History / What was better in Poland under communism? [67]


there is something to it :) PRL was not a 'civilised country'. It was a system of exploitation, and the nation reacted in a natural way. Stealing from the state was widely accepted, stealing from a private person was your ordinary thieving, despicable thing. You needed to paint your flat, you 'organised' paint from your factory, or a neighbour did you a favour for a symbolic bottle, then you went to your GP, and his first question was '3 days or a week'. Those who happened to actually have a flu felt like slightly embarrassed, un-Polish.

Weird stuff. Bareja got it right, although it seems unbelievable. In this reality, snitching means civil death, and sometimes worse. Civil death means you go to the shop and all you can get is what you see. It means you call a recommended plumber, and he's not doing it, sorry, and that was one exceptional case, my brother in law asked me to do a favour to his best friend's terminally ill mother, and she provided all the materials anyway, I only put it all together for a cup of tea and a nice chat. On Sunday.

edit: well, maybe it's not clear enough. The recommended plumber turns out to be a mistake, so you call the official service, they come next Easter, they leave mess in your bathroom, and the leak comes back the next day anyway, because they exchanged your loose, but otherwise good tap with a faulty one. They needed good material for good Poles, innit. You getting the gist?

History / Should David Irving, Holocaust denier, be allowed to run tours to Poland? [246]


He has his place in literature, no doubt. Question is about his place in history.

History / Should David Irving, Holocaust denier, be allowed to run tours to Poland? [246]


read my posts before assuming


But there was no Poland, so they were not Polish parents, innit. I do read your posts.


So fkin what. Maybe they had to walk to school uphill. Even if you prove me the all five of them had Catholic baptism certificates for 7 generations of ancestors, you're still a sorry twat with a huge chip on your shoulder and possibly an inferiority complex like from here to Duszniki Zdrój. Vetala has already found the roots of some of your pure blood Poles anyway.


Just to make it a bit more precise, which is important in this thread:

In July 1942 the staff of the disbanded 162nd Infantry Division in occupied Poland was used to train battalions of the six newly established Armenian, Azerbaijan, Georgian, North Caucasian, Volga-Tartar and Turkestan Eastern Legions.

germanmilitaryhistory.devhub.com/blog/516219-the-osttruppen

History / Should David Irving, Holocaust denier, be allowed to run tours to Poland? [246]


You said that nationality is defined by the country of birth. Their parents were not Polish, then.


I live in London.


It was a diagnosis, not an abuse. Your facts are rubbish, and your conclusions are rubbish too.


No, I can't quote your post in which you refer to them as "pure blood Poles". I can quote you saying that they were Poles born in Poland to Polish parents. You win big time, Harry, time to celebrate. I give you my permission to print this paragraph in bold letters, hang it on the wall in your sitting room, and wank to it any time you feel small and unimportant.

History / Should David Irving, Holocaust denier, be allowed to run tours to Poland? [246]


The explanation of Polishness was yours, try to keep to your own definitions. As for reasonable interpetations, Vetala explained it already. You don't take it, your problem.


Try not to go personal, Harry, the Mod kindly requested. And if you can't, understandably, refrain from personal remarks, try at least to find something you could call a substantiated opinion if pressed.

News / No de-Communisation in Poland? [41]


There was no Solidarity at the Round Table, there was a pro-commie faction. People who wanted to save as much of 'true socialism' as possible, or had dirty cards in their books. Michnik's mother was a well-known commie 'historian', and father of Kuron was an old ubek. I'll never forget Kuroń frothing from mouth while defending in Sejm the 'justly deserved pensions of hard working Poles who served the country with all commitment possible.'

The one thing you say is true: the communists were in power. But the situation was explosive, so they staged the 'national agreement', they stayed in power, and everything went down the gutter.

Not everything depended on the SB files. Party officials were widely known, and banning them from managerial posts, like in Czechoslowakia, would not damage economy nor administration in the slightest. 'Martial law' was illegal, massive abuse of power even according to the current law, so hanging of Jaruzelski and Kiszczak would not only put things right, but send a strong and clear signal as well. This was not possible, though, because of the people listed by P3.

News / No de-Communisation in Poland? [41]


He was nobody.


For the commies.


people didn't have guns. Not in 1981, nor in 1989. The army was unreliable even during the martial law. The worst what could happen was massive demonstrations and possibly some freaky accidents.

This is a hindsight, of course. But plenty of people then saw it this way too.


Only they didn't give up power. They smoothly converted it from political to economical, adopting part of the opposition for the front.


Paid apparatchiks, that's what I meant by party officials. Not the 3.5 million of conformists. Easy distinction.


Wrong, as could only be. People had no guns, the makeshift pikes worked only once and for a while, in bitter defence. And society didn't need commies in power, as could be nicely seen in self-organisation skills during various previous events. People gave everything from themselves then, hope paid for the efforts. One of the things that prompted the 13 December action was that Solidarity started to organise 'shadow governments'.


'simply' wasn't an option. General strike and replacing the commie structure with the new one, was.


:) the Church allows for hanging traitors no problem. Possibly Jankowski would say a short prayer.

Law / Poland - Temporary Residence card - Karta pobytu - required documents [142]

I'd say try to make it evident to your wife that it would be a good idea if she spoke some English. Then you might explain your problems to her, and she will ask in the relevant office. Best source of reliable information.

Language / "A" and "I" usage in Polish language [22]

Not at all.

Poles are dumb, and Brits are smart;
Polacy są tępi, a Brytole cwani.

