History / Occupation of Eastern Poland in 1939 [97]


And the allies in the west didn't invade? You just have to compare the number of war dead of the US, the USSR and the UK in the European theater to see who really defeated the Germans.

History / Occupation of Eastern Poland in 1939 [97]

There are countless examples. The GDR claimed that they prosecuted each and every Nazi, and that no brownshirt was left on East German soil after that. Only the West Germans were still Nazis. The Americans and Brits claim they liberated Europe, conveniently forgetting the sacrifice of the Soviets.

Food / What do non-Poles think about eating the following Polish foods? [1400]


Never. That stuff is GMO over here, used for animal feed and ethanol production.

History / Occupation of Eastern Poland in 1939 [97]


Just like everybody else. The version of history that is taught in Britain or the US is completely different to the one taught in Poland, Germany or Russia.

Australia / Anybody send parcel with POCZTA-POLSKA to Australia? [16]

The Australian postal service is abysmal. Mail from Oz to Europe often takes between 6 to 10 weeks. Same the other way round.

Off-Topic / The "Anglicization" of Europe [132]


Make America great again? You seem to have quite a distorted view of how "wonderful" the 1950's and 1960's really were. I attribute that to latent naivete. LOL!


Oh, I know... :)

Off-Topic / The "Anglicization" of Europe [132]


I would prepare for it, if I were you. A few more years of AI development, and you will be replaced by translation software. We are almost there.


Not really, but thank you anyway... :)

Off-Topic / The "Anglicization" of Europe [132]


Non-native speakers couldn't care less if their English sounds right or the grammar is correct as long as they get their message across. Remember: English is simply a tool to communicate with someone who doesn't speak your language. Nothing more to it.

Off-Topic / The "Anglicization" of Europe [132]


The British Empire and the outcome of WW1 and WW2 might have something to do with it, don't you think?


"We" as in idiot Chicago PolAms? Glad to hear that.

Off-Topic / The "Anglicization" of Europe [132]


Again: be happy that they are making the effort to talk to you in English. They might as well just ignore you or pretend not to understand.

Off-Topic / The "Anglicization" of Europe [132]

She could've pretended not to understand, but instead she was being nice and tried to help. Now imagine you go out of your way like that, and the guy in front of you starts complaining about your English.

Off-Topic / The "Anglicization" of Europe [132]


I can't stand idiot PolAms. Did I mention that already? LOL!

Off-Topic / The "Anglicization" of Europe [132]


Then learn the local language. I really hate it when native English speakers complain about foreigners who are willing to go the extra mile to help them.

Genealogy / Birth in Lviv in 1926: Polish or Ukrainian nationality? [29]

diffen.com/difference/Ethnicity_vs_Race

Genealogy / Birth in Lviv in 1926: Polish or Ukrainian nationality? [29]


Ethnicity

History / Warsaw Rising 1944 - National Disaster or Triumph of Spirit ? [515]

Well, most people think "Holocaust" when they hear "SS". It's a bit more complicated than that.

History / Warsaw Rising 1944 - National Disaster or Triumph of Spirit ? [515]

Only until the end of April 1942. After that the SS-Postschutz was part of the Waffen-SS.

History / Warsaw Rising 1944 - National Disaster or Triumph of Spirit ? [515]


Did you know that every new postal worker under the age of 35 was automatically a member of the SS? New employees had to join the so-called Postschutz, which was part of the SS organization.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postschutz

History / Modern myths and legends about communist past in Poland [227]

Thanks, Pawian. Interestingly, the East Germans below the age of 65 couldn't travel to the west either, unless they were high(er) ranking party members. Much like the Czechs and Romanians for example. Seems the Poles were comparatively lucky in that respect.

History / Modern myths and legends about communist past in Poland [227]

Speaking of transportation: I always wondered how the Polish communist government managed to get past the Soviets and let their citizens travel to and work in the West. Just remembered the fully loaded Polski Fiats on the highways.

History / Modern myths and legends about communist past in Poland [227]

They are in B/W because color film was very hard to find and even harder to get developed in those days.

History / Modern myths and legends about communist past in Poland [227]


What about clothing, shoes, and such? Why wasn't it possible to buy certain simple food items without lining up for half a day?


That is very true. I remember the mandatory 1:1 conversion of Deutsch Mark to (East German) Mark and also the "entrance fee" you had to pay when you wanted to visit East Berlin. The taxi drivers over there loved it when you paid them in DM because the black market demanded hard currency.

History / Modern myths and legends about communist past in Poland [227]


It wasn't. The apparatschiks pretended to be successful, but the people never saw the results. Lines at grocery stores, empty shelves, a decade waiting time for a crappy car ... you name it ... while the surplus (if there actually was one) was often shipped to the USSR or some proxies like Cuba, Angola or Vietnam.


That was probably more a political decision as they wanted to avoid "westernization" of their populace.


Which is why it came crashing down in the end.

History / Modern myths and legends about communist past in Poland [227]


Quotas were always exceeded - at least on paper. The party leaders needed something to celebrate and pat themselves on the shoulder.

History / Modern myths and legends about communist past in Poland [227]


Well, they concentrated on the fields that their central planning told them to focus on. The economic activities within the COMECON were coordinated and based on each members' Five-year Plan, if I recall correctly.

Off-Topic / Social Media - who uses Facebook or similar? [45]

Yes. Please read post #6.

History / Modern myths and legends about communist past in Poland [227]


Thanks, kaprys.

History / Modern myths and legends about communist past in Poland [227]


Interestingly though, you cannot find a source (in English) that gives you the number of members of the PZPR towards the end of the regime in the 1980s. The only number I've ever found was on Wikipedia, which claims that membership was about 3.5 million in the 1970s. Unfortunately, I can't read Polish. Are there Polish sources out there which are more accurate?

History / Heritage of partitions still present in Poland [107]

@Pawian

Your maps are wrong because they are based on the borders of modern day Poland. Most of Pomerania and Silesia were never part of the Prussian partition. This is more accurate:

News / Petition for War Crimes Reparations for Poland [126]


It's not the Greek average Joe that is to blame, but the corrupt Greek politicians. They ran the country into the ground several times already, and to cover their own derrières, they point the finger at the usual boogeyman, the Germans. Just like all the other European politicians when they are in trouble at home. Talking about war reparations is one way how they do it.