In today’s Sunday Times supplement - The Sunday Times Magazine you can find a very interesting article about nowadays Poland. Journalist John Cornwell devoted his attention and time to describe in a detail the present political and social issues of my country. Indeed, I agree with most of his thesis. Poland under the rule of Kaczynski Terrible Twins and their junior parties colegues (like Giertych with his Hitler Jugend like - youth organisation Młodziez Wszechpolska) is turning into Nazi = National Socialistic dangerous utopia. The anti - Vatican and anti basics of Catholicism, thus heretic priest Father Tadeusz Rydzyk and his Radio Maryja, TV Trwam and newspaper Nasz Dziennik is almost like Joseph Goebbels of Nazi Germany. Luckily his voice can gather only closed minded old people in number of 1 million or less (compared to 38 millions of the Polish population). The widely spread witch-hunt for the former communist party members among the politics, journalists and university lecturers is a part of fear and threat policy of our two head hydra. Meanwhile Kaczynski brothers don’t mind when some of the people from their surroundings were a communist party members, and at least one of them was a communist prosecutor during the Martial Law in Poland. It is clearly visible that Kaczynski brothers are trying to use the same people well experienced in taking part in totalitarian regimes. All those things are clear.
However, the article of John Cornwell is lacking of some very important points. First of all - I haven’t find the paragraph about the last elections. The last elections gathered the lowest rate of voters in the whole Polish democracy history. Moreover - John Cornwell was not willing to mention, that the one of the main slogans for Law and Justice Kaczynskis’ party in the last election was “coallition with Platforma Obywatelska” - a liberal centre - right party. Many people voted for Law and Justice thinking of voting for such coalition. Many of them were not bearing in their minds the possible coalition with far right nationalist party (with unclear links with Neonazists) - League of Polish families, that barely got a few seats in the Polish parliament. The same as for Self-defence party. Thus, many of Polish voters were taken in by Kaczynski brothers. Luckily after forthcoming elections the situation will change, since the election polls give the majority of the votes for Platforma Obywatelska.
The second thing that struck me was the typical political correctness ignorance hiding in some of the phrases and paragraphs of John Cornwell’s article. He mentioned Radio Maryja, but he didn’t mentioned that the only institution in charge of ending this anti-everything propaganda radio is Vatican. Despite of the accusations, Father Rydzyk still broadcasts the hate around Europe. Vatican could do something, but… it is all about the souls. It is just not profitable for Vatican to shoot down the radio, because it would mean of losing a great amount of souls (about 1 million).
John Cornwell is describing Polish anti-Semitism and racism. What is strange the Polish anti-Semitism is mostly limited to the stadiums, football supporters, Radio Maryja and Giertych’s Party (League of Polish families). Why? There is almost no Jews in Poland. Most of them were killed by…. yes.. Mr John Cornwell likes a Political correctness - by Nazis. Let me ask the question. What language and what nationality were the Nazis in major? It is very trendy to write Polish anti-Semitism, but is is completely forbidden to write German Nazis. Describing Polish anti-Semitism John Cornwell didn’t absorb his thoughts with some historical background - that Poland, before 2nd World War had the biggest Jewish community in Europe. Why? Because anti-Semitism in Poland was the relatively weak compared to the other countries of Europe. I presume John Cornwell never read about Jad Vashem institute and the medal of Just Among the Nations of the World and the great amount of Poles awarded. Moreover some of before 2nd World War strong Polish anti-Semitic activists were seriously involved in help Jews kept by Germans behind the ghetto walls.
So how does it look the Polish anti-Semitism now? As I wrote in the couple of entries below (the entry about my home city), my home city used to have one of the biggest Jewish communities in Europe, and nowadays it is facing the football anti-Semitic graffiti war between the supporters of two Polish premiership football clubs’ supporters. However, our right wing Mer/President of the city declared the war to them, starting the action called Coloured Tolerance which is widely supported by the citizens. To spray the anti-Semitic graffiti you don’t need the army of people, a dozen young hooligans it is enough to cover whole city with David Stars or anti-Semitic slogans.
