Ask a Pole

[Squonk]

Hi.
My name is Squonk and I'm from POLAND
You've probably never heard about it, and are aching to get to know something about it

Let me help you by answering all your questions in a polite, unbiased nope manner

Yours truly,

Squonk

 

[NickyJ]

Is Poland in Eastern, Central, or Western Europe?

Or Canada? Or North Africa? Or.......

 

[muhtesem insan]

Do you remember Socialist Rule? If you do can you compare it with now?

 

[Squonk]

Poland is in Central Europe, because it's central and pivotal to Europe, just as Europe is the centre of the World. Therefore, Poland is in Central World. One may say: Middle Earth.

 

[Tahuti]

How are Polish people generally dispositioned towards Jews, Germans and Russians and why you think that is? From what I've gathered, I've heard Polish people generally dislike these ethnic groups.

Also, how do Polish citizens generally think about EU integration? Poland is quite Eurosceptic isn't it? Has it to do with lingering animosity towards Germany?

 

[Squonk]

Do you remember Socialist Rule? If you do can you compare it with now?

I used to be a kid. I was born in 1982.
I remember it was completely different. There were some giant changes in the 90s which I well recall. I could say much... well, there were no fruit but the local ones (no bananas, no oranges etc, even tinned ananas was a very rare object that my aunt used to bring from Czechoslovakia). Bananas were the object of a great desire of the kids. The variety of everything, really was very much limited. 80's was a very bad decade for polish economy. I recall giant queues. Of course, the cars were different... people dressed different. In those days, there were still lots of grandmas covering their hair. That is what village women do in Poland (my turkish friend liked that very much, because it reminded him of a hijab ). But they probably just died out. I recall even some steam trains in SE Poland. I remember that one used to buy dianthus for day of the woman. In fact, the choice of flowers was very small as well, there were only a couple types of flowers present everywhere.
There were more flower clombs, but they were less varied. Pansies everywhere. There were no commercials in tv or billboards or anything like that, I remember when they started showing up. There were only old-style neons in the main streets. And there were much more giant propaganda murale that now fade away mostly. There was much more artisanship as well as great industry. I live in a region filled with coal mines, so we in kinder-garden were visited by coal-miners (on the day of St Barbara, who takes care of the miners), we used to dress as little miners, sing etc. And actually everyone liked miners' hats. Them and policemen's. I remember a very naughty poem about general Jaruzelski that used to be said by the children.

I think there were more drunk people lieing around.
There were more people in the churches.
People were going abroad very rarely.
Everything was more... crude and primitive. But I don't know how much of it has to do with the communist rule, and how much with time lapse. You know, obviously the fall of communism brought new technologies etc, but...

 

[warpus]

Am I allowed to answer questions here?

(no bananas, no oranges etc, even tinned ananas was a very rare object that my aunt used to bring from Czechoslovakia)

One of my favourite memories of when I was a kid in Poland was when my family got a package from Austria with western stuff in it.. like chocolate, toys, fruit.. Hmm wait, you couldn't mail fruit in a package, could you? Maybe my dad brought the bananas back from a trip to Austria then..

Either way, I walked around the neighbourhood eating a banana one day, not thinking about it much, being very intrigued about and focused on the banana. The next thing I know there is a large group of kids following me (20? 25?) and they're all amazed by my banana. They followed me cause they wanted to see it, not because they wanted to steal it.. it was just a very unfamiliar sight. I remember kids in my class eating banana glue just so they could find out what a banana tastes like. Anyway, after I was done with the banana I threw it on the ground (yeah, I was a bad kid), and then right away some kid picks it up and starts trying to eat it

 

[Squonk]

How are Polish people generally dispositioned towards Jews, Germans and Russians and why you think that is? From what I've gathered, I've heard Polish people generally dislike these ethnic groups.

It really depends on generation, times, and also on a region. But I've seen statistical data, and the image of EVERY foreign nation shifts positively each year since the fall of communism. And these weren't these ethnic groups that had the worst opinion earlier on, but Ukrainians, I believe (because there actually are many people that like Jews, Germans, Russians and many who dislike them, while the "ukrainian experience" was a more regional one, and, because of the massacres in Ukraine during ww2, it was definitely negative). I don't think anyone in Poland would play openly anti-jewish card. There were some, like L. Bubel, whose political support never rose above 1%, and, to a slighter degree, a fringy (and nowdays, non-existant) LPR party, which did "incidentally" show L. Kaczynski in a jewish hat in one of its clips, but, on another hand, its leader supported Israel in EU, to protect it from the Arabs. There is some antisemitism present, obviously, but it's declining and hardly a big problem nowdays I guess. Certainly not compared to several decades ago.

