Pol-Shorpy Photo Thread

Wild 90s: 1992
In the crazy first years of Poland's economic transformation everyone wanted to be a businessman; people were buying, selling, borrowing and lending, all in hope of change of fortune after decades of bleak communist dullness. In the photo we see one of multitudinous open air markets in Warsaw where - for a very modest price - one could get a bottle of coke, a dildo or a candy bar (all in various tastes and sizes).

Wild 90s 2: 1992
Alas, not everyone managed to go from rags to riches. For thousands of Poles 90s were a bumpy ride without happy ending.

For many people, the 90s ended up being fatal to their health.

Here is, btw, a crazy statistic I can share for my year of birth - 1989.

According to a RosStat dataset I had analyzed at one point, as much as 10% of the guys born in my year are dead. This was before the war.

My generation, of all Soviet/Post Soviet generations, is absolutely the biggest losers and dumbasses.

Born on the fracture point of two epochs, too young to take advantage of the plunder, too scarred to integrate seamlessly into normal civilian life - a largely discarded demographic cohort.

I wonder if in Poland, the 1981-1989 crowd also ended up being losers (in a macro sense).

I wouldn't say so. I would say in a way they were the winners. Still old enough to enjoy childhood of social interactions rather than social media but young enought that they escaped the drinking, auto destructive etc behaviours.


Even that simple change ' you can't drink at work anymore' left many behind. My mom said how suddenly with changing administration structures and switching between offices it was made clear - try the old sh*t and you are out.

Shocking.


Hmm... difficult to say. I'm a bit older (1979) but my generation was hit quite hard by the transformation. I attended what some people call an elite high-school, one of the best in Poland at that time. We all thought that we would go on to the best universities and then be the elite of our country. We did the former... as for the latter. Well, when we got our degrees in early 2000s when, as you aptly put it, most of the "plunder" was done, the wages were ridiculously low and Poland was about to join the EU. Millions of people left. From my class of 28 boys and 4 girls - that's typical for mat-fiz (mathematics-physics) classes - at some point only 5 people were in Poland. My wife and I left too (for the Emerald Isle). Overwhelming majority of people worked below their qualifications - and when I say below, I really mean it. For example, my best friend - a super-smart guy, who got a Ministry of Transport award for his master's thesis, worked for many years as a waiter. Crazy times.

Some people stayed abroad, some came back to Poland (including yours truly). Did we end up being losers? Hard to say... we certainly didn't become the elite of Poland but most of us managed to save enough for their own apartments/houses, which gave us a huge headstart over people who stayed in Poland and took out 25-30 year mortgages. We learnt useful skills, we learnt how to work hard and live frugally, and - at the end of the day - I would say that economically my generation was/is quite successful.

'You can't drink at work anymore' or 'it's no longer OK to take whatever you need from your factory/workshop'.

You're right, Lenka, it is probably our parents' generation who was hit the hardest by the transformation. I would say that those who were between us and our parents - those who entered the job market with higher education or started their own businesses at the very beginning of the changes - they are the winners. They had practically no competition; imagine starting the first and only wholeshale food warehouse in the radius of 50 kilometres - just one example from my family.

My family has one flaw- while hardworking we are completely unmaterialistic and useless at business.
My mom was a well respected specialist recognised in the whole town and in some neighbouring. One of the first to use computer and software. My uncle even offered to buy her equipment necessary to open a business on her own. She said no.

My brother- masters degree and incredible talent at lecturing/speech and writing, just wrote some pieces for his field periodicals but never tried to actually make a living.

Me- knowing what a success private nurseries/kindergartens will be but never actually looking properly into opening one (well, probably wouldn't manage to get the capital anyway)

@Lenka

Not everyone has a knack for running a business of any sort, and it's nothing unusual. In a normal, stable economic system people like that can thrive as well. Unfortunately, Polish economic transformation introduced drastic changes and some of us couldn't adapt well to them. If you look at other Eastern Bloc countries (with the possible exception of Czechia) it's the same story all over.

