Genealogy / Are there other ways of finding records that exist further back than 1826? [22]

Have you tried with Archwium Główne Akt Dawnych (General Archives of Old Records)?: agad.archiwa.gov.pl

There are some information about parish files form different bishoprics secured in AGAD: agad.archiwa.gov.pl/metodyka/akta_parafii.pdf

And by the way your family name is good noble name, have you tried with any heraldry book?

History / Books on the Partitions of Poland? [5]


Beware with details from Davies - he's missing and outing some balls in his Playground.

History / Books on the Partitions of Poland? [5]


You can start with:
- Robert Howard Lord's The second partition of Poland: a study in diplomatic, 1915 - I know it, it's good indeed but some remarks on the first partition I disagree.

- Herbert H. Kaplan's The first partition of Poland, 1962 - I haven't read it yet.
- Baron George Shaw-Lefevre Eversley's The partitions of Poland, 1915 - some way old
- Jerzy Lukowski's The partitions of Poland: 1772, 1793, 1795, 1999 - not read

... and then maybe something in Polish.

or feel free to ask for some details here.

History / The relations: Church and III Reich (Kosciol-NS Niemcy) [16]


The very old RED tune. Boring. Facts please, not factoids. I found a novel from the Stalin times - very long (1000 pages or so) and the language that defends this 'piece of art' from being read. However there were some illustrations: guys in Nazi caps with hakenkreuz shaking hands with ugly mugs in cardinal's hat and patting big fat cigar smoking capitalist, and another with bishop having blood on his hands. Wow, thriller.

Pope never supported Hitler. If you found some facts denying it, please be specific and share with us and don't disseminate memes. If he was very cautious in open attacking Nazis it was to protect laymen from regressive measures. However:

- in 1934 in the Christmas Eve sermon Pope condemned Nazi,
- in 1935 after Nuremberg statutes were imposed Vatican Radio broadcast a plea to pray for persecuted Jews.
- the Pope's encyclical "Mit brennender sorge" read in 11500 parishes in Germany - Goebbels in response noted in his diary "Now priest must learn our order and tenacity".

- 1938 during meeting with pilgrims from Belgium Pope said: "Antisemitism is unacceptable, we are all Semites spiritually".
- in 1938 cardinal Initzer of Vienna said something positive about Nazis and he was immediately forced to correct it publicly.
- in January 1940 Pope made an instruction for Vatican Radio to show horrible excesses of uncivilized tyranny against Jews and Poles . "Jewish Advocate" - newspaper of Boston wrote about this broadcast as an open condemnation of German crimes made by Nazis in Poland stating that they were insulting moral conscience of the mankind.

The fact is that Catholic clergymen and Catholic laymen saved more Jews than any other institution, organization or state. And the clergyman paid the price. Thousands were imprisoned even archbishops and bishops, many died - 20% of Polish clergymen were executed or killed in Konzentrationlagers (in some Western Polish bishoprics more than 50%) and Polish bishops Kozal & Goral died in KZ.

History / Life magazine 1.09.39 and sattelite pictures? [3]

Wonderful piece, indeed. Thanks TIT.

It's cartographers work, of course. I've seen this kind of shading the mountains from 30s and you can find some similarity in Austro-Hungarian crosshatching the mountains. But you're right it's excellent artistic quality.

But look! How fascinating it is - even Life guys didn't believe that drole de guerre is possible and the Western front will be the most peaceful place on earth till the spring 1940.

All these bombings expected and never made.

History / Is Jozef Pilsudski the king of modern Poles? [138]


Yes, unfortunately, there is no direct evidence. There are only clues and hints: one letter mentioning French refusal of "something", some trails of German counteractions, some memoirs, changing foreign minister from pacifist one to more devoted one, the Ensign Incident in Gdańsk...

Dariusz Baliszewski wrote about it


What does that have to do with anything?
The hypothesis about preventive action is quite plausible. And if you treat seriously diplomacy language it was at least to fly a kite if France wish to stop German remilitarization. The answer was negative and immediately after that new FM Beck started the equal distance policy with Germany and Soviets.

It's not a Michael Moore post-modernistic rubbish goulash or red-green gobbledygook on Man Made Great Global Warming.

Polonia / POLISH People IN SPAIN ....... [12]


Erasmus - they refinance your accommodation.
Technical University of Gdansk has exchange programs with Barcelona (beware Catalan), Madrid, Alcala de Henares, Murcia, Granada

Language / Polish or any Slavic language key to any other Slavic languages? [126]


Yes, it was true. There are many borrowings from Low Saxon in Danish, Swedish and Polish, maybe some in English and Flemish. But it was in XII-XIV century and only in limited region.

