Is it better to live in Britain or in Poland?

A long time ago a dodgy liberal British newspaper ran a series on Poland, and here I gave a link to a number of comments by both British and Polish people regarding living in Poland.

 Like with the animation of Jan Lenica (here a still from "Labirynt") there are many hidden treasures in Poland

Now, a dodgy right-wing British newspaper has ran two articles on the quality of life in Britain and Poland.  This article showed that "lifestyle is better in Poland than in Britain", while this article gives a contrary view, "Poland better than Britain?  That's not what the Poles think".  (Yes, I know, links to the Mail.  It could be worse.)

I found the articles interesting, because they chime with my experience of hearing from British people living in Poland, and Polish people living in Britain.  To summarise, while people in Britain may be richer, they consider themselves to have a low quality of life due to "high crime, violence and the cost of living".  Now, leaving aside the Mail's tendency to exaggerate crime levels in GB, let's compare the quality of life Britain and in Poland.  Here is a summary of what I have heard British people say (bearing in mind of course that other people may have radically different views; in any case the views given may be more self-revealing than anything else):

Shopping:  Like with many things in Poland, the same thing can be both good and bad at the same time.  In Poland one can buy more or less what one needs (if you leave out certain non-Polish specialities), if you are prepared to go outside of town to certain shops, or if you go to more expensive shops.  The average shop in Poland has less selection, the reason being that they are small.  Therefore, you won't be able be buy things like camembert in the said shops.  Now, that's just one example.  You may not eat camembert every day, but when one adds up all the slightly luxury things that one wants to buy, one'll have a lot less choice here, certainly in villages.

However, it depends on your needs.  The brilliant thing in Poland is that supermarkets are less dominant.  In the square mile around where I live, I have a choice between, I would guess at least 10 fruit and veg shops, 10 Bar Mleczny, 3 bakeries and countless convenience stores.  Additionally, there are loads of pharmacies, one cobblers, one bag repair place, and three clothes pressers.  There is also the best beer shop I have ever known.  For basic needs, I don't need to leave the local area.  That is not the case in Britain.

Food:  To add the issue of shopping it must be pointed out that food is massively cheaper in Poland.  The standard fruit and veg (pots, carrots, leeks, apples, etc.) are very cheap, and the slightly luxury foods (strawberries, blueberries, walnuts, apricots) are extremely affordable.  One can eat better, healthier and cheaper in Poland.  Additionally, food in the local shops is fresh and doesn't tend to be massively over-packaged.

Now, owing to the small number and nature of immigrants to Poland, there is deffo a wider choice of restaurants in Britain.  There one can choose between many different variations of British food (Polish people find it difficult to understand that Indian and Bangladeshi food can be British).  Here, non-Polish food often disappoints.  On the other hand, Polish cuisine can be very good.  If one eats normal food, or if one eats meat, the food is largely local and fresh.

Travelling:  In cities, there can be extensive bus and tram networks.  Generally, they are of a decent standard.  If one travels in the rush hour people who have issues with body space will not have a pleasant time.  Getting from one side of the town to the other can be a long and complicated journey on Sundays and bank holidays.

Outside of the cities, travelling by train and bus can be a very mixed experience.  On trains, one shouldn't always expect to have a seat when one travels on weekends/holiday times, or also expect that there'll be water/paper/functioning heating/people who don't smoke/clean toilets.  On the positive side, travel is exceedingly cheap and the views are very nice outside.

A key thing for the British person is that Poland borders many other countries.  Non-British people find this difficult to understand, that Britain feels psychologically far from other countries.  Here many interesting countries are not that far away.  Even the Balkans seems less insurmountable.

Safety: As I said, I believe that violence is exaggerated by the right-wing media.  Here there is no real difference.  Certainly, I hear about things being stolen here.  Saying that, walking in town centres can be a more pleasant affair here on a Saturday night in Britain.

A difference is that, if one has black skin here, I would imagine that one is more likely to be attacked than in Britain.  Another difference is that I believe elderly people to be more openly aggressive here.

People: I have dealt with the subject of making friends in Poland before.  Check out this article to see the views of British and Polish people on this subject.  To summarise: Polish people can be very open, and also very closed.  British people likewise.  The the individual British person in Poland or Polish person in Britain, their view of the friendliness of the other can be dependent on what they expect, and what they understand culturally.

Service: It took me a few years to stop getting annoyed with the "nie ma" ("we don't have them") in shops.  Generally, friendliness and politeness are less important in Poland than in Britain when one is buying something.  Staff can be very unhelpful and occasionally rude.  On the other hand, they can be more likely to say "Hello" and "Goodbye".  Additionally, when they notice that you're a (white-skinned western) foreigner who speaks Polish, they can smile and be friendly.  Occasionally this can be patronising, but it's better than nothing.

