Poland now firmly rests in the ‘western’ part of Europe. Not geographically but culturally. One of the surest signs of this is the pop idol worship that has spread through Poland like the bubonic plague. I have my own theories about ‘east’ and ‘west’. One factor is the effect and legacy of the Roman Empire. Former Roman Empire lands, I believe, can be counted amongst ‘western’ countries. Another is those lands which were hit by the bubonic plague I also see as ‘western’. Poland never was part of the Roman dominion nor was it effected by the plague.
Dancing with Death
A new plague is spreading: pop culture; and Poland is well and truly being ravaged by this new disease. Icons of the Virgin Mary have been replaced by new icons, new idols that Poland’s millions worship. In this way Poland has become like any other ‘western’ country: the USA, UK, France, Germany or Spain. The ‘idols’ create hype just because of the fact that they are famous. Many are famous simply for being famous. This is the Paris Hilton phenomenon. Below is a list of my personal anti-favourites; those who have risen to the crest of this wave of pop-idolness:
Perhaps the most intriguing group of people among Poland’s huge diaspora (the so-called Polonia) are the ‘Poles of Haiti’. I heard about this lost little enclave of ‘Polishness’ on radio and began to follow, Theseus-like, the strands of stories that might lead me to some sort of end-point in my search for the truth in the labyrinthine information maze that is the internet. Much to my surprise, I was able to bring together these strands and get some kind of picture of how on earth Poland has managed to touch the culture of Haiti.
Bonaparte - Giving The Orders
In 1804, Haiti declared independence from Napoleonic France. Napoleon was having none of it and swiftly sent a force of over 5,200 Polish Legions to stamp his authority on the natives and their lust for independence. The Third Half-Brigade of the Polish Legions were not extremely happy with this state of affairs as the Legions were primarily focused on fighting for Polish freedom in Europe. The idea of (1) fighting against freedom and (2) fighting over eight thousand kilometres away from one’s homeland on the other side of the world seemed both ridiculous and annoying to these soldiers. But soldiers they were, and more importantly, soldiers of Napoleon and they had to follow orders.
Dessalines - Father of Haitian Freedom
The Polish Legions became embroiled in the Haitian Revolution, and most died, although it was not the fighting that killed them but yellow fever. Unaccustomed to the climate and the dangers of life in the Caribbean 4,000 soldiers died of the disease. Those that remained became the stuff of legend, Haitian legend. Miffed off with fighting those who were fighting for freedom (like themselves), the remaining Polish soldiers decided to throw off the yoke of their French masters and joined Jean-Jacques Dessalines in the Haitian struggle for independence living to see a free Haiti. The indigenous peoples were so enamoured by their Polish brothers-in-arms that they included them in the Haitian Constitution of 1805 in which it was stated in Articles 12 and 13 that no white man may hold land on Haiti apart from the Germans (who had a small community there) and the Polanders (Poles).
Erzulie Dantor - Not Matka Boska
These naturalised Polish Haitians had a great impact on the fledgling Empire of Haiti, later the Republic of Haiti. The Haitians were impressed by the Poles’ great love of their Matka Boska Częstochowska (Our Lady of Częstochowa). They noticed how greatly the legionnaires venerated their icon. Through a process of assimilation and transformation, the Polish Catholic Matka Boska Częstochowska became the Haitian Vodou Erzulie Dantor, a warrior spirit, the protector of women and children, associated also with lesbians, homosexual men and abused women. Interestingly, like Matka Boska Częstochowska,Erzulie Dantor also has scars on the right-side of her face which she got from a fight with her sister when she stole her husband from her. A rather different persona from Matka Boska Częstochowska.
A 'Polish' Haitian (c) Swiatoslaw Wojtkowiak
The ties between the two countries do not stop there. In Cazale, 70 kilometres north of Port-au-Prince there lives a community often referred to as blanc, polone. They are, to all intents and purposes, Haitians but due to the fact that the bulk of the Polish legionnaires settled there, the community has forever been referred to as ‘Polish’. If you are from Cazale, you are Polish, it’s as simple as that. Interestingly, there is a high proportion of blue-eyed Haitians here. Another link is Jerzy Grotowski who came to Haiti in search of inspiration in the 1970s. It’s fair to say that his experimental theatre owes a great deal to the spirituality of Haitian Vodou.