New Years Eve party: 1932

"Pure vodka doesn't stain either the uniform or the officer's honour", as legendary uhlan - Bolesław Wieniawa-Długoszowski - used to say. Here we see him (kneeling on the right) with other officers of 1st Light Horse Regiment during a New Year's Eve party.

What I always wanted to know...what is an "uhlan"? Is there a comparison/translation to a modern language/ranking?

Uhlan was a horse rider whose main weapon was a lance. They were quite efficient in close combat. Another name can be a lancer.
See Polish uhlans making short work of British cavalry at Waterloo.

Yeah, basically what Pawian said. Legends of Polish cavalry.

Before the start of WW2 Polish cavalry consisted of: 27 Uhlan regiments, 10 Horse Riflemen regiments and 3 Light Horse regiments.

Wieniawa-Długoszowski earned himself a nickname of 1st Uhlan of Poland (for various reasons, not always military-related ;)).

Thanks, both of you! :)

...but....a lance rider in 1932???

And is there a translation for "Uhlan"? What does that word mean actually?

Yes, even in 1939. A few German soldiers were pierced to death with those lances when Hitler invaded Poland. :):):)

See this vid at 1:17
Historians claim such lance scenes didn`t take place but the director thought different:

Polish word "ułan" is usually translated into English as "lancer" or "uhlan". Of course in 1932 lances were used only in parades. All the stories of uhlans charging tanks with their lances are just legends. In 1939 campaign they were a "distinguished mobile infantry". ;)

Now, Bobko is going to have a lot of fun - the Polish word "ułan" comes from Mongolian/Tatar "oghłan" or "ułan" which meant "brave young man" (młodzieniec, junak).


... and they are right.

Uhlans are the Polish soldiers who, riding on horses, attacked German tanks in 1939. At least that's what the story says.

....now that is interesting...and cool! :)


...yeah....heard that one too!

Eastern Mists: 2013

This photo by Krzysztof Masiuk, showing a foggy street in Lublin, was a part of "La Pologne Nocturne" exposition in parisian Roi Doré art gallery.

Here's one more photo of Lublin at night from the same expostition...

@Torq

I know some polish with similar background as you.
Some never left Poland but manage to have good salary anyway with remote work.
They are building houses in the end too.
My impression is that young people nowaday do not need to leave the country to have a well paid job.

That is absolutely correct. These days young people with good education in most trades can earn very similar money in Poland as they would in the West.

I would say that West still wins in terms of wages (especially for the low level jobs), social security (but usually lower family, friends support). Where they still win 100% in my experience is employee/ employer relationships.

But loses in terms of cost of living.


Mostly for the low level jobs. However, if you look at jobs like electricians, plumbers or qualified builders - in a city like Gdańsk they are raking it in. It's probably worse in small towns and villages, and definitely much worse when it comes to unqualified labour. As for doctors, engineers, IT specialists, lawyers, architects or business people (from the medium level up) - they definitely don't have to emigrate anymore.


Yes, this could definitely get better, especially in the private sector.

Is Poland experiencing a shortage of workers in the trades? We have a significant shortage over here in America. They forecast it could become critical in a decade or two if they don't recruit new workers asap.

Unfortunately, yes. Steps were taken towards rebuilding trade education and I think more young people will go into trades in the future.

Our Lady of Gietrzwałd: 2018

Gietrzwałd is the place where Poland's only approved Marian appartitions took place in 1877. Today there is a sanctuary, pilgrim's house, a shrine and a spring blessed by Our Lady; people have for years drawn water from the spring and healings have been reported. About 1 million pilgrims come to Gietrzwałd every year.

I don't know this place. Must I be ashamed?

Neither do I, but it is now on my list of places to visit...or, in this case, pilgrimage.

My parents-in-law took me to Gietrzwałd in 2010 and I was delighted. The place has an incredible atmosphere, for me personally comparable only to Benedictine cloister in Żarnowiec. You will find many Marian sanctuaries in Poland but this one is special.

You should definitely go, guys.

Officially on my list.

During my first visit to Poland in 2001, I trekked up to Kalwaria Zebrzydowska. In its cafeteria, I experienced the Polish peculiarity of putting ketchup on pizza--what is a pilgrimage without penance. :)

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My son just ate one of these. This is the standard.