News / The "Arbeit Macht Frei" sign theft from Oswiecim, Poland [240]


A sick-minded collector maybe. After all, you could hardly pass it on at a car boot sale.

A friend in UK suggested it might have been stolen for scrap by a particular group of people. The rest of what he said is best forgotten.

Life / Ripped Off in Poland? - Expose here: [185]

What's with the batteries?

History / What British unit liberated Poland in 1945?? [445]


Gladly, except pierogi frankly aren't worth making.


Unlikely since they were built in 1962.


Sooner or later, in this case sooner, the racism starts. :-(

In the quote you cited, is there even one factual error? No.

History / What British unit liberated Poland in 1945?? [445]

Sokrates

LOL. I'm not Harry.

But I do care about it when some eejit says my country stole Poland's entire pre-war gold reserves than refuses to back it up with anything, except a receipt for the return of the gold to the National Bank of Poland.

Accusations of theft are serious. Accusations of theft on a huge international scale are very serious.

History / Jaruzelski asked Soviets for assistance [51]

1jola

There's a certain type of person who, when they lose an argument, start to throw insults. None of them accurate.

Though for the record:

1) My father wasn't a Communist Party member (he votes UKIP nowadays, I believe, or is at least threatening to).

2) I am doing very well, thank you.

3) Jaruzelski "was" ('is'', perhaps fits better) respected by many - his party had over three million Poles in it. Even people who hated his politics say he "was no Ceaucescu".

4) No, I am not a communist.

History / What British unit liberated Poland in 1945?? [445]


Because it was in effective control of the country and wasn't disputed by neighbouring states and main trading partners. That is the usual basis for recognition.


You really think that? Dear God!

Neighbouring states (except the occupying country) didn't recognise them, there was no structure of government except by foreign military - not even a puppet state. It was a military occupation.


This part of the discussion is about precisely that.


I invite you here to Warsaw, I'll put the kettle on for a nice cup of tea, and then you can go round my neighbours, mostly retired hospital staff, and ask them if they were slaves for forty years. Maybe I'll film their reaction for Youtube. Could be quite a laugh.

enkidu
You still haven't provided any source for your lie that the British government stole the Polish pre-war gold reserve.

History / Jaruzelski asked Soviets for assistance [51]


Written by students who are members of PiS.


Explains a lot, none of it positive.

edit

Have you met those kids? I have tee-shirts ten years older than them. Amazing. One day they'll have to start shaving, stop watching Dobranocki and stop writing small-minded and jejeune polemics about respected statesmen..

History / What British unit liberated Poland in 1945?? [445]

enkidu

You still haven't provided any source for your lie that the British government stole the Polish pre-war gold reserve.

Law / Retail shop, Import tax on textiles, Clothing, Perfume and other to Poland [13]

When I lived in Poznań (before the ban on outdoor drinking) there used to be a little old lady who sat in the main square and collected the empties to get the cash for them.

I'm too lazy to remember to take them back, and have a cupboard in the kitchen that I daren't open for fear of a deluge of bottles.

Life / Polish Brand names in everyday usage. [6]

Maybe 'gorący kubek' and 'inka'?

Law / Retail shop, Import tax on textiles, Clothing, Perfume and other to Poland [13]


Try to keep the receipts for beer. Some shops have started asking to see them when you take the empties back. It isn't usually a problem if the staff know you, but if they don't, they may well ask for proof you bought the beer there.

Law / Retail shop, Import tax on textiles, Clothing, Perfume and other to Poland [13]


Don't know about clothing imports but there is more than one level of sales tax here. Next time you go to your local shop, have a look at the receipt. I don't have one in front of me right now, but remember that they show different amounts, usually at the bottom of the list by the total. Staple foods are taxed at a lower rate than say, pesto or chocolate.

History / What British unit liberated Poland in 1945?? [445]


That's an old chestnut. Don't know how it arose, but all Polish servicemen who served with the British were invited to take part.

I find the hair-splitting amazing. Like it or not, the PRL was recognised by the international community. Maybe not liked or trusted, but formally recognised.

I'm still waiting for the guy to provide a source for his claim that Britain "stolë" Poland's gold reserves!

History / What British unit liberated Poland in 1945?? [445]


That's why they revised it during the PRL years. The relevant thing here is that the PRL was recognised internationally as the government of Poland.

The issue here is whether, as a poster has claimed but can't back up, the British government stole Poland's gold reserve.

USA, Canada / Renewal of Polish passport from the USA [44]


No. But Anglican parishes in Europe, including here in PL, are administered by the Diocese of Gibraltar. Their documents look very official. :-)


Me too.

A friend of mine got tired of seeing an extremely tatty Union Flag over the door of a shop in Warsaw that had gone bust. It was dirty and stained. He wrote to the embassy, suggesting that this is a bad reflection of Britain, and they might like to see if they could have it removed.

Days turned into weeks and then months, and nothing happened. The flag stayed there getting more and more ragged and dirty. So he sought out the building's caretaker, slipped him some money, and with his help, went into the empty flat above the shop, climbed out of he window onto the ledge, and with some difficulty removed the flag.

Two months later he got a letter, saying: "thanks to the unstinting efforts of HM Foreign Office, the flag in question has been removed by the building's owners and the matter is now resolved"

Sick-making

jonni

Sorry to quote myself, but it's too late to edit.

This is a bit closer to the title of the thread.

Do you think I'll have any problems renewing my passport, considering it's been out of date for over a month?

History / What British unit liberated Poland in 1945?? [445]


Not according to international law, Polish law, the United Nations, the UK, the US, France, the BDR, the DDR, all other neighbours of Poland and friendly nations, According to them, the lawful Polish government was in Warsaw.

