History / POLAND: EASTERN or CENTRAL European country? [1090]

Another voice from afar, trying to tell us something misleading about where we live.

History / POLAND: EASTERN or CENTRAL European country? [1090]

Well yes, thanks for cutting through all the baggage and realising the plain truth for a change.

History / POLAND: EASTERN or CENTRAL European country? [1090]


Actually I'm being very objective and absolutely unbiased. You however seem to have an axe to grind, probably a mix of cultural cringe and misplaced nationalism.

I spend quite a lot of time in Central Europe, however here, where I live in Warsaw, is uncompromisingly Eastern Europe.


I'm not sure what the textspeak is about - perhaps you should attend a better language school, however yes, the landscape round here is much more Eastern than you'd like to admit. Check out the 'Europe of Squirrels' and the 'Europe of Rabbits' for a nice comparison.

Anyway, I'm just off to my friend's house out of town (single storey, wooden, opposite an onion-domed church) for some pierogi and vodka. Maybe some kasza and cabbage soup too.

History / POLAND: EASTERN or CENTRAL European country? [1090]


Odd that you seem to be seeing things that simply aren't there. What I see is a lot of special pleading by people who earnestly want for whatever reason that Poland isn't in Eastern Europe, despite culture, cuisine, tradition, language, history, architecture, landscape, economic output and geography. Basically a desire to separate Poland from centuries of tradition and from its largest and most dominant neighbour.

History / POLAND: EASTERN or CENTRAL European country? [1090]

At last, a sensible post. The situation is a complicated one, and those posters who whine on about wanting Poland to be in Central rather than Eastern Europe would do far better to examine their motives for that wish.

History / The restoration of Polish cities from WW2 destruction [123]

That depends. Not everyone lived in a Secessionist kamienica or an Eighteenth century Dwór and I have something of an aversion to single story cottages with outside toilets or crowded tenements with the loo on the landing and damp rising up the walls.

The Socialist Realist style of architecture has a lot of charm. The MDM development in the last picture you showed was based as much on Paris as Moscow and prices of apartments there are consistently high.

History / The restoration of Polish cities from WW2 destruction [123]

Obviously they weren't going to build everything as it was: nor would it have been desirable to do so. In almost every case, what came after was better than what existed before, and a thousand times better than some of the rural homes that people came to the cities from.

History / POLAND: EASTERN or CENTRAL European country? [1090]


Often a relative newcomer has far less political and cultural baggage and cares little about the various inter-Eastern European debates and arguments. In short, objectivity.


Google it. You'll certainly find plenty in this thread.


We also share some with Italians, e.g. Pizza. Nobody. I hope nobody is suggesting that makes Poland part of Southern Europe. The overwhelming bulk of the Polish culinary tradition is Eastern European, part of a continuum stretching from the Polish western border right to Vladivostok.

History / POLAND: EASTERN or CENTRAL European country? [1090]


Thus ignoring a long heritage whether political, cultural, linguistic or culinary.

History / POLAND: EASTERN or CENTRAL European country? [1090]

Now that's a good question. It certainly depends a lot on how you'd define either. I'd say though that Germany (East and West Germany, not including Austria or the former Eastern territories) is a bit too big to pigeonhole, as is Poland. In Germany's case there's the relationship with Austria and the concept of MittelEuropa which isn't all that it seems. Is Westphalia or the Saarland the same as Schwabia or East Prussia?

I suspect the desire of some posters here to pretend that Poland isn't Eastern European at all is made up of 25% Russophobia, 25% Cultural Cringe, 25% ignorance and/or lack of perspective on Eastern and Central Europe and 25% cluelessness.

History / POLAND: EASTERN or CENTRAL European country? [1090]


Amazing really that those on this thread who are so keen to move a bit of Eastern Europe into Central Europe generally don't actually live here. Some don"t even have any genuine connection with the place, just relatives who left.

Those of us who do live here are more grounded in the reality of an Eastern European culture, traditions, cuisine etc.

