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

It is funny you are asking such questions like an American junior high school student who has just learnt that Poles made a Rising in Warsaw one day and they weren`t Jewishit wasn`t Ghetto Rising. Wow, really?? What were you doing during those 23 years when you still lived in Poland till mid 1960s and as you claim, you studied at the Politechnic College in Warsaw. Didn`t you talk to family or mates about those topics?

It is really surprising.

Never mind. The primary aim of the Rising was to throw Germans out of the city. What for? To liberate the capital of Poland. What for? Firstly, to avoid the Soviet destructive siege because Germans had planned to turn Warsaw into a fortress and to put up a stubborn resistance. Secondly, in liberated capital the Soviets would have to talk with the representatives of the Polish government. Poles b-e-l-i-e-v-e-d :):) that, backed by allies, they were able to negotiate a good deal with Soviets concerning Eastern territories.

Life / Owning a house in true countryside of Poland - stories [692]


I am afraid not, at least not at the very beginning.. :):) The grey cat would run away to my wife`s loggia on the right. The ginger one would attack your dog immediately and he can get really crazy in such moments. The rabbit would hide in her cage and stomp her back legs against the wooden floor, it is quite noisy, funny too. Only the tortoise would remain placid and relaxed.

You would have to leave your dog for a few weeks so that my pets get used to it or even become friends. Are you ready for such a sacrifice?

hahaha

Back to rural topics.


Yes, the hardest work of all is digging up and taking away old concrete foundation where minor farm buildings once stood. Each year I chop off a few pieces and take them to a rubble heap in the field. The work is drudgery although those foundation layers aren`t so thick (could be worse), I still have to break them into smaller plates to be able to lift them at all. Not to mention they are buried in the ground. I need to remove them cause they make the grass over them grow badly.

That debris pile will be a nice rockery one day.

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Life / Mishmash facts about Poland and Poles [182]

Polish car plates - the system

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_registration_plates_of_Poland

Poland is divided into 16 voivodships, each has a letter ascribed. Voivodships are subdivided into powiats, or counties, with their own letters. Now, combine major with minor letters, add some numbers and random letters and you get a Polish registration plate.

Example:

PO means a car from Poznań.

POB means Oborniki county close to Poznań.

POS, Ostrów Wielkopolski county.

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

Some memorials are unusual. E..g, a part of the track of Goliath remote control demolition tankette which made a hole in the wall of the Old Town Cathedral 4, is immured in the repaired wall.

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

The monuments are scattered all over Warsaw in quite unexpected places. E.g. you can come across some in city parks.

This first monument marks the place which insurgents defended from `17.08- 22.09

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Life / Owning a house in true countryside of Poland - stories [692]


hahahaha no, it isn`t but as a boy I read all his books which were available in my school libraries.


You should keep a pet. It has been proved by scientists that possessing a pet, especially a furry one, delays multiple diseases in humans because pets help us get rid of stress.


I see. Well, I remember we always had pets when I was a child. Later, as an adult, I constantly brought some animals home. It is easier to say which pets I didn`t have than the ones I had.

Yes, one of the prices you pay for a pet is a messy home. You can see my loggia in the photo - it looks like after an explosion in the compost pile - pets come and leave when they wish, they enter my room freely and bring this mess with them, next this mess is spread into the hall and other rooms. I gave up dreams of having a clean nice house long ago.


Thanks for the warning hahaha but I met a few goats in my life and their strong smell is quite pleasant, on the same level as the countryside smell of a sty, cowshed, stable and manure in the fields. Besides, their milk and cheese have strong smell and taste, too, so I am not afraid. Goats give milk which I like and they are more comfortable to keep than cows.


Well, that`s life and we have to cope with it somehow. First our pets die, then our relatives, then we die and leave our relatives in sorrow. This is so natural. I have buried 3 cats already and a few dozen smaller pets. Yes, we all wept during cats` burial but it was so human. We shouldn`t be afraid of experiencing such moments cause they are pure life.

Last week I told you about that small hamster I found dead in the drive. I prepared a small coffin, younger kids made a funeral and we buried it in the miniature birch forest next to the house.

When our first snake got food poisoning and died in 2012, it was winter time and the ground was rock frozen. I put it into the freezer and waited when it was possible to bury it. We all attended the funeral. That was also a good lesson for kids to teach them that each living creature deserves human respect.

