The aversion to bourgeois luxuries ended where self-love began. The car as a status symbol - which man can resist the temptation? Lenin himself did not resist, and Polish communists followed his example. Especially since the state money was open ... The English royal family took a liking to the
Purée with jam in the dingy Apis Bar. A toddler falling apart after a solid passenger sneeze. Brown water flowing from taps. Thanks to Barejas films, the Peoples Republic of Poland is now associated with dirt, trash, fluff and greyness. Yet the word luxury was not erased from the dictionary at the t
Lice, sweat, the smell of unwashed bodies ... For many Polish women, the dirt of war was the essence of humiliation. And the fight for ones own dignity and to maintain at least the appearance of hygiene took an extremely dramatic turn. The memories of those who survived World War II, if they do
To the grotesque, puritan reality of communist Poland, the Miss election fit like a cows saddle. No wonder that either they didnt take place at all or the competition turned into a farce. The election of the most beautiful Polish woman was not lucky from the very beginning, i.e. from the times o
The biographies of the people of Sanacja, who took power in Poland after the May coup in 1926, still evoke emotions. And what was their youth like? And how did it translate into a later career with Józef Piłsudski? Professor Paweł Samuś writes in the book “Minister Józef Beck. Family home and ad
They provided every pleasure. You could exercise there, scrape off dirt, soak in hot water, exchange rumors or show off with courtesans. But they also had their dark side ... Roman Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli. A place known to Polish tourists mainly because of the bronze doors designed
Paid to kill monsters tormenting people. Scythe, aspen stake, magic. Perhaps Geralt of Rivia is a literary fiction, but Gyrda of Blechnarki or Bacza of Keckovec really existed. And they knew their job. They did not look like the famous white-haired bully from Sapkowskis witcher saga. But it was
- Aj, how happy you are! It only bounces to me a rotten egg ... Such a conversation, conducted by two ordinary patients, was recorded in 1928 by Jan Tadeusz Wróblewski. He was a first-class joker and satirist, but in this particular case he swore to be one hundred percent authentic. After all, h
Holy dog, mischievous female dog in paradise, resurrected goose ... Can the little brothers get to heaven without a soul? Of course. All they have to do is ... eat a man. Absurd? This is not what was believed in the Middle Ages! According to tradition, when God created the animals on the fifth a
Greedy, perverse, bad mother, bad wife! - people sang in Poland about the old Queen Bona. Her subjects accused her of murdering political opponents and sending her new daughters-in-law to the other world in cold blood. This is bullshit. The fact that Bona practiced black magic is not a similar nonse
Leaky pier, run-down fishing huts and foul-smelling sewage draining straight into the sea. Less than two hundred years ago, that was all that was waiting for daredevils ready to spend their holidays in Sopot. Fashion for trips to the waters broke out completely unexpectedly. Even at the end of t
At the end of the 19th century, Great Britain was the most powerful power in the world, and London was the largest metropolis in the world. The Empire ruled and prosperous, but in the streets of its capital, people were starving. The poverty of Londons poor is hard to believe. In 1900, London ha
Does a clove hurt? The tsar himself can tear it out with blacksmith pincers! The venereal disease? The quack will recommend diving in horse dung. Do you think a good birth will help you survive smallpox? You dont even know how wrong you are ... Rest assured, you wouldnt want to get sick in Russia!
Be elegant with girls. Offer a more expensive diamond brooch than a cheap engagement ring, advised a New Decameron columnist in 1924. In theory, it was just a joke. In practice:a principle followed by the entire young generation. In the nineteenth century, there was no joke with courtship. This i
If after watching Miś you came to the conclusion that the Peoples Republic of Poland was a madhouse - it means that you dont know much about Romania under the rule of Nicolae Ceaușescu. Because the achievements of Polish communists were nothing compared to the ideas that were bred in the mind of the
Auschwitz-Birkenau. A place of suffering, murderous work and extermination of over a million people. Several dozen kilometers away, in a picturesque town, there was a holiday resort for the camp elite of the SS. Have you ever wondered how the overseers of the Auschwitz death plant rested? The hi
A symbol almost as popular as the Eiffel Tower and the black beret. The French themselves proudly repeat its history. Apparently, Napoleons bakers invented it for soldiers - a long and thin meal fits perfectly in a trouser pocket. However, this is only a legend. The truth may not be to the taste of
In 1883, sexual techniques were entertainment for dirty old men with thick wallets. At least, this is what the first edition of the famous Kamasutra in the Western world would suggest. This edition was initiated by the famous traveler and scandalist Sir Richard Burton. The title page suggested tha
The electric car functions as a symbol of modernity, an invention straight from science fiction. Few people know that the concept of running a vehicle with electricity is as old as motoring itself. Did she lose because of the fuel producers conspiracy? In 1821, the English physicist Michael Fara
They lived in a world dominated by men. The gentlemen did not allow them to fulfill themselves professionally, even when it was about saving the lives of other women. Thanks to their determination and ingenuity, they broke down barriers. But the beginnings werent easy at all ... In ancient Greec
According to the chronicler, they came from a simple peasant Piast, whose son Siemowit founded the dynasty and peacefully seized power, but the idyllic version of their history has nothing to do with reality. The future rulers of Poland made their way to power with a bloody conquest. They are a
Miraculous defense of Jasna Góra? The steadfast prior of Kordecki? The vile traitor Janusz Radziwiłł? The image of the Swedish invasion, painted by Henryk Sienkiewicz in his novel, convinced not only laymen. Generations of researchers followed him. But where does historical truth end and fiction to
Imagine that a servant of the regime has just knocked on your door asking for immediate interrogation. You know what it means. If you want to have any chance of surviving arrest, trial and exile to a labor camp, better read our guide. Before the enkawudziści will confiscate it from you. First of a
Santiago, Chile, September 11, 1973, 9:10 a.m. In the facilities of Radio Maggayanes, the official radio station of the Communist Party of Chile, there is chaos. A little while before, the forces of the coup plotter Pinochet have bombed the antennas of the station, in the context of Operation Silenc