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The narrator didn't say Poland was part of the USSR. He said Poland of that era was a satellite state of the Soviet Union. But that separation was on paper only. As a bitter joke of the Poland's dark communism era would say, the most important person in Warsaw at the time was the Russian ambassador.
All Soviet Propaganda for the dumb West masses. The Ruling Communists were all Soviet sock puppets, some were Russians with changed names. MOST were Zydishers hiding their ID under New Polish names - as is the case today. grow up and face facts
In addition to that statement, there is a mistake in the narrative of this video "with the fall of Soviet Union". Communism collapsed in Poland in 1989 whereas the Soviet Union fell 2 years later in 1991.
0:21 "...costing thousands of lives" I wish you were right but in WW2 Poland lost about 6 MILION citizens. As pre-war Poland included many minorities total of 6 MILION includes 3 MILION Jews and up to 3 MILION Poles killed in the WW2 started in September 1939 by Germany, Soviet Union and Slovakia.
All of them were polish citizens so all of them were Poles, Jewish Poles that lived there for almost one thousand years.. Distinguishing them is like saying that there is no such thing as Jewish Americans, just Jews that live in America. They are obviously all american.
@@HAL-kd7ve After which date did they begin to learn outside their Magdeburg Recht sin-a-gogos ? Never Polish - always Jws. During WW ii the Polish Resistant Groups had to protect Polish villagers from the J gangs who attacked remote villages. Polish protecting Polish from the always Jw foreigners. Why ? NOT Polish.
Happy to see Bulgaria (and Romania also) grow. No one believed, but all of us former Warsaw Pacters (is there such a word?) are pretty competent and stubborn bastars apparently. Lets keep on good work :)
Apart from the fact that Poland was never part of the USSR, there is one more mistake in the film. Claiming that Poland has been a poor country for centuries. Meanwhile, until the 18th century it was one of the richest countries in Europe. Even after various parts of it came under Russian rule in the 19th century, it was its richest province. In fact, it was only in the 19th century when industrialization began, which we could not take advantage of because we were divided, and as a result of the destruction of both world wars, our economic position decreased. Another important inaccuracy. Poland was the first to reject communism. Only later did the Soviet Union and the Berlin Wall fall. We were already a free country when communism was still in force in other Eastern Bloc countries. There was a period of time when Germans from the DDR fled west through Poland.
Co ty pierdolisz. Nie wzięliśmy udziału w rewolucji przemysłowej, bo byliśmy biednym, zacofanym, niedorozwiniętym państwem bez żadnych instytucji, z niewyobrażalnymi nierównościami. Sami jesteśmy sobie winni.
"until the 18th century it was one of the richest countries in Europe" - it wasn't, but it was not poor either - up until about the Swedish Deluge. Since then it became basically a shithole and whenever someone tried to fix this, foreign powers crushed all initiative with brute force.
August 1939 poland was ranked 20th biggest economy in the world . Then in 1991 Polish economy was ranked 100th in the world . Poland is just getting back to where it used to be
At peak of Polish- Commonwealth in 1600, according to the statistic Poland was 5th biggest economy in the world (only behind China, India Ottoman Empire and German Holly Empire) - hard to imagine now (currently: 20th place)
It must be hard-driven into westerners' minds that Solidarnosc/Solidarity peoples' movement under disguise of Unions was the first to dismantle the communist regime. The political forces behind political correctness reluctantly admit it. They are also those who profited from Polish companies, taking them over for next to nothing with the help of their politicians-agents before people realized what was happening. Leszek Balcerowicz was the architect of the project and hated for that. That's the piece of truth about those time not like it's presented in the video.
@@outmatrix8881 it wasn't the first, Kazakhstan started the student protests earlier, Ukraine repealed the Soviet system and only then in 1988 Polish protests started.
@@tkg__Maybe before you write something, first read about these dates in Poland Poznań June 1956 December 1970 June 1976 Solidarity June 1980 Martial law December 1981 July 1983 Partially free elections and the fall of communism in 1989 Departure of the occupying forces of the USSR on April 9, 1991
I am Polish, I am 46 years old and I am proud of what we have achieved during this time. I have never left the country. I always live in Poland and I remember eating bread with sugar when I was young. Today I am simply proud of what we have achieved as POLES.