Life / Ripped Off in Poland? - Expose here: [185]


Yes, false smile isn't so nice as sincere one - still better than scowl.
However I haven't meant face grimacing but the getting things done attitude. German service workers are stiff. If you're late with something and need extra quick service, you can forget about it in Germany as I remember from printing industry. But it's only my personal observation. I'll be happy to hear what are yours.

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


Thanks for the input. I'll be cautious not to address you as murzyn.

Life / Ripped Off in Poland? - Expose here: [185]


Polish service sector never was as good as in USA. Nobody even try to say something like that. In fact American services are widely regarded as the best in the world. So I'm not surprised you're nervous here dealing with shop workers who don't care. I feel your pain. But you are overreacting. I think you should just depart from Poland as soon as possible. Otherwise your allergy on Poland will intoxicate you totally and the forum posters as well.

Genealogy / What are common Polish character traits? [417]


What a stupid factoid. I live here for quite a lot years, and lost only old mobile 3 years ago. While when I was on my journey to Spain, I was expropriated the very first day from all my credit cards and some euros.

Poles have this wonderful opinion since 70s in Germany, when there were some gangs there stealing cars with Poles as bosses. By the way the biggest figures were connected with commie secret police or spying agency. But please stop repeating these nonsenses even now. Let's look at some statistics in this field.

What is really shameful, it is the way Police treat theft victims. They are just awfully impertinent and blaming the victim not excusing their inefficiency and incompetence.

Language / Polish and Hungarian, how similar? [53]


He could mix facts or misinterpret but there were Vlachs in Slovakia and Poland of Romanian origin ie. from Walachia. They migrated in search of new pasturages in late medieval period.

Vlachs (Wołosi in Polish) wandered along Carpatian ridge to former Poland, Hungary and even as far as to Moravia and got place to live, when villages in mountain regions emptied due to climate change and exhaustion of soils. Vlachs were granted with autonomy under the Ius Vlachonicum (Walachian Law, Prawo Wołoskie), professed Orthodox faith and spoke eastern slavonic dialects Ruthenian, which they caught during their long journey, however with many borrowed words from Romanian.

Language / Etymology of pan /pani [18]


But it used to be... Some 1000 years ago.


Nice story. Send a script to Hollywood and they call you.

Pantofel < Germ. Pantoffel < Fr. pantoufle < It. Pantofola < Lingua franca < medieval Greek meaning. whole made of cork.

Nice journey and not be made in pantoffles.

Language / Polish or any Slavic language key to any other Slavic languages? [126]


Yes, but it used to have the exact form wrzemię in 13th century. However 100 years later was completely unknown and misinterpreted.

For example in Holy Cross Sermons.
K niemuż gdaż człowiek grzeszny rozpamię[taję grzechy z]stąpi, to czu sam siebie wspomienie, z tajnego sirca [strumienie gor]zkich słez za grzechy wylije i to uznaje, kiegdy sgrzeszył, w kakie wrzemię sgrzeszył, kilkokroć sgrzeszył, którymi grzechy twórca swego na gniew powabił; a jakokoli to grzeszny człowiek uczyni, tako nagle sirce jego jemu doradzi, iżby grzecha ostał, swojich grzechów sirdecznie żałował i [z] świętą cyrekwią dzińsia zawołał: Veni, Domine! et noli tardare; relaxa facinora plebi tue Israel! Toć to i jeść prawda, iże idzie tobie kroi zbawiciel, iżby nas ot wieczne śmirci zbawił.


Funny question. And what is the most Germanic language?

Life / Feeling ashamed of my Polish heritage. [237]


As you didn't want to check your deep observations about Polish irresponsible indebtedness against some statistic sources, so it was me to do it.

It wasn't so easy as I thought. But I succeeded, partly however.
According to data from 2 banks:
Poles spend 12% of their income for handling their debts, while Britons 25-30%.

It looks like 2 times less in Poland. However it could mean even lesser debt since Polish interest rates are a bit higher.

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4501]


You've said the Jaraszkiewiczs were from Posadowo. And they are stiil there as you may see on the map here: moikrewni.pl/mapa/kompletny/jaraszkiewicz.html.

The name could be a toponymic from a village name Jaraszki or Jaryszki
maps.google.pl/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=pl&q=Jaryszki,+62-023,+Pozna%C5%84ski,+Wielkopolskie&sll=52.495323,16.651154&sspn=0.300156,0.878906&ie=UTF8&cd=1&geocode=FRWLHgMdW6cDAQ&split=0&hq=&hnear=Jaryszki&ll=52.409121,16.87088&spn=0.402113,0.883026& z=10&iwloc=A

And the village is probably patronymic from given name Jaras, which is augmentative from Jarosław, very popular Polish first name.

