Willkommen in Polska: A Trip to Krakow and Auschwitz, and Exploring Polish Pride

Today is our 7-monthiversary here in Poland. Part of me feels like it has gone so quickly, but another part of me has felt the drag of time. It's more like some days fly by, while others never seem to end. However, this past week seems to have gone so quickly that I can hardly believe it's over.

St. Mary's Basilica

Last week, we had a four-day weekend, so we decided to visit the cultural capital of Poland: Krakow. Krakow is an immensely beautiful city and home to a vast history. There is a wide array of different cultures and nationalities represented and it's easy to see why Poles are so proud of it. We were there Thursday and Friday, and we saw the Old Town, had lunch on the Old Market Square, toured the former Jewish Ghetto, saw Tadeusz Pankiewicz's Apteka pod Orlem (Under the Eagle Pharmacy), went to Schindler's Factory (notable from the film Schindler's List), and walked around the Wawel Castle. It was enriching for our minds and good for our health (with all the walking). The weather also helped us enjoy the city. Thursday and Friday were gorgeous, sunny days, with temperatures in the mid to upper 20's C (upper 70's/low 80's F).

Gate at Schindler's Factory

During our tour of the former Jewish Ghetto, we were talking to our guide. He asked where we were from and was shocked that we wanted to live in Poland. He had previously traveled the world working on a cruise ship, but he was originally from Krakow. It was hard for him to believe that an American and an Englishman would want to live in Poland. In his head, we must be crazy. Perhaps we are, but I don't think it's because we want to live in Poland. Poland really is a beautiful country. It has forests, mountains, a coast, large cities, small towns. Between natural beauty and an emerging economy, Poland does have a lot to offer.

On the Saturday, we went to Auschwitz.

I never imagined I would go to Auschwitz. I didn't personally feel strong enough to face such horror. However, I felt a moral obligation to go. Since I was able to go, I felt it was my duty as a human being to see the history of the terror. It wasn't easy, but I'm glad I went.

By the time we got to Auschwitz, the weather had changed drastically. It was now cold and dangerously cloudy. Since it was a holiday weekend, we were standing in line for about an hour and a half to get into the museum. Once inside, we were shown a short video to give some background about Auschwitz 1, Auschwitz 2-Birkenau, and Auschwitz 3-Monowitz. After the film, we went outside to start the tour. It had started raining, so we had to buy some ponchos from the gift shop. The temperature had also dropped to 6 C (43 F). It was a sobering experience to go through Auschwitz it such miserable weather, knowing that the prisoners would have experienced the same weather in little more than pajamas and a thin pair of shoes, all the while starving and being forced into labor.

For me, a great tragedy of Auschwitz is the silence about the Polish prisoners. I remember learning in my history classes about the Jews, the Gypsies, and even the Soviet POW's, but I was never told that the first victims of Auschwitz were the Poles. The second largest group of people in Auschwitz were the Poles, and they were actually forced to build Auschwitz in the beginning. And it wasn't only in Auschwitz that the Poles were terrorized.

Under Nazi occupation, Polish was banned. Speaking Polish was punishable by prison, or even death. The greatest minds of Poland were sent to camps. The intention of the Nazis was to completely crush the Polish culture, Polish traditions, and Polish people. By the end of World War 2, the United Kingdom had lost 1% of its population to the war, Germany had lost 7-10%, and Poland had lost 16-20%. Poland had the greatest impact on its population due to the war. And after the occupation of the Nazis ended, the occupation of the Soviets began.

Poland had declared its independence November 11, 1918 and just over 20 years later it was occupied by the Nazis. From 1939-1945 the Nazis were in charge and then the Soviets took control starting in 1945. In 1989, the Soviets began their fall, and Poland had its first democratically elected leader, Lech Wałęsa, in 1990. In the past 90 years, Poland has spent 50 of them under occupation, and this is reflected in the mindset.

Most Poles that I talk to seem to have no pride in their country. They think because their economy is weaker than the U.K.'s or the U.S.' that their country isn't as good. They don't understand why anyone would want to move here and they're fighting to move out. But I think the Poles have so much to be proud of.

History has proved that the Poles are a strong, resilient people. They have fought for their freedom and have retained their culture in the face of adversity. In just the past century, there was the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of 1943, the Warsaw Uprising of 1944, the Cursed Soldiers who resisted both the Nazis and the Soviets, and the Solidarity movement which helped bring down the Soviet rule in Poland. Against all odds, the Poles have rose up and taken charge of their fate. Even when they lost, they got up again and kept on fighting. This is a tradition that every Pole should take pride in. And I hope someday soon they will.

Willkommen in Polska: Lingua Franca

Our monthiversary in Poland was this past Sunday. We have been able to pick up some basic Polish vocabulary (I'm American/British, numbers 1-10, some food), but, unfortunately, Polish is a very complicated language to learn for native English speakers. On the plus side, our German background tends to give us a lingua franca, since we are less than 5 kilometers to the nearest German town. That being said, I have had a Polish friend get upset about me speaking German when my native language is English, and there have been several people around the town who pretend they can't speak German although they accidentally let a few German words slip when they have tried to communicate with me. So, it isn't always recommended to automatically ask, "Sprechen Sie deutsch".

Why?

Well, it takes some historical explanations. For those who don't know much about Polish history (myself included until about a month ago), here's an incredibly brief breakdown. The first establishment of a Polish state was around 966 AD and the Kingdom of Poland was created in 1025. Over a few hundred centuries, several empires rose and basically demolished what was once Poland, with each empire taking various bits of the metaphorical Polish pie. Then, World War I happened, and Poland claimed it's independence with the end of the war on November 11, 1918 (the Second Polish Republic). After that, things were cool for a few decades until the jerk called Hitler came along and invaded Poland. That was the start of WWII, "The Big One" (as my grandma used to say). After the Allies defeated the Axis, Poland was given over to Communist Russia (even though they didn't like it), and Fawlty Towers was given a punch line. Fast forward to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, and Poland was once again independent and established the Third Polish Republic. If this was so fascinating that you want to know more, ask Wikipedia.

So, back to the original question of why we shouldn't jump to German in our daily conversations in Poland, and the answer is, well, Hitler invaded Poland. I am a strong opponent of stereotypes of any sort, but unfortunately for Germany, Hitler claimed to be acting on their behalf. I know some people would say, "That's ancient history. What's done is done. Let's move on." and the sentiment is nice enough. However, the wounds still seem to be quite fresh. Let's not forget that Auschwitz is located in Poland and there are still people alive who can remember the atrocities of the war.

With all that, I'm very happy to have a language with which I can communicate with the people where I'm living, but I also try to be as patient as possible when they lie about speaking or understanding German. It's a very touchy subject and I'd rather not be responsible for opening up old wounds.