I was born in szczecin in 1988. One of my first memories is my dad going to the army during conscription and asking my parents if I can get this toy robot dinosaur at a fle market. They were debating if they could afford a cheap toy.i never got it. They didn't have the money. Man times have changes
I was born in 1974 in western Poland. My parents took a picture of me in 1978 - there was a banana lying on the table on that picture. That was the only banana I had been seeing till 1989. Later on I finished university and got a job in 1999 working for American IT company. I ended up working for Silicon Valley and took a part in GSM revolution changing the world and making six figures a year in euro… it lasts till now! Times had changed indeed.
Beautiful country, beautiful people, a proud and ancient culture forged by a thousand years of war and hardship, Poland knows a thing or two about adapting and surviving. Poland would already have been a global superpower long ago if its population didn't spend so much of their brainpower trying to comprehend their own language.
@@Max-vl1in Semitic languages are more developed and more Rich than Slavic languages by thousands of light years 😊 No doubt, the semitic minds are more advanced by many levels 🙃
Poland was never dominated by the Soviets, and they knew it. The Soviet ideology, way of life was openly dismissed by Poles. As one Soviet diplomat said: "it would be easier to train a cow for horse racing rather then make Poles admiring Soviets".
Some historians claim Poland to be for the Russia what China was for Mongols. It indeed was the most developed part of Russian Tsardom and most influential/rich people of Third Rome were Poles. Unfortunately Polish higher class was kept away from institutional power in Russia and strongly discriminated against which led to insurrections that made sharing a state impossible from then on. Consequences of those animosities are felt to this day, as Russians perceive Poles to be American puppets and Poles see Russians as uncivilized and "more Mongol than European"
"Poland was never dominated by the Soviets" - the Polish authorities were approved in Moscow, the Polish economy was controlled from Moscow, products and natural resources were transfered from Poland to the USSR in exchange for so-called transfer rubles (meaningless pieces of paper), can you explain exactly what you mean when you say that Poland was not dominated by Russia? Translating this to present times, compare the GDP of Poland and Ukraine starting from 1990 - and check what in reality means Russian dominated country
Acutally, Poland´s success stroy is more complex than what you have found out. Poland may have been a coummunist state with command economy on paper, but in fact it was only partially a command economy. The great majority of polish farm land was privatly owned, as the oppostion against nationalization of land and peasant traditions were too strong and the communists had to abandon their nationalization plans. Same can be said for a hudge number of private entrepreneurs who owned thousands of small businesses across the country, from a backyard toy-factory to private owned car-repair-shops and taxis. They all were filling the gaps left by the the command economy. The farms were small but they provided the food items which could be found at farmers markets in the towns, the private producers provided the consumers with items, which couldn´t be found in state-owned shops. Those people learned how to manage in a market economy and they were the real pioneers after the change of the political system in 1989. It didn´t take them long to start successful businesses. This is a big difference to neighbouring countries like Czechoslovakia or GDR, not to mention the USSR where private entrepreneurship was virtually non existant. There are more aspects: Polish communists were more liberal than their peers in other countries of the Eastern Block (maybe with exception of Hungary with its goulash communism). Poles were allowed to a certain extend to travel abroad to western countries. They were there for work and either send money to their families back home or they came back with cash and experience and started some kind of business. Therefore Poles were more industrious, mobile and flexible after 1989. And not to forget: communist rule may have left the economy in shambles, but it gave millions of people good education after the WWII, it mobilized millions of peasants to move to towns, to learn new skills and to study. All this explains, why Poles had some advantages at the start in 1989 other similar countries didn´t have.
In the 9th minute, there is an information that Poland was a former Soviet state. That is obviously not true. Please change this false audio part. The clip is very good otherwise.
I wish my country of Bulgaria would have been like Poland. Instead, at least half of the population romanticizes the Soviet times, about two million people have left the country and the mafia still has relatively big influence. Sure, there is some progress, but this is despite of the above. I hope in the next decades we will continue to catch up.
Lots of Poles complain about the transformation and some wants more direct state control in economy or basically every part of the country, currently the biggest party and previously ruling PIS is basically more socialist than the former communists. Also, plenty Poles emigrated after 2004, Poles are the biggest minorities in Iceland, Norway or Netherlands, maybe even in UK. There's no soviet sentiment because Poles see it as a foreign occupation, just another chapter in our fight with Moscow. I'm not complaining, I'm still proud of what Poland achieved but it's not perfect. I hope and wish Bulgaria to catch up, it has a great potential but don't count on politicians to do it for you.