Is Poland more anti-Semitic than other countries of Europe? I don’t think so. What about the Germany Nazi marches to commemorate the death of Rudolph Hess - Hitler’s successor? What about the burning of the Synagogues couple of years ago in the Western Europe? The same about racism. I found many British and Irish people very racist. The only difference is the amount of Black community in those countries. Britain and Ireland, as well as other countries like France, can not be accused of racism (or even more racist than Poland), because of the massive Black community. But yet again John Cornwell is missing the point. It is quite clear - the Black community in Poland is so small due to the couple of reasons. 1. Poland never has had a colonies. 2. Poland never has been a really rich country, so there was never massive emigration - except the Jews that were fleeing from Nazi Germany (which is of course not mentioned in the article). The only Black, or Arabic community in Poland is the former students of the African or Arabic countries that stayed in Poland after finishing university, and yet again - since Poland wasn’t a rich country it wasn’t so big.
So… It is just a way to catch the reader describing Poland as a country more anti-Semitic and racist than the others in Europe, which is completely not true, and in my opinion it is not professional.
As for the 2nd World War. I really can not accept the intended ignorance of some British journalists. I am the young, I have German friends, and I don’t find Germany to be enemy of Poland anymore. Moreover I am trying to underscore the massive German influences in Polish culture and development, and I am against any attempts to wipe it out or to blur it. However, history is a history, and I see no point to blur it in the way done by John Cornwell. Nazis were in the majority Germans and Austrians. It was Germans who flatted the Warsaw, it was Germans who decide to built death camps (finally UNESCO accepted the form - German Nazi Death Camps) and it was Germans who destroyed half of the Europe during 2nd World War. OK, some of them were Nazis, but I won’t call all of the German soldiers of Wehrmaht to be a Nazis. It is just ridiculous political correctness. One thing should be clear. I don’t blame the young Germans for the 2nd World War, for the genocide and it is not the point to draw it from the drawer of history during the talks of Polish and German government. Thus I don’t agree with the way the Polish foreign minister Fotyga deals with Germany. But I will never agree with blurring the history in the name of political correctness.
There is also another misunderstanding in the article of John Cornwell. It is the attitude to the communist era. Let me explain. Poland during communist era, at least in the nineteen seventies and nineteen eighties wasn’t a work camp behind the bars or barbed wire fence or the land of plenty. We were living our lives, watching television, American films in the cinemas, suffering the lack of products in the shops bu the culture of that time was our culture, in some parts similar to the west. There is nothing wrong and funny in some people’s nostalgia for old things. It actually doesn’t matter those things are from communist era.
And mr John Cornwell. Smalec (not Szmalec) is not a communist era traditional bread spread, it is just a part of traditional Polish cuisine , much older than the communistic utopia by Marks and Engels. Szmalec is a slang word for money.
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…next journalist who have no idea what he wrote about..
Opinion that Poles were main authors of Death Camps is somehow useful - it moves point from fe. questions why UK didn’t helped Poland etc..
And, ZOMG, 2 minutes of googling reveal me all truth about smalec..it is really so hard?
but question is - are those mistakes were made intentionally or by laziness?
To be fair to Cornwell, he does not express the opinion that Poles were the main authors of the death camps in his article. The mention of Poles who killed Jews is in reference Lech Kaczynski’s proposal to build a memorial to a group of Jews killed during the war by Poles and to Fr. Rydzyk’s subsequently calling the president a ‘crook’ who crawls subserviently to Poland’s surviving Jews.
The szmalec/smalec error I can only guess at: A mistake by a copy editor? Cornwell attempting to spell the word using his limited knowledge of Polish? Both possible scenarios and perhaps forgiveable. However, branding smalec a Soviet-Polack delicacy betrays a lack of understanding and research.
Oh, and I can’t bear to eat smalec personally. I tried a few times but failed. Maybe it just doesn’t sit well on an Irish stomach.
<p>Primal
To be fair. I haven’t written/accused Cornwell of calling German Nazi Death Camps - Polish Death Camps (if so, point it exactly in text), but… I accused him of biased ridiculous political correctness of avoiding linking Germany with 2 World War genocide, thus blurring the history, and in the same time trying to create picture of Poland as anti-Semitic and racist country, which is completely not true, because Poland has never been more or less anti-Semitic or racist than other countries of Europe. Moreover, Poland for hundred years was one of the most tolerant countries in Europe, but for such biased journalist as Cornwell it is to much to study our history.