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

Allied airmen who lost their lives trying to bring aid to fighting Warsaw are also honoured. Poland is full of those monuments, Warsaw has only one, I guess.

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


Definitely, death is much uglier. But, even as a non-believer, you surely know that after death there is resurrection.

See the death and resurrection of the Royal Castle in Warsaw. Only a few small parts of the walls remained after Germans had blown it up in 1944. I don`t want to suggest anything but isn`t it a Triumph of Spirit?

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

This high rise building (the highest in pre war Warsaw) called Prudential is a monument on its own. Germans shelled it with heaviest artillery (insurgents put a Polish flag on top of it) but it survived. Like Warsaw.

The Prudential was heavily damaged during World War II, particularly during the Warsaw Uprising when it was hit by approximately 1,000 artillery shells, including a single hit by 2-tonne Karl-Gerät mortar shell, leaving only the steel framework. The artillery damage bent the construction sideways, but it survived the war and was featured on numerous anti-war posters.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prudential,_Warsaw

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

Special plaques commemorate places where insurgents and civilians erected and defended barricades.

E..g, there was a barricade in that passage in the Old Town.

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


Thanks. These are my photos from our multiple trips to Warsaw, my beloved city in Poland. I showed my kids all places referring to the Rising..

E.g, Do you know Warsawians even commemorate the sites where insurgents used city sewers to leave sieged and ruined districts?

PS. Of course, guys, don`t forget my initial question:

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

Zośka (Sophie) was another elite AK battalion who fought hard in the Rising.

Here. Zośka`s soldiers who died in combat fighting against an armoured train.

When I saw these faces on that wall, it occured to me they looked like my students, they were 19-20 years old. So many wonderful boys and girls gave their life for Poland.

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

Baszta was an AK regiment. Its soldiers were the elite among Warsaw insurgents, fought in hardest areas. Did you know that Kaczyński twins` father fought in Warsaw Rising as Baszta soldier?

pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zgrupowanie_Pu%C5%82ku_Baszta

Baszta means keep or castle tower. Its monument resembles one. .

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

Warsaw Rising monument part 2

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Life / Owning a house in true countryside of Poland - stories [692]

I will answer your nice post point by point.
We have a snake, a tortoise, a turtle, two cats and a rabbit plus 15 white/grey/black/mice.

In the city we live in an apartment which is big but not big enough to avoid clutter and congestion.

Your daughter is a good girl. Don`t let her lose that love for animals, it is a precious characteristic. I brought our two cats home either from the street or our block`s staircase when they were small, they had been left out as unwanted pets. Actually, I am still dreaming that one day my kid will bring such a stray animal home and demand to keep it. I would be thrilled that my personal example wasn`t wasted. But kids are getting older and older and nothing.

Even when we had those animals and we traveled extensively around Poland, it wasn`t a problem to leave them at home, cause relatives or friends came and fed them .

Your babcia probably loves animals just like me or she keeps them for meat. One day when I retire, we will keep more farm animals but never for meat. I would treat them as farm pets. . I wouldn`t keep a horse, I respect them but they are too big, riding them could be dangerous in the old age, so what for? I like ducks, their quacking sounds nice and walking is funny, but they drop shyt all over the place, that might be unpleasant. Cows, pigs - as a boy I spent a lot of time in the countryside, I love the smell of the sty and cowshed. but what would I do with a pig when it grows big? I wouldn`t be able to sell it to a slaughterhouse. A solution might be to keep that smaller Vietnamese pig.

Pidgeons- no, I have never liked pidgeons too much and I don`t understand people who keep them as a hobby. They are called flying rats in the big city.

I would like to keep a goat because I love goat milk and cheese. The taste is amazing. And bees - having a few bee hives might be exciting.

Yes, some Polish babcias are tough. There is one in the village where we live in summer, in our neighbours` house, she is over 80 now but still goes to the field to help her younger family with the crops. She doesn`t have to and I often hear when they shout to her to stay home, but she is stubborn and prefers to be active.

Below, a rare moment with 4 pets. They are in the loggia of my room, on the left you can see the entrance to the tortoise/rabbit enclosure

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


Sorry, too little data to reply sth coherent. Simply speaking, you sound too equivocal. Can you show the posts with such opinions?