@@azeca0025 One of the most corrupted governments, with convicted criminals on board like Kamiński and Wąsik, wasted and stole billions, destroyed the judicial system and conflicted Poland with its closest allies for no reason.
@@azeca0025 The most corrupted government, with convicted criminals, tried to destroy the judicial system and relationships with EU together with Orban and Le Pen.
2:30 Poland wasn't poor for centuries. The 16th century is called by historians and publicists the golden age in the history of Poland. It is widely believed that this is a period of state power, peace, security and prosperity.
@@grawl69 this is a psy ops movie. Poland was very powerful from 966 - 1700. We have beaten many times Germans, Russians, Czechs, Teutons, Swedes and even Turks near Vienna. There were some short periods where Poland was weaker, but in general it was major power in the central Europe.
Not so funny fact was that in the same 1990, during negotiations of Two Plus Four Treaty, Germany (read Kohl's diary) initially rejected Poland's western border. And later was in fact forced to include this in the Treaty. So because of this German idea and attempt to reverse the defeat of 1945, the term "end of the WW2 in 1990" seems to me a bit overstatement. We'll see...
Indeed. More Polish owned big businesses will grow and thrive. What Poland has already accomplished in the past three decades would never have been dreamed of in 1990.
There is one very serious error in this movie. Poland was never a state of the Soviet Union. We were living in a country dependent on USRR, like other satellite countries of the East block, but we maintained some independence. This is why such movements like Solidarity appeared here and the fall of the Soviet block started here (not in Germany).
Ale nikogo to nie obchodzi. To nie o tym jest ten filmik. Odnoś się do meritum sprawy, a nie rozmieniaj swojej uwagi na drobne. Skup się, skoncentruj się lepiej, a będziesz mieć łatwiej w życiu. Trenuj swój umysł, żeby był ostry jak brzytwa.
@@nexor7809 No tak, będziemy analizować każdy nieistotny szczególik, a nie odnosić się do istoty sprawy. Taka właśnie zawsze jest dyskusja z Polakami - ja o niebie Ty o chlebie. Zawsze będziemy przegrywać bo jesteśmy mało precyzyjni i zbyt powolni w myśleniu i działaniu.
@@Matt-rw9py Jesli zignorujemy szczegoły ryzykujemy uproszczenie historii i pominięcie ważnych aspektow które mogą wpływać na naszą interpretację wydarzeń. Dlatego właśnie warto zwracac uwagę na te "drobne" rzeczy - to one składają się na pełny obraz i pozwalają nam lepiej zrozumieć zarówno przeszłość, jak i teraźniejszość. Bez precyzyjności która obejmuje dbałość o szczegóły nasze argumenty stają się mniej wiarygodne i bardziej podatne na błędy A twój problem tez tkwi w typowym dla polski obwinianiu polaków ze coś robią zle i są gorsi bo nie zgadza sie to z twoją wizją
The film presents Poland primarily through the example of Warsaw, portraying it as a symbol of the country's economic success as a whole. However, it is important to emphasize that many other Polish cities and regions have also experienced impressive development and prosperity. It would be worth including their stories in the next episode to present a more comprehensive picture of Poland.
Thank you for the video! There are some misconceptions explained in other comments, but you made amazing job putting it all together anyway and I admire you talking about Poland ❤️
I left Poland in 1983 when I was 8 years old and gruw up in 3 different western countrys... But 3 years ago I returnd to POLSKA... But I am living in Germany too because I am a Truck Driver 😊😊😊 brrrumm, brum, brrrum😂😂😂
Za komuny nikt tak zwyczajnie nie mógł wyjechać z Polski , można było uciec przez tzw zieloną granicę z narażeniem życia bo strzelali do uciekinierów - wyjechać mogli szpiedzy i kolaboranci wykonać określone zadania a oficjalnie byli jako dyplomaci lub studenci
I believe a crucial factor for Polish economic success is its currency. Not having the Euro and controlling its own currency allows Poland to adjust its exchange rate based on the needs of its own economy to attract FDI. The Euro is the reason why the Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Greek economies are so damaged, as they cannot control their own exchange rate to adjust to their economic needs, like the Italians did with the Lira in the 20th century. Hopefully Poland can keep its currency and keep up the good growth in the next decades.