Gender roles: If you're a man coming to Poland (leaving aside stereotypes about Polish girls) on the one hand things can be quite cool.  It is less to be expected that you help with cooking and cleaning when visiting places.  You're not expected to make a big effort to look good.  One is generally treated with respect (leaving aside the fact that you may be young).  On the other hand you may be expected to look after the "weak" female, giving any random woman your seat, lifting their bag up.

For women I think things can be harder, as women are kind of expected to be pretty and put make-up on.  Women who do things like lift their own bags can be looked upon as being strange.  Though saying that, I know many exceptions to that rule.  However, compared to Britain, I would say that gender roles in Poland are more fixed.

Religion: If you're a church goer you'll largely like it in Poland, as going to church is culturally accepted, something which is not the case in Britain.  Days off are given to various Christian festivals.  Of course, if you're not Roman Catholic-friendly you may have a hard time.  Even though not all Polish people are believers, things like going to graveyard and lighting candles are mainstream.

 All Saints and All Souls in Oświęcim

In Britain there are some Protestant bigots, but they are small in number and low in influence.  Here there are a higher proportion of Roman Catholic bigots, and they can be high in influence.

Going out: Generally in Poland there is less choice as to the type of place one wants to go to.  It is also the case that it tends to be people in their 20s who tend to go out.  People over 30 tend to stay in.  On the positive sides, places tend to be less standardised like in Britain, and are deffo cheaper.

Civic life: Here Britain is clearly better, as Poland is still facing the hangover from the communist state rule, whereby people left things to the government.  Authoritarianism is such that any state institution received an overt form of respect.  Regarding newspapers, there are few and read by a small proportion of the population.  For that reason, Poland lacks a developed criticism.  For an example, see the fascist marches in Poland last November, supported by many who didn't think to ask about who was organising them.

Saying that, a weaker media means that people are less influenced by the media, something which would have been good in the recent debacle about the allegations towards Luis Suarez recently.

Football: Obviously, the Polish league is not as good as the English one.  The Scottish one is also better.  With a population of 1.8m, only the Welsh league is worse than the Polish one.  Hooliganism is a problem in Poland.  Generally, the football culture in Poland is weak in Poland.  Poland has many wools, people who pretend to be "proper" football fans, but really know nothing of the culture of the English teams they "support".  I imagine there are exceptions to this.

For this reason, watching football in Poland in pubs is not a good experience.  There is a positive, however.  Poland lacks the many gobshites who watch football in pubs in Britain.

Nature: Nature in Poland is excellent.  While there's hardly any coast (and the coastline is flat) there are plenty fields, forests and lakes.  Wildlife is immense.

Saying that, there's loads more litter in Poland.  A river close to me has got tons of plastic and glass bottles and other stuff by them.  Fag ends are also ubiquitous.  And don't ask me about dog shite.

Weather: Poland has more extremities.  This means nicely hot summers, and bloody freezing winters.  If one likes that, one'll prefer Poland.  Here one can see tons of snow, and get something resembling a tan in summer.  The only thing that Poland lacks is a good fresh wind.

Conclusion

For the British person there are many positive things about life in Poland.  While somethings can be bloody terrible here, there are also things that are miles better than in Britain.  

For Polish people living in Britain, the second article I linked to shows a woman who has a well-paying job.  No wonder she's happy in Britain!  The fact is, one earns more in Britain.  I see nothing wrong in Polish people wanting to make the most of that.  Britain has made itself rich and powerful through taking the wealth of other countries in the past.

Generally from Polish people I know, they like the general cosmopolitan lifestyle in Britain (not just in England's capital) and find the nature and rich history (Wales is full of castles) to be very attractive.

All in all, there is no quantitative way to measure which country is best to live in.  I will guess that those Brits who are happy here have a positive relationship to people here (probably a wife) along with being able to experience the best (and worst) of the kind of life one had in Britain over thirty years ago (such as cheap food, local shops).  Seriously, I've heard this many times.

There is no empircal way to measure which country is better to live in.  I know that the birth rate of Polish people in Britain is higher than that in Poland, the reason being the superior children, health and social security provision in Britain.  Apart from that, anything else is dependent on ones experience.  If Polish people have good jobs and have made good friends it is to be expected that they will want to stay in Britain.

Why then, are British people less happy with life in Britain?  Well, as the articles say, British people are quite capable of complaining.  For this reason, I have the theory that British people expect less of Poland, and therefore are less disappointed with the problems here than they would be with lesser problems in Britain.  Polish people on the other hand have lesser expectations and therefore find Britain to be so good (the same Britain that British people complain about).

As I have shown, there is no one thing in Poland or Britain that is better.  Everything has positive and negative aspects to it.  If one is generally happy with life, and is open towards other behaviours, both Polish and British people can be happy in the other countries.