News / Black Haitians considering themselves as Poles [31]


Spot on. Kissing arse to a tyrant after making a mess of it themselves.

The Haitian thing isn't about immigration or even much money. I doubt they really expect much, however given the huge difference in wealth between the two countries and the grinding poverty in Haiti, if the government here fund a research scholarship or even a cultural centre, one can't blame them for trying.

History / The restoration of Polish cities from WW2 destruction [123]

Interesting how the same old whine about communism comes back like a bad penny from people seemingly oblivious to the fact that the international movement in architecture and post-war housing needs were much the same regardless of the politics of the country.

People can get sniffy about high rise buildings, but unlike the pre-war homes they replaced, they were warm, dry, and clean.

History / Lefties honour Narutowicz [5]

You come across as suggesting that the great man somehow shouldn't have been honoured.

Food / 'Wigilia', the traditional Christmas Eve supper in Poland [77]


It varies from family to family. Very often it isn't the same from tear to year - people do sometimes like a change.

News / Goodbye Rzeczpospolita, Goodbye Uwazam Rze! Killed by Tusk. [25]


Ask Mr Polanski.

News / Goodbye Rzeczpospolita, Goodbye Uwazam Rze! Killed by Tusk. [25]

The allegations in the Wikipedia article are barely the tip of the iceberg. There are good reasons he doesn't go anywhere that has an extradition treaty with the USA.

News / Goodbye Rzeczpospolita, Goodbye Uwazam Rze! Killed by Tusk. [25]


As far as I know it can't be sold by the Scott Trust - all they could do is go web only.


That's nationalism for you - they'll get into bed with anybody as long as it suits their purpose, like the SNP back in the Thirties.

News / Goodbye Rzeczpospolita, Goodbye Uwazam Rze! Killed by Tusk. [25]

Nothing unusual. In the UK, the Daily Express and The Guardian are both running at a huge loss and likely to lose their print editions within the next year or so. Both formerly popular and so politically different that only a fool would suspect political interference.

In PL, nobody would bother interfering with Rz, whose readers are well able to make their own minds up, or Uwazam Rze which is one of many (too many) news magazines and has an expensive glossy format and tiny print sales.

There's no political interference and to suggest so is trivial and vexatious trolling.

Worth mentioning though that Nasz Dziennik doesn't make much on cover price or advertising revenue and Gazeta Polska only exists because it is bankrolled by very shady sources outside Poland.

News / Grzegorz Braun's firing squad? [39]


What a bizarre thing to say. Evidently you can't handle the truth.


Absolutely spot on.

News / Grzegorz Braun's firing squad? [39]


If you need to ask that question, you're on the margins of our society anyway. I quite liked Wajda's comment - better than Braun's.

News / Grzegorz Braun's firing squad? [39]


A bit of both. It's a dramatic expression of feeling and more droll than anything else, but at least we still have prosecutors that people can report things to, should they be so minded.

Travel / Why does everyone seem to hate LOT Polish Airlines? [382]

It's usually done to save money or if they need a very quick turnaround.

History / Pokłosie (film on Jedwabne) [36]

You mean you disagree with it. Would you rather the only viewpoint presented was yours?

UK, Ireland / English/British rudeness - what do Polish people think about it? [168]


Worth checking out the difference between genocide and democide.

UK, Ireland / English/British rudeness - what do Polish people think about it? [168]


My point entirely. We only use the polite form.

BTW, some of us are from the North.

UK, Ireland / English/British rudeness - what do Polish people think about it? [168]

Spot on. You move to a new country and you don't actually have to like every character trait of the people. You just accept it and get on with life. Moaning won't change it - better to smile.

UK, Ireland / English/British rudeness - what do Polish people think about it? [168]


You get the feeling that he's unhappy and frustrated with his lot in life.

Life / Why is circumcision not practiced in Poland? [701]


His book popularised it among doctors.


I wonder how many people can answer a question like that.

Life / Why is circumcision not practiced in Poland? [701]

Wikipedia says this:


Peter Charles Remondino was active in the last couple of decades of the Nineteenth Century.