Wrong. Poland has been developing without interruption since 1992, when the euro did not yet exist. Your problem is not the euro, but the lack of difficult and painful reforms. Poland had to introduce such reforms 30 years ago and is reaping the benefits. I would even say that the introduction of the euro could significantly accelerate economic growth in Poland.
@KunDziki What are the EU institutions? A parliament in which there are Poles? A Commission with a Polish Commissioner with dozens if not hundreds of Polish officials? The Court of Justice of the EU in which there are Polish judges? It was Polish poiticians who co-created the Green Deal with which they are now scaring the Poles. The European Union is us. Not the Martians from Brussels.
Estonia and lithuania were almost as rich as pole 30years ago, they use the euro and they have a gdp per capita ppa a bit higher than polish today, it's not about the currency it's more a catch up from former soviet influence countries, and this catch up is more or less faster depending on the political stability and the efficience of their economics policies
@@g.peters244 Every centralized institutions has its flaws, there is a reason why the richest and best to live countries on earth are not very big. Generally big countries are pretty bad to live outside of wartime. Decentralization is power and it doesn't matter if there are Poles in Parliament or not, its about how far from controllers (voters) are those who make decisions. The further the distance between controlling force and decisionmakers the worse it is.
My parents fled Poland to Italy (later went to Canada cause my mom was an illegal immigrate) in the 1980s for a better life for themselves. They tell me stories of how poor and horrible life was for them growing up during Soviet controlled Poland. Even though I was born and raised in Canada, I am proud for my Polish heritage
@@play_boy7543Firstly Russian gdp per capita is lower. Secondly it’s actually amazing since Russia has all those natural resources and exploited its colonial empire in Europe until 1990s. And yet an average salary in Poland is 3 times an average salary in Russia.😂😂😂
@@kroolis77 How can salary be 3x lower when gdp per capita is lower just about 15% in Russia,and if we count gdp ppp there is even smaller gap,so no standard in Russia is same like in Poland
@@kroolis77 I just checked your fake data about salary in Russia,there is about 15k us dollar a year income in russia,in poland it is about 23k,but when we count inflation and cost of living via gdp ppp,we can see that real standard is the same
@@play_boy7543 you didn’t mention ppp in your original comment. Only gdp so you lied and I was right. PPP is subjective and imprecise. Especially since Russian inflation figures are … unreliable. Their central bank interest rate is at 16% yet inflation is supposedly at single digits? How does that work exactly?
Poland was a relatively rich country for centuries, and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was a European superpower, competing with Russia, Turkey and Sweden. In mid 1930s, Poland was on the same level of development as Spain - in terms of GDP , infrastructure etc.
I wish Poland all the best. Just came back from a visit to Krakow and Wroclaw. What great cities. The people there were friendly and helpful to us strictly English speakers. It's a county worth a visit. Happy to hear things are improving for them.
3:49 poland, czhecia, east germany, romania and bulgaria were all part of warsaw pact not directly part of the ussr, also yugoslavia wasnt part of the warsaw pact and was mostly independant even though it was communist
Middle income trap and foreign ownership of key industries is indeed an issue. But Poland's possible ticket in the big leagues is its IT industry with many experts in AI.
Middle income trap is a joke theory, it doesnt even exist. How many big companies has Iceland or Liechtenstein? It doesn't matter if country has "its own" companies or they are foreign, ask Ireland.
That is not a ticket. This make us still dependent on whether foreign companies will hire us. What Poland needs at this point is to start building it's own strong global companies.
I could see the growth and the generalized positive feeling of the Poles when visiting Krakow (2023) and Gdansk (2024). They have got HOPE and COURAGE back on track. Hope that they make it and make it last! Love.
The projections of Poland being wealthier than the UK in 2030, while widely reported, are inaccurate. It’s very unlikely that will be the case in terms of PPP. What can be said though, is that there is much to learn from the Poles. They’re doing a great job at helping their citizens live more prosperous lives.
Wealthier definetly not, since wealth is accumulated across many generations and UK didn't have communism, UK was not that badly destroyed by 2nd world war and even before war they were far richer, so average Briton will be still a lot of wealthier than average Pole, its about purchasing power of a single salary and yes probly around 2030 purchasing power of salary in Poland will be higher than in UK, since UK did some really stupid moves, first leaving EU and then refusing to be part of single market.