Germans and Russians - it also depends. Supporters of PiS party (30% in last elections) believe Germany and Russia are out to get us. But the rest aren't at all. And the insane attacts of PiS on Germany, as well as on PO party leaders (prime minister Donald Tusk had a grandpa in Wermacht, has family in Germany etc) actually made others feel sympathy for Germany and Germans. Russia has the worst press I guess. But still there are many many Poles that love Russian culture, russian songs, russian literature. They just aren't as vocal about it. So I wouldn't say Poles dislike Russians in general. There is a strong presence of people that do not, but that's just one of the currents, and it too, I believe, will fade away.

Also, how do Polish citizens generally think about EU integration? Poland is quite Eurosceptic isn't it? Has it to do with lingering animosity towards Germany?

No, actually Poland is quite euroenthusiastic. PiS party was eurosceptic, but it wasn't elected because of its european views. But yes, PiS's opposition to a more centralised Europe comes from the fact that Germany would be most important there. J. Kaczynski is quite suspicious of Germany, somehow.

 

[aelf]

How do you Pole dance?

 

[CELTICEMPIRE]

Can Poland into Space?

 

[Quackers]

I've read that Poles have a mentality of victimhood and defensiveness about there country and history. Is any of that true?
What are Poles taught and think about the Anglo-French war guarantee if Poland was invaded by Germany?

EDIT: To expand upon Smellincoffee's question - what do Poles feel about gaining vast swathes of German territory in the aftermath of world war 1 +2? The Poles got a huge part of Prussia and Germans were moved out en masse.

 

[Smellincoffee]

Have you ever been to (Prowincja Poznańska) Posen? Does it still retain any sign of having once been a German province?

(There's a chance that part of my family is from the area, historically, but I don't know if they were Germans or Poles.)

 

[Squonk]

I've read that Poles have a mentality of victimhood and defensiveness about there country and history. Is any of that true?
What are Poles taught and think about the Anglo-French war guarantee if Poland was invaded by Germany?

Yes, it's partly true. I've heard about some serious scholars discussing if Poland has "post-colonial trauma", just like the African states
Well, about the guarantees, not much is said, but obviously, the 'strange war', and british-american unwillingness to help Poland retain its eastern territory and independance, as well as opposition to Poland acquiring much territory in the west, is often recalled. In general, there used to be a tradition of talking about the "treason of the West". Of course, during the communist times it had a political significance and support. It's not alive now, though, because, especially during the 90's, the West was idealised.

Have you ever been to Posen? Does it still retain any sign of having once been a German province?

Well, I've been to Poznan, obviously. If you mean Posen (Major Poland) as a province, its citizens are seen as tidy, accurate, overly organised and stingy. sort of like Germans.

There's a population called Bambrzy around Poznan (although my friends from Poznań tell me "Bamber" is also a slur). They came originally (in XVIII century, before german rule) from the town of Bamberg in Germany, they retain unique folklore, but they speak polish only, even if they have German surnames. The most reknown of them was archbishop Paetz, who was forced to resign after a sexual scandal. But, again, they came before german rule and are completely polonised, although aware of their german origin.

There's no significant germany minority there anymore. Definite most left Major Poland after Poland regained independance, after ww1. They were nominally quite numerous before (up to 40%, but including the bits that Poland didn't gain after ww1), but mostly due to XIX century sponsored immigration and forced assimilation.

oh, and warpus, be my guest.

 

[jpinoniemi]

I like how your wrote POLAND in Roy G Biv backwards, was that intentional?

 

[GenMarshall]

What attractions are there in Poland? (By attractions, I mean key tourist places in Poland)

 

[NovaKart]

Ananas, is that pineapple? It's pineapple in Turkish. Lots of Poles immigrated to the US but I think that was in the early 20th century and perhaps a lot of them were Jewish.

 

[Terxpahseyton]

What is the first lesson learned in Polish driving lessons?
...
Wait, I'll answer that myself: Opening a car with a clamp.
HaHa

After that is out of the way: What is your impression about Polish work immigration into Germany? Is it sill perceived as something profitable? I heard not for the good development of the Polish economy and for the German wages being not that good after all.

 

[Commodore]

How do you feel when a stripper grinds her nasty bits on you?

I joke, but in all seriousness: How well has Poland recovered from having most of their leadership killed in a plane crash?

 

[jtb1127]

What do you think of the US?

 

[Camikaze]

Moderator Action: Let's just assume all the Pole jokes you could possibly think of have been said and go from there.