History / Why is Vatican traditionally on German and not on Polish side? [65]

The only Pope to date who truly built bridges between Christians and Jews in a substantive way, was Wojtyla!
During WWII, Pius sold out to Faschism in order to save face, and the Papacy got a black eye from which she hasn't yet completely recovered.

John Paul II did the most to try to heal those wounds.

News / Why is Poland so hostile against Germany? Do they realize how their reparations rubbish damages relations? [510]

Hitler was a radical RIGHT-WING "national" socialist, very definitely out of step with what later would be termed "conservative" Republicanism! He made a play of taking care of his own people, in the guise of eliminating fellow citizens deemed "non-Aryan" and hence less worthy of life. This is never defensible, whether used to justify mercy killing of the feeble-minded by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes or by a Nazi.

@Weimarer,
If you tell an idiot the same information, they'll give you an idiotic answer:-)
The danger was NEVER from the Left per se. The Left was simply responding to the excesses of the Right. Political Correctness is unfortunately a result of failed policies on the Rightist agenda which has backfired.

Liberals hearts were in the correct place, only their execution stank.

News / Why is Poland so hostile against Germany? Do they realize how their reparations rubbish damages relations? [510]

Nevertheless, Weimarer, the lessons of the Hitler period ought to remain a warning against complacency against extremism from the Far Right!

Easy answers never bring good solutions, only quick ones.
Remember, "Act in haste, repent at leisure."

Travel / Why do you visit Poland? [223]

Thanks to gumishu and kaprys.

History / Why are Poles/Poland disliked by Germans? [140]

The most luscious German dish though in my humble opinion was the very young Hildegard Knef (later "Neff" when she went to Hollyweird).
Romy Schneider and Senta Berger of course weren't too shabby either:-)

News / Why is Poland so hostile against Germany? Do they realize how their reparations rubbish damages relations? [510]

@Weimarer,
....and they also collaborated with the Nazis in their use of "slave labor" too. Let's keep the story straight and whole:-)
And don't gimme this, "Oh, everybody did it!", because some actually tried to go against the grain.
Not expecting the average German to have put their life on the line, necessarily, but resistance can be done in small steps as well!

Travel / Why do you visit Poland? [223]

How here's the big question: Was Kopernikus aka Kopernigk, aka Copernicus Polish or German?
After all, his home town is known by two official names, Torun or Thorn:-)

@To All:

Wife and I are planning a long-overdue trip to Europe some time next year. Stop No. 2 will include Poland!
(Famous last words...from our lips to G-d's earLOL)

History / Why are Poles/Poland disliked by Germans? [140]

You forgot Heidi Klumm:-)

News / Why is Poland so hostile against Germany? Do they realize how their reparations rubbish damages relations? [510]

Can't disagree with ya there, Joker!

News / Why is Poland so hostile against Germany? Do they realize how their reparations rubbish damages relations? [510]

Yo, gang!

Our friend Weimarer's up to his well-known provocateur tactics. His posts are only meant to engender shock value and little else:-)

News / Why is Poland so hostile against Germany? Do they realize how their reparations rubbish damages relations? [510]

Spike31, be wary of such generalizations, and yet, there may well be something in what you've stated.
However, Duda's Holocaust-collaboration proviso with subsequent punishment from several years back, would have been UN-
THINKABLE in present-day Germany!

USA, Canada / The proper behavior an American should show when visiting Poland [159]

Aha! I see now.
Yes, you're probably right. People do normally look for the "exotic", ignoring the everyday around them.
I can only agree.

My apologies!

Language / RUDE word form conjugation + communicating on facebook in Polish [15]

Sure you don't mean Polish and pigeon English?
LOL

History / Why are Poles/Poland disliked by Germans? [140]

@Weimarer,
As you never responded to my post from yesterday late re: the current thread topoc, ck. out my private mail to you of just now apropos

something totally unrelated! You might even find it "amusing".
:-)

Language / What is your biggest problem with Polish language? [158]

Case-driven languages such as German and Polish can indeed make their intentions clear through inflection.
Sometimes though, a foreigner must think a bit before deciding on what a Polish sentence could mean, if only through word order, for example "Wielkim krajem sa Niemcy" (Germany's a big country) vs. "Niemcy sa wielkim krajem".

In English as well as German, there is no equivocation of meaning despite the variety grammatically possible given the Polish word order in both sentence. A 'literal' translation would sound strange indeed, cf. "A big country is Germany". rather than the more natural "Germany is a big country". No German either would say or write "Ein grosses Land ist Deutschland" without receiving some odd glances:-)

USA, Canada / The proper behavior an American should show when visiting Poland [159]

Untrue, Pawian!

