When will Russia and Germany return the things they took from the Polish in Poland ?

During the World War II, the Germans and Russians took many things, paintings and other artafacts from many in Poland. The courts have been able to return some, when will Poland get the rest? How would you like some one came into your home and took everything you have with value, and never return them? I think it has been long enough, time to get all things back, now.

What do you think?

Mike

You could start with giving the Berlinka back...

@valpomike
Didn't we already talk about this?? Russian's robbed from everyone continued to rob during communism. This is a sensitive subject Jews might start asking for their money and real estate back from Poland, or Germans for their land. Let's leave things where they are.

Good advise!

*takes helmet and leaves thread*

they already have ask for it, not officially but through a news papers articles just to start the conversation about it.

Supposedly Jewish organizations said (1990s) that if Poland doesn't pay them for what they lost they'll make Poland into a mockery through the media which they control.

Ah yes, those terrible Jews and their world domination, and their ceaseless desire to regain what they lost during WWII! How lucky Poland is to have racist Americans like you to point out the rumours about the evil machinations of the shadowy Jewish organisations.

An unbiased observer might very well, however, conclude that the actions of racist Americans who claim to be Poles do far more damage to our wonderful country than all the international Jewish plots combined.


Perhaps the people who collaborated with the commies here could be persuaded to give back their ill-gotten gains?

I think you live in the US and should keep out of internal Polish affairs, personally.


Indeed. Poland knows fine well that as things stand, she'll have to give back a hell of a lot - and the country is suffering from the weight of Polish claims, yet alone foreign claims.


Sounds like typical racist Polonia nonsense.

I'm actually almost blind when it comes to telling who is and isn't a Jew. I was at school (and in the same boarding house) for six years with a bloke who (with hindsight) had a Jewish surname but I only twigged that he was actually a Jew when I emailed him to ask if he was going to a mutual friend's 21st birthday party and he replied that he'd love to but it was his brother's Bar Mitzvah the same night.

I'm pretty sure that one of the blokes I watch football with is a Jew but I've certainly never asked him how often he gets down the synagogue.


Hmm, interesting to see that my comment regarding this statement was moved to random. It seems that despite the fact that PennBoy is an American and one who uses racist slurs against other posters and sends racial abuse via PM, we can't actually refer to him as a "racist American".

Or was it the reference to a racist American attending meetings of an organisation for racist Americans (i.e. the KKK) which should not have been made?

Which reminds me, does anybody know if the KKK let immigrants join? Even if that particular immigrant is a white racist who has sworn allegiance to the USA.

I have not researched the KKK, but generally speaking, I doubt most Polish immigrants (at least the ones from the early 1900's) would join such a group.

Most immigrants come to the USA in the north where of course racism exists, but the KKK was most active in the south.

Interesting question though, maybe I'll dig around and look. O.K. The KKK formed largely in the 1920's and in addition to being against Blacks and Jews, they frowned on immigration. At that time there was the belief that northern Europeans were superior to eastern Europeans and southern European immigrants. Plus the KKK was Protestant. Therefore, not only would it be odd for a Pole to join this group, they would be considered undesirable and not allowed.

ehistory.osu.edu/osu/mmh/clash/Imm_KKK/anti-immigrationKKK-page1.htm

isn't everyone in America, apart from the indigenous tribes, an immigrant or of immigrant descent?

Yes, but as each group became established, they tended to fear the next wave of immigrants.

KKK was formed in Pulaski, Tennessee (oh the irony) by returning from war confederate soldiers. The Greek letters were chosen from the Greek work "kuklos" or circle, circle of brothers. Initially it was basically a fraternity of brothers who were to help each other out when needed. It soon turned into an organization fighting integration with the blacks and targeting the Republican party members (Republicans were against slavery). Any person who was against the integration was welcome. Technically there were three waves of kkk but that's irrelevant for this discussion.

After all those years in the US, most of it in the south, I'm yet to meet a kkk supporter. I think there's far more racism in the north and in California than in the south but that's a different story. I've actually visited Pulaski in the past as I was stationed not too far away for a while. Not much to see there but most people I talked to were very embarrassed about the kkk association their town had in the past.


No, this is typical racist nonsense. Has nothing to do with Polonia but as always you fail to see that.

Would you agree that there is far more racist rubbish posted here by Polonia than by Poles? (Now that I come to think of it, it is very very rare to see any racist content posted here by Poles). Might that suggest that Polonia are far more likely to be racists than Poles are?