Haiti - Not Just Earthquakes
It is wonderful how two seemingly disparate and distant cultures have common threads weaving them together. On the one hand, we have Napoleon, the Haitian battle for freedom, the Polish legionnaires who joined with the Haitians in their Revolution and all the ramifications of their presence on the island. This includes a strong genetic marker in Cazale and the surrounding area and the warrior spirit of Erzulie Dantor. On the other hand we have Grotowski and his deep love of Haiti and its spirituality. Poland and Haiti – who would have thought…?
The beginning of a new year is always a good time to look forward but it’s equally important to keep one eye on the past and not forget the things that should not be forgotten. Particularly striking for me was the death of one of the last surviving members of Germany’s Anti-Nazi movement. Freya von Moltke lived to the ripe-old age of 98 and passed away on the first day of 2010, January 1st.
Plotting Against Hitler
It’s useful remembering that during WWII not all Germans were overtaken by the wave of insanity that gripped the German nation. There were those who resisted and those, even, who fought. One such group, Der Kreisauer Kreis (the Kreisau Circle), actively helped the Allies and plotted against the authorities of the Nazi Reich. The Kreis effectively ceased to exist when Helmuth von Moltke, Freya’s husband, was arrested by the Nazis.
Stopping the Reich
Freya along with her husband and the other members of the Kreis were members of Germany’s pre-war aristocracy. Diplomats and clerics also filled the ranks of this resistance group. What was crucial was that the world could see that not all Germans had lost their minds. Importantly, many members of Germany’s elite belonged to this group and this sent an important signal out to the Allies: Germany was not lost.
Krzyżowa Palace Gives Hope
Freya von Moltke’s work did not end when her husband was put to death by the Nazis and the Kreis fell apart. She continued to publicise both the Kreis’s and her husband’s work after the war. For Poland, hers was an important role because she supported the transformation of her former estate (in Kreisau, now Krzyżowa) into a centre for Polish-German reconciliation and later, European integration. May her memory live on. Freya von Moltke: March 29, 1911 – January 1, 2010.
I would like to take the opportunity to wish you all, blog readers, friends and family of blog readers, a very, VERY Merry Christmas. May this year’s Yuletide be particularly special, that extra bit more joyful, that extra bit more cheerful and full and peace and love.
After the previous post (click here) I was surprised by the serendipity in my choice of topic after I discovered an article in Dziennik about the state of the Polish language around the world. Poland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs recently published a report entitled: “The Situation of Polish People Abroad”. This is the most detailed report of its kind ever published and it paints a worrying picture for the future of Polish people and the Polish language abroad.
Radek On a Mission
The report looked at thirty countries around the world, most of them European states. According to Radosław Sikorski, Poland’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, the purpose of the report is ascertain what particular problems affect the Polonia (the Polish community outside Poland) around the globe so that the Ministry can then implement a plan to help them tackle these difficulties.
South America Tops
In the report we find several important pieces of information. Firstly, the number of Poles living in each country, the number of Polish schools and the local state’s attitude and policy with regards to Polish people. The report shows that Canada, Brazil, Argentina and Sweden stand out as the ‘best’ countries for Poles to live in, that is their rights are respected most in those states.
Curie-ing Favour with the French?
However, in the other countries found in the report, Polish ex-pats and the Polish language have little chance for support. In France, Polish children may be surprised to learn that the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and the Warsaw Uprising were one in the same and there was much anti-Semitic feeling during WWII; in Germany they are taught that Chopin and Marie Curie-Skłodowska were French.
United in Intolerance?
This report, once again, shows us that any talk of European solidarity and tolerance is just that – talk. Actions speak louder than words, of course, and if we truly are committed to building a united Europe then it is probably about time to do away with nationalism and intolerance. This goes for ALL the countries of the European Union, Poland included. Pie in the sky? I hope not…
The European Film Academy Awards certainly don’t aspire to be anything like the Oscars. And they certainly aren’t. Once again, I had the pleasure of taking part in the event, this time in the Rhineland city of Bochum in the industrial settings of the Jahrhunderthalle. Although this post is not about my adventures swanking about with European film’s nobs and toffs, it does nicely set the scene for something which not only irked me but downright riled me.