Poland was never part of the soviet union. It was a satelite state, but not a part of the soviet union. Also our military spending is not a good thing. What is the limit? Are we gonna spend 6% on military next? What about our other problems?? This is ridiculous.
Poland was not rapidly defeated in 1939, as you claim in the video. The Polish campaign lasted for 5 weeks, just a week shorter that the Battle of France and you need to remember that on 17 September 1939 Poland was attacked by Soviet Union from the East, but for that Poland would had defended itself for much, much longer than it actually did.
And Poland existed only for 20 years and was 10 years after war with Bolsheviks... Plus was made from three different parts after partitions, where even railway tracks had different width.
After 6 days, capital Warsaw was encircled, so ye theoreticly Poles were defending on some minor and not important areas, but majority and most important parts of the country were taken by Germans within few days.
Jakie pięć tygodni... czytasz nie te książki, co trzeba. Kampania wrześniowa była przegrana już po 3 dniach. Później tylko nieskładne wycofywanie się, bitwa nad Bzurą, kilka potyczek miejscowo. Przestań mitologizować naszą największą militarną porażkę w dziejach. Zostaliśmy rozjechani niesamowicie.
And war at polish soil didnt stop even for a day until day of victory. There is only one country which fought against Germany from very first day till very last- Poland.
As a proud Polish-American, i implore of Poland's young adults: Have more -- MANY more -- Polish babies! The Polish birthrate is far below replacement level and represents the largest threat to Poland's long-term continued growth & prosperity. Poland -- and the world -- needs more Polish babies. Viva Polska! 🇵🇱
May be too late. Immigration may be necessary and may be possible at the pace of current progress and current low unemployment rates. Hopefully the immigrants will be chosen wisely so they can build prosperity like in the US.
Poland was never part of the Soviet Union. was a member of the Warsaw Pact and was dependent on the communist authorities of the USSR. Poland was poor because the Polish economy was drained by the USSR.
It is not correct to say that Poland is the only East European country which does not have oligarchs. For example, Czech republic and Slovenia had a very fair process of privatization which led to smaller social differences than in most other ex-communist countries.
Poland was not poor for centuries!Also quality of life in comusnitic Poland was not poor at all!We didn't have much but we had everything we needed and we were happy!
The Soviet Union did not collapse in 1989. It collapsed in late 1991, two years after Poland and the rest of the Eastern European satellite states had terminated communist rule.
Javier Milei ought to consider having some Polish talent in his circle of advisors. Direct experience and a thorough understanding of Poland's economic transformation could be highly useful.
Something that worked in PL not nessesarly will work anywhere else. It's just too complex. We have rich freind on our borders, who helped us growth (trade) . Not mentioning extremly motivated people who want work very hard to escape poverty. Southern Countries have more relax way of living, mostly due to heat waves. Therfore it's not copy/pastę situation.
@@baassiia I forget where I said "Poland is identical to Argentina. No significant difference. I recommend mindlessly copying everything it did." Help me out here.
Polish economical reform started actually in late 80s before the communist state collapsed, thanks to former minister of economy and industry Mieczyslaw Wilczek. He made an significant piece of progress by writing the most laisses-faire trade policy ever existed in Poland. It was much helpful especially for farmers and small businesses.
The story being told is much more complex. The free market was introduced in Poland by the last communist government (the so-called ‘Wilczek Act’) a year before Balcerowicz.
Meanwhile, most people in Popand happen to continuously complain about their country. Our economy is growing and what's most important - we live in a very safe country in comparison with western Europe. I wish people would appreciate that
Yesterday I found out, that American minimum wage is about the same as Polish one. It is 7.25 USD per hour, and Polish is 28.10 PLN (~7.17 USD). But in Poland, prices and cost of living is much, much lower. This literally blew my mind. Our poorest live better lives than American poorest. You can easily rent an apartment at minimal wage - it will take half of your pay, and it will be very small apartment of course, but it i possible. I would never imagined how far my country will develop. As I millennial, I remember well how poor we were.
In USA around 1% of people are earning minimum wage, in Poland its about 20%, so that's a little bit of difference. Minimum wage in USA is compared to their economy way too low and in Poland it is a bit too high. USA could easly have like 15$ minimum wage.
