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Poland Old and New
A short but inspiring history of Poland written just before World War II.
134 pages, Unknown Binding
Published January 1, 1938
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December 16, 2021
What drew me to this book is its publishing date. A book about Poland, explaining its history and current state to the English speaking world, published in 1938, just a year before the Nazi invasion and less than two decades after Poland came back into existence after WW1.
The book starts with folkloric tales from Polands early days (over a thousand years prior type of early) accompanied by photos of the places mentioned.
I had a sense of sorrow whilst reading. Where the author mentions different historical buildings (such as citadel X in Warsaw, and various castles) and items (such as King Sobieskis furniture, and tents captured from the Turks at the Siege of Vienna) that were able to be visited or seen in museums. This leads to a quick realization that much of what he described didn't survive Polands decades of occupation (Nazis and Communists). The same applies to cities that were described and are no longer Polish, but now part of Ukraine and Belarus.
To counter that sorrow there is a photo on nearly every page showing some person or place relating to an entry in the book. There are also sections on Polish relations with the UK and USA.
I really enjoyed this read.
The book starts with folkloric tales from Polands early days (over a thousand years prior type of early) accompanied by photos of the places mentioned.
I had a sense of sorrow whilst reading. Where the author mentions different historical buildings (such as citadel X in Warsaw, and various castles) and items (such as King Sobieskis furniture, and tents captured from the Turks at the Siege of Vienna) that were able to be visited or seen in museums. This leads to a quick realization that much of what he described didn't survive Polands decades of occupation (Nazis and Communists). The same applies to cities that were described and are no longer Polish, but now part of Ukraine and Belarus.
To counter that sorrow there is a photo on nearly every page showing some person or place relating to an entry in the book. There are also sections on Polish relations with the UK and USA.
I really enjoyed this read.
Displaying 1 of 1 review