History / Czech and Polish character in World War two [81]

Czechs are not cowardly at all. Compared to most other countries they suffered very little, and as compensation ~5 mio Czechs received the entire property of ~3,2 mio Germans. Which means a nice chata in the mountains for almost every family.

History / Czech and Polish character in World War two [81]


It depends on the region. In the Lusatian Mountains (the other side of Zittau), in the Jizera mountains and Krkonosze (Giant Mountains) many houses are quite cute and not too big, and the mountains are pretty nice too, so most houses were turned into weekend homes. I know villages with 16 permanent residents during week and 400 on weekends.

History / Czech and Polish character in World War two [81]

Czechoslovakia never had a chance since the Czechs tried to pay it back to the Germans after 1918 (and the Germans never accepted the new state). Sure, Czechoslovakia was a democratic state, but the country never became a second Switzerland. Just one example: the glass industry around Gablonz/Jablonec nad Nisou was world market leader and firmly in den hands of the Sudete Germans in the 1920s. What did the Czechoslovak government? They established a second centre in the Czech heartland to weaken their own, German- owned companies!

This state was an accident waiting to happen...

News / Piłsudski tomb desecrated in Wilno [34]

I love the self-righteousness in this thread. Such things happen in Poland all the time. How about this:







It's the desecrated mausoleum of the German Ziegler family in Radomierzyce, from the 18th century. Burial fault destroyed, sarcophagi opened, corpses defiled. Just one of many examples I know. No one cares.

History / Was Prussia mostly German? [65]


True. This is a place for Polish victimhood and xenophobia only...! :D

Travel / Castles and Palaces in Poland (with pictures) [154]


Yes and no. It was confiscated by the Nazis from duchess Daisy von Pless in 1939 and partly changed by the "Organisation Todt" between 1941 and 1945. But these changes didn't affect the stately rooms that much. All the damages that make the interiors so disappointing today happened in Polish times. The castle was looted several times between 1945 and 1960. The old castle also burned down in Polish times, and the mausoleum (last resting-place of the duchess) was destroyed too.

Travel / Castles and Palaces in Poland (with pictures) [154]

No, knowledge. The Nazis destroyed 3 valuable rooms and converted large parts of the castle. Many of these rooms howewer weren't very valuable. The loootings after WW2 destroyed large parts of the valuable interior, but the Nazis were blamed for many of the destructions that happened between 1945 and 1960.

Travel / Castles and Palaces in Poland (with pictures) [154]

What are Polish bricks? And the Old Prussians settled on Polish land? And why had the Polish king to buy something he already owned?

Travel / Castles and Palaces in Poland (with pictures) [154]

A almost unknown castle in Silesia:



Oh, and just for Monia: it was built with German bricks. :D

Law / The right to own guns: would you support such legislation in Poland? [2873]

Total firearm-related death rate:

Poland: 0.26
USA: 10.2

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_firearm-related_death_rate

I don't know why Poles would enjoy the right to live in a much more violent society.

History / What do nations of the world owe to Poland and Polish people? [58]


And Kant, philosopher and genius of the enlightenment, was born in Kaliningrad. Thanks Kaliningrad, thanks Russia!

History / What do Poles owe to Germans? [396]


Private property can't be used as compensation since this form of expropriation is illegal.

History / MICROCOSM: Portrait of a Central European City (history of Wrocław) [9]


If you think Breslau was somehow Polish you should read the book again. First of all, it was written on behalf of the town council, which, in the 90s, was looking for new ways to come to terms with the past of the city. During Commie times Breslau was always Polish, only Germanized by the Prussians in the 18th and 19th century. This theory was so stupid that everyone with a little bit of knowledge and open eyes knew it was propaganda. The new perspective was the multicultural city, a view in which the population exchange after 1945 becomes just the last episode in a long list of ethnic changes.... in fact, this view creates a continuity. To propagate this view the multicultural aspects get overemphasized, and Davies' Microcosm is a prime example here. In each chapter many pages are about the ethnic composition of the city, even if there is not much to report. After ~1500 he can hardly find autochthon Poles anymore in the city, and tries to hide this fact by mentioning the few he can find (like these two obscure priests on the outskirts of the city, or this one Polish teacher in a tiny school). Several times he's also dependent on hearsay and doesn't check if these sources are true or not. Not scientific at all.