What do you think?  Are you a British person living in Poland?  Do you prefer life here, and why?  Or are you a Polish person living in Britain?  Where do you prefer?

Let us know in the comments underneath.

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Dresden, 13th February 2012. Part II

 Picture taken from a Roman Catholic student group

Whenever fascists/racists march, the reaction usually contains a mixture of utter stupidity (from the state apparatus, media and a handful of anti-fascists) and utter brilliance (from the anti-fascists and other parts of civic society).  The recent case of the Nazi march in Dresden on the 13th of February this year saw largely a positive example of openly combating fascism and racism.

Regarding other racist marches it is the ONR/NOP marches of Warsaw and Wroclaw (now a tradition on the 11th of November) that are mostly similar to that in Dresden.  Anti-EDL or anti-Pro-Köln/Deutschland protests focus on groups/marches that deal largely with Islamophobia (though anti-immigration and anti-socialism is also a feature) and therefore the anti-fascists build contacts with Muslims.  Regarding Dresden or the ONR/NOP marches the focus is on national myths of history, as well as on how to commemorate events of the past.  Consequently, the reaction to the Dresden Nazi march offers lessons for Polish anti-fascists.

Summary

The Allied bombing of Dresden on the night of the 13th and 14th of February 1945 led to the deaths of about 25,000 civilians and destruction of the city.  This was clearly a war crime.  Commemoration of the event until 1990 was led by communist state authorities who concentrated the commemoration on fighting imperialism, and left no room for individual biographies and memories to be recognised.  After 1990 it was the case that it was Nazis who took the lead in commemorating the event, seeking to portray Germans as being the "victims" of WWII, a myth held by many people in Dresden (just to be clear here, those who died during the bombing were victims.  It doesn't mean that Germany as such was a victim of WWII).  To begin with, in Dresden, only a few hundred Nazis marched through town.  By the 2000s this had increased to a few thousand, supported by Nazis from other countries.  Accordingly, anti-fascist numbers (left-wingers, anarchists, Christians) also increased.

 

The Nazis have tended to do their main march on the nearest Saturday to the 13th, wanting to gain bigger numbers. This led of course to bigger numbers of anti-fascists being able to come.  Last year saw, for the third time in a row, a successful blockade of the Nazi march.  However, the public discourse saw a focus on violence, as the police were particularly violent last year (as were some anti-fasicsts, some of whom having been provoked by police and Nazi violence).  Afterwards, anti-fascist and other civic society organisations saw themselves criminalised by the Saxony state, whereby offices were occupied, people were stripped naked and phone numbers of 40,000 people were taken illegally by the police.

2012 saw the Nazis being demoralised and divided.  Many didn't want to do their main march on the nearest Saturday, as they didn't want to face a humiliating blockade again.

2012 also saw the Saxony government making changes, wanting to avoid the problems of last year.  A cross-party political group was set up to organise a civic commemoration of the event, a "traces of the perpetrator" march by anti-fascists was finally legalised, and generally the police were better prepared and less willing to use violence (though tear gas was used on some anti-fascists).  Owing to this, and also the news about the Zwickau Nazi cell more people turned up to the human chain, some of which also went onto the anti-fascist blockade.  It seemed that the mainstream had had enough of Nazis and violence dominating the anniversary.

Posters by state institutions, businesses and NGOs (such as shown here) have been in existance in Dresden for a few years now.  What was different this year, however, was the determination to give a respectful commemoration to those who died, while still remembering that it was Germans who had started WWII, and that Nazis are still a problem in Germany.  While anti-fascists and other civic society organisations had been saying this for year, 2012 was the first time when this became the narrative of the anniversary.  In addition, the anti-fascist blockade was fairly successful, forcing the Nazi march route to be massively shortened.  In the end less Nazis came to Dresden than expected, about 1,200 (compared to 5,000 anti-fascists).  "Dresden Nazifrei" are calling this the end of the big Nazi marches in Dresden.

News reports largely said the following: The commemoration of the event was dignified, the mainstream of Dresden took part, churches provided a platform for commemoration, remembering the dead was linked to being anti-Nazi (white roses were laid in remembrance of those who died, more about this later).  The anti-fascist blockade was also seen to be positive.

Analysis

The narrative was visual and moving: People old enough to remember the event was interviewed and photographed.  The laying of white roses and lighting of candles in front of the Frauenkirche and in many churches provided the mainstream with the opportunity to do something dignified.  Bells were tolled.  The anti-fascists were colourful, musical and lively, and largely seen to be positive.  I would say that it was anti-fascists who took the lead in opposing Nazis, and the mainstream followed.  Indeed, a leading politician of Germany, wothisname said that "one cannot criminalise those who combat fascism".  Perhaps the prejudice against anti-fascists is lessening?

