Pol-Shorpy Photo Thread

Poland needs more Jews.

Those here must have been walking through the desert for 40 years. 🤔

At least 40 generations. They are authentic instead of the contemporary converts with pale privilege that we all know of today.

But many have ties to communities in Europe.

Black, Jewish And Avoiding The Synagogue On Yom Kippur

I'm a black woman. No one ever assumes I'm Jewish. When I talk about Judaism, people look at me in a way that makes me feel like I'm breaking into my own house. Especially the people inside the house.

You say you love the musicals of George Gershwin? Ha, that sounds just like Gershenfeld, my mother's maiden name, which is also my middle name, which means "barley field" in Yiddish, the language my ancestors spoke in Eastern Europe.

npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2016/10/12/496868502/black-jewish-and-avoiding-the-synagogue-on-yom-kippur

Little Poland in Paris: 1858



France has always been one of the main destinations of Polish emigrants throughout history. As with many immigrant communities, they were often far from affluent. The part of Paris that used to be called Little Poland in the past extended from Monceau park to de Clichy square. In the photo above we see how Champlain street - home to many Polish families - looked like in 1858. Below, Polish school at Lamandé street 13/15.

Refugees, welcome: 2024



Amidst the continuing crisis of illegal immigration through the Belarussian border, fans of Legia Warsaw prepared a controversial display during the yesterday's game against Zagłębie Lubin (Legia won 2:0). Supporters of Legia Warsaw are well known for their interesting but sometimes quite provocative displays during games.

You used to greet guests with bread and salt... now with a pig and a hammer? 🐷🔨

Nowa świecka tradycja, as the classic said.

Tradycja.... ładne imię.

Exactly. Props, Maf. Not bad for an American. :)

Regained Lands: 1947



Settler grandma in a turnip field with her granddaughter - a member of the first generation born already in those ancient Piast lands.

Walk of Life: 2017



Members of Wieliczka Colliery Band resting after the 2nd Little Poland March for Life and Family. Cracow, October 2017.

(Up)rising: 1944



Soldiers of 1st Sabotage-Assault Platoon of the 3rd "Bartkiewicz" Company defending the barricade at the intersection of Świętokrzyska and Mazowiecka streets (as seen from Napoleon Square).

It is obvious they posed for the photo. :):):)

The city if Katowice was named Stalinocity after Stalin died in 1953. The new name lasted 3 years.

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Of course: not taking proper cover and the guy in the second rank aiming his pistol xD


Yes, that wasn't the best idea.

Waiting for the president: 1931



Silesians fought bravely in three uprisings...

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silesian_Uprisings

... for their region to become a part of newly reborn Poland. In the photo above we see a group of Silesians awaiting the arrival of president Ignacy Mościcki to Istebna in July 1931.

(Up)rising 2: 1944



Another staged photo but this time colorised. An album of 100 colorised photos from the Warsaw Uprising has been published recently - highly recommended...

pap.pl/aktualnosci/powstanie-w-kolorze-ukazal-sie-album-ze-zdjeciami-walczacej-warszawy

These photos are crazy. Wow!

Regarding staged photos... it's not even the fact that a guy is standing sheepishly with a pistol - it's the heroic camera man!

No new photos there, and many of them very well known, but they look interesting after the colorisation.

Normal life in the Białowieża Forest: 1975



In the photo we can see a wild forest creature, tough and resilient, able to face difficult weather conditions and sometimes aggressive. On the left we see a wild boar.

They eat breakfast together. And which one of them slept in the bed?

Don't judge them! It gets very lonely in the forest!

Toruń by night: 2024



Toruń was one of the richest and one of the four largest cities of the Kingdom of Poland back in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. These days it's respectable 16th and still retains a lot of its old charm and lovely medieval architecture, so if you're ever in Poland try to visit the city where Nicolaus Copernicus was born - you won't regret it!

I can emphatically attest! You can even make your own piernik at the Muzeum of Pierniki.

:)

You can also visit the famous Planetarium, go for a cruise on Vistula or just enjoy a walk in the beautiful Old Town.

Not to mention the Cathedral.

As yo say, a charming town.

Prehistoric Poles: 2019



Yes, yes - I know they weren't really Poles in full meaning of this word, but they lived in the lands of today's Poland (Holy Cross Mountains) and they were very skillful miners of Neolithic and Bronze ages. The latest addition to Polish UNESCO heritage sites - Krzemionki Prehistoric Striped Flint Mining Region - is an ensemble of four mining sites, dating from about 3900 to 1600 BC, dedicated to the extraction and processing of striped flint, which was mainly used for axe-making.



You can see more pictures here: zabytek.pl/pl/obiekty/g-298387

I once took my two eldest ones to that mine. They thought it was interesting but felt very relieved when outside at last.

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I can't remember why now but I couldn't make it on the day I visited. Was not a happy bunny :(

We had tickets and everything to make the piernik, but my slow-a$$ willful mother-in-law (I love her and all) had to order a coffee after dinner and made us late and we couldn't enter.

But, I'm over it, I swear, it's ancient history...in the past. I mean, can't you just hold off on the coffee for one hour? Is it going to kill ya? Anyway, like I said, I'm over it. Buried in the past. It's not like all of Toruń was in danger of running out of coffee beans

:D

It's a good thing you're not the kind of guy to hold a grudge for long.