@@hehenoelo4858 In USA about 5%, but up to 25% in some counties. Remember that USA is like a country within a country. I know it's still hard to compare US to Poland, but my point is we made all that in 30 years. While in the meantime, US practically got stuck, and many Americans even says that living quality is on a downfall and got much worse since 90s and 80s. Today many people cannot afford rent with just a single wage, I heard that NYC Bus driver earns 80% of a rent. Warsaw bus driver earns 8k PLN and rent in Warsaw is about 3k. So he has 5k left for living. In small town where I live, rent is 1500PLN so even people on minimal wage can afford that.
@@hehenoelo4858 you do realise that america has bigger wealth gap than russia right? all this gdp per capita in america is very inaccurate as most of that per capita goes to the top 5% basically on the other hand poland is very equal. Its more equal than even germany in terms of wealth distribution. If you look at the nordic countries they all have great distribution of wealth as well. America is the opposite
@@Blido No, i quote you official data, in USA it's 1.3% of people who earn minimum wage. In Poland It is 25-30% of workers. When it comes to rent prices, remember that in USA, people are thinking more about buying house rather than renting it. In USA average square meter of apartment in city centre is around 3 300 $ while in Poland it is 3 900$, while average salary in Poland (after tax) is around 1 400$ versus 4 500$ in USA. So people in USA earn 3-times more than in Poland, while paying less to buy house.
@@Blido You don't know what you are talking about. US didn't increase their minimum wage for YEARS. That doesn't mean that the wages didn't incerease. Imagine the next 20 years polish minimum wage would increase similary to the last 20 years, while the US one would stay the same. Does that mean Poland would be twice as welathy? Ofc no, because the US does not rely on the minimum wage.
..."poor for centuries..." WTF man? Did you even read the history of Poland on Wikipedia at least?? We had some downfalls and ups, but not for centuries.. for God's sake!
Saying that localization between Germany and Russia cost Poland thousands of lives is understatement. WW2 alone killed millions of Poles. Countless people were annihilated during various occupations or enslaved and sent to Syberia for near certain death in work camps.
Important to note even though the war started with invasion on Poland, and the country suffered the most damage, we never received any war reparations and Russia made us refuse to receive the US help that other European countries got.
Poland was occupied by the Soviets. Communism was never a choice of the Polish people. The Western world sold devasted after II world war Poland to Stalin's hand. Poland after the war was too weak to say no and keep fighting for freedom
Many people wrongly think that Poland has had nothing but a sad history. Poland is among the oldest states in Europe - right there with England, France and Spain. It is much older than Germany and Russia. Poland was once the largest state encompassed entirely in Europe (about twice the size of France). It was a major power and had it's golden age in 15th and 16th Centuries. It took three major powers (Russian Empire, the Prussian Empire and the Austro Hungarian Empire) to overwhelm her and partition the country between themselves effectively wiping Poland off the map in the late 18th Century. This is the beginning of Poland's sad modern times. Poland was finally restored after WWI. Amazingly, the infant nation was able to defeat the Russian Soviets who attempted to invade Western Europe through defeated Germany after WWI. Poland's freedom was short lived and a mere 20 years later the Nazi's invaded. Contrary to myth - Poland fought valiantly against the Nazi's and it took the Germans a month to conquer the country. Compare that to France - which had the largest standing army in the world and fell to the Nazi's in less time. Also, the Poles inflicted significant casualties on the Germans - including against the Luftwaffe. Moreover, hundreds of thousands of Poles fled to Western Europe to regroup. There they would fight alongside of the allies with the 4th largest number of Allied forces behind the Soviets, Americans, and English. Neither France nor any of the other conquered European states produced an army - only Poland. Poland was again restrained when it became a vassal state of the Soviet Union. This video implies that Poland merely got its freedom from the Soviets along with the other Warsaw Pact countries when the Soviet Union fell. In fact, it was Poland and its Solidarity movement that precipitated the fall of the Soviet Union. All of the current stunning advancements made by Poland has occurred since it broke from the Soviet orbit in 1990 - a mere 34 years ago. I often wonder what Poland would have become had she not been partitioned in 1795 and remained free for all of those years.
