# Polish Culture and Heritage.



## Stormcat (Feb 12, 2016)

I call myself a "Purebred Polak" because all eight of my great-grandparents were born in various parts of Poland, before they all immigrated to the united states in the early twentieth century.

But after four generations in America, many of the traditions have faded away from our family. Sure we bring them up at Christmas and Easter, but for the most part, My family is too "Americanized". If we were ever deported back to Poland, We'd not understand the language, not understand the customs, and not understand the culture.I try to look up Polish traditions and culture, but it seems most of the resources are only available in Polish. Google Translate can only go so far. English versions are usually so "Americanized" they only describe the most basic of the elements.

Because of two world wars and the iron curtain, Polish history seems especially hard to find. Wikipedia, being geared mostly towards people in the united states and British commonwealth, has very limited resources on the subject. I'd like to inject polonia into the story I'm working on, which takes place in a world where the Polish-Lituanian commonwealth never dissolved, and Poland was always a dominant military and economic power. It's also 1870, so the world wars have not happened yet.

Can anyone help me find sources... in English?


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## Jack of all trades (Feb 12, 2016)

I find people are the best sources of information. Track down some relatives while taking a class or two to learn the language. See if there's a Polish neighborhood in your city and get to know folks there. Sure, reading something online is quicker, but there's details that only a live person is likely to mention.


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## Stormcat (Feb 12, 2016)

Jack of all trades said:


> I find people are the best sources of information. Track down some relatives while taking a class or two to learn the language. See if there's a Polish neighborhood in your city and get to know folks there. Sure, reading something online is quicker, but there's details that only a live person is likely to mention.



One major problem with this is that the language my grandmother learned is outdated. The language changed in the interwar period, so Grandma's polish sounds like the equivalent of "Doth mother knoweth you weareth her drapes?" My brother found this out when he went to Poland for a summer abroad. Plus, he was never very good at the language to begin with.

I'm also worried that by using the "funny polish letters" potential readers might be scared away.


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## Jack of all trades (Feb 12, 2016)

Stormcat said:


> One major problem with this is that the language my grandmother learned is outdated. The language changed in the interwar period, so Grandma's polish sounds like the equivalent of "Doth mother knoweth you weareth her drapes?" My brother found this out when he went to Poland for a summer abroad. Plus, he was never very good at the language to begin with.
> 
> I'm also worried that by using the "funny polish letters" potential readers might be scared away.




I'm not following the problem. You want cultural information, yes? You would have to work with the language being used. And wouldn't it be similar enough for you to figure it out? And maybe you have a relative in Poland who knows, or is learning, English.

As far as the different letters -- some readers might not stick with the story. But some might not want to read about an alternate timeline. You're not going to please everyone. Besides, the writing can be Anglicized, so you would have that option. For example, in German there's a single letter that can be written as a double 's'. It might take a bit more research, but it's doable.

Of course, there's the option of making it a completely different world and creating everything out of your imagination.



Edited to add : Wait a minute! Am I being dense? Are you looking for pre or post war culture?


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## Stormcat (Feb 12, 2016)

Jack of all trades said:


> Edited to add : Wait a minute! Am I being dense? Are you looking for pre or post war culture?



Pre-war*S*, of course!


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## Jack of all trades (Feb 12, 2016)

Stormcat said:


> Pre-war*S*, of course!



Got it! Sorry. That slipped past me initially.

So there's not really folks around who remember anymore. But maybe there's diaries? Newspapers?

This doesn't seem like a Google sort of thing. If the culture, even in Poland, is very different now, you're likely to get a watered down version. Hmmmm. 

It seems that you will need to look at writings from the time. Maybe, if there's an older person with a good memory you can get some info, which may be slightly different than the actual people of the time, but perhaps close.

If the story is set in current times, but with a different past history, you don't need to have exact past culture. After all, the culture would have changed over the years anyway, just differently than it actually has.


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## Stormcat (Feb 12, 2016)

Jack of all trades said:


> Got it! Sorry. That slipped past me initially.
> 
> So there's not really folks around who remember anymore. But maybe there's diaries? Newspapers?
> 
> ...



The story's set in the 1870s. I don't think there's anyone alive today who lived during those times.


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## Jack of all trades (Feb 12, 2016)

Stormcat said:


> The story's set in the 1870s. I don't think there's anyone alive today who lived during those times.



True. I was thinking of someone who might remember stories of the old days. But even that's pushing it.

Best bet seems to be literature, newspapers and diaries.

And since it's an alternative timeline, there would be slight differences that you can create.


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## aj47 (Feb 12, 2016)

My family is Polish on my mother's side.  And Jack is right--talk to people.  If you don't know any real Polish people, try the local Polish heritage society. In Houston, there is a Polish festival every year.  Maybe they do that up your way, too.  Also, you could contact the Polish consulate nearest you.  Also, try Polish heritage Web sites.  Google will handle the translation for you.


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## ppsage (Feb 12, 2016)

_Poland,_ James Michner


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## Stormcat (Feb 15, 2016)

ppsage said:


> _Poland,_ James Michner



I need more than one book for research.


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## UtopiasCult (Feb 20, 2016)

Shame you weren't asking for France / Belgium history, my father's mother's family goes all the way back to 900s and further. We have kept some pretty good records over the generations as to what life *was *like.

Some pretty basic stuff but it might point you in a direction to start really looking
http://spuscizna.org/spuscizna/emigration.html
https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Poland_Emigration_and_Immigration
https://www.ohio.edu/chastain/dh/emigpol.htm
http://culture.polishsite.us/articles/art367fr.htm

http://acienciala.faculty.ku.edu/hist557/lect6.htm

http://www.yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/Poland/Poland_from_1795_to_1939


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## aj47 (Mar 15, 2016)

I know it's fiction, but http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IKXBG66/?tag=writingforu06-20 is free today on Amazon and the price is right and it may be helpful -- especially if it lists sources.


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