General Jaruzelski, Poland and end of the COLD WAR

General Jaruzelski, Poland and end of the COLD WAR
part 1
Towarzysz Generał 1/8

Towarzysz Generał 2/8

Towarzysz Generał 3/8

Towarzysz Generał 4/8

Towarzysz Generał 5/8

Towarzysz Generał 6/8

Towarzysz Generał 7/8

Towarzysz Generał 8/8



Some historians believe that Polish sea captain Jan z Kolna led a flotilla of Danish ships to the coast of Labrador and down to the Delaware River in 1476. That was 16 yeas before Columbus landed on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola. Since Jan z Kolna died during the Atlantic crossing back to Europe, his discovery did not receive much prominence and died a natural death.

* In addition to the powerful Roman Catholic Church, which commands the allegiance of more than 90% of all Poles, three other denominations have the word “Catholic” in their names.The biggest is the Polish Catholic Church (app. 40,000 members), a Polish spin-off from Polonia’s Polish National Catholic Church, the Old Catholic Church of the Mariavites (20,000) and the Catholic Mariavite Church (5,000).


* Starting with deep economic chaos (including 800% inflation) when the communist system collapsed in 1989, by 1993 Poland had achieved a real growth rate of 2%. In 1995, Poland led all of Europe, not only the former Soviet bloc, with an impressive 6.5% annual economic growth rate. This year a 5% increase is expected — a very respectable figure. Political conflicts and frequent cabinet changes seem to have little impact on the economy which is developing according the reforms launched in 1990.

* The English word “billion” and the Polish word “bilion” do not mean the same thing. The English billion is a digit followed by 9 zeroes, whereas the Polish one entails 12 zeroes. In Polish the following numbers are used: milion (1,000,000), miliard (1,000,000,000) and bilion (1,000,000,000,000)

* The most honey is consumed in Poland during the winter months. It is used in Christmas baking — piernik, miodownik (gingerbread) — as well as in such Wigilia dishes as kluski z m1kiem and kutia. It is used to flavor krupnik (hot honey-spice cordial) and miodowka (honey- flavored vodka). Many Poles take miód (honey) to relieve the sore throats and coughs of the cold and flu season.

* The traditional four-cornered cap (rogatywka or konfederatka) worn by Poland’s military was done away with after World War II by the communists and restored by the communists in the early 1980s. The latter move was a ploy by communist strongman General Jaruzelski who tried in this way to prove he was a patriot and sugar-coat the bitter pill of martial law.


* Poland's longest river, the Vistula (Wisla), travels 1,047 (app. 630 miles) from south to north. It begins as a tiny trickle in the Tatra Mountains, is fed by brooks and streams and eventually turns into a mighty waterway which empties into the Baltic Sea.



* Despite the inroads made by sweet and sticky American-style soft drinks, more Poles (81%) still prefer mineral water as well as fruit and vegetable juices to Coke, Pepsi, Sprite, Fanta, Tonic, Seven-Up, etc. which is purchased by 66% of all consumers.

* Snow and cold failed to stop Warsaw's first St. Patrick's Day parade held in 1998. The event sponsored by a local Irish pub in cooperation with the Irish Embassy, featured bagpipers, dancers, clowns and floats. That night, Guinness as well as other brands of beer flowed freely to the tune of Irish ballads in the city's pubs.
* The 1920 Battle of Warsaw has been called the 18th most decisive battle in world history. Only several miles separated the invading Red Army from linking up with revolutionary forces in East Prussia, but the Polish Army smashed the red offensive at the gates of Warsaw and saved Europe from a bloody communist revolution.

* Although the United States has seven times the population of Poland, its people commit 20 times more murders. Roughly 1,000 murders a year are committed n the city of Chicago (population 3 million) each year, more than in all of Poland (population 39 million).

* Fuel consumption is measured in Poland not in terms of distance (miles per gallon), but in terms of how much fuel is needed to travel 100 kilometers (about 63 miles). This reporter's Polish-built Fiat Uno consumes some 7.5 liters over a distance of 100 km -- the equivalent of 50 miles per gallon.



* The medical specialist known in Polish as a 'stomatolog' does not specialize in treating stomach ailments. It means the same as 'dentysta' (dentist) and comes from the Greek word 'stoma' (mouth).

* The narrow back alleys, passageways, nooks, attics and cellars of Warsaw's quaint Old Town provided Polish freedom-fighters with get-away routes and hide-outs during the 19th-century anti-Russian insurrections, the anti-Nazi Warsaw Uprising (1944) and most recently martial law, declared in 1981 to crush Solidarnosc.

* During a recent visit to Warsaw, US Secretary of Defense William Cohen, who is of Jewish background, said he was proud that his ancestors originally came to America from the Bialystok region of northeastern Poland.

* There are no ushers in Poland's churches. Seating is on a first-come, first-serve basis, and in many churches much of the congregation stands along the walls and/or in the aisles during Mass.

* Edmund Obiala, a Polish engineer, is directing the construction of the huge Olympic Stadium in Sydney, Australia, which will play host to the next Olympic Games in the year 2000...

* The blue skyscraper in Warsaw's Bank Square was originally conceived as an office building, but was redesigned as a hotel in response to the late-1970s tourist boom. Martial law halted tourist traffic, so it was again redone as an office tower. More than a decade of weather damage to the unfinished building made completing the job extremely expensive.



* Most coffee consumed in Poland comes from Africa and Indonesia, rather than Latin America, which produces weaker-flavored varieties. Despite a TV advertising blitz pushing instant coffee (on which coffee companies make the biggest profits), ground coffee still accounts for 83% of sales in Poland.

* Poland is Europe's biggest producer of apple juice and frozen fruit, and ranks among the world's top producers of blackcurrants.


part 3
The closing times so typical of the English-speaking world are not rigorously observed in Poland. Many of the country's better restaurants and bars stay open until the last guest is ready to leave.

* Poland is one of the few countries whose armed forces and other unifo-rmed services wear a four-cornered cap patterned after the traditional 'rogatywka.' It is probably the only country where officers salute with only two fingers, and two fingers are also raised when taking an oath.

* 'Cracow' is the old-fashioned English spelling for Poland's old royal capital. The proper modern spelling is 'Krakow', and even more accurate is 'Kraków' (with an accent over the 'o').


Mother's Day ('Dzien Matki') is celebrated in Poland not on a Sunday but on May 26th, regardless of what day it falls on. Father's Day is unknown, but Grandmother's Day ('Dzien Babci') is celebrated on January 21st.

* Without additional information, it is impossible to correctly translate the word 'barn' into Polish. The reason is that a barn, in which hay and feed are stored, is called 'stodo3a', and one in which livestock is kept is known in Polish as 'obora'.

* One-fourth of the world's white storks make their home in Poland, where they are believed to bring good fortune to any farm on whose property they nest. Storks epitomize family values: they are faithful to their mates for life and take good care of both their young and their elderly.

* The typical word for 'hi' in Poland these days is 'czesc' which actually means 'honor'. Older Poles sometimes say 'serwus' or 'czolem' for 'hi'. The latter, incidentally, is the traditional greeting of the Polish Falcons of America.