Beautiful Düsseldorf
I arrived in Germany on Friday afternoon and left Düsseldorf’s shiny new airport by a science-fiction-like shuttle service which looks something like a cross between an amusement park ride and a whizzing Star Trek space pod. Düsseldorf is a modern city slap bang in the centre of the sprawling Ruhr metropolis. The shuttle took me to the station and from there I caught the train to Bochum.
Multicultural Germany
One of the many things that always strikes me about Germany is its ethnic mix, the cultural crucible that is so apparent in all of its urban centres. Waiting for the train I heard Turkish, Greek, a Slav language (perhaps Serbian?) and Arabic, to name but a few. As much as I strained my ears, however, not once did I hear Polish, although I could have sworn that many of the Rhineland denizens looked decidedly Pole-like.
No Poland
I got to the the hotel. I smiled at the young blonde at the desk, the letters on her name tag shouted back at me: “Walczak”. “Are you Polish?” I enquired. “Half-Polish,” she said. She spoke a little Polish, had even been to Poland and Warsaw but conceded that Poland just wasn’t her cup of tea. It seemed a strange answer as it sounded more like an excuse.
Cleaning Away Language
A little later that day I heard the hotel cleaning ladies happily chirping away in Polish as I left my room for a wander. They were thrilled to hear me speak Polish and just as excited to talk to me about my adventures with the European Film Academy. We took the lift together down to the reception but no sooner did they spot reception than they reverted to a thickly-accented German. “Odd,” I thought.
Unwanted Gastarbeiter
This pattern kept repeating itself with Polish names and Polish people seemingly everywhere, yet every time they used Polish it seemed limited, stunted or somehow ‘not right’. The only real explanation seems to be the German attitude to the use of Polish. To my mind, Germany’s approach to the native tongues of ‘Gastarbeiter’, especially Polish ones, is nigh on fascist, with no real sense of European solidarity, something which the Germans, allegedly, pride themselves on.
Looking From Afar
This fact seemed all the more ironic when I stood, wine glass in hand (looking extremely suave in my dinner jacket), watching Europe’s top filmmakers, producers and actors, most of them German (due to the location of the event), clap, cheer and ‘bravo’ Andrzej Wajda, Krystyna Janda, Maciej Stuhr and Marcel Lozinski during the film awards ceremony. Is pluralism really only an elitist idea or is it an elistist cover-up?
It occurred to me that it has been twenty years since Poland regained its freedom way back in 1989. Twenty years of ‘transformation’ (as Polish people like to call it) have fashioned the country that we now call Poland. I wonder whether everything that has happened over these twenty years is a consequence of the baggage of communism. Could some things have been avoided? Could Poland have taken a different route? Below is a list of (what I think to be) the most important events in Poland of the last twenty years (in chronological order):
Defining Moment?
Round Table Talks (5th April 1989) A constant bone of contention between Law and Justice (PiS) and Poland’s other political parties. This is the moment when the communists decide to sit down and discuss with Solidarity the future of Poland.
Rydzyk Radio (9th December 1991) Radio Maryja is founded in Toruń. After a mere three years this local Catholic radio station, the patron of which is controversial cleric Father Tadeusz Rydzyk, obtains a licence to broadcast nationally helping it later become the voice of right-wing Polish Catholicism.
War Upstairs (4th June 1992) Jan Olszewski’s weak minority government is toppled by President Lech Wałęsa who, fearing a backlash and possible coup d’etat following Antoni Macierewicz’s much-maligned Vetting Act, decides to put an end to the Olszewski-Kaczyński-Macierewicz madness.
Charitable Change?
Orchestrating Help (3rd January 1993) Jerzy Owsiak sets in motion what will later become the largest and most celebrated charitable event in Polish history. The very first Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity raised $1.5 million, an unprecedented sum in a country new to such events.
Russians Leave (17th September 1993) In what turns out to be a major coup for Lech Wałęsa and a welcome surprise for Poles, Russian President Boris Yeltsin agrees to the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Poland. In mid September, President Wałęsa bids farewell to the last of the Russian soldiers.
Poland Joins NATO (12th March 1999) Finally, after years of oppression, Polish people around the world breathe a sigh of relief when Minister of Foreign Affairs Bronisław Geremek signs Poland’s NATO membership agreement.
Changing Europe?
Poland Joins EU (1st May 2004) Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) leader and Prime Minister, Leszek Miller signs the paperwork in April 2003, the referendum takes place in June 2003 and within less than a year, Poland becomes a fully-fledged member of Europe’s finest club.
