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Polish anniversaries throughout the year (with limitations)


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Edited by: pawian  Sep 18, 11, 09:46    #1
I have an idea for another historical thread which will deal with Polish anniversaries based on historical events.

One requirement, though - you are strongly expected to post when anniversaries really come - on the same day, or day later.

Posts about non-up-to date anniversaries will be mercilessly reported and randomised.

I have warned you. Think twice before you troll this thread. Don`t waste your and our time.
:):):):)

As for having historical debates concerning presented anniversaries, feel free to write what you want.

:):):):):)

Yesterday about 1000 people demonstrated near the Russian Embassy and Preesidential Palace in Warsaw to commemmorate the 72th anniversary of Soviet Russian invasion on 17 September 1939.
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http://kontakt24.tvn.pl/temat,wieczorna-demonstracja-pod-rosyjska-amba sada,141846.html?grupa=polska



The popular Polish beliefs about 17 September:

Soviets delivered a trecherous backstab to Poles galantly fighting Germans in western and central Poland. Not declared formally to the world, but in fact it was the 4th partition of Poland as afterwards, Germans and Soviets shared the Polish territory and vowed to do everything to never let Poland rise again.

It was the time of a very fruitful cooperation between Nazi Germany and communist USSR. Two victorious armies held common parades, German Gestapo and Soviet NKVD met and established formal ways of dealing with Polish resistance etc etc.

The result of the cooperation was traumaticall tragic. 17 September directly led to Katyn Massacre and persecution of Poles by the inhumane stalinist system in the Soviet Union.

Today, the old trauma has subsided a little but is still present in the nation`s memory and consciousness.

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 Sep 18, 11, 10:47    #2
Forgot to add useful links for those who have just started being interested in Polish history:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molotov-Ribbentrop_Pact

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_invasion_of_Poland

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katyn_massacre

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massacres_of_Poles_in_Volhynia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Holocaust_in_Poland
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 Sep 18, 11, 14:10    #3
Yesterday about 1000 people demonstrated near the Russian Embassy and Preesidential Palace in Warsaw to commemmorate the 72th anniversary of Soviet Russian invasion on 17 September 1939

Sorry,but that is just F*****G pathetic...........and a sad,in a "you sad old fools" kinda way......
I was going to link another "on this day" regarding Polish participation in the Battle of Arnhem,but reading the wiki entries on Sosabowski I notice from the distinctly non native use of English that it is a waste of time, myth and half truth/lies triumph again when it comes to Polish "history".....so I wont bother....
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Edited by: pawian  Sep 18, 11, 18:15    #4
=isthatu2]Sorry,but that is just F*****G pathetic

Because they demonstrated before the Presidential Palace? Yes, I agree. What has the current President of Poland got in common with 17 September invasion????

=isthatu2]I was going to link another "on this day" regarding Polish participation in the Battle of Arnhem,

What exactly happened on 17 September?

Aaah, I googled it:

On 17 September 1944 thousands of paratroopers descended from the sky by parachute or glider up to 150 km behind enemy lines. Their goal: to secure to bridges across the rivers in Holland so that the Allied army could advance rapidly northwards and turn right into the lowlands of Germany, hereby skirting around the Siegfried line, the German defence line. If all carried out as planned it should have ended the war by Christmas 1944.
Unfortunately this daring plan, named Operation Market Garden, didn't have the expected outcome. The bridge at Arnhem proved to be 'a bridge too far'. After 10 days of bitter fighting the operation ended with the evacuation of the remainder of the 1st British Airborne Division from the Arnhem area.
This website tells the complete story of this historical operation and is a tribute to all those men who fought and died in September 1944.

http://www.rememberseptember44.com/

=isthatu2]but reading the wiki entries on Sosabowski I notice from the distinctly non native use of English that it is a waste of time,

How about giving us the correct version of events?

=isthatu2]myth and half truth/lies triumph again when it comes to Polish "history".....