* Names such as Kaczmarek and Wieczorek are most common in Silesia , Biegala and Przybylo in the mountainous Podhale region, and Rataj (plus derivatives: Ratajczak, Ratajski, etc.) in Wielkopolska (Poznan region).

* Poland has four registered churches with the word 'Catholic' in their official names. Besides the Roman Catholic Church, there is the Polish Catholic Church (50,000 followers), an offshoot of the Scranton-based Polish National Catholic Church, the Old Catholic Church of the Mariavites (25,000) and the Catholic Mariavite Church (5,000) which actually has woman priests and bishops.



* Although soccer remains Poland's No. 1 sport, the number of Polish sports fans who regularly follow NBA basketball and NHL hockey is steadily growing. But, although Little League Baseball is spreading, there is little Polish interest in US Major League Baseball or Professional Football.

* Prior to Hitler's 1939 invasion, Poland had the world's most vibrant community of 3.5 million Jews. It included influential religious structures, a sizable Yiddish-language press, numerous Jewish schools, movie studios and other cultural facilities. Jews played a leading role in the business, industry, arts and letters, medicine and legal profession of pre-war Poland..



* The River Vistula (Wisla) cuts the country into the Russian-influenced tea-drinking east and the German-influenced coffee-drinking west. By and large, however, most coffee in Poland is consumed in social settings (the café scene, pastry & coffee parties) rather than being a utility beverage with which to wash down breakfast or a sandwich.

* Poles named Adam and Ewa (Eve) are the only people who do not normally celebrate their namedays. That is because theirs falls on December 24th, Wigilia — too solemn an occasion to worry about anyone's name day party.



* Personal computers are becoming widespread, and more and more Poles are surfing the Internet. But unlike the US, Poland went from the ballpen era straight to the computer age, skipping the intermediate typewriter stage. Most Polish computer users have never learned to type and never owned a typewriter.

* Polish Jews often have surnames derived from the names of countries, regions or localities. These include: Amsterdamski, Berlinski, Bielecki, Gdanski, Holender, Krakowski, Lubelski, Mazowiecki, Perski, Podolski, Poznanski, Siedlecki, Syryjczyk, Slaski, Turecki, Turek. Sometines they have German spellings: Danziger (Gdanski), Lubliner (Lubelski), Posener (Poznanski), etc.

* Moose, beavers and lynx have been reintroduced to the Kampinos Forest National Park just outside Warsaw and are adapting to their new surroundings favorably. Efforts are also under way to restore the area's flora- and fauna-rich wetlands which are drying up due to ill-conceived irrigation projects.

* Poland's largest-selling daily, 'Gazeta Wyborcza' (Election Gazette), got its name because it was originally set up to campaign for Solidarity candidates in the 1989 elections. Rather than representing Solidarity as a whole, it soon became the mouthpiece for its liberal intellectual fringe.



* The Human Massacre (Rzez Humanska) in Poland's eastern border-lands is the name given to a 1768 revolt by rampaging Ukrainian peasants who slaughtered Polish noblemen attempting to defend Jews.

* Warsaw is now Europe's third biggest construction site after Berlin and Moscow. Especially in Warsaw and other big cities, construction crews are working round-the-clock erecting skyscrapers, office towers, business centers, malls and fancy condominium complexes.

* Improved high-tech telephone links make it easier than ever to phone relatives and friends in Poland. Just dial: 0-00-48-area code-number.

* Before becoming king of Poland in 1632, for a brief period W3adys3aw IV was Czar of all the Russia. A revolt by Russian boyars (noblemen) overthrew him and expelled Polish occupation forces from the Kremlin. November 7th, the anniversary of that event, is now celebrated in Russia as Indepen-dence Day.

* So far, Poland has no capital gains tax. That means that profits earned on stocks and bonds are not subject to income tax. The interest earned on savings accounts and time certificates is also not regarded as taxable income.
* The American Polonia's oldest insurance fraternal is the Polish Roman Catholic Union of America (PRCUA), set up in 1873. The largest such organization is the Polish National Alliance (PNA), founded in 1880. Both fraternals are headquartered in Chicago.

* The Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, the honorary leader of world Orthodoxy, recently prayed before the icon of the Black Madonna in Czestochowa during a visit to Poland. It was the first such event in history.

* Although in 7th place as in terms of area and population, Poland is no. 3 in Europe in terms of the number of dogs and cats per capita. Britain and France hold first and second place respectively.

* According to American flag etiquette, when an American and Polish flag are displayed crossed, the Stars and Stripes should be on the viewer's left and the white and red Polish banner on the right. When the anthems of the two countries are performed at public events, 'Jeszcze Polska nie zgine3a" should come first, followed by "The Star-Spangled Banner."



* Centuries ago it was said that the best Poland had to offer included a boot from Warsaw, a 'piernik' (honey-spice cake) from Torun, vodka from Gdansk and a maiden from Krakow.

* Polish soldiers are now serving in international peace-keeping forces in Bosnia, Lebanon and Syria and are on the scene as observers in Asia, the Caucusus and Africa. Several years ago they took part in a peacekeeping mission in Haiti.

* Film director Jerzy Hoffman's recently released movie 'Ogniem i mieczem' ('With Fire and Sword') has broken all attendance records in Poland, and more people saw it during the first week than runner-up 'Titanic'. Based on Henryk Sienkiewicz's epic historical novel dealing with the Poland's bloody 17th-century conflict with the Cossacks, it is Poland's most expensive movie and cost $8.5 million to produce.

* In 1999, the following legal holidays (when schools and nearly all workplaces get the day off) are being observed: New Year's Day (Jan. 1), Easter (April 5-6), May Day (May 1), Constitution Day (May 3), Corpus Christi (June 3), Feast of the Assumption (Aug. 15), All Saints Day (Nov. 1) and Christmas (Dec. 25-26).


* Rogalin near Poznan has Europe's largest concentration of old oak trees. There are about 1,000 old trees in what now is a protected nature reserve ranging from two to nine meters (six to 18 feet) in circumference. Elegant Raczynki Palace with its formal gardens is another local tourist attraction.



* The older generation in some parts of Poland still uses the term 'slawojka' to mean outhouse. The privy got named after Felicjan Slawoj-Skladowski (1885-1962), the prime minister in the 1930s, who launched a campaign to build outhouses in the more backward parts of the countryside.

* The smallest denomination Polish banknote currently in circulation has a value of 10 zlotys ($2.66), for which you can buy a Whopper, fries and coke at Burger King; the largest is the 200-zloty note (about $53) which will buy a bottle of good Scotch in Poland.
* Polish-born pontiff John Paul II, former Krakow Archbishop Karol Wojtyla, has beatified and canonized about as many servants of God in 20 years' time as were raised to the altar over the past 400 years. During his planned June pilgrimage to Poland he is expected to beatify 108 victims of World War II.



* Poland's first bishopric, set up in Poznan in the year 986, is the final resting place of Prince Mieszko I, the country's first historical ruler, and his son Boleslaus the Brave (Boles3aw Chrobry), Poland's first crowned monarch.



* This year Poland is celebrating the 150th anniversary of the death of Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849), the world-famous composer. The occasion is being marked with jubilee concerts, exhibitions, commemorative postage stamps and new publications dedicated to his life and works.