Death of Hope (2nd April 2005) The death of John Paul II marked the end of an era for many. During his papacy he travelled to more countries than any previous Vicar of Rome. For Poles, his death also marked the passing of their chief flag-bearer, spiritual leader and beacon of hope.
Poland Going Euro (18th April 2007) Much to the amazement of all concerned, Michel Platini, head of UEFA, announces that the joint bid by Poland and Ukraine to host the European Football Championships in 2012 is victorious. Poland’s future is looking brighter…
Soaring Higher?
Buzek Tops (14th July 2009) Former Polish Prime Minister takes the helm of the European Parliament becoming Poland’s first ever President of the European Parliament. Although not a particularly powerful post, it demonstrates Poland’s increasing influence in the EU.
It occurred to me that it has been over twenty years since Poland regained its freedom way back in 1989. Twenty years of ‘transformation’ (as Polish people like to call it) have fashioned the country that we now call Poland. I wonder whether everything that has happened over these twenty years is a consequence of the baggage of communism. Could some things have been avoided? Could Poland have taken a different route?
Some may argue that such questions are always futile and lead to nothing but frustration. I disagree. They may help us re-evaluate the reasons why certain decisions were taken, why leaders, politicians and media personalities did what they did, how this affected society, and how, in the future, we might be able to avoid some of the needless mistakes that were made.
Below is a list of (what I think to be) the most important events in Poland of the last twenty years (in chronological order):
Event No. 1: The Round Table Talks (5th April 1989)
A constant bone of contention between Law and Justice (PiS) and seemingly Poland’s other political parties. This was the moment when the communists decided to sit down and discuss with Solidarity the future of Poland.
Event No. 2: Rydzyk Radio (9th December 1991)
Radio Maryja is founded in Toruń. This local Catholic radio station, the patron of which is controversial cleric Father Tadeusz Rydzyk, obtains a licence to broadcast nationally three years after being founded later becoming the voice of right-wing Polish Catholicism.
Event No. 3: The Change Upstairs (4th June 1992)
Jan Olszewski’s weak minority government is toppled by President Lech Wałęsa who, fearing a backlash and possible coup d’etat following Antoni Macierewicz’s much-maligned Vetting Act, decides to put an end to the Olszewski-Kaczyński-Macierewicz madness.
Event No. 4: Orchestrating Help (3rd January 1993)
Jerzy Owsiak sets in motion what will later become the largest and most celebrated charitable event in Polish history. The very first Great Orchestra of Christmas Help raised $1.5 million, an unprecedented sum in a country new to such events.
Event No. 5: Russians Leave (17th September 1993)
What turned out to be one Lech Wałęsa’s major coups and much to the joyous surprise of the whole country, Russian President Boris Yelcyn agrees to the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Poland. In mid September, President Wałęsa bids farewell to the last of the Russian soldiers.
Event No. 6: Poland joins NATO (12th March 1999)
Finally, after years of oppression, Polish people around the world breathe a sigh of relief when Minister of Foreign Affairs Bronisław Geremek signs Poland’s NATO membership agreement.
Event No. 7: Poland joins the EU (1st May 2004)
Left Democratic Alliance (SLD) leader and Prime Minister, Leszek Miller signs the paperwork in April 2003, the referendum takes place in June 2003 and within less than a year, Poland becomes a fully-fledged member of Europe’s finest club.
Event No. 8: Death of Hope (2nd April 2005)
The death of John Paul II marked the end of an era for many. During his papacy he travelled to more countries than any previous Vicar of Rome. For Poles, his passing marked also the passing of their chief flag-bearer, spiritual leader and beacon of hope.
Event No. 9: Poland Going Euro (18th April 2007)
Much to the amazement of all concerned, Michel Platini, head of UEFA, announces that the joint bid by Poland and Ukraine to host the European Football Championships in 2012 is victorious. Poland’s future is looking brighter…
Event No. 10: Buzek Tops (14th July 2009)
Former Polish Prime Minister takes the helm of the European Parliament becoming Poland’s first ever President of the European Parliament. Although not a particularly powerful post, it demonstrates Poland’s increasing influence in the EU.