On the one hand, I find the usage of white roses to commemorate the dead to be slightly questionable, to be honest.  White roses are of course the symbol of the "Weisse Rose", a group of Protestants who were a resistance group in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg.  Those who died in Dresden were not necessarily those who actively resisted the Nazis.  Some of them may have done.  Some of them may have also been big supporters of the Nazis.  There is an old myth in Germany (well, old in western Germany) that it was a minority of Germans who were responsible for the crimes of the Nazis, or that the public couldn't do anything against the the Nazis.  However, it is nonetheless good that the official way now of remembering those who died is being tied to being anti-Nazi, something that, I believe, led to the wider acceptance of the anti-fascists this year.  Indeed, the white roses are officially signs that "people from Dresden stand against those who use the 13th of February 1945 to promote anti-democratic and inhumane ideologies [...] By wearing white roses that we show that our remembrance has a diferent horizon: A sign for the ending of war, racism and violence!"

A second protest against fascism has taken place on the 18th of February, a report will follow in part III of this report, together with a consideration as to the future of Nazi marches in Germany.

Now, what about Poland?

The lessons are probably obvious to the reader, but I'll highlight a few ones:

Actually turn up to protest, and block

A strong anti-fascist base is a foundation for success in combatting racists.  Blockades frustrate Nazis and demoralise them and make them less likely to turn up.  Making it clear (to quote the Protestant church in Germany, "love requires clarity") our opposition to them in big numbers makes a difference.  It also makes being Nazi "uncool".  In Poland we need all people concerned about the ONR/NOP and other nationalists to actually turn up to their marches to achieve similar successes, instead of sitting on their arses complaining.  While some may be afraid of being attacked, the truth is that Polish people have traditionally included people who have stood up to people who attack us.  There is strength in numbers.

A positive message is needed

The Nazi message in Dresden was essentially negative (something acknowledged by the NPD), of being the "victims".  The anti-fascist message was positive, lively, musical and "cool".  Somehow the anti-fascist events in Poland were not seen as positive, despite the music and colour in Warsaw.  We need to strongly portray fun to the media and mainstream.  We need our counter-demos to be obviously happy events, not just negative.  We need to be clearer in our alternative to nationalism in order to win more people over.  There are obvious messages that we can portray: From 11/11/18 Poles could vote in elections, they could form their political parties, they were not under foreign occupation, Poland was multi-cultural.  Those are things to celebrate.  You know that, stupidly, many believe that the anti-fascists in Poland are against Poland not being occupied.  Let's not just say "blokujemy", let's say "swietujemy".  No, let us promote the celebration of the creation of a multicultural and free Poland.  (Of course, one can take the view that nation states lead to the abuse of people via the centralisation of power, the creation of a monopoly of violence and concentration of the human identity on one particular part of our identities.  However, one can still say that Polish people should have the same rights as people in other countries.  In any case, freedom should always be emphasised.)

Be visual

The visual message is important.  Let's have clear symbols that portray our message, symbols that average people can use.  Like in many places, flowers and candles are popular symbols in Poland.  Despite our rightful reservations about the RC church in Poland, such symbols are useful.  We need symbolic actions that people can do, more than shouting chants at Nazis.  If, for example, a rynek became an area where people were invited to light red and white candles in order to create a big Polish flag, or with other colours to promote a multicultural Poland, or if we threw flowers at Nazis when they throw lit torches at us, if people got soup and paid donations, if people could buy grilled cheese with cranberry sauce and other foods from Poland, if people could attend poetry reading from Polish poets, hear music performed (say, by Gorecki) on the street, people will receive a better message.  There are enough creative people within anti-fascism to come up with some good visual symbols.

This involves all of us

Civic society shouldn't, as Andrzej Rychard said, just leave it to the anti-fascists.  We need governmental institutions, churches and NGOs to make clear their opposition to racism.  Now, of course, we all know that there are people within the first two groups who tend towards the ONR/NOP rather than us.  But not all of them do.  Those of you who have connecti ons within such groups needs to think about how you can corporately show your opposition to Nazis, while still (as in Dresden) promoting a positive message.  Posters can be part of this, like the ones I showed here.

Get off your arse

Across central and eastern Europe Nazis are getting more active.  In the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, Bulgaria and in Romania Roma are being attacked.  In Serbia, Montenegro and again in Hungary gays are being persecuted.  Here in Poland of course, Wrocław has lately seen new Nazi graffiti appear (to be reflected upon in a later article), gays need police protection during their parades and there has been an arson attack on a house where Roma live, to name just a few examples.  Are we to wait till the situation gets worse before we react, or we are to work for fighting Nazism now?