* The statue of Poland's King Zygmunt III was the first secular figure to be placed atop a column anywhere in Europe. His son, King Wladyslaw IV, to commemorate his father's transfer of Poland's capital from Kraków to Warsaw in 1596, built it in 1644.



* Poland's biggest skansen (outdoor ethnographic museum) is located in the southern city of Sanok. A total of 113 buildings, including thatched-roof peasant cottages, old mills, inns and chapels have been reconstructed over a nearly 100-acre site where they may be admired by visitors.

* There is no one word for 'pal-lbearer' in Polish, because carrying a coffin was not regarded as a special custom or institution. Mortuary attendants, gravediggers or family friends can be called on to perform this task, but Poles never saw any reason for giving it a special name.

* Exiled Polish King Stanislaw Leszczynski (1677-1766) is credited with having introduced the French to two specialties of Polish cuisine: bigos (meat & sauerkraut stew), which is known in France as choucrôute garni, and baba (tall yeast-raised egg bread), which the French developed into one of their favorite desserts: baba au rhum.

* All of the some 4,000 European bison found in zoos and nature preserves around the world have Polish roots. After World War I and again after World War II Polish breeders rebuilt the country's bison herd almost from scratch and subsequently shared their breeding material with other countries. At present about 600 'zubry' (bison) roam at liberty in Poland's forests.



* The agrarian origin of the ancient Poles is evidenced by the Slavic names for basic tools: lopata (spade), widly (pitch-fork), sierp (sickle), siekiera (axe), gwozdz (ordinary nail), woz (cart, wagon) and socha (primitive plow). But Poles borrowed from Germans the names of more sophisticated implements including plug (more refined plow), sruba (screw), bretnal (board-nail), szprycha (spoke) and durszlak (colander).

* Completed in 1502, the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Kosciol Mariacki) in Gdansk took 123 years to build. Said to accommodate 20,000 people, it is Poland's biggest house of worship and one of Europe's largest Gothic brick churches.

* Completed in 1502, the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Kosciol Mariacki) in Gdansk took 123 years to build. Said to accommodate 20,000 people, it is Poland's biggest house of worship and one of Europe's largest Gothic brick churches.

* Polish numbers are rather difficult for foreigners to master, and the numeral two is undoubtedly the most troublesome since it has all of 13 different forms: dwa, dwaj, dwie, dwu, dwoch, dwom, dwom, dwoma, dwiema, dwoje, dwojga, dwojgu & dwojgiem.

* The fabled painting of Our Lady of Czestochowa is a 11th - 12th-century Byzantine icon offered to the Pauline monastery by Prince Wladys3aw of Opole in 1384. According to legend, it was painted by St Matthew on the table-top of the Holy Family in Nazareth.

* The standard Polish flag is divided equally into a white horizontal top half and a crimson bottom half. The national crest, acrowned white eagle on a redshield, should be flown only by Polish ships at sea and Polish diplomatic legations abroad. Turned upside down (with the red half at the top), Poland's colors become the national flag of Indonesia.



* The agrarian origin of the ancient Poles is evidenced by the Slavic names for basic tools: lopata (spade), widly (pitch-fork), sierp (sickle), siekiera (axe), gwozdz (ordinary nail), woz (cart, wagon) and socha (primitive plow). But Poles borrowed from Germans the names of more sophisticated implements including plug (more refined plow), sruba (screw), bretnal (board-nail), szprycha (spoke) and durszlak (colander).



* 'Czernina' (also spelled 'czarnina') is better known across Polonia than in Poland. Board of health regulations now prevent the sale of blood in butcher shops, so only those who raise their own poultry or know someone who does can regularly enjoy the soup.

* The Human Massacre (Rzez humanska) in Poland's eastern borderlands is the name given to a 1768 revolt by rampaging Ukrainian peasants who slaughtered Polish noblemen attempting to defend Jews.

* Warsaw is now Europe's third biggest construction site after Berlin and Moscow. Especially in Warsaw and other big cities, construction crews are working round-the-clock erecting skyscrapers, office towers, business centers, malls and fancy condominium complexes.

* Improved high-tech telephone links makes it easier than ever to phone relatives and friends in Poland. Just dial: 0-00-48-area code-number.

* Before becoming king of Poland in 1632, for a brief period Wladyslaw IV was Czar of all the Russias. A revolt by Russian boyars (noblemen) overthrew him and expelled Polish occupation forces from the Kremlin. November 7th, the anniversary of that event, is now celebrated in Russia as Independence Day.

* So far, Poland has no capital gains tax. That means that profits earned on stocks and bonds are not subject to income tax. The interest earned on savings accounts and time certificates is also note regarded as taxable income.

* The American Polonia's oldest insurance fraternal is the Polish Roman Catholic Union of America (PRCUA), set up in 1873. The largest such organization is the Polish National Alliance (PNA), founded in 1880. Both fraternals are headquartered in Chicago.
* The Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, the honorary leader of world Orthodoxy, recently prayed before the icon of the Black Madonna in Czestochowa during a visit to Poland. It was the first such event in history.

* Although in 7th place as regards area and population, Poland is No. 3 in Europe in terms of the number of dogs and cats per capita. Britain and France hold first and second place respectively.

* According to American flag etiquette, when an American and Polish flag are displayed crossed, the Stars on Stripes should be on the viewer's left and the white and red Polish banner on the right. When the anthems of the two countries are performed at public events, 'Jeszcze Polska nie zginela" should come first, followed by 'The Star-Spangled Banner".

* In one of its promotional campaigns, McDonald's announced 'Los Tygodnios Mexicanos' (Mexican weeks) in its Polish outlets and featured a spicy chicken cutlet on a bun called -- believe it or not -- 'El Kurczako'.

* Poles males often remember their army days in terms of humiliating hazing, time-wasting make-work, nasty drill sergeants, crack-of-dawn military exercises, poor lodgings and horrible food. One thing most of them recall with nostalgia is 'soldiers' pea soup' (zolnierska grochowka) -- exceptionally delicious because it slowly simmers in huge kettles for many long hours.

* An 18,000-sqaure-foot combined Polish Cultural Center, mini-mall and business complex are being planned in a prime area of Las Vegas, which has an estimated 35,000 Polish Americans. Information on the project can be obtained from the developer, Zbigniew Krowicki, at (702) 263-8031.



* Each year about $80 million worth of raw amber is smuggled from Russia's Baltic enclave, known as the Kaliningrad district, to Poland and Germany. There, the fossilized Baltic resin is cut and polished into jewels of true beauty.

* The American banking family of Chase (as in Chase Manhattan) is descended from Polish Jews whose original name was Ciesla (which means 'carpenter' in Polish).

* A Pole who has the letters 'Dr' before his name is not necessarily a medical doctor. Anyone who has a Ph.D., in economy, biology, history, theology, chemistry, political science or any other field, is entitled to have a 'doctor' before his name.

* Buffalo-area native, Pol-Am James Pawelczyk, who traveled into space in 1998 aboard NASA's neurolab, was the world's third Polish astronaut. The first was Miroslaw Hermaszewski who orbited the earth aboard a Soviet Soyuz-30 satellite in 1978. The second was Polish-American Scott Parazynski, a medical doctor, whose first trip into space took place in 1992.