The main monument to Warsaw Rising, part 1

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

The monument to The Little Insurgent

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma%C5%82y_Powstaniec

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

It might be useful to see Warsaw monuments commemorating the Rising. Watch and decide it they symbolise the National Disaster or the Triumph of Spirit. One by one.

This monument covers 12 tons of ashes which Germans left after they had burnt the bodies of 50.000 civilians executed in Wola discrict. It bears an inscription: They perished undefeated.

pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomnik_Polegli_Niepokonani_w_Warszawie

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Life / 80s Polish TV Shows [26]

There might be a problem. I am trying to recall such films or series but nothing comes to mind. All films which I could recommend to you are set in distant past, like beggining of 20th century.

As for Nowa Huta, it appeared only in documentary films. Who would like to see that commie architecture in a film, come on, people had enough of it living there, they didn`t go to the cinema to watch such shyt. :):)

Language / Game - guess Polish idioms/sayings in direct English translation [1756]

Nope. String in this idiom refers to musical intruments. When you stretch it too much, it breaks. The idiom means: don`t exaggerate or go too far than allowed.

One, two, three, etc as many as you wish stick(s) - what did it mean in PRL times?

Language / Game - guess Polish idioms/sayings in direct English translation [1756]

Yes, these last two idioms have the same meaning.

to pull the string along

Life / 80s Polish TV Shows [26]

Is based the same as filmed?

To me, based means the plot of the film comprises the years you mentioned.

Filmed means that the film was made in Krakow during 70s but its plot can be set in 19th century.

So, which one?

News / Scandals, conflicts, tensions, arguments - real life examples from Poland [492]

Let`s change the topic.
The latest scandal is drunk driving by a known TV journalist Kamil Durczok. He worked for TVN, the private station disliked by PiS.
Allegedly, he had been drinking for 4 days with his family and a 20 yo girlfriend. Even before taking the wheel, he drank 2 beers. When he caused a minor accident, he had 0,26% blood alcohol content.

Very stupid of him. I hope the court will be stricter than usual because of his celebrity and role model status.

fakt.pl/wydarzenia/polska/piotrkow-trybunalski-kamil-durczok-pil-przez-4-dni-przed-kolizja/646bzp4#slajd-4

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News / Scandals, conflicts, tensions, arguments - real life examples from Poland [492]

you hear about people arrested with VAT fraud charges now (for quite some time) - I don't remember hearing about such things during the PO rule - do you?

Gumi bear, I must say I was waiting for this kind of reply from you. In fact, I provoked you a little to say it and to give me an opportunity to call you a manipulator again. I hope you don`t mind. :):)

OK, so I am calling you one and now the facts:

2015 - VAT mafia broken, over 100 criminals detained
kielce.tvp.pl/20675837/ponad-sto-osob-oskarzonych-o-wyludzenia-podatku-vat

2014 - a VAT mafia swindled 50 million, 90 criminals arrested.
tvn24.pl/wiadomosci-z-kraju,3/90-zatrzymanych-50-mln-zl-strat-gang-oszustow-podatkowych-rozbity,391989.html

and another one from 2014, 11 criminals detained
wpolityce.pl/polityka/182515-zorganizowana-grupa-przestepcza-dzialala-wokol-budow-autostrad-jest-juz-akt-oskarzenia-w-sprawie-oszustw-podatkowych

2012 - 42 criminals detained
nowiny24.pl/rozbita-grupa-przestepcza-42-osoby-zatrzymane-takze-z-podkarpacia/ar/6172287

2009 - report by Ministry of Finance, fake invoices worth 4.5 billion revealed
mf-arch.mf.gov.pl/documents/764034/1424099/Sprawozdanie+z+dzia%C5%82alno%C5%9Bci+kontroli+skarbowej+za+2009+rok

I could go on and on with those links.

Now, will you eventually agree that I was right calling you a liar, manipulator and immoral PiS propagandist?

Ha!

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


Yes, believe reminds one of sth magical, doesn`t it? When thinking of the West and Western attitude towards Poland, Poles often apply "believe." That`s been the Polish thinking for centuries. Poles believe that the West believes that we are like them. hahaha That is why I consider all attempts to push Poland out of the EU as extremely harmful. Today those losers vehemently insist on Poland out of Western orbit and tomorrow they will be the first to whine about Western betrayal when Westerners again turn their backs on us in hard times.