Hmmm, what is half truth or lies in case of Polish participation in Market Garden operation? What I know is that after its failure Sosabowski was accused by Montgomery of various blunders, which was unfair because it was British generals who had flunked the job and later tried to shift the blame onto Sosabowski, who had done his best.

Am I correct?

=isthatu2]so I wont bother....

Goodbye, then. See you in other threads.
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 Sep 18, 11, 18:20    #5
Just to clarify. Did any mass demonstrations take place outside the German Embasy on the 1st? If not all that Demo against the Russian Embassy looks like is some out of place hangover from the days when Poland was under the communists.
Its as pointless as me going and Parading infront of the French Embassy on September the 28th to protest Wiliam the Bastards treacherous 1066 invasion of England and merciless slaughter of thousands of anglo/saxon/danes and the userption of the English crown.......
My comment about Sosabowski was regarding the appalling and highly inaccurate wiki page entry on the Battle of Arnhem,obviously posted or edited by a Pole and full of the usual rubbish playing up the importance and activities of Poles to a silly ,easily disproven degree and throwing blame out in every direction with no self reflection. Unfortunatly on forums like this those types of entries are the only ones accepted as "truth" and any contrary evidence or comment as seen as "polonophobia" as witnessed by all the silly posts now in the off topic bin.....notice the OP had no objections.
So ,lets just say in this week in history in 1944 many brave Polish soldiers deployed to Holland. I have had the privalage of meeting many of those fine men in my time ,both here in Doncaster (where a huge % made good lives post war),in Poland and in Arnhem. Those men deserved to be remembered,and certainly are by those who knew them and still more fondly in Arnhem. It does them no service to post rubbish on wikipeado or here as it just deflects from the truth and gives fuel to those fools who like to revise history in the same way that the rubbish spoken about the holocaust in the 50s and 60s allowed the lunatic fringe a toe hold into "proving the lies".
retroDog  Sep 18, 11, 18:29    #6
its just amazing that at least two comments to isablathu post were removed, but his post that is insulting Poles and Polish soldiers that died in WWII is still there.
All hail censor.
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 Sep 18, 11, 18:42    #7
but his post that is insulting Poles and Polish soldiers that died in WWII is still there.


which post would that be ?
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 Sep 18, 11, 18:43    #8
How about giving us the correct version of events?

Ok, some taken from the wider Battle of Arnhem wiki page......
21st sept
Polish paratroopers enter the battle

After two days of delay due to the weather, the Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade under Major-General Stanislaw Sosabowski entered the battle on the afternoon of 21 September, delivered at about 17:15 by 114 C-47s of the U.S. 61st and 314th Troop Carrier Groups. Two of the brigade's three battalions were dropped amidst heavy German fire, opposite the 1st Airborne Division's position on a new drop zone south of the Rhine near the village of Driel. Poor coordination by the RAF and persistent attacks by Luftwaffe aircraft caused their supplies to be dropped 15 km (9 miles) away on the opposite side of the Rhine.

Intending to use the Heveadorp ferry to reinforce the division, they discovered that the opposite bank was dominated by the enemy and that the ferry was missing; it was later found downstream past the road bridge, unserviceable. Unable to help the British, the Polish withdrew to Driel for the night. The 1st Airborne Division made radio contact during the day with guns of the 64th Medium Regiment of XXX Corps' artillery which had advanced with the ground forces and were assigned to the division for support. Unlike many others, this radio link worked throughout the battle and the regiment provided valuable fire support to the division.



22nd
The Polish 1st Parachute Brigade at Driel, unable to cross the Rhine, nonetheless forced a redeployment of German forces. Fearing a Polish attempt to recapture Arnhem bridge or, worse, an attempt to cut the road to the south and so trap the 10th SS Panzer Division then blocking the route of the Guards Armoured Division to Arnhem, the Germans withdrew 2,400 troops from Oosterbeek. They were moved south of the river to engage the Polish paratroopers at Driel, making attacks to little effect through the day.

