LIFE Magazine article about Poland (August 1938)

read the article in the August 29, 1938 LIFE Magazine about the post-war Poland...

and the article in Polish:

ahistoria.pl/index.php/2010/10/reportaz-z-miedzywojennej-polski/

Very interesting. I've read all comments in the Polish part; even more interesting than the article itself.

Read the comment of Ślązok z Katowic. I've got to know about Karl Godulla, the king of zinc and a pioneer in the industrial development of Silesia.

I realise poland was a poor country before the war, but was the government not interested in making tanks/trucks/aircraft to replace the horses?

I wouldn't dare to judge the government. kasandra wrote that

W 1939 Polska nie potrzebowała drogiej floty, a nie drogich bombowców (£oś), ani tysięcy czołgów. To czego naprawdę potrzebowała to była stosunkowo tania broń:

- karabiny UR – w ilości około 20 000,
- działka Bofors – w ilości około 5 000,
- lotnictwo myśliwskie – około 1 000 sztuk,
- 2-3 tysiące działek przeciwlotniczych Bofors,
- + dobre dowodzenie, którego zabrakło.
Na takie uzbrojenie było stać naszą gospodarkę w latach 1936-1939.

That would have made Hitler's campain in Poland much more difficult than it was in 1939.

these are interesting, indeed...

My grandma had to drop out of school at age of 14 to go to work on a field of some aristocrate. My greatgrandmother couldn't write. When she need to put a signature she was writing X. They weren't starving only because they had goats who give'em milk.

It seems that article is quite true.

Ah, come on, even the Jews were poor back then ;) ;)

Then the picture of the pre-war Poland that was mostly painted for the last 20 years was too rosy.

Do you know what're you talking about ? there are poor people everywhere, its was your grandma, I have no recorded illiteracy in my family.


Its only some magazine article, do not take it as a face value!

no my grandma but great grangmother (mother of my grandmother). Functional illiteracy, żelazny? ;P


according to wikipedia illiteracy rate in 30s in Poland was 23%... of course it was related with the partioned Poland policy.
pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analfabetyzm

In 1914 in Russian Partition illiteracy rate was up to 55%, in Galcja it was 40% and in Prussian part only 5%. So it wasn't so uncomman as you may think. Of course people who born between 1910-1939 are fully literated, so in 1960 the illitarecy rate was only 2,7% and in 1978 only 1,2%.

Many people in comments below the article olso say that poverty was common those days. I'm suprised that you can't accept that fact.


about the Jews. Some of PF could be intrested that the author of asrticle wrote that in Poland was only ECONOMICAL antisemitism not racist antisemitism or connected with christian faith. Too bad there is no more M-G with us to read it and comment it.

I'm only saying that the issue should be seen in contexts.
Realities in others country's were indeed grim as well, and poverty is common even today.
The article stressed contrasts, as his political and social opinion just showed author ignorance.
Poland was going into the right direction, developing, improving - whereas today is changing, but not pogressing, rather the opposite !


same difference

an interesting article without glorifying Poland. It was, what is was and we can see that Poland has come a long way and that democracy is a process.

In terms of democracy, only the Czechs were truly democratic in central Europe at the time.

Interesting maybe, I just pointed out that reader without knowlege on the subject will not understand it, let not forget that it was an article in a magazine and not a survey!