In any case, let us strengthen a spirit of criticism.  People in Poland often like to complain, anyway!  Let's use this criticism to test things in the public sphere.  I have an example here of a student group in Wroclaw that tolerates racists.  You'll have to wait till another article to find out more about that however.  To keep in touch with this blog, "like" Wroclaw workshops on Facebook.

Review: Róża

Thank you, culture.pl

Wojtek Smarzowski is the film director of the grotesque films "Wesele" and "Dom zły", films which take an unflinching look what life in Poland can bring.  Certainly, Wesele may be somewhat OTT, but themes of alcohol, corruption and social hypocrisy regarding sex can be features of life in Poland (though of course this isn't limited to Poland!).  Dom zły also shows the abuse of alcohol and corruption (this time at the state administrative level), while dealing with difficult historical areas (the militia and secret police and their abuses).

Róża is also uncompromising.  Certainly, the first scene of the film sets the scene for the film in that it shows a rape and murder of a Polish woman by a German soldier during the German counter-attack during the Warsaw Uprising, watched by her husband, Tadeusz.

The film is based around the figure of Róża, a woman who suffers all manner of abuses during the film, and is set in Mazury, an area which used to be part of East Prussia (part of Germany) and became Polish possession towards the beginning of the film.  Now, ethnic groups in Poland are quite a complicated business (despite what many will say, talking as they do of "proto-Germans" and "proto-Poles"); you just need to know that Masurians have a mixed ethnic background, and tended, by the 20th century to be German speaking Lutherans, though, as the film shows, many could also speak Polish, as Róża does in the film, as well as the other main character, Tadeusz.  Some define themselves as being Masurians, not German or Polish.

That she is not seen to be Polish and lives alone on a farm leads to terrible events for Róża, including being raped and beaten many times, despite the attempts of Tadeusz to (occasionally successfully) fight off those who attack her.

The film has two main plots: Róża and the attacks on her (as well as those on the German speaking community in the village) and the story of Tadeusz.  With the former, it shows what happened to the areas which had been in Germany, the discrimination towards Germans (not being given food, having their possessions being plundered, being beaten by Soviet and Polish militia, being raped), as well as the "repatriation" of Poles from the east of what was pre-1945 Poland (a family speaking the dialect of eastern Poland appears to live in and eventually take over Róża's house).  To add to that we see Germans being forcibly expelled to the new borders of Germany.

Regarding Taduesz, he had fought in the Armia Krajowa partisan army.  Now, members of the Armia Krajowa were viewed with suspicion by Soviet and later Polish authorities (the later Polish communist head Władysław Gomułka said "Soldiers of AK are a hostile element which must be removed without mercy").  For this reason Tadeusz tries to keep his head down to avoid being detected.  He eventually meets someone who had also been "in the woods" (euphemism for being a partisan) who urges him to declare his past to the communist authorities, something he declines to do (something that results with Tadeusz being arrested, tortured and imprisoned).

In doing so, the film deals with a few essential themes, relevant for modern Poland.

Rape is a key feature of the film.  As I said, one sees a Polish woman raped at the start.  Róza is raped many times, as is the Polish woman who comes to live with her.  Like as shown in the film Anomyma, the rapes were perpetrated by members of the Red Army (one mass-rape by Red Army soldiers is also shown in the film).  However, the film also shows the rape of Róża by Poles.  This is a very important issue.  The film was made by a Pole, and is, as far as I know, the first film made in Poland to thematise the abuse of German woman by Polish men.

It's a similar case with the discrimination towards Germans, showed in their eventual expulsion towards the new version of Germany.  The film shows Polish officials and militia organising and carrying out that expulsion.  The depiction of rape follows the line of Anomyma which came out in 2009 was the first film in Germany to bring the attention of the mass rape of German woman by Soviet soldiers (certainly, Die Blechtrommel in 1979 did contain a rape scene; however it wasn't the main story of the film) shows that this is a sensitive theme that is only now being addressed openly (this was a repressed theme in the GDR, and in the BDR the official myth of German victimhood during and after WWII was dominant, though that was heavily challenged in the 1960s).

Róża is therefore a contribution towards the efforts of Germans in coming to terms with their past (following a Czech near-equivalent, Habermann in 2010 which partly deals with Czech abuses of Germans, including their expulsion from the Sudetenland after the end of WWII.  Thanks to a reader for that tip).  This is a healthy development at the mass level, supported by smaller initiatives, such as this talk between a German woman who feared for being raped in Wrocław* after the end of WWII and a Polish former forced labourer; as well as that by Karta, who have organised meetings between German expellees and Poles who are now living in the towns the Germans used to live in, Poles who themselves had been expelled from areas now in Belarus and the Ukraine.