Link-up between the Poles and XXX Corps

The fog lifted as leading elements of the 43rd Division attempted to advance to Driel, exposing them to German fire. They arrived in Driel during the evening. Lacking assault craft, an unsuccessful attempt was made that night to put elements of the Polish brigade across the river. British and Polish engineers on both sides of the Rhine had worked through the day to improvise a crossing using small boats linked by signals cable but the cable kept breaking forcing the Polish troops to slowly row across against the strong current. The attempt was made under enemy observation and fire and only 52 soldiers of the 8th Polish Parachute Company survived the crossing before a halt was called at dawn.

While much of the corridor was firmly in Allied hands, German counterattacks were still being mounted along its length. During the previous night, two mixed armoured formations on either side of Highway 69 attacked between Veghel and Grave; one group managed to cut the highway and prevent any further advance to Arnhem.



23rd
The Germans had figured out what the Poles were attempting to do and they spent the rest of the day trying to cut off the British in their northern bridgehead from the riverside. The British managed to hold on and both sides suffered heavy losses. The Germans also attacked the Poles on the south side in order to tie them down but several tanks arrived from XXX Corps and they were beaten off. Boats and engineers from the Canadian army also arrived that day and another river crossing that night landed 150 troops of the Polish 3rd Parachute Battalion on the north bank of the Rhine.

To the south several more German attacks from their position astride the road were stopped but the road was still cut. XXX Corps then sent a unit of the Guards Armoured Division 19 km (12 miles) south and re-took the road. The rest of the force to the north continued to wait for infantry to move up, still only a few kilometres south of Arnhem.


25th
At dawn the 1st Airborne Division received their orders to withdraw across the Rhine; this was called Operation Berlin. This could not be done until nightfall and in the meantime the division struggled to survive. In a departure from their cautious attritional tactics of the previous days, the Germans formed two potent SS battlegroups and made a significant thrust along a narrow front in the eastern sector. This succeeded in breaking through the thin front line and for a time the division was in peril. The attack met with increasing resistance as it pushed deeper into the British lines and was finally broken up by a heavy bombardment of the 64th Medium Regiment.

Employing every ruse to give the Germans the impression that their positions were unchanged, the 1st Airborne Division began its withdrawal at 22:00. British and Canadian engineer units ferried the troops across the Rhine, covered by the Polish 3rd Parachute Battalion on the north bank. To the south the newly-arrived 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division attacked the Germans holding the highway and secured it by the next day.By early the next morning they had withdrawn 2,398 survivors, leaving 300 men to surrender on the north bank at first light, when German fire prevented their rescue. Of approximately 10,600 men of the 1st Airborne Division and other units who fought north of the Rhine, 1,485 had died and 6,414 were taken prisoner of whom one third were wounded.



Where as ,on the other page it simply states ;
The Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade was included among the Allied forces taking part in Operation Market Garden. Due to a critical shortage of transport aircraft, the brigade was split into several parts before entering the battle. A small part of the brigade with Sosabowski was dropped near Driel on September 19, but it was not until 21 September when the rest of the brigade finally arrived in the distant town of Grave, falling directly into the waiting guns of the Germans camped out around the area. The Brigade's artillery was dropped together with the British 1st Airborne Division and the howitzers were to arrive by sea transport. This prevented the Polish forces from being used effectively. Three times Poles under Sosabowski tried to force the Rhine crossing in order to help the surrounded 1st Airborne. However, the ferry they planned to use to reach the British had been sunk and Poles attempted the river crossing in small rubber boats under heavy fire. Nevertheless, at least 200 men succeeded in crossing and reinforcing the embattled British.

Despite the difficult situation on the front, during a 24 September staff meeting, Sosabowski suggested that the battle could have still been won. He suggested that the combined forces of 30th Corps and the Polish Brigade should start an all-out assault on the German positions and try to break through the Rhine. This plan was not accepted, and during the last phase of the battle, on 25 and 26 September, Sosabowski led his men southwards and shielded the retreat of remnants of the 1st Airborne. The rate of casualties among the Polish units that fought in the battle was high, in some cases as high as 40%. The cause of it was a decision of Browning who chose place to parachute located 7 kilometres from the bridge.