* Until the dawn of the computer age, the American at-sign (@) was largely unknown to Poles who used the French letter 'a' for that purpose. Now the @ is widely known as part of e-mail addresses and is referred to in Polish as 'malpka' (little monkey), because it is perceived as a monkey encircled by its own tail.

* 'Województwo Lubuskie' is the only one of Poland's 16 new voivodships (provinces) named after a city in a foreign country. Lubusz, the city from which it got its name, is in Germany where it is called 'Lebus' (pronounced: LAY-bus). Zielona Gora is therefore the administrative center of the new voivodship.

Contrary to prevailing Western stereotypes that consign Poland to 'Eastern Europe', our ancestral homeland is actually situated in the very heart of Europe. The town of Suchowola in northeastern Podlasie (Bia3ystok) voivodship (province) is located at the very geographic center of the European continent.

* Some Pol-Ams were surprised when Pope John Paul II canonized St Jadwiga (Hedwig) during his June '99 trip to Poland, saying things like 'we've had a St. Hedwig's Parish in our town for years.' But that Hedwig (1174-1243) was a Silesian princess. The recently canonized Jadwiga (1373-1399) was Queen of Poland at the side of King Wladyslaw Jagiello.

* Many Poles dab themselves with a cotton ball saturated with vanilla extract to keep mosquitoes away.

* According to Polish folk belief, it is unlucky to get married in any month that does not have the letter 'r in its name. In Polish such unlucky months are: styczen (January), luty (February), kwiecien (April), maj (May), lipiec (July) and listopad (November). As of January 1999, foreign companies had invested at least $30.6 billion in direct investments in Poland - more than in any other country of Central or Eastern Europe.

* Thirty-six Polonian folk-dance ensembles from 12 different countries took part in the 1999 edition of the World Festival of Polonian Folk Ensembles, held in the southern city of Rzeszów in July. The festival was launched in 1969 and has been held every three years ever since.

* This year's St Patrick's Day festivities in Warsaw included the traditional parade and an Irish Ball at the Sheraton Hotel, featuring a steak dinner, followed by Irish coffee and 'all the booze you can drink' for $100.



* In Polish, 'Asia' is not a continent. It is pronounced AH-shah and is the endearing form of the name 'Joanna' (yo-AHN-nah). The continent is known as 'Azja' (AHZ-yah).

* Polish is now being used as much as Spanish in the liturgy of Chicagoland's Roman Catholic parishes. That information was brought to light at the Polish-American Priests Association's April 1999 convention in Washington, DC.

* Icchak Cukierman, one of the leaders of the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, wrote: 'There are Poles we have ruined. We disrupted their lives when their houses were burned down and their possessions lost. What magnificent people! Whoever harbors general hatred towards the Polish nation is committing a grave wrong. In Warsaw alone some 40,000 people helped in one way or another to alleviate the plight of Jews.'



* Poland's nearly two-century-long Golden Age coincided with the rule of the Jagiellonian Dynasty (1385-1573), when Poland was the biggest country in Europe. This multinational commonwealth of Poles, Lithuanians, Ruthenians, Jews, Armenians, Tartars, etc. straddled the continent from the Baltic to the Black Sea and witnessed the dynamic growth of trade, the arts, crafts and learning.

* Morgan's Pub is a genuine Irish saloon operated in Warsaw (ul. Okólnik 1, phone: 826-8138) by Irishman Ollie Morgan and his sons: Tom, Maurice and Sean. n More than 62% of all Poles now live in cities and towns. Of the 38% living in rural areas, about one-half are gainfully employed in agriculture.

* Things that set Poland apart include the four-cornered hat ('rogatywka') of soldiers and other uniformed services, the two-finger salute, the two-finger raised-hand oath and the chivalrous custom of kissing women's hands. Under the influence of Hollywood and MTV, the latter (hand-kissing) will probably not survive long into the 21st century.



* Kielbasa is indeed a widespread Polish specialty, but Polish Americans visiting Poland for the first time are surprised to find that it is rarely served hot as a main course. Poles mainly regard it as a cold cut and eat cold smoked kie3basa for breakfast, supper and trips (in sandwiches).

* Contrary to widespread Polonian practice, Chester, Mitchell, Walter, Stanley, Stella and Bernice are not the correct translations of the Polish names Czeslaw, Mieczyslaw, Wladyslaw, Stanislaw, Stanislawa and Bronislawa respectively.Linguistically speaking, the true equivalents are Ceslaus, Miecislaus, Ladislaus, Stanislaus, Stanislava and Bronislava.

* Since the exchange rate during summer '99 was from 3.89 to 3.98 zlotys to the dollar, Polish Americans visiting Poland this year found it easy to roughly calculate prices by regarding each zloty as a US quarter.

* Poland has a population density of 320 people per square mile, compared with 606 for Germany and 276 for France. The most sparsely populated area are Bieszczady Mountains in the southeast, a rugged wilder-ness where wolves and bears are still encountered.



* Polish women over 85 who were named after the Blessed Virgin have had to change the spelling of their names three times. Before World War I it was spelled 'Marya', between the two World Wars it became 'Marja', and since the Second World War it has been 'Maria'.

* The August 1999 solar eclipse, which could be seen in its entirety in neighboring Germany and other countries, was only from 80% to 95% visible in Poland, wherever cloud cover did not obscure it from view. Kraków had its last total solar eclipse in 1415, when King Wladyslaw Jagiello sat on the throne. The next one is due in the year 2135.

* The high point of Christmas for culturally aware Polish-Americans is not Christmas Day, but Wigilia (Christmas Eve), when oplatek is shared, traditional meatless delicacies are enjoyed, koledy are sung, and the Pasterka (Shepherds' Mass) is the crowning touch of the evening. Unlike Anglos and other non-Polonians, Pol-Am kids get to open their presents on the evening of December 24th without having to wait till the following morning.

* The best and most complete book in English on Wigilia is Father Czeslaw Krysa's 'A Polish Christmas Eve'. Jam-packed with historical glimpses, nostalgic recollections and Christmas lore as well as customs, recipes, home-made ornaments and much more, it is available at: PAJ Bookstore, 1275 Harlem Road, Buffalo, NY 14206; Internet: http://www.polamjournal.com


* In the olden days Advent, like Lent, lasted 40 days and started in mid-November. St. Martin's Day (Nov. 11) was celebrated as the last outburst of revelry. Today that period of spiritual preparation is two weeks shorter, and St Andrew's Eve (Nov. 30) is the final fling of pre-Advent merriment.

* The first star to appear in the sky on Christmas Eve is the signal for the festivities to commence. This is good example of how legend and practicality have long intermingled in Polish tradition: sighting the first star was a job given to the youngest child who stood transfixed at the window and kept out of the way as last-minute preparations were under way.

* Hungarian-born Saint Queen Jadwiga (Hedwig), canonized by Pope John Paul II during his June 1999 visit to Poland, first introduced Poles to Roraty (early-morning Advent Mass) and jase3ka (nativity play) which have been an integral part of Polish Christmas celebrations ever since.

* If you need information on Polish Christmas traditions or any other holidays and customs, please phone: the Polish Department of St. Mary's College, Orchard Lake, Mich. at 1-900-370-POLE (7653).


