I spent this past weekend in Warsaw and gave a lecture as part of the Fulbright program. I was hosted by Marek Paryz who is a Professor of American Literature at the University of Warsaw.
I enjoyed my visit. You will notice statues or references to Charles de Gaulle, Herbert Hoover, and Ronald Reagan. De Gaulle was a young French military officer who helped the Poles withstand the onslaught of the Bolsheviks after WWI. Please remember that Poland was mostly dominated by neighboring countries before achieving independence as a result of WWI, but still had to battle the Bolsheviks who took power in Russia near the end of the war. Hoover, well before becoming president, helped arrange food and clothing shipments to Poland following WWI. He once visited Warsaw and 25,000 shoeless children came to greet him and give their thanks. He soon arranged relief shipments to bring more shoes into the country. Reagan helped bring about the end of the Cold War which would free Poland from the control of the Soviet Union.
Today, Poland is a member of the European Union and NATO and very much a "Western" country. It will be co-hosting with Ukraine the 2012 European football championships and in the distance in some photos you can see the new football (soccer) stadium which will host the very first game played in the 2012 tournament.
Leanna will be pleased to learn that Marek took me to a "Polish" restaurant for lunch and we enjoyed big bowls of chicken noodle soup and two varieties of pierogies, a type of dumpling. He said that I should really eat the beet soup if I wanted to feel Polish, but in the end we both opted for the chicken soup.
The city is very vibrant and has some nice sites. Of course, much of what you see today is from the post-WWII period. About 85% of Warsaw was destroyed by the Germans during WWII. Poland lost 6 milion people during the war, half of whom were Jews. This represented about 23% of the nation's pre-WWII population. The Soviets also did their share of mass murdering after gaining control of parts of Poland during WWII.
It is sad to contemplate all the wanton destruction ordered by Hitler and Stalin.
Notice also the tributes to Cardinal Wyszynski and Pope John Paul II. The Cardinal, at his own personal peril, stood up to the communists after WWII. The Pope was also a native son of Poland. The vast majority of Poles are Catholics and the church was a bulwark of resistance to the communist leadership up until the demise of the Soviet bloc in 1989.
Several other statues celebrate poets, writers, musicians such as Chopin, and scientists such as Copernicus. The mermaid with the sword has been the symbol of Warsaw since the mid-14th century.
Today the Poles are optimistic about the future. They are finally independent and have a robust economy. They can exist in relative peace. There are all sorts of difficulties within the European Union, but nothing of the magnitude of problems experienced by the Poles just a few decades ago.
It was an enjoyable and thought-provoking trip.
I enjoyed my visit. You will notice statues or references to Charles de Gaulle, Herbert Hoover, and Ronald Reagan. De Gaulle was a young French military officer who helped the Poles withstand the onslaught of the Bolsheviks after WWI. Please remember that Poland was mostly dominated by neighboring countries before achieving independence as a result of WWI, but still had to battle the Bolsheviks who took power in Russia near the end of the war. Hoover, well before becoming president, helped arrange food and clothing shipments to Poland following WWI. He once visited Warsaw and 25,000 shoeless children came to greet him and give their thanks. He soon arranged relief shipments to bring more shoes into the country. Reagan helped bring about the end of the Cold War which would free Poland from the control of the Soviet Union.
Today, Poland is a member of the European Union and NATO and very much a "Western" country. It will be co-hosting with Ukraine the 2012 European football championships and in the distance in some photos you can see the new football (soccer) stadium which will host the very first game played in the 2012 tournament.
Leanna will be pleased to learn that Marek took me to a "Polish" restaurant for lunch and we enjoyed big bowls of chicken noodle soup and two varieties of pierogies, a type of dumpling. He said that I should really eat the beet soup if I wanted to feel Polish, but in the end we both opted for the chicken soup.
The city is very vibrant and has some nice sites. Of course, much of what you see today is from the post-WWII period. About 85% of Warsaw was destroyed by the Germans during WWII. Poland lost 6 milion people during the war, half of whom were Jews. This represented about 23% of the nation's pre-WWII population. The Soviets also did their share of mass murdering after gaining control of parts of Poland during WWII.
It is sad to contemplate all the wanton destruction ordered by Hitler and Stalin.
Notice also the tributes to Cardinal Wyszynski and Pope John Paul II. The Cardinal, at his own personal peril, stood up to the communists after WWII. The Pope was also a native son of Poland. The vast majority of Poles are Catholics and the church was a bulwark of resistance to the communist leadership up until the demise of the Soviet bloc in 1989.
Several other statues celebrate poets, writers, musicians such as Chopin, and scientists such as Copernicus. The mermaid with the sword has been the symbol of Warsaw since the mid-14th century.
Today the Poles are optimistic about the future. They are finally independent and have a robust economy. They can exist in relative peace. There are all sorts of difficulties within the European Union, but nothing of the magnitude of problems experienced by the Poles just a few decades ago.
It was an enjoyable and thought-provoking trip.
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