Archives: Year 2024

His construction of the bullet-proof vest and the telectroscope placed him in the first row of the most outstanding inventors of the 20th century. He left behind innovations confirmed by more than a hundred patents. Called the 'Edison of Galicia', Jan Szczepanik divided his life between Tarnów and Vienna.

According to a legend, the mouth of the Dunajec River was cut out with a sword by King Bolesław the Brave himself. Centuries ago, there was also a story about Ferkowicz, who hunted the king of snakes and, on his escape, made way for the river by tilting the gorge. The Dunajec, with a length of 247 km, offers us many wonderful places and views, but the gorge that starts at the Three Crowns (Trzy Korony) takes the first place.

Consultations between the Polish and German governments were held in Warsaw on July 1, 2024. The words of the German Chancellor, who announced support for survivors of the German occupation, caused the greatest resonance in social media.

The NATO summit, held in Washington from July 9-11, occurred amid the alliance’s 75th anniversary and significant geopolitical tensions. The outcomes were mixed, particularly regarding critical issues like Ukraine’s potential membership.

On August 1, 2024, we will celebrate the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising. We will celebrate it for 63 days, because that is how long the uprising lasted. Begun with great enthusiasm, it was supposed to last a historical moment, a few days. After 63 days, it ended in a military disaster and, at the very least, a moral defeat.

Recently, the Bydgoszcz publishing house “Koronis” published Józef Kuffel’s book “The Phantom of Freedom” (Widmo wolności), dedicated to the participant Mrs. Stanisława “Stella” Calińska (née Walasek). She died in Petaluma in northern California in mid-July 2022.

The world admires Maria Skłodowska-Curie, but instead of connecting her with Poland, her home country, it most often connects her with France, where she spent most of her life. We write about a great Pole, a resident of Warsaw, a woman of unique personality, and what each of us should do to refresh the memory of the Nobel Prize winner on the 90th anniversary of her death on July 4.

Unfortunately, when the first partially free elections were held in Poland in June 1989, Americans, with the exception of the Polish community in the United States, were generally unaware of the nature of what was happening in Europe at that time. Nor did they understand the importance of Poland's role in the whole process of the fall of communism. Unfortunately, the only thing that captured the collective imagination was the fall of the Berlin Wall.

The 20th and last episode from the Not just the Ulmas series (shorts) is now available on the IPNtv channel. The film “Killed for saving Jews, Died to save Kids” presents the story of Katarzyna Filipek, a widow who, while raising seven children, accepted the responsibility of sheltering six Jews and ultimately paid with her life for it.

In September 1939, the German Reich and Soviet Union invaded Poland, launching WW2. The invasion led to staggering loss of life: throughout the war, nearly 6 million Polish citizens, 3 million of them Jews, perished. In occupied Poland, the Germans introduced capital punishment for every form of assistance to the Jewish population.

On June 9, citizens of the European Union voted in election to the European Parliament. For the first time, the euro progressive coalition, which dominated this Parliament for about 30 years, was being challenged by what some call “populist” parties.

Poland has an extraordinary number of outdoor events planned for this summer. Our calendar provides an overview of the most interesting events for children and adults taking place in all regions of the country.

Polls show that, in politically polarized Poland, one of the few factors that unite people is aversion to the elites of PO and PiS. The results of the voting in European elections will show whether this is a rebellion, or the search of a new model of managing a state. This is just the beginning of a big change, for which the current elites are ill prepared.