History / Polish conscripts to German army [132]

My father did tell me that he was in Russia and almost starved there. After the war he met my Mother in England and she said it was 2 years before he could eat normally and he was very thin in photos taken during that time. He also said that the germans came to get him with a threat that they would send the rest of the family to a concentration camp if he refused to fight for Germany. Many children that had blonde hair and blue eyes were stolen from his village and taken to Germany.He said that the Germans took everything even family photos.I know that he was also in Italy and eventually was in the Polish army but dont have information as to how all this came about. My Father was tough and hard working but suffered all his life with bouts of depression and insomnia. I would really like to know what happened to these young men after they were conscripted.

History / Polish conscripts to German army [132]

Thankyou for your info. By the time he was demobilised to England he came there in a Polish uniform and there was a polish camp set up in "Leek'which is a small town in Staffordshire . This camp had previously been built for American GI's but had been condemed as unfit for the Americans to live in. The Poles lived in this camp until around 1970 when municipal housing replaced the army shacks. My Father would not live there after1947 which was when the Poles were allowed to leave the army. My Dad did all the worst hard labour jobs that most English would not do ,to try to better his life and I remember a lot of racial prejudice to our family from the English people. However The poles had no problem getting hired as they soon were known to be tough and hard working.There were a few Poles that were at the camp who came from the same village as my Dad which seems remarkable .The village is just outside 'Imelin '.

History / Polish conscripts to German army [132]

My Dad was proud of his country and had a hatred for Germans and Russians , I doubt that he would have chosen to stay in a pow camp.In spite of being in England for the rest of his life he always talked of his home as being Poland and missed it until he died.He must have been in Italy because he talked about it with fondness but said that there were a lot of Italians that were starving and remembers children begging for food from the troops.

History / Polish conscripts to German army [132]

He did say that he was in a Russian pow camp and thay had one piece of bread per day. Could he have been in Italy in 1945, Mum says that he was in Italy towards the end of the war. He was also in France and Holland according to Mum.My Mother joined the army at 18 and was in the ATS for the duration working on radar on the South coast of England.

History / Polish conscripts to German army [132]

Great information on this site thankyou. hope to hear from some veterens poss. still alive from upper Silesia .

History / Polish conscripts to German army [132]

Polish men in our town could not get a mortgage or a place to rent, this I know for a fact.My father and Mother both worked to save enough money to buy a building lot. That took nine years and during that time we had to live with my Grandmother. I remember that he dug the foundations by hand and would buy materials as he could afford them,usually one or 2 bags of cement at a time with his weekly pay which was 5 English pounds. We did not have a car and I remember walking with him the 4 miles to the lot,carrying a 50 pound bag of cement on his shoulder. It took a few years before the house was finished but he did it with no help.The Polish men that I knew were all between17-19 when Poland was invaded,most were not well educated,a lot were farm boys.There was only manual labouring jobs available to them which were not well paid.My Dad did marry a very hard working and determined woman who taught him to read and write English and they were a good team. This was one reason that he was able to do what he did to better himself. He got no hand outs from the English ever and would have gone home if he could.As to the Polish living in the camp,they were forced to stay there until 1947. The ones that stayed after that as I remember for the most part were damaged from the war mentally and physically and not able progress in life. I would say that in my town it took around 20 years for the the Poles to be fully accepted ,there was a lot of racial discrimination towards me as a child because my Father was Polish.

History / Polish conscripts to German army [132]

So sorry to hear your story. We had a lot of Poles in our community, more than a few turned to alcohol to self medicate, there was no understanding of post traumatic stress in those days or if there was, Polish men would not have asked for help. The ones that I knew would only talk about the war between themselves and in there own language but I would always know what the discussion was about because of the emotion shown at the time.My Dad never got past the bad memories and they flared up again severely towards the end of his life. I know that he is at peace now back on the farm in his beloved poland.

History / Polish conscripts to German army [132]

explain ' wrong side' please.

History / Polish conscripts to German army [132]

What would you have done in his shoes with the threat of death to his family, he had 2 little brothers at home. Would you have chosen to have them sent to a concentration camp? These young men were from small towns and villages,had never been far from home,not well educated for the most part, afraid . None of us who were not there can begin to know how it was for them and should not presume to judge. I lived among them and know the anguish and guilt that was felt .

Life / Can many young Poles speak German? [72]

My Father was from upper Silesia and could speak German,also the Polish that he spoke was a little different from Polish that I heard some Poles speak. He was born in 1921. As I understand it, his Father could speak and write German well. Wasn't there a time when the Germans tried to ban the Polish language and children in school were only allowed to speak and write in German? I was in Poland in 1991 and kids were being taught English in school,my cousins kids were 8 and 6 and could already speak quite a bit of English.

History / What proportion of the Polish population collaborated with the Nazis? [125]

From what I heard from the Polish community in England, my Father included and from talking to Polish people in Poland, the Ukrainians were some of the worst collaborators and Poles that collaborated were few. Im not saying that this is true,its just what was told to me.

UK, Ireland / Why do so many Polish guys in the UK have a crew cut or buzz cut? [106]

I have just read all of this nonesense, wondering what age groups some of you people are. Ive just registered on this site, didnt expect to read such bullshit as well as underlying racial slurs. One person on here in particular is a real wacko and Im sure the normal thinking people wil know who I mean.