* In the old American Polonia (late 19th/early 20th centuries), the December gift-giver was referred to more often as Gwiazdor (Christmas Man) than Swiety Miko3aj. That was because the earliest Polish immigrants came from Prussian-occupied Poland, where a secularized Weihnachstmann (bearded, robed but unbishop like Christmas gift-giver) was strongly promoted to offset the Polish-style St. Nick.

* To this day, the Christmas season in Poland lasts not only until January 6th (Feast of the Three Kings), but all the way to February 2nd (Candlemas or Feast of the Purification of the BVM), when the last koledy are sung at church.

* A slice of ordinary rye bread sprinkled with sugar was once a rare Christmas treat to youngsters in the poorest parts of Poland, especially the hard-scrabble mountain regions of the south.

* The word 'oplatek' (Christmas wafer) is believed to have come from the Latin term 'oblata' which meant an offering or gift. It was also used to denote the consecrated Host. The two wafers are similar because when we break op3atek we enter into spiritual communion with those we share it with.

* On the forthcoming Feast of the Three Kings, also known as the Epiphany (January 6th), Poles and Polish Americans not ashamed of their heritage will inscribe the formula K+M+B 2000 over the doorways of their homes with chalk blessed in church. Those are the initials of the Three Kings or Wisemen (in Polish: Kacper, Melchior and Baltazar) and the current year.

* The basic Christmas vocabulary every Pol-Am should know includes: Boze Narodzenie (Christmas), Gwiazdka (another name for Christmas), Wigilia (Christmas Eve), oplatek (Christmas wafer), siano (hay), choinka (Christmas tree), koleda (carol), kolednicy (carolers), zlobek (Christmas crib), jaselka (nativity play) and Herody (humorous skit about the evil King Herod).

* A small, inexpensive but fairly comprehensive book on the traditions of Polish Yuletide is 'Christmas the Polish Way.' It is available for $6 a copy post-paid from: Youth & Education Department, Polish Union of America, 1004 Pittston Avenue, Scranton, PA 18505.

* Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia (Happy Christmas Holidays), often shortened simply to Wesolych Swiat (Happy Holidays), is the Polish way of saying Merry Christmas. Often added are the New Year's wishes: ...i szczesliwego Nowego Roku.

* Christmas Eve lore usually has to do with the marital prospects of eligible girls. A ripe, golden blade of hay pulled from under the table-cloth was said to mean a girl would marry before Ash Wednesday; a green one meant another year of maidenhood, and a withered blade foretold the life of an old maid.

* Apart from herring, the two main Wigilia fish are the szczupak (pike) and karp (carp). The pike's head, if expertly taken apart, contains bones foretelling Christ's Crucifixion: a cross, ladder, hammer, spear and nails. A scale from the Christmas carp in one's wallet was said to attract money all year long.

* When sending a Christmas card to someone special you won't see in person over Christmas, add a piece of op3atek, from which you have broken off and eaten a small piece. That way you will have shared op3atek with that person over the miles. If you find it difficult getting oplatek in your area, contact: Christmas Wafers Bakery, PO Box 99, Lewiston, NY 14092
* In Polish tradition, Christmas is less about presents and more about family togetherness, forgiving past wrongs and reminiscing about family members that have gone on to their reward; it combines the things most Poles cherish the most: God, country and family.

* Poles will be cheated out of two free days this year, because Christmas Day falls on a Saturday and the Second Day of Christmas on a Sunday. Both the 25th and 26th are public holidays when they fall during the week. Poles get half a day off on Christmas Eve.

* The melody of that beloved, sweet and gentle lullaby-carol 'Lulajze, Jezuniu' was incorporated by Poland's world-renowned 19th-century composer, Frédéric Chopin, into one of his scherzos.

* Before the Christmas tree was introduced from Germany, Poles decorated their homes with an evergreen bough (known as sad, pod3aYnik or pod3aYniczka); it was suspended from the rafters and decorated with nuts, gingerbread, almond confections and fruits as well as home-made ornaments fashioned from paper, straw, egg-shells and op3atek.



* It is traditional to have an additional place-setting at the Wigilia table. It is usually in memory of a departed family member but may be offered to a wayward traveler, lonely stranger or anyone who would otherwise have to spend the evening in solitude.

* Today it is still common to scatter a handful of hay on the table-top before covering it with a pure-white table-cloth for Wigilia supper. Some families only place a small ribbon-tied bunch of hay on the plate with the op3atek. In the olden days, peasants used to scatter straw on the floor, tie the table legs with straw and stand sheaves of unthreshed grain in all four corners of the room.

* If you have drifted away from yours Polish heritage, perhaps this is the year to enrich your family's holiday celebrations with the real thing. For information on how to go about it, ask around in your Pol-Am club, parish or neighborhood. Or read up on your Christmas heritage (see following entry).

* A leading source of Polish Christmas-related books, recordings, crafts, decorations, gift items and delicacies is the following mail-order firm: The Polish Art Center, 9539 Joseph Campau Avenue, Hamtramck, MI 48212; phone: (313) 874-2242; fax: 874-1302; Internet: http://www.polartcenter.com

* Polish-style caroling involves masqueraders, with an Angel, Devil, Grim Reaper and King Herod regarded as the core group. A large pole-mounted star and/or a Christmas crib (sometimes in the form of a puppet stage) were carried by the revelers. Other characters include the Three Kings, a soldier, Gypsy, Jewish merchant and, in the Krakow area, also a Lajkonik (Tartar horseman).

* Another form of Christmas house-to-house masquerading is the customs known as Stare Jozefy (Old Josephs). Usually farm hands attach beards made of hemp, don sheepskin jackets fleece-side-out and travel through the village supported by long staffs. In a manner somewhat reminiscent of St. Nicholas, they ask kids if they have been behaving, but mostly they enjoy frightening youngsters and ask the head of the household for treats.

* In the olden days, kutia or kucja, a Christmas Eve wheat-grain dessert flavored with honey, nuts and poppyseeds, had a ritual significance. Spoonfuls of the sticky pudding were flung at the ceiling. The more that stuck, the better luck and prosperity the household was believed to enjoy the following year. That is the name given to the priest's house-to-house pastoral visits which begin after the Feast of the Three Kings. The priest visits parishioners, prays with the family, blesses the home, updates the parish records and receives a koleda (free-will offering) from the family.

* Krakow in early December is the scene of a unique creche-making contest. The Krakow Creche (szopka krakowska) resembles a magnificent cathedral and is fashioned from cardboard and/or plywood and decorated with shimmering multi-colored foil. Chicago's Polish Museum of America has done much to popularize the szopka krakowska which may range from several inches to more than 10 feet in size.

* St. Stephen's Day, or the Second day of Christmas (Dec. 26), is also a legal holiday in Poland. In churches parishioners bring oats to church to be blessed and threw them at the priest and one another to commemorate the stoning of St. Stephen the martyr.

* To Poles, Wigilia (Christmas Eve) is not only the single most important day of the Christmas season but of the entire year. Emergency workers (policemen, firemen, medical staff, etc.), who have to work over Christmas, gladly work on December 25th, if only to be with their loved ones on the 24th.

