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A new study by Dr. Chavi Dreyfuss Ben-Sasson analyzes the experiences of Polish Jewry as they dealt, or didn’t deal, with their neighbors and friends who suddenly became enemies and Nazi collaborators. The study appeared several months ago in a book entitled, “We are Polish Jewry?” The book researches the relations between Jews and Poles during the Holocaust – relations that have been termed the “most complex and charged” of the entire Holocaust period.

The Polish president, army chief of staff, head of security, head of the central bank, and other high officials were killed in a plane crash in western Russia. A total of 97 died. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin announced that he will personally head the investigation of the crash. There, don’t you feel reassured? The pilot is already being blamed. One must admire the efficiency of an investigation that reaches conclusions before it begins. Ironically − but perhaps not coincidentally − the Poles were there to observe the 70th anniversary of the Katyn Forest Massacre. In 1940, the Soviets murdered...

(CNN) -- Experts say the deaths of senior military chiefs in Saturday's plane crash could have more serious implications for Poland than the loss of the country's president. President Lech Kaczynski was killed Saturday when a plane carrying senior Polish officials on their way to a memorial service in Russia crashed at an airport in Smolensk.. Ninety-seven people were killed including the president's wife, the deputy parliament speaker, the deputy foreign minister and the head of the National Bank of Poland. "The entire top military brass, including the chief of defense and all the services, were on the plane," said...

Pilot error blamed as witnesses report three or four attempts to land in thick fog Poland in mourning as Prime Minister calls emergency meeting Polish president Lech Kaczynski and his wife Maria have been killed after their plane crashed on approach to Smolensk airport in western Russia. There were conflicting reports today of the number of people on board the flight. Russian news agencies reported at least 88 people died in the crash near Smolensk airport in western Russia, citing the Russian Emergencies Ministry. They reported 132 people were aboard the Tupolev Tu-154. But Polish officials said 88 people were...

[translation from a Polish website] Supreme Polish leaders, including the President of the Republic of Poland, Mr Lech Kaczynski and his legendary predecessor, the President of Poland In Exile, Mr. Ryszard Kaczorowski, as well as almost entire Staff of the Polish Armed Forces die in the crash near Smolensk, Russia. According to official information (confirmed),  supreme commanders of the Polish Armed Forces died in the crash, adding to thousands of the military commanders that had been killed there in 1940. Upon the Constitution of Poland, in case of President's sudden death, the Speaker of the Parliament, automatically becomes the President of...

[translation from Polish]  Polish Parliament officially condems the verdict of the ECoHR banning the presense of Crosses in classrooms. The Polish Parliament, Seym, has stood up for the freedom of religion and for the endorsement of the values which belong to common heritage of the nations of Europe. The Seym of Poland rejects the verdict of the European Court of Human Rights banning Crosses in classrooms in Italy and calls the parliaments of the countries belonging to the Council of Europe to reflect on the issue.The resolution of the 460-seat Polish Parliament was accepted by a huge majority of...

Poles protest US Stalin memorial plan23.11.2009 11:06 The Polish community in the United States is outraged by a plan to honour Josef Stalin by placing his bust on a pedestal at the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Virginia.  According to William McIntosh, the director of the Bradford museum, which is coordinating the project, the Soviet dictator deserves to be acknowledged alongside Winston Churchill and Franklin Delano Roosevelt has he was an ally of the US after Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union. The plans have met with protests from Polish war veterans in New York.  President of the Kosciuszko Foundation,...

[translation; excerpt] Crosses in classrooms. President of Poland condems the verdict of The European Court of Human Rights. This week the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg said," The presence of religious symbols in schools is in violation of the freedom of the parents to raise their children according to their own convictions. It is also a violation of the child's freedom of religion". Today, Nov.11, in his official speech at the ceremony of the Poland's Independence Day, the President of the Republic, prof.Lech Kaczynski, strongly condemned the verdict, saying,"  Nobody in Poland will not ever accept that crosses in...

Special Navy forces discovered weapons and ammunition on a cargo ship overnight Tuesday, after boarding the Francop some 100 nautical miles west of Israel flying an Antiguan flag. Defense officials said the 140-meter long Francop, captured near Cyprus, was carrying arms sent by Iran and destined for Syria and Hizbullah. More than 60 tons of weaponry were on board, in dozens of containers. The Francop carried hundreds of containers. A significant amount of 122 mm. Katyusha rockets, likely made in Iran, assault rifles, mortar shells and grenades were found on board. Israel Radio reported that advanced anti-aircraft platforms not before...

Treason!   USA sold us to Russia.   ( http://www.efakt.pl/Zdrada-USA-sprzedaly-nas-Rosji,artykuly,52626,1.html ) (translation from Polish)[The end of anti-missile shield! Americans break promises. There will be neither a US base in Poland nor a radar in Czech Rep.What about our security now?! We've been left on the thin ice.] The strategic ally? The solid rock of our national security? The end of illusions. United States, which could always rely on us, turned its back to us. The President of USA just threw to the garbage bin  the project of building the Anti-Missile Shield in Poland and Czech Rep. The powerful military fascility could strengthen our...