Language / Polish was chosen the HARDEST LANGUAGE in the world to learn... :D [1558]


They missed the point. The pronunciation is the some now.
But in medieval Polish it was quite another thing:
może sounded the same, but morze had its origin in Old Slavic mor'e with soft R (the same as you can hear in Russian even now).

As some authors say the difference started to disappear from XIV to XVII centuries.
Transformation of the word was as follows:
mor'e > morże > morze.

Old midway pronuciation of RŻ was heard in peripheral archaic dialects for example in South-Eastern Borderland, precisely in Podolia - east of Lwów, near Tarnopol.

I have heard it from my grandfather in a word GORŻKI = GORZKI (bitter).

Life / Feeling ashamed of my Polish heritage. [237]


So you're bulletproofed for arguments. Always ad personam. It's so unAmerican. ;-)


Don't bother. You can easily manage to catch it, if you only want.


But... It's very dark here, as you may know.

But the only foreclosure notice boards I've seen before houses for 10 years were in CNN reports from LA, SF and Nevada and lately in Spain during holidays.


Is it a job placement proposal? ;-)

Life / Feeling ashamed of my Polish heritage. [237]


Figures please or stop bamboozling.


Yes I know this kind of knowledge: 'I know a guy who has an uncle in Poland who has bought a house in Poland, and who has so tiny salary, so he'll pay it off in 100 years. This guys are so irresponsible'

In my meaning stereotypes have no negative connotations they are just sociological facts which make life easier but not wiser, anyway.

Life / Feeling ashamed of my Polish heritage. [237]


The really big mess is coming from USA. Totally corrupt crediting process politically fueled to increase homeownership especially in minority societies:
1. irresponsibly easy money by Federasts,
2. easy solvency check thanks to Lawmakers,
3. corrupt (not greedy - everbody's greedy - but corrupt) traders,
4. irresponsible investment banks - putting all these derivatives securitized on derivatives on loans with no price settled,
5. incompetent and irresponsible credit rating agencies - it's funny they still exist after all their ratings proved so glamorously adequate,
6. corrupt credit brokers with their 'yeah, you'll have 3months payment vacancies here, and next we'll move your loan to another bank and you'll have another 3months vacancy, and then again and maybe buy new SUV as an addendum',

7. corrupt home brokers,
8. corrupt appraisers with their 'you have so precious collateral' (2-room wooden hut),
9. illiterate & indebted or cunning borrowers with their excuses.

They destroyed global credibility and even now making money on the debris like Goldman Sachs.

Life / Feeling ashamed of my Polish heritage. [237]


What a funny statistics. What are your sources. Don't spread factoids. Give numbers. I've heard just the opposite.

Life / Feeling ashamed of my Polish heritage. [237]


Responsibility - yes, but only when someone is responsible.
Excuse - fact, Poles especially in middle age or older are accustomed to make excuses, but once again - it's really easy to stop, just freeze an excuse maker with "bad to you". It's only a folk custom-speaking not a real thing.


I suppose you have never seen Frenchmen in real action: all these greves, management by meetings, sulks and bloats, and money-for-everything attitude. Ou la la. Merde actually. But of course it's only a stereotype. However what we are still talking about here - STEREOTYPES & PREJUDICES.

Life / Feeling ashamed of my Polish heritage. [237]


Sebastian you have 3 choices:

A. Change your Nameski to English or any other equivalent in more 'happy' languages (you can even find an advice here - many linguists and family name researchers available and eager to help). By the way you're lucky enough in this case with your first name so international and Bachese.

B. Rethink your complexes
1. You insist that whole Poland is total hillbilly real hole! Yeah, Poland is still poorer than many other countries (I think this is why your family emigrated).

2. Yes, in Poland there are many morons - like in most countries.
3. Yes, in Poland there are reported many thefts - but I lost only an old mobile 3 years ago (maybe dropped by me) in 30 years period in Poland - but found all my credit cards and money stolen in Madrid in the very first day of my 4 days journey, almost ripped off in Rome, almost beaten in London - all in the very first days. Thieves have no nation.

4. Yes, there is a total bullsh*t with Polish democracy - like unfortunately in most modern democratic countries - there is no discussion out there, only partisan clashes and lobby smearing. The only thing Poland outperforms in this discipline The Golden Guiding Light of Western Liberal Democracy is irresponsibility of administration clerks - however it's slightly and very slowly improving.

5. Corruption - yes it's called a tax on bad legislation - look at Greece, Portugal, Italy, Spain, France - ClearStream, Germany - NordStream, Belgium - helicopters, England - MP costs refunding, Canada - add something you know.

6. Folks complaining - yes very often, but it only appears, when you have nothing real to talk to or as a kind of mannerism. I know guys with such an annoying habit. Simple "bad to you" or "it's your problem" acts like a refreshing shower.