Some of the above is fact,some is presumption and the rest is pure fantasy/classic blame game....
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Edited by: pawian  Sep 18, 11, 18:49    #9
=retroDog]its just amazing that at least two comments to isablathu post were removed,

You are wrong.

Let it be.

=isthatu2]Ok, some taken from the wider Battle of Arnhem wiki page......

=isthatu2]Some of the above is fact,some is presumption and the rest is pure fantasy/classic blame game....

Sorry, I still don`t know what you mean.


So, on 17 Sept. 1944 the operation Market Garden started in which Polish paratroopers also took part. Due to mistakes by allied planners, they sustained heavy casualties and didn`t reach their goals.

A few excerpts from my source:


Major General Stanislas Sosabowski, commander of the Polish 1st Parachute Brigade was much older than his colleagues. A veteran of the campaign against Russia during the 1920's, he had fought the Germans in 1939 when they invaded Poland. This may have been short a battle, but no less horrible. He and his men really wanted to fight and teach the Germans a lesson.

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Urquhart, fearing German guns near the bridge, chose the landing and drop zones near Wolfheze, Renkum and Heelsum. These zones were rather remote from their main target, Arnhem bridge. But even if there weren't any German guns, the ground near the bridge was unsuitable for landing. Strangely, this area was selected as a drop zone for the Polish troops.

Maj. Gen. Stanislaw Sosabowsk’s 1st Polish Independent Parachute Brigade was dropped two days later than scheduled. They were dropped on the other site over the river near the village Driel. Their intended drop zone was south of the Traffic Bridge, but since the bridge was in German hands another drop zone was chosen. Just as the second airlift had been delayed by bad weather conditions in England, so was this one. Beside this set back, the Poles had other problems. Bad weather forced some C-47s to return to their bases, so that not all of the 1st Para-battalion jumped. Furthermore, the planes that did make it to Arnhem were attacked heavily by German anti-aircraft guns. Maybe the worst part was that the Germans took the ferry over the river which the Poles intended to use to reach the British. So the Poles were stuck on the other side of the river and could do practically nothing other than wait. One advantage was that the Germans now had to pay attention to both the British and the Poles, which gave a bit of relief to the troops on the 'perimeter'. [...]

The Poles settled on the other side of the river near Driel, made contact with a Captain R. Wrottesley’s reconnaissance unit of the 2nd Army’s Household Cavalry. They succeeded in getting around the German positions at the Nijmegen Bridge. Two British soldiers managed to cross the river and inform Sosabowski of the plan to bring his soldiers to the other side the following night. Sosabowksi had only some rubber boats at his disposal which weren't suitable for this risky enterprise. This operation wasn’t very successful, only 52 soldiers made it to the other bank. [;;;]
During the night the Poles attempted to cross the river again. They used some other boats which arrived before midnight. This time they were more successful than the day before. About 150 soldiers reached the 'perimeter' on the other side, but this still was just a small number.


http://www.rememberseptember44.com/


Memory:

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Dedicated to the polish paratroopers who sacrificed their lives in Driel and surroundings when they were fighting for our liberty, September 1944 – Boze blogoslaw Polske [followed by a list of soldiers who died during that period], R.I.P."

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Edited by: isthatu2  Sep 18, 11, 18:50    #10
which post would that be ?

lols, they do come out of the wood work and kinda prove the point i tried to make in my first 2 posts dont they........
Its odd,but, Ive had conections to Arnhem/Dreil veterens since I was knee high to a grasshopper,some are family members. Since i was a young teenager I worked weekends with the veterens associations and spent hours in dreary autumn weather raising funds for the old boys. Ive sank pints with lads who dropped at Dreil, who even in their 80s would drop and do 50 push ups "for a laugh". On top of that its only in the last couple of years that Ive not actually been to Arnhem for the commemorations.
But, Oh no, I must be the one who knows nothing or "insults" soldiers.......ah well, a cross I can carry if it keeps internet warriors happy.....