"Betrayal" of 1939 was different, much lighter than the one of 1945. In 1939 Poland was only invaded by Germans who would be defeated anyway, sooner or later. In 1945, Poland lost its Eastern territories and became a Soviet satellite, predictably for ever.


The common belief was that ....... and so on. :)


As you wish. As for calling names, there was no need for that. After all, we have reached an agreement on Rising leaders. :):)

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


Insurgents believed they were able to throw Germans out of Warsaw within days. After 5 years of brutal occupation, they wanted to take revenge at last for all crimes Germans had committed to Warsaw and its residents.


Yes, that would have happened sooner or later. However. Poles believed that the West wouldn`t allow Soviets to do it. They didn`t know that the West was planning to make a deal with Stalin about the future of Poland which was to become Soviet. The Tehran Conference 1943 was the place where the fate of Poland was secretly decided for the first time. But in 1944 hardly anybody in Poland expected that "betrayal." Poles fought hard on the side of allies and believed they would be treated fair.


Of course. That is why Soviets were always treated as occupants by patriotic Poles and all those who cooperated with Soviets were sort of traitors of the Polish cause. Simple.


Now you are vitriolic without reason. Calm down. The center of Universe for an American is the USA. Don`t you rant about illegals every day? Why? Cause US is the center of Universe for you. So simple.

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


There wasn`t any trust. I read diaries - before the Rising, the AK underground press practically didn`t write anything about Germans, they mostly ranted against Soviets. There was no trust and no agreement - politically, the Rising was directed against the Soviets.

Poles were simply convinced that Soviets would continue their offensive into Warsaw. Capturing a big city is always a reason for glory and celebration. When they realised it was wishful thinking, it was too late and Germans were massacring Polish civilians by thousands.

There is a good example of Polish double thinking on Soviets - they were hated and at the same time - expected to come.

Poem Red Plaque
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Plague

We are waiting for you, red plague...
you will be salvation welcomed with revulsion...
we are waiting for you, our eternal enemy...
bloody murderer of so many of our brethren....
Your red, victorious army has been lying at the bright feet of burning Warsaw
and is feeding its soul with bloody pain of a handful of madmen who are dying in the ruins.

News / "A merciful heart can share its bread with the hungry and welcome refugees and migrants" Pope Francis [89]


Didn`t Jesus forgive his executioners while on the cross?

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


How do you know Warsaw insurgents weren`t aware of the risks? As far I as know, you aren`t really interested in Polish things so you haven`t read any diaries, historical books, reports etc.


I fully agree. That has been my opinion since I became a mature recipient of history - commanders of the Rising were like kids lost in the forest and today`s naming streets after them is a dishonour made to all the victims.

As for ordinary insurgents, they were heroes and greatest patriots ever.


No, it`s OK, Rich`s views aren `t so rare, I met quite a few Poles who share them . It`s a standard discussion.

News / Scandals, conflicts, tensions, arguments - real life examples from Poland [492]


OK, at last. :):) However, if we follow your previous logic, it turns out you are lying again. HA!

Now, look at your way of thinking. A dozen posts before you accused PO of being partners to VAT mafias.

We know that PIS hasn`t eliminated VAT avoidance - mafias still grab unpaid taxes. There are many articles about it. And we mean not only small scale cheating, but frauds with millions involved

bankier.pl/wiadomosc/Akt-oskarzenia-przeciw-zatrzymanej-przez-ABW-grupie-oszukujacej-na-paliwie-i-podatkach-7709198.html

According to your previous logic, if VAT mafias still exist, PiS must go hand in hand with them, just like you suggested it for PO.

Isn`t it simple?


Really? Journalists counted 100 flights with him on board in the last 1.5 year. PiS officials are hiding documents but the truth will surface anyway.

fakty.interia.pl/polska/news-po-ko-sprawdza-loty-marszalka-kuchcinskiego-kolejne-ustaleni,nId,3125842

BTW, you tried to impute that PO politiciand flew very often. But PiS do, too.

When will you admit that PiS is doing the same things as PO? :):)


I don`t care what you call me, it can be even debil do kwadratu hahaha. What matters is that you are still lying and manipulating, trying to blacken PO and whiten PiS. I caught you doing it several times and despite it, you keep on. That is amazing. Are you sure you don`t work as a PiS propagandist somewhere in the state media?

Ha!