that away. It's naive to believe otherwise.

Life / How much money should I save to move to Poland? [17]


Yes, IKEA has outlets in the US. Same crappy furniture as in Europe... :)

Language / The lost literary languages of Poland [54]

There are still tons of Yiddish words used in modern German such as ...

meschugge = crazy
koscher = kosher
schmusen = to cuddle
dufte = great
Schlamassel = mess
malochen = to work

... and many more.

Language / The lost literary languages of Poland [54]

Have you learned any Yiddish from your grandfather? Just curious.

Language / The lost literary languages of Poland [54]


Check this one out: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yiddish_grammar

News / Does democratic Poland guarantee it's LGBT citizens respect for human and civil rights? [1169]


The whole country is divided over issues like healthcare, gun rights, gay marriage, global warming, immigration, religion and race. Freakin' mess, nothing gets done.

News / Dunkin Donuts to come to Poland [46]


It's not really too weak, it's the way how it is roasted. For non-Americans, our coffee often has a sour, burned taste. In the beginning, I couldn't stand that stuff without pouring a gallon of milk and a pound of sugar in it. You get used to it after a while, though (or it simply kills your taste buds, I don't know).


By far the best, I agree.

History / Looking for information about a village possible name Demrtau [3]


I think there's a spelling error. The German name for the village was Demptau, which was changed to Demtau between 1942 and 1945.