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Pol-Shorpy Photo Thread


OP Torq  8 | 955
30 May 2024   #631
That picture could almost be today.

Well, "only" 80% of Warsaw was destroyed, so I supposed something was left. :-/
jon357  73 | 23221
30 May 2024   #632
destroyed

Zniszczony. Destroyed or badly damaged. And the 80% refers to centrum. All of Praga plus some parts of Śródmieście Południowe and Powiśle survived. There are some amazing pre-war buildings, some with their original wallpaper.

The suburbs generally survived in whole or in part; most of the streets around me are 1930s and I live in a house completed in 1938.
OP Torq  8 | 955
30 May 2024   #633
And the 80% refers to centrum

Nope...

polskieradio.pl/39/156/artykul/3042908,zaglada-miasta-zniszczenia-warszawy-podczas-ii-wojny-swiatowej

... "Łącznie od początku II wojny światowej Warszawa została zniszczona w ponad 80 proc. ".
jon357  73 | 23221
30 May 2024   #634
Yet the suburbs are mostly pre-war and Praga remained pretty well intact.
OP Torq  8 | 955
30 May 2024   #635
Stones for the Rampart: 1943

Jan Bytnar "Rudy" is smiling to us from this well known photo (here in the colorized version). Rudy, a hero of Grey Ranks, died shortly after being freed from German captivity by Polish resistance. His death was the result of bestial interrogation and torture by SS-Oberscharführer Herbert Schulz and SS-Rottenführer Ewald Lange. In retaliation both Schulz and Lange were liquidated (on 6th and 22nd May 1943 respectively). Many schools and over 150 boy scouts teams in Poland are named after Jan Bytnar.
pawian  221 | 25649
30 May 2024   #636
Many schools and over 150 boy scouts teams in Poland are named after Jan Bytnar.

And his and his buddies` graves in the Merit Cemetary are regularly visited by students who come to Warsaw on school trips. I took my students there, too.

.


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OP Torq  8 | 955
30 May 2024   #637
I took my students there, too.

Respect, Pawi.
pawian  221 | 25649
30 May 2024   #638
Respect,

No, nothing special. Standard lesson on patriotism for young Poles and Polesses. :):):)


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OP Torq  8 | 955
30 May 2024   #639
No, nothing special.

Don't be modest - you did the right thing, went beyond the call of duty. You could have taken them for a hike in the mountains or to Masurian lakes or something but you gave them a lesson in patriotism instead. Am I surprised? Yes, but I like to be positively surprised by people. :)
pawian  221 | 25649
30 May 2024   #640
a hike in the mountains or to Masurian lakes

Such trips are also organised at schools but a trip to Warsaw is a must for each Polish student. Capital, after all.
OP Torq  8 | 955
30 May 2024   #641
Duel of Seasons: 2022

This duel between winter and spring took place in April 2022 in Tatra Mountains (Polana Chochołowska). After all, as old Polish proverb says: kwiecień plecień, bo przeplata trochę zimy, trochę lata. :)
pawian  221 | 25649
31 May 2024   #642
This duel between winter and spring took place in April 2022 in Tatra Mountains (Polana Chochołowska).

You should have explained that the area is known for crocus flowers which symbolise the return of spring and attract thousands of fans who come to enjoy the view and take photos. Below.

as old Polish proverb says: kwiecień plecień, bo przeplata trochę zimy, trochę lata. :)

It would be good if you translated this proverb for non- Polish readers who are not Internet savvy and don`t use Google translation service coz they don`t know how to. :):):)


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pawian  221 | 25649
31 May 2024   #643
That's Polish history in a nutshell: barbarians to the east, barbarians to the west.

Wow! That might cause some controversy among our imperial Russian members. Better watch out or they might bring out the stereotypical image of a trecherous Pole (in Russian culture) against you. :):):)
OP Torq  8 | 955
2 Jun 2024   #644
Volksw... erm... I mean car for the masses: 1957

SFM Smyk was supposed to be a Polish Citroen 2CV. The prototype was promising but it never entered mass production (only 17 Smyks were made). Instead the powers that be decided that a more conservative construction, Mikrus MR-300, will be produced in WSK Mielec and WSK Rzeszów factories. However, Mikrus wasn't a big success either and only about 2000 of them were made. Poles had to wait until Fiat 126p (about 3.5 million of them were manufactured in Poland, and over 1 million in Italy) to finally have a true people's car.
OP Torq  8 | 955
2 Jun 2024   #645
A photo with a monster: 1936

Maria Kwaśniewska, multiple javelin throw champion of Poland, won bronze medal in the Berlin 1936 Olympics. Adolf Hitler invited her to his VIP lounge after the medal award ceremony and jokingly said "Congratulations to a little Pole", to which she replied "You're not too tall either". :)

The photo, however, turned out to be quite useful - SS-men were mesmerised by it - and allowed Kwaśniewska to save many people from the interim camp in Pruszków, and hide them in her house in Podkowa Leśna.

