Life in communist Poland - personal relations

well, I guess it's safe to assume you were not there.
I don't know how you can disagree with somebody recalling their experiences.

And Poland.
And the UK.


I don't.

I think you are the top poster on here, 100% on topic. I want to talk and hear about Poland, not listen to rants and raves about other peoples demons

Milk bags in the UK? I've never seen that.

During the PRL, they used to have proper deliveries from a milkman, at least here in Warsaw.

You make me blush. :):):)


Sometimes it is unavoidable, especially when J Kaczyński is discussed.


Yes!! It lasted till late 80s!

And got imprinted in Polish culture of the time, reproduced in books etc and even parodied in a comedy or two:

I dislike Mondays from 1971
At 8:00

Ha!
They pulled the ad thanks to public pressure.
Poles rock!!

An early Bareja... one of the few. Can't beat that sense of humor! Thanks Pawian! :-)

Oh,I just remembered-in PRL smoking in public wasn't forbidden.My mothers many times told us how her teacher smoked during classes :)
Maybe Pawian will post suitable photos or clips.

Your wish is my command.

Unfortunately, I tried to find Matura Exam 1978 by £oziński on youtube but it is unavailable. It seems I must borrow it from my school library and load there. Stay tuned.


Warm memories, aren`t they ? :):):):)


Unfortunately, even communism couldn`t afford free nurseries or books. As for schools, yes, they have been always free.

Practically only banknotes.I remember how I looked at the wallets and wondered how would it feel to have coins in it :)

Do you mean you already lived a conscious life in the times of highest inflation in Poland? Around 1989?

Not so conscious but yes.And remember the denomination took place only in 1995.It's 6 more years :)

One of the characteristics of the communist system was TV coverage of long speeches by communist leaders. On average, they could last for 2 hours in Poland, in other countries like Romania, East Germany about 4, in Cuba even 7!

Here, hardened communist Gomułka delivers a speech on 1 May, Labour Day, one of most important festivals at the time, in 1960s. Gomułka`s speeches were exceptionally revolting due to linguistic peculiarities and unusual intonation. Yes, he was Polish but a complete simpleton.

Comrades and citizens!!


In 1980s many speeches were made by communists in uniforms:

Declaration of martial law in 1981 by Gen. Jaruzelski



Gen. Kiszczak rants on anti-communist street protests of 3 May 1982:



A year later, 1 May 1983, BBC broadcast this report from Warsaw anticommunist protests:

I have reda this with great intereste. Too bad that there are so many people from USA commenting on stuff in a fachion that just fuels the stereotypical picture of them.

Maf and other experts on PRL history, who was the most famous member of communist police - Milicja Obywatelska?

Another similar question: who was the most popular/famous spy in PRL era?

Thats easy. Bolek of course! haha you walked into that one.
- The Prophet

I like Bolek. I dont get why they would allow a spy to crumble an entire system and take the eastern block with it if he really was a spy and start a system with democratic elections?

Managed transition, the soviets were preparing for it since the 80s. Lets not forget when Olszewski was PM and there was a push to get Poland into NATO, Bolek was advocating for a separate military alliance of Warsaw Pact countries. He kept the company of those that were aligned with Russian interests in the chaotic 90s.

Nope. We are talking about PRL times, not 1990s.

Hans Kloss?

Did Avakum Zakhov (Avakoum Zahov) aka the Bulgarian James Bond ever have a following in Poland?

I read one of the novels translated into Polish and it was... okay....

Colonel Kuklinski?

never heard of him

Cywil.

yes! I meant Hans Kloss, a Polish agent in German Abwehr who greatly contributed to allies` victory. :):) He was working for Soviets but it wasn`t stressed in the series.

The role turned an average actor, Mikulski, into an extremely popular celebrity.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stawka_wi%C4%99ksza_ni%C5%BC_%C5%BCycie

I liked the series coz it had a lot of suspence, like a good detective movie by Agatha Christie, if you know what I mean. The music was excellent, especially the theme track.

West German weekly Spiegel published this photo with the ironic comment: The man who stole the hearts of millions of Polish females.

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Which were three most popular dogs in communism?

Maybe one that liked tanks in the Polish TV series and of course Laika. Who was the third?

The third is hot-dog of course.

You mean Szarik?

Reksio, Szarik and....?

the dog of the babcia in Kogel-mogel and Gallamatias? (I really doubt it)

Or did you mean breeds? I'd guess jamnik (Dachshunds - aka 'wiener dogs') as number one.

And Cywil