A fearless fighter, an enemy of superstition, religion and all that is petty-bourgeois? Or maybe a coward, philistine and manipulator who piously makes the sign of the cross upon the news of victory? To this day, this legendary twentieth-century leader is still surrounded by many secrets. What was h
Creator of Nazism, or anti-communist, anti-democratic and anti-Semitic ideology mourning a leftist pacifist of Jewish origin? Plus those serving under the banner of the Bolshevik Soviet Republic? Hitler tried to hide these pages of his biography at all costs. On February 26, 1919, the solemn fun
It was hard to survive the rough reality of the Polish Peoples Republic. Theft and swindles were the order of the day. However, they were not always made only by citizens ... The illustration shows a fragment of a propaganda poster from the times of the Polish Peoples Republic. At a meeting wit
Franciszek Józef is still remembered with sentiment today. Compared to other rulers of the partitioning states, it may actually be better. But did he really deserve such a good reputation? Maybe he just ruled so long that Polish subjects fell in love with him ... out of habit? Contrary to appear
He prepared the tool, chose a place and even made a plan B - in case he failed to kill the first time. Why did Józef Piłsudski want to commit suicide? How was he planning to take his own life? Andrzej Garlicki, the most insightful of Józef Piłsudskis biographers, summed up this particular matter
How did Hitler come to power? By what methods did he break the opposition? How did he convince the Germans who, under his leadership, unleashed a real hell on earth, murdering millions of people? These and many other questions are answered by Richard J. Evans in the monumental three-volume history o
They wanted to make Europe their private farm and they almost succeeded. They won their lands through marriage and wars, but they also did not shy away from counterfeiting and bribes. How did the building of the Habsburg empire really look like? The Habsburgs at the dawn of their history were no
Deliberate liberals, Trotskyists, intelligence agents and Jews - this is how Joseph Stalin perceived Polish communists. He hated the Communist Party of Poland from the very beginning. Once he became powerful, he led to its dissolution, and prepared a real blood bath for his Polish comrades. As m
Churchill claimed that to commune Poland is pure madness. Stalin was said to have said that communism fits Poland like a cows saddle. So how is it possible that the Polish Peoples Republic was created and survived almost half a century? Nikolai Ivanov tries to answer this question, and in his la
On January 20, 1320, Poland became a kingdom again. One of the most unusual celebrations in the history of this place took place in the Krakow cathedral. How exactly did the coronation ceremony of Władysław Łokietek look like? The temple was not at all bursting at the seams. The notion of crowds
During fourteen years of rule, Władysław Gomułka managed to get used to the authorities. After the strikes on the Coast were bloodily pacified in December 1970, he was sidelined. How did he find himself in political retirement? Gomułkas taking over of power was accompanied by great social enthus
Philip II of Macedon had several wives. It was not them who went down in history, but his lover, Pausanias of Orestis. Why? Because he made an attempt in which the father of Alexander the Great was killed ... Pausanias was a soldier in Philips personal protection. He attracted the rulers attention
It was supposed to be a show triumph of the party. With the end of the proceedings, the history of the arduous opposition was also expected to end. The whole thing, however, turned out to be a compromising failure of the rulers. How is it possible that they have failed to win a predetermined trial?
How to determine the possibility of interviewing a future genocide? Was it a source of pride for a Polish journalist or, on the contrary, an experience that made him a disgrace forever? Smogorzewski appeared in Berlin as a reporter at the end of 1933. His journalistic career, however, began earl
The clash that determined the fate of Poland did not take place on the battlefield, but in the palace chambers, in the course of secret negotiations. Casimir the Great agreed to pay the amount for which 20 castles, 60 towns or ... 40,000 cows could be bought. It was worth it. The newly revived P
There are several relations and they could not be more different. At the time of his death, did Łokietek threaten his son with disgrace if he turned out to be a failure, or on the contrary - did he beg his advisers to love Kazimierz as much as his father? In politics and in war, fortune seemed to
Poles can be forgiven for believing that they won their own independence in 1918. However, this was not the case, wrote Norman Davies. And he was right. Who helped us create a free Poland? And have we remembered their merits? Of course, the contribution of Poles, both legionnaires and those figh
Fight or keep distance? Support either side or watch from the side? The fate of millions of people depended on the decisions of these world leaders. Were they able to meet this challenge? How did the History judge them? Two great wars and two great leaders. Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Delano Roo
Many Poles, almost literally, loved Edward Gierek. Completely different feelings towards him were felt by his party colleagues who removed him from power in September 1980. And then they prepared a fate worse than that of many opposition political prisoners. Giereks ten-year term as the First Se
1981. Communists are losing ground. The authorities are doing everything to regain control of the state. On December 13, martial law is introduced. Soon after, one of the most famous political trials of the communist era begins. You can find his story in Case Eleven, which is a prize in our contest.
They lived in Persia and the Crimea. They went down in the history of our country as brave soldiers. Today Karaims are the smallest minority in Poland. The history of Karaites dates back to the 8th century AD. She is associated with the figure of Basra Anana ben Dawid, a Jewish leader and scholar
Renaissance banquet. The one following the Bentivoglio-d’Este wedding remained memorable Thanks to the testimony left by the writer Giovanni Sabadino degli Arienti, we know how what went down in history as the most sumptuous wedding of our Renaissance took place. The wedding in question is t
If you consider Nazism a political religion, Blutfahne, or Banner of Blood, was one of its most important relics. But how did it happen that a piece of cloth with a swastika rose to the rank of the greatest sanctity? Initially, it was a simple swastika banner belonging to the 5th company of the
When a submarines captain desertions, the matter must be heard widely. The betrayal of the commander of ORP Orzeł - the most famous submarine in Polish history - to this day ignites emotions and causes fierce discussions. How was it really? Lieutenant Commander Henryk Kłoczkowski was considered