Poland was not part of the USSR. Many westerners seem to mix up the USSR with the whole of Eastern Bloc. While USSR was a state, eastern bloc was not. It was just a collection of formally independent states which were under the influence of Moscow, shared the socialist-communist ideology and in many cases were part of the Warsaw military pact. But were not part of the USSR. I know it might be little confusing because the USSR was also composed of various republics who after the fall of communism became independent states (e.g. Lithuania, Latvia etc.). But imagine it like that: there was also the Western bloc, countries like West Germany and UK and most powerful of them USA, but you would not call West Germany part of USA. It was just under influence of USA and was having US military bases (like the famous Ramstein base) on its soil, but was an independent state.
Soviet Union collapsing in 1989?! May want to fact check. Even a referendum in March 1991 stated that most states wanted the USSR to remain- which it would until December of that year.
unofficial it collapsed 1989 , you are not correwct if you say* most states wanted to stay* poor region wanted to stay in the ussr because thgey got alot money from ussr
I’m so proud to be Polish 🇵🇱. Throughout history, we have faced many struggles. Our geopolitical location hasn’t made things easier. Having visited many countries around the world, the more I travel, the more I am convinced that Poland is a safe, beautiful, and clean place to live. You are more than welcome to visit our country and see for yourself if what I’m saying is true 🙃
One minute in and there are already rookie mistakes. 1. 0:04 Poland was not a part of the USSR 2. 0:12 Europe did not look like that pre-1945 3. 0:20 Millions, not thousands of lives.
Even that in general it's a good message and logic chain, thee are some false affirmation like Poland was the poorest in Europe - it wasn't: as Albania, Bulgaria, Romania or even Yugoslavia & Hungary was lagging behind
Not to mention that Poland saved Europe a few times hundreds of years ago, we all would pray 5 times a day on our knees if not Poland and probably still be in iron age...
THANK YOU 🇵🇱 FOR BEING HERE AND FOR BEING WITH YOU. THANK YOU FOR MY FAMILY, FOR THE STORY AND FOR EVERY BREATH. THANK YOU 🇵🇱 FOR NOT ABANDONING ME. AND I THANK YOU FOR YOUR FAITH AND FOR EVERY DROP OF BLOOD SPILLED, FOR OUR BLESSED MOTHER. FOR MARY, QUEEN OF POLAND! GOD! HONOUR! HOMELAND!
Major Advantages and Strengths of Poland Compared to the Rest of Europe 1. Own currency and large reserves of USD, EUR, and significant reserves of gold and silver: Poland has retained its national currency, the zloty, providing flexibility in monetary policy. Additionally, Poland holds substantial reserves in US dollars, euros, as well as in gold and silver. These reserves strengthen the country's financial stability and protect it against global market fluctuations. 2. Natural resource deposits: Poland is one of the leading producers of copper, gold, and silver globally. It also has significant coal reserves, which constitute a major part of its energy mix, along with smaller but notable reserves of gas and oil. The historical importance of the mining industry in Poland underscores the country's role as a key player in the global raw materials sector. 3. Favorable climate and water conditions: The Central Polish Lowlands, characterized by a temperate climate and favorable water conditions, are a significant asset for Poland. In the face of rising temperatures across Europe, Poland and Germany are the only countries with stable climatic conditions conducive to agriculture and industry. This gives Poland an advantage in the context of climate change. 4. Strong agricultural and horticultural traditions: Poland has a long history as an agricultural and horticultural country. Despite bureaucratic constraints from the European Union, Polish agriculture has the potential to feed not only the country but also a significant part of Europe. Poland is the leading producer of apples in the EU and also a major producer of mushrooms, blueberries, currants, plums, and pears, highlighting its agricultural potential. 5. Specialization in key industrial sectors: Poles are highly specialized in various industrial sectors such as road transport, furniture production, household appliances, fertilizers, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, IT, as well as heavy and chemical industries. This industrial diversification makes the Polish economy flexible and competitive in the global market. 6. Growing role of seaports: Polish seaports, particularly Gdańsk, play an increasingly significant role in European maritime transport. Gdańsk, returning to its historical prominence, is becoming a crucial logistics hub supplying a large part of Europe. The dynamic development of seaports strengthens Poland's position on the economic map of the continent. 7. Military history and national spirit: Poles have a long history as a nation of warriors, which has shaped their national identity. For centuries, Poland has fought wars during which its enemies, such as Prussia, Austria-Hungary, and Tsarist Russia, disappeared from the pages of history. The historical military strength and strategic position have made Poland a key player in Europe, attracting settlers from the West.
