Post War Poland
Looking behind the iron curtain.
For many return to Poland after 1945 was not possible.
My mother made the agonising decision to leave and find a better life in England although she did consider Canada, Australia and Scotland.
In Communist Poland life was hard. Most of the country had been destroyed after the war. Entire villages burned down and people shot.
The Communists started rebuilding the country (but to their design). It was a hard life queuing for everything, be it food or a doctors appointment. The occupiers pretending to be friends but the reality completely opposite.
The sheer volume of administration and legal processes to follow for the simplest things!
You had no real freedom the state controlled everything.
Mum often recounted stories. If a neighbour was jealous of your possessions or simply didn't like you, they would make something up about you to the military Police.
In the middle of the night you got a knock on the door and dragged to a Police station where they
would beat you until you confessed,
even though you had not done anything wrong?
You had to learn Russian in school not an easy language and nobody wanted to.
The crown from the Polish Eagle (national symbol of Poland) was removed under Communist rule. This did not stop people from displaying the original and you could still secretly buy them on markets,
a minor display of resistance I suppose?
Identity papers had to be carried at all times, something which I found my mother still had in her handbag in 2017 when she passed away.
Telephone calls would be monitored and even after living 40 years in England, sometimes my mum was convinced people were listening on the line?
Imagine having that sort of fear ingrained your entire life?
On the plus side there was employment.
The goods and food was relatively cheap, public transport was probably more reliable and timely than we have in the UK?
From my childhood memories Polish petrol was of poor quality so all the vehicles absolutely stunk of petrol and diesel, its my lasting memory over there.
Lots of smoke from the factories and vehicles, plus the average Pole couldn't afford a decent car so it was mopeds and small air-cooled and 2 stroke engines like Fiat 500's, Syrena, Wartburg which burn't a mix of oil and petrol so you can imagine the fumes in the average town.
Maybe because I was a small child I fondly remember all of this through happy rose coloured memories.
The people were nice the summers were hot.
The more I write about those times the more I realise how privileged I was?
The things I took for granted in England were not available.
Everywhere we stayed people made us feel welcome and although they didn't have much they offered the best, typical Polish hospitality.
Buildings inside were small and most had fold down or sofa beds so they didn't take up valuable room on the floor. The furniture was always teak with a coating of nicotine.
Everyone smoked like chimneys which I did not like and there was a hard drinking culture.
Most buildings had a communal garden/play area for children, usually a sandpit and apple or pear tree in the middle. Loved it!
The tickets for trams and buses cost peanuts or grozsy in Polish, teeny zinc alloy currency value less than 1/2 English penny! You would buy a thick book of tickets from the numerous kiosks and they were valid for both transport types.
A very early Oyster card you could say!
When boarding the Tram or Bus you pulled out a ticket from your thick book and used the punch machine. Why I remember this I have no idea?
The dominant feature of any town or city were the large concrete tower blocks, all the same wherever you went.
Cities like Warsaw were completely flattened during the war and rebuilt with new tower blocks and recreated the older architecture.
A lot of 'ye olde worlde' building you see today are actually rebuilt in the 1950's.
My personal favourite the FSO Warszawa garbus taxi's stunk of petrol and fags from the driver!
The 'Ogórek' buses and rickety trams too, as a petrol head I would love to go on them.
One strange thing I remember, people with a small cart at most road junctions, connected to water standpipes, with glasses and selection of cordial juice and a CO2 cylinder.
You gave them 2 grozsy they furnished you with a glass of fizzy cordial, very refreshing in those hot summers, however to save on juice they only added a small amount of cordial!
Tight beggers!
The Kiosks sold everything, newspapers, tickets, sweets, ciggies, toys! Yes I loved Polish Toy cars they were made from that really cheap plastic like the stuff made by Pifco (in UK) in the 1970's from Hong Kong and very brittle, but I loved them and the bright primary colours.
One day mum presented me with a remote control Wartburg car in beige!! Working lights turned left and right, back and forth on a battery operated cable remote.
This was 1976 folks who said the eastern block was behind on tech.
I also remember Thompson portable cassette players, made under license, very random and Grandad had a reel to reel tape deck.
Poland's cities seemed to be 10 years behind Western Europe for technology and transport but not fashion, food, drink or music.
The dominent colours were beige, peach and pastel blue buildings and vehicles.
Once you moved out to the countryside then life was back into the 1930's and I liked that.
The roads were still mostly tracks.
Some of the countryside was flooded to make
recreational lakes for sports.
You would see horses pulling a wooden cart and the only modernity were the wheels being from a tractor not the original wooden cart type from days of old! I had enough happy rides sat on straw bales on the back of those.
I have been hesitant to go back probably since these memories are still strong after all these years, I don't want to lose them.