Poles are dumb, and Brits are dumb.
Polacy są tępi, i Brytole są tępi.

You use 'a' when you might use 'but' instead of 'and' without much changing the sense. You can't use 'i' then.

History / Should David Irving, Holocaust denier, be allowed to run tours to Poland? [246]

Classic, I'd say. A comic engaging in a discussion on history. Ha ha.

History / Should David Irving, Holocaust denier, be allowed to run tours to Poland? [246]


To be frank, I'd rather see something else than Corriere della Sera article reported by the Mail Online...

History / Should David Irving, Holocaust denier, be allowed to run tours to Poland? [246]

And some are being created by the sources. Both these newspapers are known for 'economical use of truth'. One thing drew my attention immediately: the Mail repeated at least three times that Irving was praising Hitler. Thing not to be overlooked however quickly you browse the text.

History / Should David Irving, Holocaust denier, be allowed to run tours to Poland? [246]


I'd bet they got the quotations right, or at least satisfyingly close. Now if you compare the manipulative styling of the article with the actual explanation of why Irving praised Hitler, then it looks a bit different. Great man etc. is difficult to deny, he made quite a splash.

It's not that I am a fan of Hitler, I just don't like this witch-hunt approach.

Edit:
Off to bed. Nite.

History / Should David Irving, Holocaust denier, be allowed to run tours to Poland? [246]

Somebody already mentioned it. One guy with 11 sympathisers (assuming none of them was a mole from the Corriere), private wanking tour, and it makes world headlines.

Funny thing. While writing 'one guy' above, I made a typo 'one guoy', and then quickly corrected it to 'one 'goy'... then I saw what I wrote... please don't tell anybody...

Language / "A" and "I" usage in Polish language [22]

Wow, Alex, and I remember you once saying that you can learn something from me too :) I am bigger by a span now, thank you :)

Allergy Caution: does not contain traces of sarcasm.

UK, Ireland / Common pitfalls for Poles learning English [187]

Popular Polish mistake in London: 'mate' is not 'Mike', even if it sounds like 'mite', courtesy of Estuary English (?).


'how many sugar' is what I hear all the time... no plural whatsoever. Sugar is not countable, innit... Two sugar please.


and what about me... Armstrong on the Moon allegedly said 'a small step for man...' which changed the famous words into nonsense, as they said. Took me a while to grok, and I am still in trouble while speaking or writing. With easier cases too...

UK, Ireland / Common pitfalls for Poles learning English [187]

be serious, I am a foreigner. No hints, please, just spit it.

edit: out.

UK, Ireland / Common pitfalls for Poles learning English [187]

Yeah, that's what I learned in Poland. I unlearned it in London. At first I thought it was this immigrant thing, then I started to pay attention, and voila, the English did it the same way. Milk, two sugar. I know it's ridiculously wrong, the proper way is black, two sugar. But I am not going to teach them English, innit...

History / Polish Occupational Zone in Germany (1945-1948) [4]


my pleasure. Neither have I.

haren.de/pdf_files/vorlagen/maczk_w.pdf
wapedia.mobi/en/Haren,_Germany

some info confirmed, but not all, some added. The number of weddings is different... and wapedia says that locals were expelled 'on 19 May 1945'...

Anyway, a curio :)

History / No Nazi puppet regime in Poland? [45]


I'd say initially and with intention of. Later they didn;t have much choice.

Interestingly, there is was some cooperation of part of the Polish underground and Germans, by the end of the war, when NSZ decided that the Soviets are an enemy, not an ally. More of an armistice, than actual brotherhood in arms, but anyway. As far as I remember.

History / When will you Poles give back German land and the cities which you robbed? [557]


I got a helmet for you, I promised...



German guard cuirassiers helmet Prussia M 1894

I tried to persuade away that White Eagle Crapping, but he only looked at me with those bulging eyes...

I think I am getting very busy right now, gotta go chop chop, see ya later...

History / When will you Poles give back German land and the cities which you robbed? [557]

Oh, Ok... :)

And you can call me notti no problem. Rhymes nicely... :)

Edit:
germaniainternational.com/khelmets2.html

I must admit, they knew how to make a helmet.

History / No Nazi puppet regime in Poland? [45]


That's why I liked the dancing, you know which...

History / No Nazi puppet regime in Poland? [45]


all 20 of them... :))

History / No Nazi puppet regime in Poland? [45]

I think... could be seen as betrayal, as they were Polish citizens. But in a rather legalistic sense.

Collaboration is reserved for doubtless Poles.

And I still have that question of Volksliste III in Silesia. I heard, from witnesses, that Silesians were 'enlisted' automatically. You are positive about that absolutely voluntary thing?

History / No Nazi puppet regime in Poland? [45]


could be this. And there is some info of Silesians deserting from Wehrmacht, so like independent confirmation.


Right. I was speaking about Upper Silesia.

Edit:

Szczepaniak from Kattowitz-Sud... I am from there :)

History / No Nazi puppet regime in Poland? [45]


But see the first name: Franz. Full-blooded German, innit :)

Frantzischek. Sounds German enough to me. Or Czech...

History / No Nazi puppet regime in Poland? [45]


:) you may not know it, but Brunner had quite a crowd of fans in Poland. If you know what I mean :)

edit:


Not quite sure. Fascist meant nationalistic, not pro-Hitler. Like ONR.

History / No Nazi puppet regime in Poland? [45]


But Poles are, you know, different :) I mean, German aircraft didn't shoot at refugees on the roads of Spain, Holland, etc.