I think the sacrifices made at Dreil are doubly sad when one considers what was happening in Warsaw at the same time. I doubt the Brigade would have done much if it had managed to get to Warsaw but Im sure thats where most of them would have preffered to have been. It is therefore a tribute to the honour of those brave men that the vast majority of them took part in Market Garden and did their very best in a situation that created by incompitence produced true heroes of all nations.
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 Sep 18, 11, 18:53    #11
Reminder: rule #11. Text that is a copy-paste from other online source/s and contain more than 100 direct words may be either deleted or edited.
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 Sep 18, 11, 18:55    #12
=isthatu2]lols, they do come out of the wood work and kinda prove the point i tried to make in my first 2 posts dont they........
Its odd,but, Ive had conections to Arnhem/Dreil veterens since I was knee high to a grasshopper,some are family members. Since i was a young teenager I worked weekends with the veterens associations and spent hours in dreary autumn weather raising funds for the old boys. Ive sank pints with lads who dropped at Dreil, who even in their 80s would drop and do 50 push ups "for a laugh". On top of that its only in the last couple of years that Ive not actually been to Arnhem for the commemorations.
But, Oh no, I must be the one who knows nothing or "insults" soldiers.......ah well, a cross I can carry if it keeps internet warriors happy.....

Sheet, after this fascinating sentimental showdown, which I do appreciate, can you stop beating about the bush and say exactly what is wrong with the Polish version of Market Garden?

Can you do it in 4, 5 succinct points?
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Edited by: isthatu2  Sep 18, 11, 19:09    #13
what is wrong with the Polish version of Market Garden?

There is only one version of the truth and that carries no flag.
Can you do it in 4, 5 succinct points?

No,because quite simply that is the level of "history" that produces all the myths and over simplifications.
Its quite clear from the tone of the wiki sosobowski page that the Poles alone were let down when in fact everyone was in the same situation . Also its quite clear that the Poles rescued 1st airborne,when in fact the Poles were as much rescued by XXX corp as the british paras were, it is true that one company of Poles helped with cover fire for the river crossing,but the operation was carried out by british and canadians and it was british and canadians who provided cover for the retreating poles.
The evil brits obviously stole the Polish arty...when in fact it was dropped with the polish crews where it was always intended to be dropped,as the south side of the river was swamp like polder to soft for heavy supplies.In the plan the link up would be made straight away as soon as the rest of the poles arrived....I suppose it was the 600 men at arnhem bridges fault for fighting against overwhelming odds for 4 days and still not winning...
Oh,dont forget if they had followed his suggestion to cross the river then the war would have been over by christmas,as it was that idea had obviously never occured to any silly brit....(irony alert)......and of course if a small force had managed to cross with only one tiny 60 mile long ,attacked 24/7 by the germans ,road as a supply line then ,wow, nothing bad would have happened,oh lordy no......

anyway, Peace Out
c ya all back here on the 3rd of October ;)
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 Sep 18, 11, 19:25    #14
Pawian:
There are literally hundreds of military holidays in Poland - and most, if not all, are somewhat attached to some sort of anniversaries. Quite often a non-descriptive modern unit "receives traditions and honors" from some extinct historical unit and - lo and behold - here is a magic historical tidbit to talk about during pompous speeches every year. For example, September 12 is an anniversary of 1683 Battle of Vienna. Apparently, this is also a holiday of:
a. Polish Land Forces
b. 11th "Lubuska" Division of Armored Cavalry (Its 17th "Wielkopolska" Brigade is currently deployed in Afghanistan)
A man with a good camera and photographic skills could make a fortune driving from one military unit to another, shooting pictures and selling them around. Think about it Pawian:-)

But on a more serious note, this September 18 is the 72th anniversary of the ORP Orzeł incident, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orzeł_incident, when the Polish submarine ORP Orzeł, "Eagle", escaped from the port of Tallin, Estonia and made its way to Great Britain.

