Poland is in the news once again with their strict border processes on two counts – first exclusion of Islamists and now as a transition bottleneck for Baltic State refugees wanting to migrate into Europe through Poland.
These are reflections from 2005 with a synopsis of modern day Poland.
In 2005 I was invited to be part of a 48 person international delegation which visited the Ukraine, Auschwitz and Poland. Bridges for Peace is an international mission based in Jerusalem and my invitation as the Australian cricket chaplain came from Ron Ross.
Poland that year represented a go-ahead country. The three cities visited – Warsaw, Krakow and Lubin experiences traffic problems just as Australian cities. Many sky scraper city office complexes and high rise city apartments, however most are in former communist rectangular construction without any architect interest.
Much of the inner suburban housing are housing apartments possibly C19th however the outer suburbs are like any Australian city suburb, individual houses, lock up garages, kerb and guttering, locals schools and shops.
The cars are all small (no Commodore or Falcon size vehicles), people moving fast, going places, huge public transport operation with buses and trams. People are well dressed, all thoroughly western, plenty of advertising. TV is like ours – news stations, sports stations and of course soap dramas.
The trains are similar to ours, we travelled from Auschwitz to Warsaw by train on the Tuesday night after the March of the Living. The carriage design was compartment, eight seats to each compartment, four facing each other. Complimentary coffee / tea was served to us – a lass with a trolley urn moved from compartment to compartment.
It took four hours and ten minutes to travel from Auschwitz to Warsaw and the train ran at fast speed – electric locomotion, not diesel hauled. This surprised me, that almost all of Poland’s major network rail system is via electric overhead power source rather than diesel as it is in Australia.
Hotel accommodation (we stayed at Novatels throughout – tourist traffic deal) is just the same as it is in Australia or elsewhere. Four or five coaches would leave one morning and that same day another four or five would arrive at these Novatel’s – Poland’s in the grip of tourism big time.
Our Australian dollar was worth about double in Poland with their currency, and they are still not using Euro currency. However Australians do not need a visa to enter Poland. Their tourist coaches however on the whole did not have as comfortable seats as Australian coaches, but their driver’s were remarkable as to squeezing through the tightest of margins.
What we saw
In Warsaw we visited the Old City, the Warsaw Ghetto, the Gestapo Headquarters, the Military Museum, floating Palace and Botanical Gardens, and Jewish cemetery and various monuments.
In Krakow we visited the Old City and it’s C16th synagogue and cemetery, Krakow Ghetto, Oscar Shindler’s factory, the work camp, Shindler’s monument, a synagogue which the Nazi’s utilized as a stable and 700 year old Salt Mines which the Nazi’s used as a manufacturing plant for V2 rocket components as they were 160m below ground.
Majanek Concentration Camp
We visited Majanek near the city of Lubin two hours south east from Warsaw by road. It was overrun and liberated by the Red Army (Russian) in October 1944 and whereas the worst of Auschwitz was largely destroyed, Majanek was still functioning. These are comments sent to Delma and my family by Email
* The second concentration camp we visited was Majanek near Lubin on our way to the Ukraine. This is the most terrible place I have seen in my 53 years. My advice is not to go there. There is an evil presence. Over 800,000 Jews were murdered here. One third died of disease and sickness associated with being worked to death.
The Jews could see the city of Lubin and its lights at night - so close and yet so far away. It employed 1300 staff, and although there were SS quarters many of the staff lived in Lubin. Majanek was not a secret, it is out in the open without trees to hide it.
We saw the place where Jews had their hair cut – three swipes for the head, one swipe foe under the arm pits and private area. And men did the hair cutting. We walked into the gas chamber, we saw where gold teeth were pulled from the dead bodies, and where the bodies were cremated. And all in sight of Lubin.
Poland today
Consider this - A Polish Cardinal elected Pope. Poland standing alone – European Market. Poland making a stand against Islamic migration. Poland being one of Europe’s remarkable economies. Poland remains one of the world most Christian nations.
Poland standing firm against the greenies, the political lefty elites, against Eastern Europe and Russia. I’d say Poland is doing alright.
Dr Mark Tronson - a 4 min video
Chairman – Well-Being Australia
Baptist Minister 45 years
- 1984 - Australian cricket team chaplain 17 years (Ret)
- 2001 - Life After Cricket (18 years Ret)
- 2009 - Olympic Ministry Medal – presented by Carl Lewis
- 2019 - The Gutenberg - (ARPA Christian Media premier award)
Gutenberg video - 2min 14sec
Married to Delma for 45 years with 4 children and 6 grand children