7. Awful roads - the most serious - but it will never change (I'm only here a pessimist). There were very old saying in 17th century: Polish bridges, German jokes, Swiss frankness and French integrity - all the same.

C. Go and drink some Polish beer of your choice and don't think so much. One of your problem is you're spending too much time comparing. In fact nations are incomparable. I'm proud to be a Pole (while my family is of Austrian origin and polonized in the middle of present day Ukraine), so I would probably be if I were of Jewish or English descent or even Italian (Madonna mia, che cosa parlo).

Language / Polish and Hungarian, how similar? [53]


The only one trail which can lead us to the statement that Hungarian is intelligible for common Poles is that before the end of the WW1 Slovaks where citizens of the Kingdom of Hungary for more than 900 years. There were even no province of the name Slovakia and the area was called Felső-Magyarország (Upper Hungary) or Felvidék (Upland).

It is proven that people from the other side of the frontier on Karpaty Mountains were addressed as Węgrzy, Węgrowie, Węgrzyni (Hungarians) in local Polish dialect of southern borderland people. But they spoke Slovak dialects which are very similar to Polish dialects and are bilaterally intelligible. And yes there were also many Jews in different state of assimilation or enrooting in emerging national sociaties: German Jews, Hungarian Jews, Yiddish Jews, Slovakian Jews and Hebrew Jews (zionists).

On the other hand - if I dare to add you some background or ideas - in this really multicultural regions of former Imperial-Royal Austro-Hungarian Monarchy knowing languages was one of the most important skill useful not only in career planning but in every-day use with shop-owner Yiddish speaker, bureaucrat - German, wagon-craftsman Slovak, nobleman - Hungarian or Polish and wife - Ukrainian.

A good example were:
1. my great-great-grandfather Austrian officer who knew "deutsch, ungarisch, wallachisch u. polnisch" (German, Hungarian, Romanian & Polish).
2. my grandfather small shop owner who knew Polish, Ukrainian, some Yiddish/German, some Russian.

Language / Polish was chosen the HARDEST LANGUAGE in the world to learn... :D [1558]


That depends how to count. If you'd like to be precise you'll end with 5 genders in Polish examples in Accusative:

1. Masculine animate personal (nowego ucznia | nowych uczniów)
2. Masculine animate impersonal (nowego psa | nowe psy)
3, Masculine inanimate (nowy kapelusz | nowe kapelusze)
4. Feminine (nową uczennicę, nową książkę | nowe uczennice, nowe książki)
5. Neuter (nowe dziecko, nowe krzesło | nowe dzieci, nowe krzesła)

Sometimes you can even meet additional 2 for plural:
6. Masculine personal (plural for gender 1)
7. Not Masculine personal (plurals for genders 2-5)

Language / Slovio - the international simplified Slavic language [37]

I'd prefer patronymic after the Creator ie. Adam Bożewicz

Language / Etymology of pan /pani [18]


Papagarth has thought about gospod, gospodzin, I suppose.

Language / Etymology of pan /pani [18]

According to Aleksander Brueckner, polish etymologist, pan has its origin in old word żupan meaning a tribute gathering officer or administrator of some territory called żupania. The word was known in Czech, Croat and Hungarian (ispan). Later the word was shortened and simplified to pan.

In Kingdom of Poland pan was used as a short name for a kasztelan (castellan) ie. caretaker of one of main royal castles. This title was in most cases lower in precedence to the voivodes (with the exception of the Lord Castellan of Cracow who had precedence before voivode of Cracow). For example castellan of Cracow was called Pan Krakowski. In colloquialese pan was lately used to address any powerful person.

'Pan' is a root word for verb 'panować' - to rule, 'państwo' - estate, realm, state.

But due to both inflation of dignities and growing politeness now you should use it as common style to address any stranger by: pan, pani, państwo.

The same as in Spanish Usted (going back from Vuestra Merced = Your Mercy). By the way, the old style - now obsolete - to address stranger from noble class was Wasza Miłość (Your Mercy) shortened to Waszmość, or together with pan: Waszmość Pan > Waćpan > Acan.

And żupa is allegedly of Avarian (Avarian) origin as Slavic people were so peaceful and so classless that there had to be some warrior element adding some power distribution tools.

As most historians think Slavonic tribes invided Central and Southern Europe under Avarian command in VI-VIII centuries. Having in mind Avars ruled or have some influence on Slavs through 2-3 centuries, Avarian żupa could infiltrate Slavonic languages.

Language / "Zaraz wracam" - Why not "zaraz wrócę" ? [32]

You're right, SzwedwPolsce, of course ;)

However we're discussing here some elusive distinctions between Zaraz wracam and Zaraz wrócę in this thread. So there is a space for some more subtle and sophisticated lucubrations.