What I don't get is why would you hold a grudge against modern Poland?
I really don't. I was impressed with everything I saw except graffiti, pay-to-s*** restrooms and public hospitals.
The rest was great. Including being able to communicate without asking 'do you speak English' on most occasions. And those drop-dead pretty Polish women and nearly total absence of fat people under 40. It was like being in heaven without dying.
I even got a free pass for all means of transportation in Warsaw. Imagine that: a foreigner gets a freebie like this solely on the basis of age as documented by my US passport. Try that in Chicago.