[PDF] The Polish Wild West eBook

Author : Beata Halicka
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 282 pages
File Size : 39,54 MB
Release : 2020-05-12
Category : History
ISBN : 1000060055

GET BOOK

The incorporation of German territories east of the Oder and Western Neisse rivers into Poland in 1945 was linked with the difficult process of an almost total exchange of population and involved the taking over of a region in which the Second World War had effected an enormous level of destruction. The contemporary term ‘Polish Wild West’ not only alluded to the reigning atmosphere of chaos and ‘survival of the fittest’ in the Polish–German borderland but was also associated with a new kind of freedom and the opportunity to start everything anew. The arrival in this region of Polish settlers from different parts of Poland led to Poles, Germans and Soviet soldiers temporarily coming into contact with one another. Living together in this war-damaged space was far from easy. On the basis of ego-documents, the author recreates the beginnings of the shaping of this new society, one affected by a repressive political system, internal conflicts and human tragedy. In distancing oneself from the until-recently dominant narratives concerning expellees in Germany or pioneers of the ‘Recovered Territories’ in Poland, Beata Halicka tells the story of the disintegration of a previous cultural landscape and the establishment of one which was new, in a colourful and vivid manner and encompassing different points of view.

Author : Kevin Mulroy
Publisher : University of Washington Press
Page : 229 pages
File Size : 19,11 MB
Release : 1999
Category : Art
ISBN : 9780295978123

GET BOOK

"In postwar Poland, film poster artists employed the universally recognized symbols of the Western - horse, six-shooter, boots, tin-star badge, Stetson, saddle - to convey violence as a negative force. Unlike many other art forms, the film poster did not fall within the censor's domain because it was not expected to pose a threat to the social order. But messages were conveyed through subtle means of symbol and color. The Polish poster has been likened to the Trojan horse, with the artist smuggling messages onto the streets in the guise of ephemera."--BOOK JACKET. "The posters displayed so strikingly in this book, and discussed in three essays, are from the golden age of Polish poster-making, the mid-1940s to the 1970s."--BOOK JACKET.

Author : Jo Harper
Publisher : Central European University Press
Page : 294 pages
File Size : 50,14 MB
Release : 2018-10-20
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9637326553

GET BOOK

This volume of essays and interviews by Polish, British, and American academics and journalists provides an overview of current Polish politics for both informed and non-specialist readers. The essays consider why and how PiS, Law and Justice, the party of Jarosław Kaczynski, returned to power, and the why and how of its policies while in power. They help to make sense of how “history” plays a key role in Polish public life and politics. The descriptions of PiS in Western media tend to rework old stereotypes about Eastern Europe that had lain dormant for some time. The book addresses the underlying question whether PiS was simply successful in understanding its electorate, and just helped Poland to revert to its normal state. This new Normal seems quite similar to the old one: insular, conservative, xenophobic, and statist. The book looks at the current struggle between one ‘Poland’ and another; between a Western-looking Poland and an inward-looking Poland, the former more interested in opening to the world, competing in open markets, and working within the EU, and the latter more concerned with holding onto tradition. The question of illiberalism has gone from an ‘Eastern’ problem (Russia, Turkey, Hungary, etc.) to a global one (Brexit and the U.S. elections). This makes the very specific analysis of Poland’s illiberalism applicable on a broader scale.

Author :
Publisher : Transaction Publishers
Page : 236 pages
File Size : 20,34 MB
Release :
Category : History
ISBN : 141282544X

GET BOOK

In the last, rootless decade families, neighborhoods, and communities have disintegrated in the face of gripping social, economic, and technological changes. This process has had mixed results. On the positive side, it has produced a mobile, volatile, and dynamic society in the United States that is perhaps more open, just, and creative than ever before. On the negative side, it has dissolved the glue that bound our society together and has destroyed many of the myths, symbols, values, and beliefs that provided social direction and purpose. In A History of the Polish Americans, John J. Bukowczyk provides a thorough account of the Polish experience in America and how some cultural bonds loosened, as well as the ways in which others persisted. Following a chronological format, Bukowczyk explains the historical reasons that led Polish people to come to America, the experience of the first wave of immigrants, the identity problem of second-generation Poles, and the kind of organizations and institutions that Polonia established in America. Throughout the author wrestles with the question faced by all immigrant groups: What does it mean to be a hyphenated American? And more specifically: What does it mean to be a Polish-American? "This is the best survey of Polish-American history yet published. comprehensive yet succinct, highly interpretive but readable, thought-provoking yet not shrill. skillfully weaves together elements of religion, ethnicity, and class. [T]his book should be the starting point for any reader who wishes to understand the four or five million Americans who claim a Polish heritage."--Edward R. Kantowicz, American Historical Review "[A History of the Polish Americans] is the best survey to date of the Polish experience in America. The readable style and profuse illustrations will appeal to students and the wealth of interpretation will stimulate the scholar"--William J. Galush, The Journal of American History John J. Bukowczyk is professor of history at Wayne State University. He is author or editor of four books and author of numerous journal articles. He is also editor of the Journal of American Ethnic History.