While the film may prompt debate in Germany, I am interested as to what impact the film will have in Poland.  As I wrote here, there is a tension in Poland regarding the themes of the rape of German woman by Polish men, the expulsion of Germans, as well as, to a smaller degree, Stalinist terror in Poland from 1944.  Despite the views of some foreigners, Poland is more than Warsaw and the issues of the Nazis and the communists; the issue of the "reclaimed territories" is a big issue not often dealt with in a productive way.

Is the film any good?  Well, for someone like myself aware of the context of tensions in Poland and Germany about these issues, it was interesting.  Generally the film is difficult.  While murder is commonly shown in films, rape is not.  For that reason, perhaps, I found the rape scenes to be horrific (of course, rape is horrific, but we are less sensitised to the depiction of it in films than with murder).  Otherwise, the acting in the film is very good.

I therefore can recommend the film.

* Of course, the story of Mazury is similar to that of Lower Silesia, whereby Germans (and, regarding stealing and rape, Poles as well) faced similar ordeals.

"On February 6th, at seven o'clock in the morning, Renata B. a girl of fifteen, who was on the way to the children's mass in [...] the church of St. Mary-on-the=Sand, was stopped by a Polish militiaman.  He dragged her into a demolished building, raped her, and stole her clothes"

From an eyewitness account by a Polish man, quoted in "Microcosm: Portrait of a Central European City" by Norman Davies

I watched the film in a cinema containing a high proportion of elderly people, people old enough to have been those expelled from the east to Wrocław, and old enough to have experienced those times.  If only there had been an open discussion about the film afterwards.

PS: Seeing as Germans supported Poles who took a stand for democracy and against racism last November, perhaps Poles could so likewise on next Monday (the 13th) and/or next Saturday (the 18th)?  Poles were deffo there last year.

The anniversary of martial law in Poland, 13/12/11

"Martial law in Poland (Polish: Stan wojenny w Polsce, "the state of war") refers to the period of time from December 13, 1981 to July 22, 1983, when the authoritarian government of the People's Republic of Poland drastically restricted normal life by introducing martial law in an attempt to crush political opposition to it. Thousands of opposition activists were interned without charge and as many as 100 people were killed.  Although martial law was lifted in 1983, many of the political prisoners were not released until the general amnesty in 1986."  (From wikipedia).

Surely this is a time for calm reflection of the events, and to pay respects to those who were killed and tortured, no?

No.

Thanks to Gazeta Wyborcza, we know that that everyone's favourite bunch of rabid xenophobic homophobes PiS held a march to commemorate the beginning of martial law.  "Tusk to Berlin!", they shouted.  As the article says, members of the march they also paid respect to the fascist anti-semite Roman Dmowski, as well as having a homophobic banner.  Jarosław Kaczyński said that the "Polish state is sick".  He agrees with me!?  Nah.  His accusations were more towards Tusk and the rest of the ruling party, PO.

Meanwhile, in Wrocław, another mild well-reflected group paid their own respects:

Yes, the people who attack Jews, deny the Shoah, honour a fascist (see photo above) and attack a Romany house in Łódż.  The NOP.

During their march they chanted "Communists will hang", thus demonstrating, for the hard of understanding, that they are fascists (wanting to kill your political opponents is a big clue.)  They walked from the Cathedral Island to the city centre.  As I said here, this kind of thing is an attempt to claim the public space.  Unfortunately there was no protest against the fascists.  I daresay, that they think that we are all Stalinists, that a counter-demo would need some police protection.  Again.  If we had been there, we would certainly have been, to quote Professor Andrzej Rychard, "left alone".

So, the rabid right claim the public space and narrative again, with no counter-voice.  That, as Andrzej Rychard said is because Polish civil society is weak.  What we need is for democrats to do their own events, to stop enabling fascists and other xenophobes to dominate the narrative and therefore take control of the space, and bring other people to their message.

Oh, by the way, I've discovered an excellent blog looking at such matters.  This article supports the thesis that there is no "left-wing extremism" and that we need to concentrate on Nazis.

Keep in touch.

'It was unjust from the start'. On the fascist march in Warsaw on 11/11/11

Away from the accusations and falsifications of the media, we now have this very excellent interview that should be watched (if one understands Polish):

Now, Professor Andrzej Rychard is a Professor of Sociology and, to quote from this page:

"His main research interests are in the area of institutional sociology of the transition processes in Central and Eastern Europe with an emphasis on the relationship between political and economic institutions and their social implications. He is particularly interested in the social conflicts of interest resulting from the crisis and transformation of centralised political power and the economic system."

Being legal does not mean that it is good

Such a focus comes in useful.  In the interview he says makes some vital points:

• The 'March of the patriots' was not 'right' (as in just, righteous) from the very start, i.e. from its organising.  Those who organised it were racist, anti-semitic and anti-democracy.  Therefore it is surprising that people were surprised when the violence happened.