The crew of ORP Orzeł conspired to escape under the new command of its chief officer, Lt.Cdr. Jan Grudzinski VM VM DSO. On 18 September, the partially submerged Orzeł slipped out of the harbour under the cover of a foggy night, with the two on-board Estonian guards taken hostage. The Estonian and German press covering the incident declared the two captured guards missing at sea. However, they were deposited on the Swedish coast and provided with clothing, money and food for their safe return home.


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 Sep 18, 11, 19:39    #15
Germans and Soviets shared the Polish territory and vowed to do everything to never let Poland rise again.

Hard to believe that in times when horses were a common source of workforce and only here and there was electricity some ideas about conquest of the world gained such popularity. They definitely read too much books.
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 Sep 18, 11, 19:39    #16
=boletus]There are literally hundreds of military holidays in Poland - and most, if not all, are somewhat attached to some sort of anniversaries.

I didn`t mean only military anniversaries, of course.

=boletus]A man with a good camera and photographic skills could make a fortune driving from one military unit to another, shooting pictures and selling them around. Think about it Pawian:-)

No, thanks. I have just undergone psychiatric treatment which cured me of my photographic obsession. I feel very relaxed now.
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Edited by: pawian  Sep 18, 11, 23:08    #17
=pawian]I didn`t mean only military anniversaries, of course.

18 September, 1939 - Stanisław Witkiewicz, running eastwards from German blitzkrieg, after learning about the Soviet invasion from the East, decided to kill himself.

Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz, a.k.a. "Witkacy" (February 24, 1885 – September 18, 1939) was a Polish playwright, novelist, painter, photographer and philosopher.

Shortly after Poland was invaded by Nazi Germany in September 1939, he escaped with his young lover Czesława to the rural frontier town of Jeziory, in what was then eastern Poland. After hearing the news of the Soviet invasion of Poland on September 17, 1939, Witkacy committed suicide on September 18 by taking a drug overdose and trying to slit his wrists.[1] He convinced Czesława to attempt suicide with him by consuming Luminal, but she survived.




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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanis%C5%82aw_Ignacy_Witkiewicz

His dramas are played today:
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And his art is displayed in museums all over Poland:

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The last practical joke he played after his death:

In the postwar period, Communist Poland's Ministry of Culture decided to exhume Witkiewicz's body, move it to Zakopane, and give it a solemn funeral. This was carried out according to plan, though no one was allowed to open the coffin that had been delivered by the Soviet authorities.
On November 26, 1994, the Polish Ministry of Culture and Art ordered the exhumation of the presumed grave of Witkiewicz in Zakopane. Genetic tests on the remaining bones proved that the body had belonged to an unknown woman — a final absurdist joke, fifty years after the publication of Witkacy's last novel.
[3]
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 Sep 19, 11, 10:54    #18
19 September 1963 - a day when authorities in Wrocław decided to lift the quarantine and all blockades around the city that had been set two months before in response to smallpox epidemic.

Apparently the smallpox virus has been brought to Wrocław in June 1963 by a Pole returning from India. First cases - both light and deadly - were variously misdiagnosed as chickenpox or rapidly progressing leukemia. Only after one and half month, on July 15, the state of anti-epidemiological emergency was announced in the city. Epidemic hospital and quarantine center have been established north of the city, isolation points have been set and quarantine was imposed on four city hospitals.

Altogether a total of about two thousand persons, suspected of having contact with the virus, were isolated. During the entire period 99 patients have been treated against smallpox, seven of whom died - four being the medical personnel. Entire population of Wrocław, half a million then, has been vaccinated. Altogether, 8.2 millions have been vaccinated in Poland.

A serious medical problem included the excessive skin reactions: Some data indicate that at the time nine additional deaths could be linked to such reaction.

Wroclaw smallpox epidemic in 1963 was the last recorded in Poland.

http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epidemia_ospy_we_Wrocławiu_(1963)
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 Sep 19, 11, 21:26    #19
=boletus]Wroclaw smallpox epidemic in 1963 was the last recorded in Poland.