She died in 2007 and remains in the Polish memory as a great sportswoman and a brave, noble person.
Alien  24 | 5891
2 Jun 2024   #646
You're not too tall either

Yep... and now we know who actually started World War 2.
OP Torq  8 | 955
3 Jun 2024   #647
Home sweet home: 1929

You can travel the world but there's no place like home. In the photo we see Jerzy Jeliński standing next to his Buick after coming back from a trip around the world, which he started on 30th May 1926. Jeliński started the adventure in Ford T and finished in the brand new Buick (the Ford was in a very bad condition after the African stage of his journey) bought for him by the American Polonia.
OP Torq  8 | 955
7 Jun 2024   #648
Going to the movies: 1937

Movie fans gathered in front of Palladium cinema at Złota 7 street in Warsaw.
OP Torq  8 | 955
7 Jun 2024   #649
Cracking down on moonshine: 1972

Milicja Obywatelska (Citizens' Militia) officers posing with confiscated equipment after a raid on an illegal moonshine distillery in Łomża.
Alien  24 | 5891
7 Jun 2024   #650
illegal moonshine distillery

Interestingly, it was profitable to distill moonshine even though vodka was so cheap.
pawian  221 | 25649
7 Jun 2024   #651
vodka was so cheap.

It was, on condition you drank occassionally. For those who consumed it every day, it wasn`t. :):):)
Alien  24 | 5891
7 Jun 2024   #652
occassionally

Yes, that's right, in college there were parties only every week on the weekend
OP Torq  8 | 955
9 Jun 2024   #653
Protect and serve... and keep fit: 1929

Presenting of awards in the annual sports competition for Wilno Vojvodship police officers. The awards were presented by the Chief of XVI Wilno District Police, inspector Bronisław Praszałowicz (1884-1971).
OP Torq  8 | 955
9 Jun 2024   #654
Child's play: 1958

Internet and video games hadn't yet captivated the souls and minds of Polish children in 1950s, so they had to invent their own ways of spending free time. Here we can see a group of kids engaging in a rather dangerous game of racing cars passing through a small Lesser-Poland town of Annopol.
OP Torq  8 | 955
9 Jun 2024   #655
Nothing sacred in war: 1946

In the photo we can see the damage done to Gdańsk's iconic St. Mary's Church. Almost every church in the city centre was destroyed or badly damaged by the Red Army. The only exception was St. Nicholas' church (the oldest one!) whose parish priest managed to convince the Soviet soldiers to leave the building alone with the highly persuasive combination of wine from the church's cellar and stories about its patron saint who is highly revered in Orthodox tradition.
OP Torq  8 | 955
10 Jun 2024   #656
From Poland with kisses: 1974

This charming photo which looks like a modern-day dziubek selfie was actually taken half a century ago in Wrocław. The name of the woman in the photo is probably Natalia (see the bottom right corner) and she made this lovely dziubek for us before it was fashionable.

Source: MuFo, Muzeum Fotografii w Krakowie
OP Torq  8 | 955
10 Jun 2024   #657
Polish-Serbian Brotherhood: 2024

In the photo we can see Serbian and Polish hooligans of Voždovac Belgrade and Łomżyński KS celebrating Serbian-Polish brotherhood during a game between Bačka Topola and FK Voždovac.

And after the game...

... Poland and Serbia - Northern and Southern Guardians of Intermarium.
OP Torq  8 | 955
11 Jun 2024   #658
Sealed with a kiss... or two: 1967

Legendary boxing coach -- he was the coach of Polish NT for over 30 years (1936-1968) -- Feliks "Papa" Stamm, kissed by two of his boxers, Jerzy Kulej and Marian Kasprzyk, after the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo.

Papa Stamm
OP Torq  8 | 955
12 Jun 2024   #659
Traffic accident: 1938

Ford AA truck crashing into the barrier on the Pancer Viaduct in Warsaw.
OP Torq  8 | 955
16 Jun 2024   #660
Making Orange Marmalade: 1975

Euro 1976 qualifiers, the Dutch were vice-champions of the world and they thought they were hot-shots. Then they came to Poland. The rest is history. In the photo we see Andrzej "Diabeł" (the devil) Szarmach who scored two goals in that game.

Today, almost 50 years later, it's time to make some orange marmalade again, boys! GO POLAND!!! :)

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