A somber tribute.

Dziekuje Polska.

Thanks to Poland wrote: I recall a comment from RFK. He liked the Poles because they were 'tough'. This tribute from a people who know what it's really like to live under anothers' thumb.

That sounds like an understatement.

Ponder this. WWII, three million (!!) non-Jews were killed in Poland. Another three million (!!!!) Jews were killed. Prior to the war Poland had the largest Jewish population of any single European nation. But "of Poland's prewar Jewish population of 3 million, only about 50,000 survived the war."

I'd say they know a little about suffering.

Why didn't they fight back or something?

Why aren't you taught that the Poles are cowards like you are the French?

Haha. If you call riding out on horseback in cavalry units to face the oncoming tanks "cowardice", you must have one funny dictionary.

trollism wrote:

Why didn't they fight back or something?

Why aren't you taught that the Poles are cowards like you are the French?

Bingo.

The French fought like lions in WWI and no one gives them any credit. They lost 1.4 million men, with another 5.6 million wounded (1.5 million of whom were permanently disabled). A staggering 75% casualty rate. (By comparison, the Brits had a 44% casualty rate). The Frenchies took more than 500,000 casualties (about 250,000 deaths) in the Siege of Verdun alone.

60% of Frenchmen aged 18-28 were either killed or permanently mained. By the time WWII rolled around, they simply didn't have the manpower to defend themselves.

the poles are as much to blame for the massacre of the Jews as the Nazi occupation. The Polish population activley pursued, tortured, robbed, and murdered Jews, EVEN AFTER THE WAR.

please dont squeeze the garmin wrote:

Haha. If you call riding out on horseback in cavalry units to face the oncoming tanks "cowardice", you must have one funny dictionary.

This is a romanticised view of the Polish defence of their homeland which was actually a myth perpetrated by the Nazis at the outset of the war to demonstrate the perceived incompetence and foolishness of the Polish forces. The reality was that Polish troops fought with considerable skill and bravery against overwhelming odds.

Most respected historians agree that although there were encounters between Polish cavalry and German tanks, they happened because the tanks appeared while the Poles were attacking German infantry or artillery. There were no charges by Polish cavalry against German tanks. The Polish cavalry used horses primarily to move around the battlefield, but fought using infantry tactics.

A good account of the Polish involvement in WW2, specifically the crucial role they played in the battle of Britain is Olson and Cloud's A Question of Honor: The Kosciuszko Squadron: Forgotten Heroes of World War II. It is an excellent read.

Palestine has been under occupation for hundreds of years. The Turks, the British, now Russians and other Holocaust refugees occupy and commit mass genocide upon their own identical Semitic people. Cry for Palestine on 9-11.

Simon Jones. wrote: This is a romanticised view of the Polish defence of their homeland which was actually a myth perpetrated by the Nazis at the outset of the war to demonstrate the perceived incompetence and foolishness of the Polish forces. The reality was that Polish troops fought with considerable skill and bravery against overwhelming odds.

Hey, thanks for the info. It sure is a lot easier to catch up on world history at l-run than to go back to school and take those tedious classes.

And though your facts largely contradict my restatement of myth, your point reinforces the one I was trying to make.

Man, the brutality perpetrated and valiantly fought and tragically endured a few generations ago, on such a scale... you'd just about think pondering this stuff should put a quick end to so much of our 21st century whining about every little inconvenience. Should, but won't.

I'll keep that book in mind too. Thanks.