Ogniem I Mieczem

Are We All Polish Now?

2008-09-23T09:25:00.000-07:00

Some Polish History for Anthony "The Unbeliever" Bonk

2005-11-24T11:12:00.000-08:00

Since Anthony (no doubt educated at one of our fine government schools) seems to think that the Poles were totally defeated during World War II and could not or would not defend themselves, I offer the following link for starters and wish to note in particular:

Poland never surrendered
The Polish Resistance (the Home Army, Armia Krajowa) was arguably the largest and most effective in all Nazi occupied countries, with over 200,000 armed insurgents and many thousands of supporters.
Poland never collaborated with Nazis (sure some individuals did but the AK eventually took care of them :)
Polish 303 Squadron had highest number of kills during Battle of Britain
Polish mathematicians and cryptologists solved German Enigma encryption before the start of WWII.

Perhaps some of the reason US citizens are not taught much about Poland in government schools is because of the betrayal of Poland by the US government in WWII, most notably during the Warsaw Uprising.

Tadeusz Kosciusko 1746-1817 (Ass-Kicking Polish Freedom Fighters #1)

2005-11-12T22:21:00.000-08:00

His name is pronounced "Ta-doosh Kosh-choosh-ko". Went to the American colonies in 1776 to help fight for their independence from England. If not for his skill with artillery and fortifications, the battle of Saratoga might have been lost, and with that loss, we might still be the queen's subjects. After the Revolutionary War he was made a Brigadier General and a US Citizen. Thomas Jefferson said of him "He was as pure a son of liberty as I have ever known." (Kosciusko named Jefferson the executor of his will.)

He also fought for Poland's independence from the three European powers (Russia, Prussia and Austria) who had conspired to eliminate Poland from the map of Europe. He won many battles against superior numbers, but was defeated and captured at the battle of Maciejowice (Ma-chee-yo-vee-tse). The Polish national anthem begins with words that he supposedly spoke during that battle.

Jeszcze Polska nie zginęła,	Poland has not yet perished,
Póki my żyjemy.	as long as we live.
Co nam obca przemoc wzięła,	Whatever foreign force took from us,
Szablą odbierzemy.	with the saber we'll take back.

He was imprisoned by Catherine the Great of Russia and was exiled from Poland in 1797, which by then did not exist and would not again become a nation until 1918.

In vain, alas! In vain, ye gallant few!
Flank rank to rank your volleyed thunder flew
Oh, bloodiest picture in the book of Time,
Sarmatia fell, unwept, without a crime;
Found not a generous friend, a pitying foe,
Strength in her arms, nor mercy in her woe!
Dropped from her nerveless grasp the shattered spear,
Closed her bright eye, and curbed her high career
HOPE, for a season, bade the world farewell,
And Freedom shrieked as KOSCIUSKO fell!

(Sarmatia was another name for Poland)

With Fire And Sword

2005-10-21T14:21:00.000-07:00

That's what the title means in English. It's Polish. The Polish people have had to fight for their freedom almost constantly for the last thousand years, and yet they still survive and it looks like they may even begin to prosper again in the 21st century. But, there will always be constant threats from their neighbors to the north, east, southeast, and west (the Carpathians to the south are their only natural defense).

The Poles have many things to teach us, and their love of freedom, their self-reliance, and their joy of life is inspiring to me. Maybe I'll write some more about them, (and about the Fire and Sword) soon.