Polish Army crushes Wehrmacht  at Mokra, Sep.1,1939 - 70th anniversary of WWII first battle  The Battle of Mokra took place on September 1, 1939 near the village of Mokra in Silesia, Poland. It was the first crutial battle of  World War II and one of the first Polish victories in the war.In brief: On  September 1, 1939 gen.Reinhardt's 4th Panzer Division  and German 31st Infantry Division were crushed by Poloish Volhynian Cavalry Brigade. Germans lost about 150 tanks and armored vehicles and more than 1,000 soldiers. The remnats of the 4th Panzer Division were forced to withdraw back to Germany....

Polish official intercedes on behalf of mothers of slain Brooklyn Marine Sgt. Pietrzak and his wife By Corky Siemaszko DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER Monday, August 24th 2009, 12:30 PM The grieving mothers of a slain Brooklyn Marine and his wife have won the support of the Polish government in their push for a face-to-face meeting with President Obama. A top Polish official urged the U.S. ambassador in Warsaw to "employ all your personal and institutional authority" to make it happen, according to a letter obtained by The News. An Obama sitdown with the mothers of Sgt. Jan Pawel Pietrzak and...

 Today marks the  65th anniversary of the Warsaw Rising against Nazi Germany. [Prime Minister Donald Tusk, President of Warsaw H.G.Waltz, President of Poland Lech Kaczynski, Chairman of the Polish Parliament B.Komorowski]   Sirens will wail and church bells will toll across Poland on the stroke of 5:00 pm., the exact time when the Polish Home Army started the rising. In line with long-established tradition, private vehicles and pedestrians are to stand still for a minute of silence. The president and prime minister laid wreaths at the monument to the Warsaw Rising at the Powonzki cemetery, which on August 1 is visited...

7/28/2009 - MANAS AIR BASE, Kyrgyzstan (AFNS) -- Thought not traditional Air Force linguists, two multilingual Airmen bring a unique skill to Manas Air Base. Capt. Jecek Dempnaik and Staff Sgt. Maria Hudgeons, who speak a combined seven languages, reduce communication barriers between Air Force members and coalition forces through written translations and verbal interpretations. They are the ears and eyes to the director of the Transit Center here. When acting in this capacity, they are referred to as the 376th Air Expeditionary Wing coalition coordinators and linguists. Shifting tongues between English, French and Spanish is as easy as breathing...

Nun becomes top-selling Polish cookbook writer By VANESSA GERA, Associated Press Writer Saturday, July 18, 2009 Emerging from the quiet of her convent, Sister Anastazja Pustelnik was confronted by a jarring image — her smiling face on posters plastered around town to hawk the cookbooks that have made the 59-year-old nun one of Poland's best-selling authors. It's fame Sister Anastazja never bargained for when she left the material world as a young woman, expecting to toil in obscurity for God. But her ability to create easy-to-follow recipes for delectable cakes and traditional home cooking has resulted in five cookbooks since...

Editorial: RCMP suffers another blow Times Colonist Published: Tuesday, June 23, 2009 Staggering incompetence or coverup? Those are the only two explanations for the fact that a critical RCMP e-mail was kept from the inquiry into Robert Dziekanski's death until last week, on the day final arguments were to begin. The failure to disclose the critical evidence has undermined the work of the Braidwood inquiry, forced a long delay in the completion of its report and -- once again -- tarnished the RCMP's already shredded reputation. The e-mail cuts directly to the heart of the issues before the inquiry. RCMP...

Barack Obama is no Ronald Reagan. One need look no further than President Obama's cautiously timid response to the demands of freedom from Iranians. Contrast this with Reagan's response to similar demands from Poles in the 1980s and the miserable inadequacy of the Obama foreign policy is thrust into a stark and shameful relief.

Lednica 2000 – The Holy HappeningJune 6,2009One hundred thousand young boys and girls gathered at the Lednica Lake, the place of the Baptism of Poland, where the first historical ruler of Poland, Mieszko I, accepted Christianity in AD966. Since 2000 this has been a place of annual  Polish Catholic youth meetings that last for two days. The high point of the celebration is a nocturnal walk under a massive steel fish structure, a symbol of Christianity. Doing this, the Polish youth solemnly confirm its faith in Jesus Christ, passed down from generation to generation.            See videos: 1. Lednica - 6.06.2009...

After 24 years, polka has had its last dance at the Grammys. The Recording Academy, which bestows the Grammy Awards, announced late on Wednesday that the polka category would be eliminated, saying in a statement that it had been cut “to ensure the awards process remains representative of the current musical landscape.” To many in the polka world, that read as a kind of industry code meaning that their genre — once capable of supporting artists with million-selling hits, but long since relegated to micro-niche status — had slipped off the mainstream radar entirely. “It’s devastating,” said Carl Finch of...

President Obama's model for spending the nation out of recession is Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal. A better example is the Reaganite bearing of post-communist Poland. In the midst of the global financial crisis, Poland's economy is forecast to grow by almost 1 percent [...] likely will be the only European country with a growing gross domestic product in 2009. Germany's GDP is expected to shrink by more then 5 percent, Britain's by almost 4 percent, France's by 3 percent and the Czech Republic's by 3 percent. With a projected GDP drop of about 3 percent, the United States doesn't...