History / What do Poles owe to Russians? [193]

The Russian Communists took my Grandmother's land from the village of Debowiec. She received a letter in the 1950's while living in Chicopee, Massachusetts offering her money for the possessions they stole. She took that letter and threw it to the ground and she spit on it. My grandmother's family had land and a mansion house filled with master art works, Polish, Frence, Italian -- gone all gone. She would not touch a penny of that blood money. I work now with many Russians-- many of them Armenain Russians-- who also suffered under those nightmare regimes. You cannot blame the people for a dictating government. But I grew up with stories of the oppressors -- Russians, Germans, Austrio-Hungarians. My great-grandfather killed a German and had to flee to the US before he himself was killed. My great-Aunt helped hide Jewish school children-- also in Debrowiec from the Nazis. However, that same Aunt helped a Russian pilot-- then our "allie" shot from the sky by the Germans. She rescued him before the Nazis could kill him and nursed him back to health. So. I have written a book based on the story of my family and the history of the great nation that is Poland. THE WOMEN DEBROWSKA. You can find out more about it @ violethillsproductions.com

Life / Positive things which make a Pole stand out positively in the World! [30]

When I visited Poland in 2005 with my family I was struck by the beauty of the women! Forgive me guys-- not so much -- though nothing can surpass the gentillity of a Polish gentleman -- but the innate beauty of Polish woman-- astounding! I was brought up, however, on the beauty and the nobility of the Polish soul -- not to mention the artistry. I am a humanist, and I see beauty and artistry in all humanity. What I believe, however, is that our countryman's artistry, beauty, humanity, courage, zest for life, and bravery is not so well known. Neither is our complicated and courageous history. So perhaps this topic might seem as though we Poles are doing a little back-patting-- but I believe our story has yet to be told truly, widely, broadly, sincerely to the world at large.

History / Norman Davies - the Brit who loves Poland and becomes one of Us [250]

I wrote a book which has just been published loosely based on my family's ancestry intertwined with the history of Poland. I used Norman Davies God's Playground and Adam Zamoyski's The Polish Way extensively to assist me in the telling of Poland's long and often triumphant history. The title of my book is The Women Debrowska. It is available now on Amazon, Kindle, Smashwords (50% of it can be viewed for free!) and Lulu.com. I found both authors enormously respectful. My readers have expressed great regard for Poland's hsitory, and thanked me for telling them a story of a nation of which they had known little.