Author : Cathleen M. Giustino
Publisher : Berghahn Books
Page : 294 pages
File Size : 34,5 MB
Release : 2013-03-01
Category : History
ISBN : 0857456709

GET BOOK

During much of the Cold War, physical escape from countries in the Eastern Bloc was a nearly impossible act. There remained, however, possibilities for other socialist escapes, particularly time spent free from party ideology and the mundane routines of everyday life. The essays in this volume examine sites of socialist escapes, such as beaches, campgrounds, nightclubs, concerts, castles, cars, and soccer matches. The chapters explore the effectiveness of state efforts to engineer society through leisure, entertainment, and related forms of cultural programming and consumption. They lead to a deeper understanding of state–society relations in the Soviet sphere, where the state did not simply “dictate from above” and inhabitants had some opportunities to shape solidarities, identities, and meaning.

Author : Jerzy Lukowski
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 533 pages
File Size : 29,13 MB
Release : 2019-01-24
Category : History
ISBN : 1108341454

GET BOOK

Poland is a tenacious survivor-state: it was wiped off the map in 1795, resurrected after the First World War, apparently annihilated again in the Second World War, and reduced to satellite status of the Soviet Union after 1945. Yet it emerged in the vanguard of resistance to the USSR in the 1980s, albeit as a much more homogeneous entity than it had been in its multi-ethnic past. This book outlines Poland's turbulent and complex history, from its medieval Christian origins to the reassertion of that Christian and European heritage after forty-five years of communism. It describes Poland's transformation since 1989, and explains how Poland navigated its way into a new Commonwealth of Nations in the European Union. Recent years have witnessed significant changes within Poland, Eastern Europe and the wider world. This new edition reflects on these changes, and examines the current issues facing a Poland which some would accuse of being out of touch with 'European values'.

Author : Marek Haltof
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
Page : 385 pages
File Size : 45,70 MB
Release : 2015-02-02
Category : Performing Arts
ISBN : 1442244720

GET BOOK

In 1902, scientist and inventor Kazimierz Prószyński made the first Polish narrative film, The Return of a Merry Fellow. Since then, the Polish film industry has produced a diverse body of work, ranging from patriotic melodramas and epic adaptations of the national literary canon to Yiddish cinema and films portraying the corrupt side of communism. Poland has produced several internationally known films, including Andrzej Wajda’s war trilogy, A Generation (1955), Kanal (1957), and Ashes and Diamonds (1958); Roman Polański’s Knife in the Water (1962); and Andrzej Munk’s The Passenger (1963). Often performing specific political and cultural duties for their nation, Polish filmmakers were well aware of their role as educators, entertainers, social activists, and political leaders. This second edition of Historical Dictionary of Polish Cinema fills the gap in film scholarship, presenting an extensive factual survey of Polish film. Through a chronology; an introductory essay; appendixes, a bibliography; and over 300 cross-referenced dictionary entries on films, directors, actors, producers, and film institutions, a balanced picture of the richness of Polish cinema is presented. Readers with professional interest in cinema will welcome this new work, which will enhance senior undergraduate or postgraduate courses in film studies.

Author : Dorota Ostrowska
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
Page : 384 pages
File Size : 19,51 MB
Release : 2017-06-30
Category : History
ISBN : 1786732394

GET BOOK

The continued interest in the social and cultural life of the former Warsaw pact countries - looking at but also beyond their socialist pasts - encompasses a desire to know more about their national cinemas. Yet, despite the increasing consumption of films from these countries - via DVD, VOD platforms and other alternative channels - there is a lack of comprehensive information on this key aspect of visual culture. This important book rectifies the glaring gap and provides both a history and a contemporary account of East Central European cinema in the pre-WW2, socialist, and post-socialist periods. Demonstrating how at different historical moments popular cinema fulfilled various roles, for example in the capacity of nation-building, and adapted to the changing markets of a morphing political landscape, chapters bring together experts in the field for the definitive analysis of mainstream cinema in the region.Celebrating the unique contribution of films from Hungary, the Czech Republic/Czechoslovakia and Poland, from the award-winning Cosy Dens to cult favourite Lemonade Joe, and from 1960s Polish Westerns to Hollywood-influenced Hungarian movies, the book addresses the major themes of popular cinema. By looking closely at genre, stardom, cinema exhibition, production strategies and the relationship between the popular and the national, it charts the remarkable evolution and transformation of popular cinema over time.

Author : Debra J. Allen
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Page : 320 pages
File Size : 22,28 MB
Release : 2003-07-30
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 0313052441

GET BOOK

When the United States and its World War II allies met at the Potsdam Conference to provisionally establish the Oder-Neisse line as Poland's western border and to acknowledge the removal of Germans from the area, they created a controversial Cold War issue that would not be resolved until 1990. American policy makers throughout those decades studied and analyzed materials and reports to determine whether the border should be adjusted or recognized to promote the well being of Europe and the United States. This is the first study to cover the full history of the Oder-Niesse line and its impact on U.S. relations with Poland and the Federal Republic of Germany, as well as its domestic implications, throughout the Cold War years. As with many diplomatic questions, the State Department did not have the luxury of addressing this issue in a vacuum. Instead, the foreign policy bureaucracy had to keep its focus on the border issue while scrutinizing Soviet words and actions regarding its satellites in East Germany and Poland, and to address members of Congress and the public (including various groups of Polish Americans) who wanted specific, but often differing, actions taken in respect to the border. This work reveals how the diplomats and policy makers handled such internal conflict, the sometimes skewed perceptions of America held by Europeans, and how the State Department interacted with the public.