Cornwall’s attitude is lacking basic respect to Polish nation, country and history, while there is a lot of attempts to avoid touchy words of Nazi Germans (yes, it is touchy in the western style of journalism). Why? Probably he regards Poland as a poor country not worth of interest, a chaotic element between two powers (Germany and Russia) worth of respect and attention.
As for “Smalec” it is not only traditional Polish spread, but also German, kwnown over there since medieval times - today I asked about “Smalec” one of my German friends. We have many common things.
As for Soviet - Polack. Hmm… We have never been part of Soviet Union, so Soviet - Polack is as touchy as calling Ireland a province of England
I think more properly would be Communist - Polack 
Primal, what do you mean writing that:To be fair to Cornwell, he does not express the opinion that Poles were the main authors of the death camps in his article
Do you suggesting, that Poles were somehow authors of death camps?
As far as I know death and concentration camps were created to exterminate Jews, and then Poles. At least couple of them were created especially for extermination of Poles (Stutthof near Gdansk), but maybe I am worng, and you have some information about death camp in which creation Poles were participated
Primal
To be fair. I haven’t written/accused Cornwell of calling German Nazi Death Camps - Polish Death Camps.
I know you didn’t, Mac. I was responding to the comment by Maksymus007, not to your post. I think he misread your post and did not read the article by Cornwell at all.
Ireland a province of Britain is the same as using the term Soviet-Polack. It would hurt me deeply. In fact it has done - during my time working in France and in Germany I met people who actually believed Ireland was part of Britain! I met people in the US who thought the same. And trying to explain to these people that the Irish language was not a dialect of English was even harder than explaining Ireland is a sovereign state.
Oh, and I still don’t like smalec
I like szmalec though ;o)
I can understand. I have met some Irish who thought that Poland used to be a part of Soviet Union
Despite of my open minded character and no bad attitude to any Nation (even bad related to Polish history or on the contrary), I am trying to fight the stereotypes about Poland and Polish history spreading by journalist in type of Cornwell.
Ok… now I misread your comments on death camps
You were answering to Maksymuss007 comment 
Sorry Primal 
If you think that John Cornwell is a lazy journalist you are probably right. They function with story lines, or templates, for the news and then follow those templates even when the pesky facts do not bear them out. In other words, why go out and do some actual reporting work, when you can stay in your office and write opinion and call it reporting?
As far anti-semitism being a problem in Poland, I understand that there is a resurging interest in all things Jewish in Poland and there is actually a festival every year in Krakow celebrating the connections with the Jewish community. Unfortuantely most Jews were killed off in Poland by the Nazis. Of those not killed some left for Israel, but there is still a small Jewish community there, which has not reported any trouble that I know of. This be a function of the fact that there just is not a lot of Jews left in Poland, but it is still movement.
This is in contrast to France for instance which has seen an unholy alliance between nationalist locals and Islamic youths given there mutual hatred of Jews. I guess this serves the government well, in that if you are busy blaming all your problems on Jews then you might not pay that much attention to a nation and government which allows you come in but not to get a job through policies which encumber the whole nation, but thats just a guess. Also, there are moreand more stories coming out of England about rabid anti-semitism not just being accepted, but rather embraced by the political elites of England. This is often crouched as anti-zionism, but antisemitism is as antisemitism does.
I agree that antisemitism must be resisted, especially given Europes history, but it should be fought with love. “Love bears all things…”. True Christians should stand up and say that Jesus himself was Jewish as well all the Apostles and Paul. If Peter was the first Pope, then there has been at least one Jewish Pope. The roots of Christianity are undeniably Jewish. If for no other reason than that we should love Jewish people like brothers.
Hmmm. I didn’t read the article myself, but I have to say you guys are probably mis-judging John Cornwell as regards political correctness and the Germans. Check out his books …
Hitler’s Pope: The Secret History of Pius XII
Hitler’s Scientists: Science, War, and the Devil’s Pact.
YerMan, I guess he is very anti-catholic in his opinions, and it is also very simple relation Catholic = Polish = racism, anti-semitism etc.
Anyway, I don’t judge his books, since I haven’t read them, only read reviews of them.
Nope I don’t think that’s the case either. He is actually Catholic himself, an ex-seminarian in fact (mind you so was Stalin:).