As a book for people who still believe in the old Commie propaganda it's OK, as a scientific work it's not even mediocre. If you want to read a good book get Encyklopedia Wroclawia.

USA, Canada / My wife wants to return to Poland...but I want to stay in the US [155]


Sorry, but I think this is often a big part of the problem and downright ignorant. The USA is the best country for US-Americans, but not for your foreign wife. And she surely doesn't have to be thankful! The best country for a Polish woman is Poland, and the best country for my Russian wife is Russia. You guys have to understand that your wife gave up everything to live with YOU, but her better economic situation in the USA can't replace what she gave up for you (family and friends, language and culture). In her new life she basically turned from adult to child, not being able to deal with the most basic things. It's no wonder that a woman that has to stay at home in a foreign country all the time wants to go back home!

I can tell you what I did. The first thing I made sure is that she isn't dependent on me. She learned the language and got a job, which gave her her own money and her own social circle. I told her she could redesign my house to make it ours, not mine. Whenever possible I show her my country (almost every weekend) and why I like it, and I always try to find connections to Russia, and now she likes it here quite a lot. She avoids the Russian diaspora because this would again isolate her from the majority society. We celebrate the holidays of both countries, like Western and Russian Christmas. Her family visits her at least once a year, and we visit Russia also at least once a year. But despite all this I know that my country will never be like Russia, and I'm so incredibly thankful that she gave up everything for me. And as long as you don't feel the same about your wife it will not work. It's as simple as that.

History / Poland's Tragic History [12]

Isn't any suffering unique?

History / Poles from South West Poland speak in German dialect? [9]

There was no continuity since the population was almost completely exchanged. I can't find the numbers for Lower Silesia, but in 1949 there were 2769 so called "autochthons" in Wroclaw, i.e. Poles who lived in the city before WW2. 774 spoke almost no Polish, 966 reasonable and 1029 were fluent. And according to several contemporary reports they were outsiders in the new community. A German influenced dialect simply couldn't develop under these circumstances.

History / For what the Germans owe Poland one trillion U.S. dollars? [299]

Why doesn't this calculation assess the value of the former German territories that became Polish after WW2?

114.267 km² of land
the entire property of 9,6 mio Germans
infrastructure
cultural assets
natural ressources

I wonder for instance if Poland really wants to estimate the property of 9 mio people (houses, appartments, garden, furnishings, clothes etc.) in todays prices... this could get ugly.

History / For what the Germans owe Poland one trillion U.S. dollars? [299]


Your compensation: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Former_eastern_territories_of_Germany

History / For what the Germans owe Poland one trillion U.S. dollars? [299]

The eastern territories weren't annexed by Germany but Russia. It's silly to argue that a third party (Germany) should compensate the victim (Poland) of someones crime (Russia).

Law / Bank accounts taxed by up to 10%. Can it happen in Poland? [150]

Luxembourg is neither broke nor does it ask for money. And surely would the ECB act differently in this case, since the banks of Luxembourg are system-relevant, whereas the banks of Cyprus aren't. But you can be sure that countries like Germany or the Netherlands or France would love to treat them just like Cyprus. Ever noticed how German ministers bash the Swiss all the time?

But not the EU de-industrializes Southern Europe, they do it on their own. Cyprus for instance was never industrialized. They turned their country into an offshore tax haven, which isn't the same. And instead of investing the return wisely, like diversifying their economy, they expanded their public sector. And Greece? They received more Marshall funds per capita than many other countries in Europe, and they are one of the main recipients of EU structural subsidies, and yet apart from shipbuilding (in the past) they aren't competitive anywhere... not even agribusiness, despite the climate and endless subsidies since the 70s.

And of course Northern Europeans will pay the 10 billions. They are the net contributors in Europe. But you can't expect that Northern European taxes save a business model that wants to hurt these economies. That's especially hard to stomach for Protestants, who cherish frugality and hard work.