It is most heartening to hear such views offered in the mainstream media.  Indeed, the 'March of the patriots' was not a good thing, and we who stood against them knew that.  We were alone in seeing the necessity of our actions to protest against them (in Wrocław) or block them (in Warsaw).  I would add that, as per my maxim that 'a legal thing is not always good; a good thing is not always legal' that it is for this reason (and for the foreseen consequences of a successful racist march) that leads some to try to block such marches.

Positive and negative messages
 

• The 11th of November saw 'two symmetrical sides' opposing each other, those who are anti-democracy on the one side and those who are opposed to them on the other.  For the average Pole there was no place for them to march with.

The anti-fascists and fascists were symmetrical when one considers that they didn't like us and we don't like them; our presence was determined by theirs.  I have seen no evidence however that people on the anti-fascist side went there with the purpose of attacking them.  They certainly came to attack us, hence the attack on the Vegan restaurant, left-wing shop and individuals walking down a street.

Saying that, it was certainly the case that an alternative, positive view of Poland was shown in both Wrocław and Warsaw.

(Bruno Schulz was a Jewish writer, fine artist, literary critic and art teacher.  Roża Luksemburg was a Jewish philosopher, Marxist analyst, economist and activist.  Witold Gombrowicz was a novelist and dramatist.  Notice also that the banners are in different languages spoken within Poland.  One chant we chanted was 'Jedna Polska, różnoodność' (One Poland, diversity).


While in Warsaw we had colour and dancing:

The thing is, it is the socially active who were there; those who are politically motivated, those who are prepared to stand against fascism.  The average person is however not socially active, politically motivated or prepared to stand against fascism.  They wanted to celebrate the independence of Poland.  The counter-demos were seen as negative and reactionary.

Attempts were made to come across as being 'pro-Poland' (let's leave concerns about patriotism aside for the moment), but this didn't work, partly due to the usual media prejudice about the left-wing.  Perhaps next year a counter-demo could be more explicitly 'pro-Poland', with the use (nay, a take over) of Polish flags, music and poetry from popular (and more obviously 'Polish') culture (Miłosz, Chopin, Mickiewicz and Kult), the utilising of ethnic minorities (Romany, Kaszubian, Łemki, Silesian, Ukrainian, Russian and Jewish people), good food, beer, balloons, games for children...all in a festival of the cultures of Poland; all in one celebration of the start of democracy and the end of abusive foreign rule.

Despite reactionary and open-to-the-far-right-in-various-ways of the RC church, I daresay there are some RC people who would be open to taking part in a church initiative for the day.  In any case, we have to find a place for the average Pole to come to.

• Those who opposed them the extreme-right were 'left alone' before during the march and also afterwards, where a 'falsification of the picture of what happened' took place.

This is very true and I have nothing to add.

Civic society and identity in Poland

• People saw that this was to be a 'March of patriots' so they attended.  They didn't think to go deeper to see who was organising the march, as civic society and the culture of being critical is weak in Poland.  There lacks in Poland a sense of identity.

No, that cannot be.  Surely people would check out what they were actually attaching themselves to?  Well....the beginning of this article I wrote after the parade in Wrocław was in reaction to the seeing of quite young people on the other side.  I know that I often use the word 'fascist' in my writings about the 11/11/11 parades; I do so largely as shorthand for those who organised the parades and were dominant in their use of symbols, chants, fire and violence.  However, there were many in both places that were conservative or apolitical, and view themselves purely as 'patriots'.

In the report 'Transformation and Civil Society in Poland' by the CSU-affiliated Konrad-Adenauer-Foundation the writer Maria Jarosz describes civic society in Poland as "still limping, dominated by struggle instead of a search for shared traits and dialogue" (from here.)  The sociologue Piotr Gliński says that "the model practiced at the local level, in districts and voivodships, was one of ‘self-government without participation’. Ranging below 20 percent, Poland’s social capital was one of the lowest in Europe. Only a scant two percent of Poland’s non-governmental organisations were engaged in politics and civil rights." (ibid.)

Here Andrzej Waśkiewicz writes that "the appetites had been awakened, and they could soon be satisfied in mushrooming supermarkets. Even before Poland became a democratic state, it had turned into a would-be consumerist society [...] the new order promoted it only to a limited extent and, at the same time, created conditions that did not encourage civic initiatives."

In the communist statist era civil society was effectively forbidden.  Has the 'bottom-up' approach of democracy used by Solidarność been supplanted by the preoccupation of people for material satisfaction (I would add psychological trauma caused by Poland's past to this) as well as the (albeit declining) undemocratic power of the RC church?  Add to that an undealt with cognitive dissonance regarding Polish identity and we have an unhealthy mix, that means that the tips I gave above for making a more positively seen pro-democracy and pro-diversity celebration of Polish independence seem to be fighting against the wind.

