Reply To: Russia in World War Two


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#46964
John2o2o
Guest

Yes, Tatyana, well I think Poland has for many years played the victim card. Your knowledge of the war is probably much greater than mine.

I attended a Catholic school in my city of Leicester from age 11-18 and in my school were a significant number of Polish children. Also some Ukrainians. We had a music teacher Mrs Kania, a glamorous lady who was married to a close relative of the Polish Secretary Mr Kania. We had other teachers who were Poles as well.

Religion was a major issue for Poles as – please correct me if I am wrong – religion was suppressed under Communism. The Pope was from 1978 a Pole and a lot of people were also sympathetic to the Solidarity Union of Lech Walesa:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solidarity_(Polish_trade_union)

I can remember someone in my school wearing a “solidarnosc” badge.

It was also important in my family – well, my mother’s family in Scotland – as they were Catholics. (My father’s family were not really religious). My Scottish grandfather was a communist in the 1930s, but turned against it because of the suppression of religion in the USSR. This was one of the things I was taught about what we called the “Iron Curtain” behind which was the USSR. We really were told that Russians were not nice people at all and that KGB agents were on every corner.

You are a little bit younger than me, so perhaps you are not so aware of some of these issues to do with Poland. I would be interested to know more about Russia and if any of what we were told is true? You are the only Russian person I know at all.