Tag: poland
Bulldozing the “liberators”
How do we remember the dead? How do we remember the war dead? How do we remember the controversial war dead? In Europe, history is never quite in the past …
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May Day, November Day
It’s May the 1st, and so I can’t help but remember the May Day marches of my Polish childhood; all that sea of red, big portraits of the current and …
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How to win friends and influence people, the Turkish edition
Contrary to the impression you might get from reading The Daily Chrenk, I don’t at all dislike Turkey or the Turkish people. In fact I have a historical soft spot …
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Party like it’s Chernobyl again
Just over three decades on and another mysterious radioactive cloud is hanging over Europe: Scientists are struggling to explain why traces of Iodine-131 have been discovered in Norway, Finland, Poland, …
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Straight Outta Downton
I have a confession to make: I enjoyed “Downton Abbey” a lot more than I should have and a lot more than I think the show objectively deserved. Let’s face …
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Women’s March in 10 iconic images
I’m a big fan of protests. Or to be more precise, I’m a big fan of the right to (peacefully) protest. I remember being about ten and watching from the …
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The best books in 2016
Confession: I read a lot. Always did, since I was 5. Perhaps too much. Which is why, to avoid bankruptcy, I don’t buy new books. My readings range widely and …
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Happy Independence Day, Poland!
As countries around the world celebrate variously Remembrance Day, Armistice Day or Veterans Day, Poland celebrates its Independence Day on 11 November. The genesis of all these commemorations is similar. …
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Keep Hallow in Halloween
Some people hate Halloween because it’s American, but in truth it is the Christians who have a more legitimate gripe about this holiday than anti-American cultural snobs and nationalists. After …
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Rich the eat
If your parents or grandparents were members of the Silent Generation, defined by the Great Depression experience, or the Greatest Generation, similarly shaped by the world war, or even the …
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He’s in a celluloid heaven now: Andrzej Wajda RIP
A giant of Polish and international cinema just passed away at the ripe age of 90. Andrzej Wajda, perhaps the best known Polish film director alongside Krzysztof Kieslowski, has had …
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Dreams from my grandfather on the bridge too far
I walk along the edge of the field towards the hedge of trees. Hidden behind the hedge is a caravan park, and behind the caravan park a sports centre. In …
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Russia criminalises history – again
People often ask me why I pick on Russia. OK, no one actually asks me that, and in any case in the ranking of all the things I pick on …
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