* The Polish Christmas season stretches all the way from the start of Advent (late November/early December) to Candlemas (Matki Boskiej Gromniczna) celebrated on February 2nd. The gromnica (lightning-bolt candle) is a tall beeswax candle that was lighted during thunderstorms as well as at the bedside of the seriously ill and dying. In Polish folk culture, the Blessed Mother's candle was also believed to ward off wolves as seen in the accompanying drawing.


part 8

* To this day nobody knows the identity of a mysterious caller who phoned Sikorski's London office of Polish Commander-in-Chief Gen. Wladyslaw Sikorski and predicted his death several weeks before his fatal plane crash off Gibraltar in May 1943.

* Poland had 2 million people in 1340, compared with Spain's 5 million. By 1600, Poland with 7.5 million was catching up to Spain's 8 million, and in 1772 Poland had a population of 11.5 million, 2 million more than Spain. At present both countries' population is approaching 40 million.

* Annual consumption of all alcoholic beverages in Poland has fallen since the collapse of communism from more than 11 to 8.6 liters per capita (calculated in terms of pure alcohol). The proportion of beer and wine has increased, with hard liquor (mainly vodka) accounting for only about 50% of the alcohol now being sold.

* Poland recently commemorated the 60th anniversary of its war-time education system. During the Nazi occupation period Poland's had occupied Europe's most extensive clandestine school network, operated at the risk of their lives by some 20,000 teachers.

* There are an estimated 500,000 people who stutter in Poland, and they even have their own association. At meetings the problems faced by stutterers are discussed and members are urged not to be ashamed of their disability which had afflicted such greats as Aristotle and Churchill.



* The Polish word kolacja (supper) came from the Italian word colazione (breakfast), so somehow its meaning changed in the transition.

* The average Polish monthly industrial-sector wage is about $435, but many people (teachers, nurses, sales clerks, policemen) earn in the neighborhood of $200. An inexpensive small car costs $4,500, a pint of inexpensive vodka runs $6.50 and two small hamburgers and a large order of fries is $4.50 at Burger King.

* A marathon race is held on the anniversary of Father Jerzy Popieluszko's death along his final 110-kilometer (68-mile) road between Bydgoszcz, where he celebrated his last mass, to W3oclawek where he was killed by the communist secret police in 1984.

* The New York-based Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences has recently set up an archival information center at its website (www.piasa.org) to help Polish Americans collect and preserve family data as well as records of Polonian organizations.



* The name Poland comes from Polanie (field-dwellers), an early Slavic tribe that inhabited what is now Great Poland (the Poznan region). The Polanians eventually conquered neighboring tribes and began consolidating what would eventually become the first Polish state.

* Jerzy Buzek, a Lutheran affiliated with the Solidarity bloc (AWS), is Poland's eighth and longest-serving prime minister since the collapse of communism in 1989. A chemical-engineering professor and former underground Solidarity activist, he has headed the current government since autumn 1997.

* If you are a professional person of Polish descent, you should look into what the Association of Polish-American Professionals has to offer. Simply visit website: http://www.informatics.sunysb.edu/apap/

* Today's Poland has an area of 312,383 square kilometers (120,728 square miles) and a population of 38.6 million, 97% of whom are ethnic Poles. Germans, Ukrainians, Belarussians, Lithuanians and others account for the remaining 3%.



* 62-year-old retired coal-miner Oswald Gorecki of Zabrze has built a model of the Eiffel Tower using 450,000 wooden matches. The spent about three hours a day on the project which took him for years to complete.
* The pioneering research of Polish mathematical logician Jan Lukasiewicz (1878-1956) led to the development of the pocket calculators so common today.



* If you or someone you know runs a supermarket or deli, be sure to inquire about a variety of imported Polish jams, pickles, mushrooms, syrups, instant soups, cake mixes, vodka, etc.: Adamba Imports, 585 Meserole St, Brooklyn, NY 11237; phone: (718) 628-9700; website: www.adamba@cncdsl.com Previously we gave the wrong website.

* Contrary to Polish-American custom, Mitchell, Walter and Stanley are NOT the linguistic equivalents of the similar-sounding Mieczys3aw, W3adys3aw and Stanis3aw respectively. Their true equivalents are Miecislaus, Ladislaus and Stanislaus.

* Basia Dziewanowska, a Polish folklorist who displays, sells and lectures on Polish folk art, is preparing the definitive English-language book on Polish costumes. It will contain not only pictures and descriptions of folk attire from different parts of Poland but also patterns for those who want to sew their own. For information contact the author at: 41 Katherine Rd, Watertown, MA 02472; phone: (617) 926-8048.

* If we exclude the letters q, v and x (which occur only in a few foreign borrowings) and add nine special accented letters (1, e, 3, ?, a, n, ó, o, Y), the Polish alphabet comprises 32 letters, rather than the 26 of the English alphabet. (See following entry.)

* The longest word in the Polish language is Konstantynopolitanczykowianeczka. It means a little girl from Constantinopole, contains the same number of letters as the whole Polish alphabet (32) and is rarely used for any purpose other than to be cited as the longest Polish word.

* Betlejem (Bethlehem) is a tiny hamlet near the southeastern Polish town of Jaros3aw with a total population of 50. Nobody knows how its name originated, but some of the oldest residents think someone once built a wayside shrine to the Holy Family there.

* An easy and inexpensive way to expose children to their heritage are the 'Polish Kid's Corner' books by Basia Fr1ckiewicz of Buffalo. They contain customs, tales, folkcrafts (pisanki, wycinanki, etc.), historical trivia, even easy recipes, designed to stimulate the imagination of Pol-Am youngsters. For information contact: Buffalo Standard Printing, 3620 Harlem Rd, Cheektowaga, NY 14215; phone: (716) 835-9454.

* The full name of the popular Polish blood sausage containing groats and chopped variety meats is kiszka kaszana (roughly translatable as 'groaty casing' or 'encased groats'). In Poland this sausage is widely known today as kaszanka (from the second of the two words), whilst in Polonia kiszka (the first word of the two) is more prevalent.



* A middle-aged woman, who was once a computer-science teacher but later went into the hotel business, set up Poland's first women's website. It can be visited at http://www.kobiety.pl

* In the Poland of yesteryear many musicians were Jewish, hence such common Jewish last names as Kantor (cantor), Singer (singer), Fiedler (fiddler) and Spielmann (roving minstrel). Often the Yiddish names were translated into Polish (Opiewak, Grajek, Grajkowski, Grajewski) or given Polish spellings (Szpilman).

* The word 'light' on beer sold in Poland could be a selling point because anything in English is considered trendy. But the same word in Polish, 'lekkie', would turn beer-lovers away by revealing its lower-than-average alcohol content. Most Polish beer has from 5.5 to 6.2% alcohol; light beers are those with 5.4% or less.
* St Mary's Basilica of Gdansk, built between 1343 and 1502, is Europe's largest Gothic-style brick church. It is said to accommodate a congregation of 10,000.

* Each year in September an Archeological Festival is held in Biskupin (about 20 miles from Gniezno), where an ancient timber settlement has been reconstructed. During the event, visitors may watch demonstrations of primitive handicrafts and re-enactments of life as it was believed to have been in the 17th century BC during

* The foods bigos (meat & sauerkraut ragout) and pasztet (pâté) are used in colloquial Polish to mean a mix-up or mess, and klops (meatloaf) can mean a flop or failure. English also uses food terms such as pickle to mean trouble and fine kettle of fish to mean a mess.