Of course I assume you know that between Bierut's departure in 1952 and Jaruzelski's election in 1989 the Polish leader used the title 'Chairman of the Council of State'. But still fulfilling the Presidential role of Head of State. Maybe you didn't know that.

About the president of the unrecognised government in exile. Which of them (the Ealing president or the Colchester president) do you think should have got all those tonnes of gold, and what do you think they should have done with them? And what would the reaction of people here in Poland have been?

And I repeat:
You still haven't provided any source for your lie that the British government stole the Polish pre-war gold reserve.

USA, Canada / Renewal of Polish passport from the USA [44]

delphiandomine

Hmm. Sounds like publishing Banns of Marriage. I bet they wouldn't accept a Certificate of Banns from the Anglican Parish here. I assume the Diocese of Gibraltar issues them. Maybe some small-town registrar could be persuaded to accept. And they only cost 12 quid.

I wonder about the money they charge for things too. Probably going on the salaries of all those staff who do little and earn a lot, not to mention the huge expat packages they get.

USA, Canada / Renewal of Polish passport from the USA [44]


What exactly is that about? I'm intrigued. My passport ran out over a month ago, so I'm going to need to renew it pretty soon!

History / What British unit liberated Poland in 1945?? [445]


It was stored in Canada, by the Polish government, and was returned to the Polish government.


Why not stand in the street in Warsaw and ask passers-by if they agree with you?


Recognised by the United Nations and all major countries. The government-in-exile was no longer recognised as the Polish government by that time. Of course in 1947 there was still only one president in exile. Later there were two rival 'presidents'. There may even have been more, not that anyone would have cared.


Very simple. The gold was outside Poland for the duration of the war and returned afterwards.


Canada actually, but don't let fact stand in the way of fantasy.


The rightful owner was the Polish government. The only recognised Polish government, whether you like it or not, was in Warsaw. What would you have done with the gold?


You provided a link to the document yourself, proving it was transfered to the president of the National Bank of Poland.

And I repeat:
You still haven't provided any source for your lie that the British government stole the Polish pre-war gold reserve.

History / What British unit liberated Poland in 1945?? [445]

enkidu

That document is not new to me.

It was signed by the president of the National Bank of Poland, appointed by the


here in Warsaw. They were the rightful owners, recognised as the de facto Polish Government by all competent bodies including the UN, whose online archives I assume you found it in.

Perhaps you'd have preferred the gov't-in-exile to have kept the moolah in London while the people of Poland starved.

You still haven't provided any source for your lie that the British government stole the Polish pre-war gold reserve.

News / What Poland can't do right [113]

TheOther

Some friends of mine got a church divorce in the UK. It requires a fuller explanation of circumstances than in a civil divorce, there's always a meeting with a 'defender of the bond' whose role is to try to discourage the divorce, but church divorces are usually granted. The 'defender of the bond' is largely a symbolic role. One of the most common reasons is that the couple is too young, and one or both of them are considered to have been emotionally immature.

Also, a church marriage is null and void if the bride or groom has witnesses to them saying that they don't want to do it, are being coerced, have huge doubts, etc., just before the ceremony. In those cases a marriage can be anulled, but that generally needs approval from the Vatican. Again, usually given.

History / What British unit liberated Poland in 1945?? [445]


Unfortunately for you, I haven't. That document (read it carefully) is from 1947, a year after the gold reserves were returned in full.

You will notice that one of the signatories was Drozniak, the NBP president. It refers to much smaller sum of money given as disbursements in connection with the war effort (equipment and soldiers' wages) and welfare of Poles in the UK.

You'll have to try harder.

News / What Poland can't do right [113]


That's still true.

But the catholic church has always offered divorces. Until the seventies they were issued by the Vatican only, and were largely for the rich - especially for rich Italians and Austrians. Now, every diocese has a Diocesan Marriage Tribunal. Such divorces are very popular in Poland.

Though civil divorce is a relatively minor sin, and a blind eye is often turned. That and the fact that in a big parish, the priest often doesn't know everyone's life history.

History / What British unit liberated Poland in 1945?? [445]


Provide a source, if you're accusing someone of theft.

The Polish gold reserve left on a French ship (the Emile Bertin, arrived 23 Sept 1939) to Lebanon, under the care of the French government, then via London to Canada, where it served as the finance for the Polish government-in-exile. In 1946 it was returned to Poland.

Unless you know differently! ;-))))

News / What Poland can't do right [113]

It does (providing they agree), and there are a lot of divorces here. Even more estrangements.

History / What British unit liberated Poland in 1945?? [445]


You are the person making a point. Why did you falsely say the British


?

Your point is?

History / What British unit liberated Poland in 1945?? [445]

Check out the contents of the Reichsbank vaults at the end of the war. Plundered gold and silver from national reserves that make the Polish reserve look like something from the window of H Samuel.

Not to mention everything they'd stolen from individuals.

Though your post about Britain getting the gold was wrong. Either a lie or a mistake, but either way wrong.

The pre-war Polish gold reserve was stored in Canada for the duration of the war and returned in full afterwards.

History / What British unit liberated Poland in 1945?? [445]


Hahaha. That's hardly worth getting out of bed for.

Law / Coffee Heaven (Poland's biggest coffee chain) for sale [33]


Costa have a few here in PL. The owners of CoffeeHeaven are a couple, one English, one Polish. They live in London.

CoffeeHeaven is huge here, shops everywhere, but a problem for them is that they expanded a bit too fast.