History / Is there a list of those in the Polish Army during WWII? [193]

He might have been drafted to the Wehrmacht like many other Silesians. They had often been forced to sign the Volksliste and many young men were subsequently drafted into the Wehrmacht. Some did it volunteerily of course.

Since your father wanted to join the Allies, he probably wasn't happy about serving the Reich.
But that's my wild guess. Only your father knows the truth.
There's a Wikipedia page about Poles in the Wehrmacht if you want to find out more.

Genealogy / Common surnames in Poland NOT of Polish origin ? [87]

Barra may be derived from protoslavic bariti-fight, barac-resist, reject, German Baer-bear or names like Barbara or Bartłomiej.

Genealogy / Common surnames in Poland NOT of Polish origin ? [87]

Annis may be derived from names like Anna or Hanna but that's also a Greek surname.

Genealogy / Looking for old street name : Teuchertstrasse in Gliwice [24]

@Sophtoo
Apparently, it was first changed to ul. PKWN and later to ul. Korfantego.

Genealogy / Leszczynski surname, Balcerzak [51]

Still no one here will be able to tell you if your ancestors came from a noble family. You need to do proper genealogical research.

Genealogy / Leszczynski surname, Balcerzak [51]

I'm afraid you didn't understand me.

If your ancestor had come from that noble family, her birth and marriage would have been well recorded in the family's history. She also would have married an aristocrat/a nobleman.

You can consult a historian/genealogist about that.
Kongel was one of the families that used the Nieczuja coat of arms - you can look it up on Wikipedia.
Poland and Lithuania formed the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth for centuries so that was basically one state. How did they settle in Lithuania - a historian may know.

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

Wełna means wool in Polish. Perhaps one of your ancestors traded wool - just a guess.
As for the latter part of your post, it is probably connected with the partitions of Poland. Prussia was one of the countries that invaded Poland in the late 18th century. Borders moved.

Language / IS "MURZYN" word RACIST? [686]

I didn't know that. I only knew Calypso as that nymph who lured Oddyseus. Your version makes more sense :)

History / MAP OF POLAND IN 1880'S [95]

That's a possibility, too. I haven't found any place called Przywaly. It might be Przewaly any or other place with a similar name.

Anyway, it sounds like a village or small town and would rather be found on a map of a region rather than map of Poland.

History / MAP OF POLAND IN 1880'S [95]

Are you sure it's his birthplace? Is the document you have in Polish? There seem to be no results for Przywały.

Language / IS "MURZYN" word RACIST? [686]

I wonder what's the idea behind the logo, anyway.
No one thought it was racist then. Neither did anyone think they were too white to buy a product with such a logo.
I bet someone will 'illumunate' me soon.

Language / IS "MURZYN" word RACIST? [686]

There was this Bambino ice cream, though - a distant memory of my early childhood.

Oops, I have just googled it and it turns out it was actually Calypso ice cream that I remember :S

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

There's such a possibility but I don't really know.

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

moikrewni.pl/mapa/kompletny/marmul.html

You can see where the name apppears in the link above. The site is in Polish, though. Apparently, this surname is not very popular with only 39 people (12 live in Nowy Targ). I'm not sure how accurate the data is.

The name is probably derived from 'marmul' - regional for marmur-marble.

Genealogy / Do I look Polish? (my picture) [375]

I'd say Russian ...

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

@Konwinski
Actually, it is derived from kruża - old Polish for jug.
There are almost 900 people named Kruzel in Poland.

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

@Konwinski
Actually, traditionally you would add the ending -owa (pronounced -ova) to a man's surname to address his wife. So Morcowa would be Morc's wife.

But Morc does seem to be very rare in Poland.

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

@Konwinski
Sańczyk is probably derived from 'sanie' (sleigh, sledge)
Morc may come from the root 'marc' and may be derived from the names Marcin or Marek, marzec (March) or marczec (old Polish for 'weaken', 'get thin',)

I'm not sure about Waflaski - sounds like an Americanised or misspelt Polish surname.

Travel / Why do you visit Poland? [223]

videoturysta.eu/ogrodzieniec.html

Here's some recent information in English.

Travel / Why do you visit Poland? [223]

@OwCr
@spiritus
That website is actually about these limestone castles - in some cases the castles are reconstructed. Ogrodzieniec is great.
Have you visited Jasna Góra in Częstochowa yet?
You may go hiking in the Beskid Mountains but only if you're coming with someone else. The mountains are not very high but still it's best not to go hiking alone.

History / Poland and Britain started WW2 [307]

@Lyzko
He's all yours.
Someone with poor English is making antisemitic remarks - yet not a Pole.
Teach him a lesson in history and English ;)

@Rw Greenlee
What makes you think Hitler was a smart man? His hatred towards Jews?

History / Poland and Britain started WW2 [307]

What was he right about?

Life / Why are Poles always so miserable? Why do they never smile? [512]

Oh, come on. Just because someone doesn't grin all over all the time doesn't mean they're miserable.
Personally, I prefer a genuine smile than a fake smile stuck on your face just because you want people to believe you're happy even if you're not.

Genealogy / Poland Genealogy Resources [130]

The name would be spelled Białobłocki in Polish. His father's name would be Walenty (Walenty's son =syn Walentego). His siblings' names were probably Zygmunt and Irena.

Elzbiecin is pretty small with about 120 inhabitants. I can't find any information about a parish there so you may try contacting the diocese of Łomża assuming your father was Catholic.

Genealogy / Why are some Polish people dark complected, and others very light [511]

Perhaps you're more likely to notice that as a foreigner both in Poland and Hungary.
I didn't :)

Genealogy / Why are some Polish people dark complected, and others very light [511]

@mafketis
I'm just curious. Do you think Hungarians are more expressive or tactile than Poles? That's the only thing that comes to my mind.

Genealogy / Why are some Polish people dark complected, and others very light [511]

@mafketis
Actually I didn't notice anything peculiar about their body language, to be honest. So I guess it's not that different.
I'm not sure Hungarians are Slavic, though. Their language isn't. According to legend, their people were led there by Turul if I remember correctly ;)

On my last visit to Hungary I had a chance to visit some smaller towns and I was told about places with Slovakian and German minorities. I also met two people whose families had come from Transylvania - apparently there are some people of Hungarian origin in Romania. So I guess they're pretty mixed there, too.

Genealogy / Why are some Polish people dark complected, and others very light [511]

@romanian
Why so angry?
The reason why so many Poles think of Romanians as dark complected is the big number of Romanian Gypsies who came to Poland in the 1990s.

I have never been to Romania so it's hard to say. Several years ago I met a Romanian at a conference here in Poland. She was blonde with fair complexion. So I guess it all depends.

I wouldn't say Hungarians are very dark. The only Hungarian whose hair and complexion were slightly darker than an average Hungarian's was a woman whose family originated in Transylvania.

History / Poland and Britain started WW2 [307]

Stream of consciousness ...

Language / Short Polish<->English translations [1043]

Did he say it when he wanted to say good night?
hits die spatch sounds like idź daj spać - go (away) and let me sleep but I guess your grandpa was more possible to say idź już spać- go to sleep now.

Booby dahck - buzi dać? to give a kiss

Just a guess. I can't think of any rhyme containing these. Perhaps someone will have a better idea.