Poland — Summer 2005

My wife Shelly and I visited Poland for 16 days in the summer of 2005. The main purpose of the trip was to participate in a wedding ceremony and reception for our son David and his Polish-born wife Emilia. Although they have been married for nearly 5 years, they wanted to re-celebrate their nuptials in Emilia's native land. Happily, our other son, Kenny, and several other friends of David's and Emilia's came from the US and other European countries to help us celebrate.
Upper left: parents welcoming the couple;
Upper right: the bride and groom;
Lower left: an old tradition.
 In these and many other of the photos in these pages, just click on the photo to see it alone and enlarged.

We were received very graciously by our Polish guests. During a 6-day stay in Lukow (where Emilia's mother Jadwiga lives, and where the wedding ceremony took place) and nearby Siedlce (where Emilia's father Andrzej lives, and where the reception occurred), we were treated with great kindness and consideration. We were wined and dined, toasted and saluted, and generally made to feel very welcome. The wedding ceremony was quite beautiful, the party was a blast and the camaraderie was exceedingly fine.

Upper left: Piotr Pietrych, Emilia's brother;
Upper right: Jadwiga Pietrych, Emilia's mother, with Shelly;
Lower left: Andrzej Pietrych, Emilia's father.
The wedding party lasted from early Saturday evening until late Sunday night (with a brief respite Sunday morning to refresh and purge). Here are more pictures from:

We did have a few unexpected adventures:

Our 6-day stay in Lukow/Siedlce was followed by 5 days in Krakow and 5 more in Warsaw. During the first 3 days in Krakow, we were accompanied by David and Emilia, Jadwiga, Piotr, some of the friends from the US, and Maxi—David and Emilia's beagle, who made the scene in Poland. We moved between locations in our rented car and although the signs let us down occasionally, and local road conditions caused us to underestimate drive times, we generally succeeded in making our way around the country. While in Krakow, Shelly and I went with a private guide to Auschwitz-Birkenau. And during our time in Warsaw, I drove to Lodz and back with Andrzej and Lidia (see the Acknowldegment).

Upper left: Cloth Hall in Krakow.
Upper right: Gothic Cathedral on Wawel hill in Krakow.
Lower left: Royal Castle in Warsaw.
Lower right: Old town square in Warsaw.

Krakow is very picturesque, full of tourists, has great gift shopping, and the food is terrific. Warsaw is more cosmopolitan, more expensive and more business oriented in comparison to Krakow's cultural emphasis. Lodz is a depressed industrial town. Siedlce is much smaller than these three, but seemed to be economically vibrant. Lukow, yet again much smaller, seemed less prosperous than Siedlce. Overall, Poland is struggling to overcome a bleak 200 year history: a 123-year long dismemberment by Russia, Prussia and Austria (starting in 1795), a turbulent 21-year interval of restored independence between the two world wars, then conquered by the Nazis and raped by the Communists. They have made great strides since Solidarity, Karol Wojtyla and Ronald Reagan set them free—but they have a ways to go.
More pictures of Krakow
More pictures of Warsaw
And still more pictures of Warsaw

A word about Lodz. Unlike Krakow, whose history traces back a millenium as the original capital of the Polish kingdom; and unlike Warsaw, whose history goes back to the 14th century, and to which the capital was moved in 1596; Lodz was a small, obsure town until Jewish, Russian and Prussian industrialists were invited to it in the early part of the 19th century to build up textile and other industries. By the early 20th century, Lodz was described as the "Manchester of Poland." The city—all of whose industries were nationalzed by the Communists—has not fared well under the transition to a market economy. Unemployment is high, development has been lacking, and decay and poverty are evident. Still, with nearly a million people, several functioning enterprises (e.g., the Polish movie industry is centered there), and wise leadership, Lodz might recapture its former vibrance. One can only hope.

Here are some general impressions of Poland. Keep in mind that they are the subjective conclusions of an American tourist, in the country barely more than a fortnight. Poland is a very homogeneous country, comprised almost exclusively of white Roman Catholics. It is startling to an American, accustomed to a diverse cultural atmosphere, to see a country in which all the people "look alike." (It reminded me of Japan in that regard.) Yet this could be a source of strength for the Polish people as they attempt to find common purpose in order to shed the blight of the last two centuries and convert their country into a dynamic, democratic, market-oriented society. Flying over and driving through Poland, one does not get the same sense of richness one does traversing (West) Germany or the United States. But the potential is there. Poland differs from the countries of Western Europe in its religious stance. Each Saturday afternoon the churches are filled with people attending weddings, and each Sunday morning they are packed again with worshippers. In Western Europe the churches are nearly always empty. I sense that the economy is not as robust as they would wish, but on the other hand we found the stores well-stocked, farms and factories seemed to be active, hotels were crowded and much international commerce was in evidence. The level of service did not compare to that in the U.S., but it was not bad, and in places it was excellent. If I had to compare with other European venues, Warsaw and Krakow were not as luxurious and impressive as Prague and Budapest, but the countryside was more attractive than what I saw driving through East Germany a decade ago. The people seemed more energetic and resolute than the Danes I interacted with 15 years ago. And the general mood was much more appealing than the rotten atmosphere I found in France on my last sojourn there. (After numerous visits in the 1970s, I had the misfortune to be in Paris in June 1982 when Israel chased Arafat to Beirut. The anti-Semitism was so disgusting that I have never returned to France.)

Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill freed Western Europe from the scourge of Nazism. Two generations later the peoples and countries there are free and prosperous. Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher and Karol Wojtyla freed Eastern Europe from the evil Communist empire. There is no reason why a country like Poland—provided its people work hard and with determination—cannot be equally free and prosperous.

One cannot complete a set of general impressions of Poland without touching upon the Jewish matter. On August 31, 1939 there were 3 million Jews living in Poland. Beginning the next day and over the succeeding 5 years, Hitler and his henchmen murdered almost every one of them (including two of my grandfather's sisters and their families). One cannot visit Treblinka, Auschwitz or Birkenau without being compelled to contemplate the enormous monstrosity of this deed. It is beyond comprehension and fills me with rage and despair. Auschwitz

And yet the ghosts of all those murdered Jews do not hang like a crippling dead weight over modern Poland. To be sure, I did not sense that the people of Poland were not keenly aware of the destruction of the ancient Jewish community in their midst. And I think they believe that a certain richness in their heritage has been obliterated. There is even an effort to keep alive a knowledge and recognition of that vanished community. But at the same time, there is no albatross, and the country is indeed moving forward in its homogeneous condition. In their place, I would do the same, but I could not escape—as I stood staring at the barracks in Birkenau—the feeling of grievous loss. It is a weight that I, as a Jew, could not bear on a continual basis.

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