* For information on how you can enjoy Polish satellite TV in your own living room, including Polish movies dubbed into English, phone 1-877-843-9788 or visit websites: www.kbs.tv.com or www.dishnetwork.com

* January 21st and 22nd are celebrated in Poland as Grandmother's and Grandfather's Day respectively. Kindergartners and grade-schoolers usually make their own greeting cards for their Babcia and Dziadzio, and older kids use their spending money to buy them flowers or other gifts.

* Polish forces are currently serving in United Nations peace-keeping operations in such places as Yugoslavia, Bosnia, Macedonia, Georgia (the former Soviet republic, not the US state), Israel and Korea.

* The name Polabians (Polabianie means those whose lands stretch all the way to the Laba [Polish for Elbe]) indicates that the Poles' early Slav ancestors once inhabited all of what would later become East Germany. Pomerania (Pomorze), Polish for 'up to the sea', is another indication that Germanization was a much later development.



* Chopin and Belvedere brands are imported from Poland as the world's top-of-the-line gourmet vodkas which sell in the US for around $30. a fifth (750 ml). Russia's Stolichnaya and Sweden's Absolut are poor man's drinks by comparison



* Poland's most impressive Passion Play tales place each year in Kalwaria Zebrzydowski in the south. The story of Jesus' Passion and Death is re-enacted by seminarians and townspeople in a setting designed to resemble the Garden of Olives, Pontius Pilate's Palace, the house of the Last Supper and Mount Calvary.

* The Baranek Wielkanocny, or Easter Lamb, is traditionally portrayed with a cross-emblazoned banner to symbolize the Risen Christ. They range in size from 1-2" to several feet and may be edible (rock candy, butter, white chocolate, bread or cake dough) or inedible (wood, plaster, fleece, plastic).

* For all your Polish Easter needs (including Polish palms, wooden pisanki and egg-coloring kits, Easter Lambs and lamb butter molds, greetings cards, recorded Easter hymns and assorted gifts and crafts) contact Polish Art Center at (313) 874-2242, e-mail: raymond@polartcenter.com or visit their website at http://www.polartcenter.com

* In some villages on Holy Wednesday, youngsters destroy and drown a straw effigy of Judas. The dark-clad scarecrow-type figure is hurled from the church tower into the street below, where it is pounced on by stick-wielding boys, dragged through the village and dumped in the nearest river or pond.
* Easter Monday has always been a legal holiday in Poland, and even the communists did not dare do away with that tradition. They also left the Second Day of Christmas (Dec. 26) and Corpus Christi on the calendar of legal holidays.

* If you don't feel like baking an Easter babka from scratch this year and there isn't a good Polish bakery nearby, try Polonia's first cyber-babka available over the Internet. Check it out at website www.eBabka.com

* The tableau of Christ's Tomb in Polish churches differs from place to place. The lifeless figure of Jesus may be displayed in a papier-mâché grotto or be surrounded by lush greenery, flowers and candles. Honor guards in historic dress or contemporary uniforms may keep watch over the tomb.

* The blessing of Easter baskets, together with the Christmas Eve op3atek-sharing custom, are Poland's most widely practiced holiday traditions. Big baskets containing most of the Easter meal are more typical in the countryside, while in big cities smaller, more symbolic baskets tend to be more common.

* Two weeks before Easter, oats are sown in a flower pot full of soil or garden cress seeds (Cardamine pratensis) are scattered in damp gauze or cotton. This produces a bed of fresh green grass in which to place the Easter Lamb.

* Michigan's Kowalski Sausage Co. will ship its excellent Polish kielbasa anywhere in the US including Alaska and Hawaii. For details call 1-800-482-2400 or (313) 873-8200 or visit website: www.kowality.com For Easter ask about their combination #1300 which includes fresh and smoked kie3basa, cottage ham, sauerkraut and horseradish.

* Emaus, the New Testament town to which Jesus was seen journeying after His Resurrection, is the name of a traditional church fair held in Kraków on Easter Monday. It was frequented by throngs of strollers who youngsters eagerly visited the stalls full of treats and old-fashion toys, enjoyed riding swings and merry-go-rounds and listening to the music of organ-grinders.

* Another Kraków custom was Rekawka (The Sleeve) on Easter Tuesday. Townsfolk, would gather on the mound (man-made hill) commemorating the city's legendary founder Krak (or Krakus) and eggs, apples and other owiecone leftovers to the poor, beggars, impoverished students and other needy people waiting at the foot of the mound.

* You can have traditional owiecone fare -- ham, kielbasa, smoked meats, horseradish, cwikla, rye bread, babka and other seasonal treats -- delivered to your doorstep by Polana, America's largest Polish-style on-line and phone-order food firm. For information phone toll-free 1-888-POLANA-1 or visit website www.polana.com



* A common Easter game is the egg race, in which Easter eggs are rolled down an inclined plank or slope with the one rolling the farthest being the winner. In a Silesian version of the custom, there is an indentation or hole at the end of the slope and the object is to have the rolling egg fall into it the way a golf ball does.

* Easter Monday in today's Poland is mainly drenching day. When youngsters cannot find girls to splash, they turn their buckets and plastic squirters on one another.

* The foods bigos (meat & sauerkraut ragout) and pasztet (pâté) are used in colloquial Polish to mean a mix-up or mess, and klops (meatloaf) can mean a flop or failure. English also uses food terms such as pickle to mean trouble and fine kettle of fish to mean a mess.

* Poland's top-priority foreign-policy goal of joining to the European Union in 2003 appears to have faded. Since negotiations have been deadlocked in various areas, Poland is not likely to be admitted to the European economic bloc earlier than in 2005, possibly even later.

* While officiating at the ordination of some three dozen Italian deacons to the priesthood in Rome, Polish-born Pope John Paul II called on the new priests to 'always love the Church as the Mystical Body of Christ in spite of the stains and wrinkles on its human face'.

* You can relive an old-style Polish country wedding on video by contacting Sobótka, PO Box 5244, Portland, OR 97208. The cost of the video is $10. plus shipping You can get a glimpse of the wedding by website: http://home1.gte.net/marek/wesele14.jpg

* A sour-rye soup known as ?ur was once a typical breakfast food in much of Poland.



* On the eve of World War II, 3.5 million Jews lived in Poland, or 10% of the population -- more than any other country until the state of Israel was established after the war.

* The annual Polish Festival of Portland, Oregon, billed as 'the largest Polish-flavored event west of Chicago', is being held this year (2001) on September 29 and 30. For more information contact: mprouse@yahoo.com or marek@gte.net

* Each year hundreds of thousands of Poles try their luck working in the West, mainly in Germany. Men work as construction workers, repairmen and mechanics, while women are usually employed as waitresses, housekeepers and child-minders.

* For information on this year's summer courses in Polish language and literature, organized by New York's Kosciuszko Foundation, visit website www.kosciuszkofoundation.org or phone (212) 734-2130 ext. 210.