Thanks for the additional information skysoulmate. Very true about racism. I remember how when I lived up north, neighborhoods could be broken up by hinting that Blacks were moving in.

I actually lived through the mandated integration of the public schools in NYC. Where neighborhoods were Black and the students all Black, a certain amount of White students were bused into the Black neighborhoods from adjoining neighborhoods. I would be listening to Harry Belafonte lead civil rights songs in our auditorium, as we all joined hands singing "We Shall Over Come." I really began to forget that I was a descendant of Poles and Germanic people.

When I moved down south, I did see a few KKK parades in South Carolina. But, yes, for the most part, the KKK is seen in a very negative light by most people north and south.

Fear makes people do strange and hateful things from time to time. Thank goodness that era is over.

This is incorrect regarding California. We are happily multicultural here with no tradition of lynching and the few racists we have are social pariahs outside of their little circles.

I always knew, you're a little hippie, (lol)

Not sure how to answer this, but in general people who are fearful and/or less educated tend to be racist. If you are in Poland and not worried about people coming for your jobs or whatever you think will happen as a result of immigration, you may not think to post racist stuff.

If you have a tenuous thread on your economic situation and you see someone coming into the country where you live, it is easier to demonize them as being bad because of your own fears. I no longer live near major centers of Polonia. So it would be hard for me to give first-hand experiences.

Some here on the forum have made the distinction between large centers of Polish immigrants in the USA who are still Polish citizens, those who have naturalized and still live near other Polish citizens in the USA, and those who had a Polish ancestor and could live anywhere in the USA. It would be interesting to be able to compare their attitudes. But like with any other thread on PF, the answer usually is that it is hard to generalize. There are very open-minded people and closed-minded people in all walks of life.

Maybe some Polish-Americans think that they will be better received on PF if they show just how "Polish" they are by how anti-anything else that has ever threatened Poland they are.

It's not rumors uncle Adolf said so :-)

Yeah...kind of. lol

But, in school there was no choice! It was part of our assembly hall program. It was cool though to have famous people visit and lead the group.

I had a hard time being accepted there, at first, too. There was about 3% White students in the school. I was always threatened to be beat up after class. But the kids in my own class came to see that I was open-minded and they would walk me to the bus stop and tell the others that I was o.k.

I wonder if any polls exist that measure the level of racism of amongst Polonia in our most populous areas like Chicago, Buffalo, etc. I don't live in such an area but my family who do live in one, Detroit, have never seemed overtly racist to me.

There must be as sociologists study just about everything. I am looking but so far have not hit on the right search. I did find an article about Polonia that touches on the subject.

"...... Poles, Slovaks, Russians and Jews mingled together quite often. Poles are present also among other exotic immigrants just like in takes place in Detroit. It is amazing how well Poles and other nationalities can coexist together here in America whereas their mutual history in Europe was sometimes so violent."

culture.polishsite.us/articles/art49fr.htm

i know the answer

That is a very informative link Softsong. I didn't know that their was a major center of Polonia in Sacramento. One of my University pals is from that area and he has a Polish mother. His family let the band Sublime stay with them when they were touring the area and if you've ever heard the album "Forty Ounces To Freedom" the special thanks they offer in one song to "Mrs. J." is to her.

That is very cool!

Glad you enjoyed the link! :-)

there was as major center


There are like 2 or 3 Poles from Poland on this site, and others are busy doing other things not being on this forum and agreeing with you.


Maybe because Detroit is 90% black.

Now let's get back to when will Poland get back all her stuff, and how?

Mike

The thread did veer off topic, but I believe that the majority of people on this forum would agree that getting "everything back" is more trouble than it is worth.

There are always some who would want to pursue it, but the course of wisdom is to leave things as they are with all the neighboring countries of Europe getting along peacefully.

Poland can have everything back when she gives everything back to the Jews, Germans, Ukrainians and more.

It's a can of worms that Poland doesn't want to open - hence why Poland has an opt-out from certain parts of the Lisbon Treaty.

What you don't understand, as you aren't Polish - is that the average Pole has no desire to fight with Germans over property. It happened, it sucked, we're moving on. Demanding money from Germany now would do nothing but antagonise Germany - and achieve the square root of **** all. You'd also see Germans flooding into Poland to demand payment for what was taken from them in 1918/1945. Do you really think that Poland needs, or wants this?

I suppose that Poland could simply state that only residents of Poland can own property here. That would solve a lot of the problems with people who demand the return of 'their' property. That and limiting restitution claims to only people who've been resident in Poland for at least five years.