Law / Bank accounts taxed by up to 10%. Can it happen in Poland? [150]


No, it was the reckless behavious of the Cypriot banks who didn't get out of Greece in the months before the Greek bail-out. They even bought *more* Greek shares during the Greek crisis, which allowed them to offer 4-5% interests on deposits, while in the rest of Europe you were lucky to get 1,5%!

And th Greek money was gone anyway, since Greece is broke.


That's not unique, that always happens when a bank goes bankrupt. And the 100.000€ would be gone too, since Cyprus, like the banks, is broke too. It's the *generousness* of the international community that saves most of this money.

Law / The right to own guns: would you support such legislation in Poland? [2873]


Less death and suffering? LOL.
I love all this fantasising about self-defense. Against whom? Criminals here in Europe usually don't carry weapons. If they break into your house you turn on the light and they leave. If you feel unsafe with the light switch as your weapon get a dog. Problem solved.

No one in Europe misses this kind of freedom. What I would miss would be drinking alcohol in public, "bad" words on TV, the freedom to get naked in the park or on the beach if I want or having to say "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas".

Law / The right to own guns: would you support such legislation in Poland? [2873]


No, we can only offer the Italian, Albanian and Russian Mafia, illegals from Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe and the drug trade from Northern Africa and the Middle East. And we still don't want guns.

Work / CAN SOMEONE GET WEB / GRAPHIC DESIGN JOB IN POLAND? [12]


I'm not based in Poland, but this doesn't sound very demanding. I mean, as far as I remember you don't even need good HTML and CSS skills for it, as Fireworks does this job for you. And even without Fireworks it isn't a big deal. I would definitely pay less than 1.000 Euro for such a simple job.

Genealogy / Are Silesians people German/Germanic? [178]


No. Lower and Middle Silesia were German, Upper Silesia was mixed with a strong Polish majority in the eastern parts. The border regions to Poland in Lower and Middle Silesia housed a Polish minority too, but their numbers were insignificant.

The German settlers came mostly from neighboring Saxony and Thuringia, but also from Bohemia. These people first settled in unpopulated places, i.e. the Sudete mountains and the "Preseka" (border forests). After 2 or 3 generations Silesia was developed from within. The local Slavs who moved into the new towns were quickly Germanized, Slavs who stayed in villages in remote places where not. That's why some linguistic enclaves survived until the 18th century, like in other parts of Germany too (Luther spoke of Slavs close to Wittenberg in Central Germany, and there was a enclave near Hamburg too).

Genealogy / Are Silesians people German/Germanic? [178]

That's not a Silesian house, that's a Tyrolean house built by religious refugees from Austria who fled to Prussia in the 18th century. This region was called the Silesian Elysium before WW2, because of the many royal castles, large parks and quaint villages. Most of it doesn't exist anymore, but most of the Tyrolean houses survived.

The typical houses in this region looked like this:



But places like this don't exist anymore. If you want to see such villages today you have to go to the other side of the border.

News / Shops in Poland to be closed on Sunday? [208]


Not "religious zealots" are the reason for this but trade unions, social democrats and even politicians like Bismarck, who reintroduced this day as a "day of rest", after Early Capitalism in the early 19th century forced people to work every day.

And almost everyone in Central Europe likes the idea that at least one day of the week is not devoted to brainless consumerism and the exploitation of labour.

Life / Our Mothers, Our Fathers on Polish TV? [19]


No lies, but two bigger distortions. The German protagonists are mostly passive bystanders, although in reality especially the youth who grew in the 30s was quite the opposite. And in the episodes with the Armia Krajowa their members are shown as anti-Semitic, while in reality this was most probably only a minority and not representative.

History / What do Poles owe to Germans? [396]

At that time Kraków actually had a German majority, which was maybe also one reason why Wit Stwosz moved there (St. Mary was the German church back then).

History / What do Poles owe to Germans? [396]

No, Germans became the majority again. Until the early 16th century the town council was German-speaking and the biggest church of the city the German church. This changed during Sigismunds reign, who gave St. Mary to the Poles (1537).

It's quite interesting that this is almost unknown.