* The River Vistula (Wisla) becomes especially treacherous in the vicinity of the northern city of Torun, where its poweful undercurrents and numerous whirlpools have proved fatal to even the best of swimmers.

* The gradual warming of Poland's climate has made ticks far more a health hazard than previous. The blood-sucking insects, which can produce serious brain diseases, are especially prevalent in the heavily forested northeastern corner of the country around Olsztyn, Suwalki and Bialystok.



* Poles never eat apple sauce with their breaded pork chops, the typical go-together being braised cabbage. In fact, although Poland is a major apple producer, apple sauce (mus jab3kowy) is rarely eaten in any size, shape or form.
* The great British writer George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) once said that there were three tragic nations: the Jews, the Irish and the Poles.



* During the 18th-century partitions of Poland, French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau advised the Poles: 'If you can't prevent being swallowed, then at least make sure the don't digest you. Through their uprisings and other forms of resistance Poles gave their invaders plenty of headaches and occasional indigestion.



* The Dominican Fair (Targ Dominikanski) in Gdansk is one of the country's biggest such folk festivals whose roots go back to the Middle Ages. Held each year in spring, it includes craft demonstrations, folk performances and a variety of goods, refreshments and entertainment of every imaginable type.

* Poles are believed to have some $1.5 billion on deposit in Swiss banks, Polish TV reported recently. It quoted unnamed banking officials as saying they were keeping a close eye on private depositors who make cash deposits, raising suspicions that the money may be from illegal sources.

* You can find out about having Polish television programs beamed into your home by contacting this e-mail address for free information: spanski@tvpolonia.com

* A pale-blue shirt worn with a suit and tie has become a fashion trade-mark of Poland's ex-communist President Aleksander Kwaoniewski who was re-elected to another five-year term in October 2000.

* Back when the police and army were the loyal defenders of the communist regime, it was Poland's voluntary fire departments that served as the Church's elite corps providing uniformed marchers, honor guards and marching bands for processions and other religious exercises.

* Poland's State Archives are petitioning UNESCO to have the 21 Demands of the 1980 Gdansk shipyard strikers included on the World Heritage List. The demands gave rise to Solidarity, the Soviet bloc' s first free trade union, and ultimately led to the collapse of the iron curtain.

* Entirely on Polish territory before World War II, Bialowieza Virgin Forest now straddles Poland's eastern border with slightly more of its 1,250 sq. kilometer area on the Belarussian side. Europe's largest primeval forest is home to bison, tarpans (wild ponies), moose, wild boar, elk, deer, wolves, ermine, otters, badgers and other wildlife.



part 11
* Pope John Paul II has accepted an invitation from the city fathers of his southern Polish hometown of Wadowice to visit it again in 2002. But he added the remark: 'Jak Bóg da' (God willing). He last visited his birthplace two years ago.

* Polish Americans visiting Poland this year saw their buying power shoot up over night during the first week of July. Due to various internal and international factors, one day they were getting only 3.95 zlotys to the US dollar, and the next day as much as 4.30 zlotys.

* Poland's Solidarity movement was born during the August 1980 Gdansk Shipyard strike. Following nine years of political struggle with the communist regime it led to the collapse of Soviet bloc and the democratic development of the Europe's eastern half.

* France's major Polish burial ground is the cemetery in the Paris suburb of Montmorency. Among the famous Poles buried there are writer and early writers and early US traveler Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz, poet and freedom-fighter Cyprian Godebski, 19th-century romantic poet Cyprian Kamil Norwid and World War II commander Gen. Kazimierz Sosnkowski.



* According to legend, Warszawa (Warsaw) got its name from fishermen named Wars and Sawa. Historians believe that in actuality it was named after a nearby village called Warszowa.

* During his recent first presidential trip to Europe, George W. Bush made his keynote foreign-policy address at Warsaw University where he supported NATO's continued enlargement and pointed to Poland as an example other ex-communist countries could follow.

* Both their self-imposed isolation stemming from their religious-cultural beliefs ('the chosen people') as well as limitations on settlement, land ownership and craft guild membership forced Poland's Jews to specialize in trade, inn-keeping and money-lending, making many of them rich and successful.

* Poland's standard half-liter (app. 17 oz.) short-neck beer bottle is now being gradually replaced by a long-neck bottle of identical volume. At first glance it resembles the old American 12 oz. long-neck bottle, except it is 5 oz. larger.

* For information on transferring money to family and friends in Poland via Western Union, phone: 1-800-325-6000 (for information in English) or 1-800-990-4440 (in Polish).

* Former US President Bill Clinton earned $100,000 for the lecture he delivered in Warsaw in May 2001. Former Polish President Lech Walesa also addresses groups at home and abroad but earns only about $10,000. per lecture.

* Hot beer soup, usually served over cubed farmer cheese, was once Poland's most typical breakfast food; the less better off ate Zur (sour ryemeal soup) for breakfast.



* The world's largest chalka (braided egg bread) ever created was baked in June 2001 in Kielce, Poland. It was made of 290 lbs of dough, was 8" tall and was 38' long. The bakers are hoping their creation will make it into the world-famous Guinness Book of Records.
* Polish-born pontiff John Paul, the former Kraków Archbishop Karol Wojtyla, is credited with enriching the Vatican menu with such Polish delicacies as jajecznica na boczku (scrambled eggs fried in bacon), flaki (tripe), pierogi and sernik (cheesecake).



* Poland's last execution took place in Kraków in 1988, the last year of communist rule, when a serial killer was hanged in Kraków. But 69% of all Poles favor the restoration of capital punishment, removed from the penal code in 1998.

* Poles have created unique styles of weaving, lace-making and embroidery, not to mention such folkcrafts as wood-carving, wycinanki, pisanki and palm-making, but have contributed nothing original to the field of knitting field. Contemporary knitting patterns are available in Poland but come from Western European sources and are translated into Polish.

* Local farmers were surprised when a pack of wolves killed and maimed calves in the heavily forested Wegorzewo area of Mazuria (northern Poland) in June 2001. Wolves are most commonly encountered in the rugged southeastern Bieszczady Mountain area.

* The anti-Russian revolution of 1905-1906 failed to restore Poland's independence but it did lessen Moscow's grip, allowing the restoration of lower-level Polish schools and the creation of Polish patriotic associations.

* Warsaw's Stadium Dziesieciolecia (built in the mid-50s to mark the 10th anniversary of communist rule) is now Europe's biggest open-air market. Dominated by vendors from the former Soviet republics, its business volume ranks it in the top 20 on the list of Poland's 500 biggest firms.

* Former Polish President Lech Walesa has become a vegetarian for health reasons. But he admits it takes a lot of willpower to say 'no' to roast chicken, bigos and breaded pork cutlets.

* A prezydent (president) is the chief executive of Poland's major cities, while a burmistrz (mayor) stands at the head of smaller cities and towns.

* Skeptics who said that after 123 years of foreign occupation it would take decades to meld together the three partition zones after World War I were proven wrong. Within a few years, a unified army, public administration, school system, railways, currency and other elements of independent statehood were all in place and functioning surprisingly well.


Everything You ever wanted to know about Poland - (part 11)

DID YOU KNOW THAT ?

By Robert Strybel, Warsaw Correspondent