Attack the root as well as the cause 

Hopefully a few pointers have been clear here for the fighting of fascism in Poland.  Just one more thing: The other day I was speaking with a member of the German Social-Democratic Party, who is involved in combating Neo-Nazis in Germany.  He spoke of his work as being more preventative than reactionary.  While he is involved in a broad coalition of organising counter-demo to fascist parades, he said that their work is more of promoting democracy and diversity.

It is here where you, my dear reader, can contribute.  In the workplace, in your social sphere, in your church are chances to live out or demand democratic accountability.  One can bother (or to use a better word, harangue) local politicians with ones wishes.  Perhaps you know better ways to strengthen democracy and could write below in the comments?

Regarding diversity there are (despite the common view) enough ethnic minorities (as well as national, also regarding sexuality and religion) in Poland for you to live out diversity with.  Hell, do you have friends from outside your education level?

At the very least, one could support places like Falanster (my offer of a free drink with me there still stands)!

It is therefore incumbent upon me (some posh English there, ay?) to say that in my commitment to democracy and diversity that I wish to hear from you, use the comments bit underneath.  Otherwise, keep in touch either via the RSS Feed at the top right or through this Facebook group.

Jewish cemetary, Oświęcim/Oszpicin

 All photos are by myself.  You are welcome to copy them, but I would ask you to display my blog address.  My blog is dead good and I need some publicity.

Oświęćim is of course a place well-known for the fact that Germans built a concentration camp there (and an 'extermination' camp close to there).  It is less well-known for the fact that the town predates the Shoah by some 800 years, and therefore contains its own very interesting and important Jewish history.  This excellent website gives one a lot of information (including photos and videos) of 'Oszpicin' (to give the town its Yiddish name).

Jewish people lived in Oświęcim from at least 1563 (the year in which King Sigismund II Augustus of Poland banned new residences by them by the market square as well as new settlers).  Oświęcim contained three synagogues and by 1939 just over half of the population were Jewish.  Only a small minority were to survive the Nazi era and most of those moved out of Oświęcim after the war.

The graveyard on the corner of Dąbrowskiego Street and Wysokie Brzegi Street was established in the late 19th century.  After the arrival of the Nazis it was to be totally destroyed (photos can be accessed here). 

After the end of the war the Jewish people who survived returned and took care of the graveyard, also repairing the wall.  It was restored through the efforts of Asher Sharf from New York in the 1980's, hence the photo above which shows some repaired gravestones which have been rearranged.

It is now under the care of the excellent and much to be recommended Jewish Museum.  Apart from for All Saints' and All Souls' the graveyard is closed and one needs to get a key from the museum.

 

It contains the grave of Szymon Kluger, the last remaining Jewish person of Oświęcim.

Many of the gravestones have been beautifully restored.

The great majority of people who come to Oświęcim only visit Auschwitz, and therefore do not learn about the Jewish history of Oświęcim.  I very much recommend visiting both the aforementioned Jewish museum (who offer tours, workshops, seminars and other events) as well as the graveyard.

On the other hand, a small minority of people who live in Oświęćim exercise themselves with Auschwitz and the Jewish history of Oświęcim.  As someone who lived for two years in Dachau (who has family in Oświęćim) I can understand this.  It is purely by an accident of birth that one is born in Oświęćim and its environs.  Not everyone is interested in history, especially difficult parts of history like the Shoah.

Saying that, I do believe that difficult periods in history still affect us.  As I wrote in this mammoth article, people in Poland now are still negatively affected by the events of WWII, including the Shoah to the extent that I believe psychological sickness to be manifest throughout all generations in Poland.  An open dealing of painful areas of history is necessary for dealing with such mental problems.  Even if the family is not Jewish, it is still the case that one of our identities is that of our nationality, like it or not.  A look at pre-1939 shows that Judaism has been a clear influence on Poland.  Should one be able to deal with that, perhaps then relations between Christians and Jewish people but also people from other minorities (Romany, Lemkos, Silesians, Kaszubs, gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transexuals, people with disablities) will improve.

This video (there are three more parts) shows a lot of information about Jewish Oświęcim:

Should anyone wish to receive the originals of these and more photos, they are free to contact me at wroclawworkshops@googlemail.com

If you wish to keep in touch with this blog (I plan a few articles about 'taboos and subjects to piss people off';  i.e. about how British people deals with the history of the Empire, left-wing antisemitism, women who do evil things; as well as a review of the excellent book 'Scapegoat: A history of blaming other people', reviews of the new modern art museum in Wrocław and some other stuff) join up on Facebook here.