I watched a film about it: Plague
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 Sep 20, 11, 17:31    #20
September 20, 1675: beginning of Trembowla siege (1675-09-20 -- 1675-10-11), during the Polish-Turkish War, 1672-1676.

Posted on youtube is "The song of defence of Trembowla", http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KsGySeEOkc&feature=results_video&playn ext=1&list=PL80A0DE1375436F94.
It is sang by Tadeusz Chyła ( http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tadeusz_Chyła ), a Polish bard of 1960s student cabarets, known to perform ballads spiced with humour and satire. He still performs.

The lyrics ( http://www.waligorski.art.pl/liryka.php?litera=p&nazwa=164) are written by Andrzej Waligórski, http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrzej_Waligórski

For those who do not speak Polish - here is my rough translation of the ballad.

Song of Trembowla's defence,

When Turks and Tartars besieged lone Trembowla castle
The commander Chrzanowski lost his faith in that hassle
He first gulped much mead - and then that yellow defender,
Staggered to the ramparts to raise white flag in surrender.

But his wife, a strong woman, with great spirit, she screeched:
- Are you crazy? They will cut off your balls, you will speak in high pitch!
First she sobbed at such thought, then all her nerves rebelled,
So she grabbed a hot poker - To the ramparts! - she yelled.

She starts throwing down rubbish, bowls, cutlery and plates,
Pouring hot semolina, turning them to fried dates,
Splashing hot borsch, in whose waves treacherously they drowned,
The bloodthirsty pagans, groaning "Allah!", confound.

But then Aga the Stamper - a pimpled, moustachioed troll
Secretly crawled from behind, and knocked a big hole in the wall
But when squeezing inside he was hit on the head
By the lady with poker - until he was quite dead.

Then she plugged the breach - with her own big behind,
Making sure that her face was interior-aligned,
She so cheered the crew that they happily fought,
And she ordered her husband to keep fighting the lot.

A long story to tell is how so long they have tried,
To break that barricade with no success in sight,
How terribly they tormented her with the spears, yataghans,
Muskets, arrows, and lassos - even with big siege rams.

And what hellish firecrackers and mines they have used,
And what vile filth they wrote on her back so much bruised,
Until King Jan Sobieski came to chase them out all,
Then he wondered what was it sticking out through the wall?

And six squadrons of hussars yelled - Jesus, Maria!
This must be our Mrs. Chrzanowska Zofija!
Then the King took a medal and pinned it with great skill
And the flags were tipped and thrice they cried out: Hail!

And then to honour her for stopping the Turkish attack
He placed his Royal kiss at the martyr's sore back
But lady Zofija - thinking that it was still mob on this
Roared: - Force did not get you through, so will not do your kiss!


See the article in English Wikipedia describing the event, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Trembowla

See also the paint by Löffler: "Anna Dorota Chrzanowska at the Trembowla castle", http://pl.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Plik:Löffler-Anna_Dorota_Chr zanowska_na_zamku_w_Trembowli.jpg&filetimestamp=20070430171000
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 Sep 20, 11, 18:52    #21
=boletus]For those who do not speak Polish - here is my rough translation of the ballad.

Wow, did you do it yourself?

Great piece of translation.

And a very funny text, though music is poor.
Thanks.
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Edited by: boletus  Sep 21, 11, 13:36    #22
Wow, did you do it yourself?

Well, thank you, I appreciate it, although I know it could be much improved.

Well, thinking back about his greatest hits: none of Chyła's ballads was very much interesting musically. Their power lied in lyrics: humor, satire, surprise effects - and interpretation.
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 Sep 21, 11, 22:15    #23
=boletus]although I know it could be much improved.

No, no, it is simply amazing.

=boletus]Their power lied in lyrics: humor, satire, surprise effects - and interpretation.

Seems so.
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 Sep 21, 11, 23:38    #24
Ha, classic, and speaks of a wider truth.
Im convinced that most wars through history would end after the two sides have a bit of a shouting match,maybe a punch up,then both down to the Pub for a few drinks and a good old knees up.....except throught history there has always been women prodding the poor blokes out the front door and onto the battlefield....presumably just to get them out from under their feet while they do the dusting or something......
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 Sep 27, 11, 14:50    #25
Battle of Kircholm took place in 1609. Poles massacred Swedish army with their winged hussars.