America's greatest selling point is her sheer size. Give us a few millenia and we too can develop an "ancient" culture along with pride in a long past. We're only a few hundred years old, for pity's sake, and within that time, accomplished a heck of a lot, I think.

News / Why is Poland so hostile against Germany? Do they realize how their reparations rubbish damages relations? [510]

It's simply the age-old blame game folks!
Germany claims Poland "stole" aka "purloined" (entwendet) the former's "original" lands or territories, Poland claims the Merkel Gov't. owes them compensation (resytucja/Wiedergutmachung) for lives and property lost because of German aggression during the Second World War. It's a lose-lose situation, it would appear, much as with Israel vs. the Palestinians, yet another case of pure "He said/She said.."

We're not even discussing the Jewish Question in former Nazi-occupied Europe here.

Genealogy / Second gen Polish-American with little exposure [45]

Racist??

Language / What is your biggest problem with Polish language? [158]

@Paulwiz,
Do you mean perchance "Geschlechtsartikel" for the English "gender articles"? While the absence of such might appear to simplify matters for a foreign learner aka a monolingual Anglophone trying to pick up an inflected language in adulthood, actually, gender is merely classification which selects from various categories and catalogues the world in terms of either biological vs. grammatical gender! English too had such markers, abandoned though with the onset of Middle English, thereafter all but disappearing.

Maybe because I grew up with German, learning Polish much later while almost thirty, the gender of a noun never seemed to cause me much concern. Once again, in terms of the biggest challenge of learning Polish, was for a long while deciding whether or not a verb was imperfective or perfective.

All else just fell into place.

Genealogy / Second gen Polish-American with little exposure [45]

Someone born in the US, even if their parents are from Timbuktu, is AMERICAN, zero hyphen necessary!!

Life / Do you think that Polish people are rude? [951]

Absolutely.

Language / What is your biggest problem with Polish language? [158]

I'm not offended, pawian. Why ever would you think that?

Language / Translation of the word "małpka" into English [10]

If I'm not mistaken, "malpa" is a monkey.
'Course, many everyday words also have common slang usages.

Language / What is your biggest problem with Polish language? [158]

Ooooh, Milo! You're in a mean mood today, mateLOL

Language / What is your biggest problem with Polish language? [158]

I respect your opinion.
Even with Polish ESLers whom I teach, many too claim they are "advanced" speakers for whom the briniest of grammar teasers pose
little to no difficulties, tongue twisters happily included.

When I correct one, she nearly flew into a hissy fit claiming that her teachers in Poznan never corrected her
English as I did here. Turns out, her teachers were all native Poles:-)

So much for being completely honest with oneself.

Genealogy / Ancestors from Galicia - does this mean you are Polish? [19]

Yes, that's right.
After all, Lemberg was called by her German name long before she was "re-named" Lwow, later L'viv!

Language / Polish vs English tongue twisters [45]

If you think "W Szczebryznie chrzasc brzmi......" is tough for non-Poles, just you folks try "Theopholis Thistle, the successful thistle sifter, sifting a thread of unsifted thistles through the thick of his thumb...." or "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers" five times fast and you'd all agree that English has about the "craziest" tongue twisters around!

LOL

Genealogy / Second gen Polish-American with little exposure [45]

Can't argue with ya there, Atch! Your assessment of yours truly seems right on point.

For the bazillionth time though, if I returned to Poland, I'd be tickled pink to speak with Poles in English if they preferred, only to allow them to practice.

As soon as they get tired, naturally we'd switch to Polish:-)

Genealogy / Second gen Polish-American with little exposure [45]

Oh, Rich, you couldn't be more mistaken!

Sure, you'll always run into some uppity folks out there in la-la land who'll ask you "patiently" (though of course, NOT so patiently) to kindly stop speaking their native language because "obviously" you'll never know it as they know English.

Don't listen to 'em!!

This was the gently advice I was giving littepoland.

Genealogy / Second gen Polish-American with little exposure [45]

@littlepoland,

You'll find that even a cursory knowledge of Polish, as in knowing the local tongue anywhere in which you work, visit, or study, will greatly enhance your stay!

While the other posters here are quite right that English is widely spoken, indeed learned in school now, throughout the country, always remember that the locals are no doubt as eager to practice their English as you are your Polish:-)