Posts by Gene Sokolowski
Copernicus – A True Renaissance Man
MikoÅ‚aj Kopernik (1473 – 1543) was a Renaissance-era astronomer who can accurately be described as a true Renaissance man. First coined in the early 20th century, the expression describes a well-educated person who excels in a wide variety of fields. Fulfilling this ideal, Copernicus was a mathematician, astronomer, church jurist with a doctorate in law,…
Read MorePolish craftsmen establish Jamestown colony’s export economy but are denied voting rights
In 1607, John Smith brought the first British settlers to Jamestown, who expected to find natural resources such as gold, lumber, and herbs. Sent by the Virginia Company of London, the settlers planned to found a colony and begin exporting goods to London. However, two problems significantly impeded their efforts. First, some of the colonists…
Read MoreJewish Liars of the Holocaust
Jewish Liars of the Holocaust (For high school students, teachers, and adults) This 20-minute video, in Polish with English subtitles, presents some of the more notorious examples of Jewish individuals and organizations who have spread malicious lies about Poles. For many years, Jewish circles around the world have claimed that Poland and the Poles were…
Read MoreWearing the Letter P by Sophie Hodorowicz-Knab
Young Polish Women Deported to Germany as Forced Laborers to Support Hitler’s War Effort Among the little-known tragedies of World War II was Hitler’s abduction of Poles and ordering them to work as civilian forced laborers to support Germany’s war effort. According to the Polish government’s recently-published, three-volume report on Poland’s losses under German occupation,…
Read MoreJewish Culture Festival in Kraków
The annual Jewish Culture Festival in Krakow– a positive example of present-day Polish-Jewish relations Photo caption: Sounding of the Shofar, a ram’s-horn trumpet used by ancient Jews in religious ceremonies and as a battle signal, now sounded at Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Source: Jewish Festival Poland website. The annual Jewish Culture Festival in Poland’s…
Read MoreAnimated History of Poland
(For high school students, teachers, and adults) This short video begins with Poland’s Christianization in 966 A.D. and then takes you through the Middle Ages, Early Modern Ages, the Modern Age, and the 20th Century. Like other European countries, Poland is shown growing as a political, economic, and military power; however, as will be seen,…
Read MoreIPNtv: Unconquered: Trying Times
(For high school students, teachers, and adults) This short video is a moving account of the Poles’ struggle for independence during its interwar period, 1918–1939. It should be remembered that Poland disappeared from the map in 1795 after Russia, Prussia, and Austria-Hungary divided Poland between them and annexed their respective Polish territories. For the next…
Read MoreIPNtv: The Unconquered
(Excellent video for high-school students) This 4-and-a-half-minute video is a compelling account of Poland’s fight against the occupying German and Soviet Russian forces. Produced by Poland’s Institute of National Remembrance (Polish initials – IPN), it presents important information and significant facts that are absent in popular literature, school curricula, and online news outlets. The video…
Read MoreThe Forgotten Holocaust: The Poles under German Occupation 1939-1945 by Richard Lukas
(For high school students, teachers, and parents) In recounting the human suffering of World War II, Hitler’s genocide of European Jews remains the dominant narrative in popular literature, academic writing, and public school curricula. By contrast, Hitler’s genocide of Poles remains largely unknown. As Richard Lukas points out, Hitler’s planned genocide of Poles was evident…
Read MoreYour Life Is Worth Mine: How Polish Nuns Saved Hundreds of Jewish Children in German-Occupied Poland, 1939-1945 by Ewa Kurek
(For high school students, teachers, and adults) Only in Poland did the Germans maintain a standing order that anyone aiding Jews would be executed together with immediate family. By defying the German death penalty, thousands of Poles saved Jewish lives. Among the most effective were the female Catholic religious orders. Without Vatican leadership, Polish nuns…
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