The Battle of Kircholm (27 September 1605, or 17 September in the Old Style calendar then in use in Protestant countries) was one of the major battles in the Polish-Swedish War of 1600-1611. The battle was decided in 20 minutes by the devastating charge of Polish-Lithuanian cavalry, the Winged Hussars.[3] The battle ended in the decisive victory of Polish-Lithuanian forces, and is remembered as one of the greatest triumphs of Commonwealth cavalry.


s

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kircholm

Read more about the winged hussars:
Polish historical myths - to break or not to break them?
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 Oct 5, 11, 00:04    #26
On October 4, 1582 the Gregorian Calendar has been introduced via Pope Gregory XIII bull, immediately in several Catholic countries: Spain, Portugal, Poland, and almost all Italy. Most others followed suit, Great Britain in 1752, the last European country to switch was Greece in 1923.

But the days between October 5 and October 14 were removed, to correct for difference between Julian and Gregorian calendars.

So tomorrow would be October the 15, way past the election day. How sweet!
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Edited by: boletus  Oct 12, 11, 21:22    #27
On October 12,
In 1779, Polish nobleman Casimir Pulaski (*), fighting for American independence, died two days after being wounded during the Revolutionary War Battle of Savannah, Ga.
a.k.a. Kazimierz Michał Władysław Wiktor Pułaski herbu Ślepowron
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 Oct 12, 11, 21:37    #28
Casimir Pulaski was mortally wounded leading a charge of French and American cavalry. The grape-shot that ended his glorious life, in which he fought for the freedom of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth as well as the freedom of the nascent United States of America, is pictured below.





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 Oct 12, 11, 23:03    #29
I apologize if this has been already mentioned somewhere else:

On October 9, 1779, probing for a weak point in the British lines at Savannah, Georgia, Casimir Pulaski was mortally wounded by grapeshot. He was carried from the field of battle by several comrades, including Colonel John C. Cooper. Following the American Revolution, Colonel Cooper gave an intergenerational mandate to his descendants that they try and repay the debt of honor owed to Pulaski and his fellow Polish volunteers who fought “for your freedom and for ours” in the War of American Independence.



In response to this mandate, Cooper’s great-great-grandson, Merian C. Cooper, organized in August of 1919 the Kosciuszko Squadron, the beginning of the Polish Air Force, with eight American aviators. More in the book "The question go honour. The Kosciuszko Squadron: Forgotten Heroes of World War II" by Lynnie Olson and Stanley Cloud.
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Edited by: boletus  Oct 12, 11, 23:12    #30
I am looking through some correspondence of Gen. Washington with Count Casimir Pulaski, which is available in Library of Congress, www.loc.gov . Some of this is in French because Pulaski did not speak English, and some must have been translated to English. About 32 of those positions are transcripts. From those, it is clear that there was not much love between the two; the Washington orders seem petty at time.
This is what I found in "Sarmatian Review: The Pulaski Legion in American Revolution, By Francis Casimir Kajencki. Reviewer: James R. Thompson", http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~sarmatia/405/254thompson.html

One of the major points emphasized by Kajencki is the fact that George Washington, experience in the French and Indian War notwithstanding, started off the American Revolution as a rather mediocre general, hesitant, opinionated, and frequently ill informed. By the time of the death of Pulaski, Washington had distinguished himself only at the Battles of Princeton and Trenton. He was beginning to appreciate the attrition made possible by partisan warfare, as Kosciuszko had shown in the fighting retreat from Ticonderoga to Saratoga. But, until the end of the War, Washington really never appreciated the value of cavalry in the triad of “horse, foot, and artillery.” Even the minimalist “Pulaski Legion” was beyond his comprehension, in spite of the similar structure utilized on the British side by Banastre Tarleton.




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