If any of you out there are interested in receiving blog updates directly by email then simply click here. The wonderful people at Google’s Feedburner have made it possible for blogs to be disseminated automatically by email. In other words, all you have to do is click on the link above and you’ll get my posts delivered directly and automatically to your inbox. Fantastic, eh?
In the meantime, have a great Bonfire Night, enjoy your baked potatoes, toffee apples and bonfire toffee, and be careful with those sparklers.
The Land of the Poles is now a part of NATO, it is a member of the European Union and belongs to most of the structures and institutions that are a mark of democracy in the modern world. But does that make it a democratic country of the ‘civilised, western’ world?
Defining Democracy The problem with defining Poland as a democratic country hinges on the fact that there seem to be several definitions of the term. However, a more pressing problem is the fact that the Polish ‘democracy’ is often compared against the French, British or American ‘democracies’ with commentators often forgetting that Poland was still a communist state in 1989, little over twenty years ago. A mere twenty years have passed… Comparisons, rather, should be drawn between the ‘democracies’ of Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria or the Czech Republic.
Classifying Civilisation Civilisation is a different matter altogether. With democracy we can use indexes such as the Polity IV Projector the work of Freedom House but civilisation is a little harder to characterise. There have been various methods of pigeon-holing countries into this or that category (like Huntington’s Clash of Civilisations) but they all seem rather simplistic but my favourite is my own Toilet Check. The mark of civilisation in any country is the state of its public toilets. Check out ten public toilets in Berlin, Stockholm, Tunis, Cairo, Prague, Budapest and Warsaw. Then put them in order of cleanliness. This is civilisation.
Democracy or Bust?
Identifying Initiative
Another marker of a modern civilised democracy is the level of initiative on the part of regular citizens. In Poland, this manifested itself in the Solidarity movement which helped bring down communism in Europe. However, following the implementation of democracy, popular initiative seemed to have disappeared. Not so any more. Thanks to the internet, a host of web-based initiatives have sprung up. A particular favourite of mine is Nie parkuj jak kutas (Don’t Park Like a Prick) which publishes pictures of illegally-parked vehicles together with colourful commentaries.
Grooming Grass-roots
So perhaps a way of defining a modern civilised democracy is looking at the grass-roots of the society: the state of the toilets, the level of services, the amount of popular initiative. The state of a country’s toilets and Don’t Park Like a Prick may appear to be amusing but they give us a quick insight into the state of the country. It will be our ability to nurture these initiatives that may be a linchpin for the development of democracies not only in Poland but around the world.
The joke begins: “What do Poles and polls have in common?” The answer is, of course, “they are both unreliable”. While the first idea (Poles) is far from the truth, there is no doubting the second (polls). Moreover, put the two together – Polish polls – and we are left with one of the most unreliable weapons in today’s political arsenal in Poland. One needs to simply spend a few moments looking at the opinion polls conducted in Poland, and their results, to realise how bizarre they really are. What is more, these results, however skewed or odd they might appear to be, do not seem to stop politicians, and political commentators and journalists alike, from following them on a daily basis. Poland really is the Land of the Polls.
Kaczyński Can't Believe the Graphs
Following the recent ‘gamble-gate’ scandal which saw PM Tusk dismiss several members of his government together with the head of the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau (CBA), PiS-oriented Mariusz Kamiński, opinion polls have been all over the place and, at best, contradictory. Some polls suggest an erosion of support for Tusk and Civic Platform (PO), others find Tusk gaining even more ground on Lech Kaczyński and Law and Justice (PiS). All in all, Polish opinion polls, rather than clarify the attitudes of Poles, seem to confuse, confound and obscure what the masses think.
Olejniczak & Napieralski Hoping for Better Charts
In recent times, opinion polls seem to have begun exerting a huge influence on political spin doctors who in turn have an increasing say in creating the images and policies of leading politicians and parties in Poland. But can these opinion polls be trusted? Looking at the research we can see a wild array of statistics:
PO 39%, PiS 18%, SLD 9%, PSL 7% Wirtualna Polska – Gemius (6 Oct 2009)
PO 48%, PiS 28%, SLD 10%, PSL 6% Gazeta Wyborcza – PBS DGA (4 Oct 2009)
Taking a look at what has been going on in the past six months we see that either the institutions that undertake the research for these opinion polls are making some heinous mistakes in their calculations or Polish people are fickle in their political alleigances. One way or another, polls simply cannot be trusted.
Posted by Raf Uzar 