Genealogy / Polish looks? [1462]

From what I have seen living in a Polish community and having been to Poland 3 times it seems that the Northern people are more often darker haired and have a different look than the people from the South. I was on vacation in Costa Rica a couple of years ago and saw a guy working as a security guard . I knew straight away that he came from the same area as my Dad because he looked like my Dads family. Sure enough when I approached him he did indeed come from Katowice area and was amazed that I would know that. Having said all that why is the subject of the way different races look being discussed on here or any where else for that matter. My Dad is Polish my Mum is English/ Irish but the English part has a French name that goes way back.Who can know exactly who are ancestors were ,Europeans are a real mixture of many races and aside from that fact who the hell cares. GROW UP

Genealogy / The typical Polish look, or all Eastern Europeans [656]

What a bunch of fools on here to even be discussing this. Who cares how people look, have you guys got it into your heads that one race of people is any better than another ???

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

Hello , my Father was Polish ,married an English woman after the war and settled in England. My Father was tough ,hard working, very loving towards me and openly affectionate, not a trait that I had noticed from my friends Fathers I have to say, Dads did not hug daughters much that I noticed in those days [ I was born in 1954]. He was very compassionate towards people in need of a bed for the night, food, money, a kind word. Our house was an open door to anyone that was down on their luck. My freinds loved him and were always made welcome. If sombody dropped in unexpected the first thing to be offered was food and drink. He loved animals and missed his family farm that he could not return to after the war [ read my other posts]. He taught me not to judge people and told me that we can never know a persons story that may have led them to be, [for example ], living on the street or addicted to alcohol or drugs. I went to visit Poland for the first time when I was 7 and the love that I felt from all of the relatives was overwhelming . My polish Grandmother squeezed me so tight and kissed and hugged me every 5 minutes. I was heartbroken when we had to return to England. Growing up there was a Polish community in our town and to be among those people was always the most fun. I found them to be very hard working,kind, fun loving, straight forward, down to earth.I was born and raised in England but love Poland and Polish people and feel at home there. I now live in Canada and find Canadians very kind and open hearted people.

Life / Why are Polish people so obsessed with race? [160]

From what I heard growing up in a polish community in England it was not about one race being better than another, it was a case of it not being right to mix races in the sense of white and black , asian, arab etc. I never heard Poles say that they were better than other races just that you should'nt mix them. My Dad married my Mother who was English and that was fine but as mentioned in my other post " do poles hate muslims' it was not ok to marry a person from the North of Poland If you came from the South. Go figure

Genealogy / Do Polish people have big noses? [451]

its kind of like do colored men have big???? so STUPID

Genealogy / Polish person's average height? [210]

Oh MY GOD you are all SO interested in hair colour,nose sizes,skin tone, head shape,height. WHY ??? Im finding some of the topics on here really scary.I am having my eyes opened to the possibility of lots of willing participants taking part in another holocaust.

Life / Why is circumcision not practiced in Poland? [701]

I think that the decision to have your baby boy circumcised should not be taken lightly. Here in Canada from what I gather most parents opt to have this done simply because they want their son to look the same as the other boys , and so it goes on and on. In England it is not common practice in the caucasion population. As far as it looking better, Ive seen both and they look the same when erect which is the only time that I bother to look.

Love / I'm a black African man and can't cope with my Polish mother in law [34]

Yes , it is common for the Mother to be like this,and to make decisions in the household,in Poland it is accepted ,as the parents generally are respected as the ones who have the most knowledge and wisdom. The Mothers look at it as a right that they have earned by experience. If you just give in to it and relax you will be a lot happier and your Mum inlaw will love you like a Son.In time you will look on her as a valued member of the family rather than a hinderence, Word of warning though, don't do anything to upset her daughter !

Law / Would Polish people use a cattery? [17]

From what I saw 20 years ago in the country towns at least, dogs are mostly used as guards as there is a lot of petty theft. They fend for themselves and are fed scraps. When our relatives came over to England we were in the supermarket and they happened to see cans of dog food with a picture of a dog on the can.The woman threw up her hands in horror that we eat dogs in England ! When we explained that this is food to GIVE to dogs she was in shock that we would buy food for a dog.

Life / Polish culture do's and dont's? [106]

Dont complain if a Polish person is late when invited to dinner and if they dont show up for a few days ,smile and act like nothing happened

Life / Poles - the Nation of Liars? [478]

Yes I have to agree but to them its not a bad thing, everbody does it. When you live among them you have to learn to deal with it. There are other cultures like this also which I am not going to name.

Life / How would you describe the Polish sense of humour? [66]

My Dad loved the 3 stooges , Abbot and Costello, Laurel and hardy. That type of thing. He was not amused by anything raunchy or even suggestive.

Life / Do Polish people have a temper? [53]

My Dad had a temper in certain situations for example he and my Mum were watching a young couple singing and playing guitar on the street in England, a town council bylaw officer came to move them off , My Dad told him to leave them alone and stuck the icecream cone that he was holding in the guys face. He hated people that used authority to bully others.It was quite common for him to call people ' Hitler' or ' Gestapo' Of couse as a child I used to think that it was hilarious.

Life / Why are Poles always so miserable? Why do they never smile? [512]

I have always found them to be fun to be around when you get to know them. They do not consider it dignified to go around with a big smile on your face or to smile at strangers. Its a cultural thing.The ones that I knew growing up were always polite, but joviality was reseved for parties and get togethers.

Life / Are Poles winter lovers? [63]

Exploring this site and seeing the most ridiculous topics discussed. I live in Ontario and hate the snow if I have to shovel it or drive in it ,why would polish people feel any different?

Life / You are Polish if... [433]

you comb your hair before answering the phone

Life / Child abuse in Poland [64]

When I was in Poland I noticed how well behaved and mature the children were as compared to British kids. Canadian children are quite badly behaved and spoiled, also have no respect for their parents. My Dad settled in England after the war and was disgusted at the way the British slapped their kids around. Growing up in a polish community I never saw a child getting hit in a polish home but saw it lots of times in the English ones. The british schools were also full of bullies and Im not talking about the kids.