Haha, yes, fortunately later it was underlined Poland was a satelite state and not a part of it, but already in the comments Poles went to war armed with words about it :D It's the worst insult imaginable to us after all :D
A good overall summary, kudos from Poland. Nice that you listed all crucial factors behind the rise of Polish economy after 1989: - Balcerowicz plan (hated by ~70-80% of population, up until now) - relatively low level of oligarchy and mafia-run economy (much to talk about...) - hunger for success + common Polish industriousness + relatively young society - low starting point, lots of low-hanging fruits - foreign investments - EU & NATO membership, structural funds, anchor to western institutions
Poland is one of my favourite places on earth and I could move there in a heartbeat- I already do a good deal of work there. But to call a country of 50 million a superpower is a reach.
The current super power has 2 large oceans warm water and 2 neighbours non of whom could over dare call itself an empire or a state with mighty millitary record. Canadians fighting bravely for Britain doesn't count for that. Sure brave and admirable to fight for the family but still. Soviet empire was left alone in Europe as the sole standing empire after ww2. It had giant population and an army so big that nothing in Europe could go for 1 on 1. The British empire at its peak ruled the waves and that is cheapest form of transport so it rich as heck plus an island so nobody can attack it. Now let's forget about NATO and sanctions. If Russia tommorow attacks Poland then where would Poland get the money to fight it? Hand outs ofcourse. If Germany in 6 years decided to at it again then where is Poland getting the money to fight that war? This is why I agree it's ridiculous to think of Poland as a future superpower.
To be a significant power, you need population. And no, immigration wouldn't help, because the population also needs to be loyal and with common interests.
I gotta hate these donkeys for mentioning " super power" and Poland in same sentence. It does not add up at all. The current super power has well over 300m citizens while bordering nobodies since day 1 of its existence, the Soviet super power had been the only 1 left standing in Europe after ww2 and had managed to rule over vastly more people than Poland would have even if this century is a golden century for Poland. It doesn't even have resources worth mentioning. Them Russians loaded with important shit in ground, Americans been top tier oil sellers for long long time, 1 of the very few actual winner of either world war (France didn't win shit worth a damn to justify it's expense in either world war if we are real here even through it's Ottoman loot from aftermath of ww1 may have paid of very handsomely if they didn't lose ww2 like that. To clarify ww1 all the shit from fighting on western front was on their soil. Germany proper was probably fine as hell if we discount air bombing to whatever degree it may be and naval blockade by Britain. China today while not a true millitary super power is an economic 1. Let be real it's population is way more than USA today and Soviet Union with its sphere of influence. Poland can perhaps be a very successful state. It's just that these dorks on yt should stop thinking about it's possible super power future. By 2030 it may have better average pay than that of UK. After all 1 can double UK economy and it won't be near super power level. USA far ahead and China might go ahead of it too if it plays it's cards right. So Poland with it's population is not destined for such status. It's geography is another problem. The British empire as a super power was an undisputable at sea and being an island makes it secure from outside invasion. It was the largest empire in history after all. USA is as big as Europe maybe or more and obviously it's loaded with resources + planty of space to continue population growth. China doesn't need more population growth but to become a country of younger people because they are gonna have insane quantity of pensioners in future. That group alone is far far far more numerous than Polish population. Russia on the decline is over 3 times the people with dozens of millions of vassal state people here and there. This is while all the former great enemies of Russia are unified to be protected by an outside power from Russia. Imagine something changes and they get their shit together. Ability to increase population is unholy in scale. They can triple their population and under best conditions go ahead of that. When is Poland going to be 60m people? U mention immigration. The skilled and worthy labour force had been leaving the country for a while. That state has 0 chance of becoming a super power. A marriage with Germany or something of that sort might help but they gonna be poor in oil resources together. Superpower in somebody's dreams again.
It makes me very happy that Poland and a lot of other Eastern European countries were able to escape from Russia's influence in 1989. I'm also glad that American economic ideas have helped the area. I am proud of both my Polish ancestors and the country they adopted, the United States.
With an impoverished economy for centuries, we only caught up with Western Europe in the Middle Ages. After great geographical discoveries and cruel policies against peasants and townsfolk, supported by the nobility, we had fallen behind.
Im a polish citizen living in uk for 18 years. End of this year im moving back to poland. I feel much more safer there than here in UK. Have been working for 10 years in London then moved to Manchester. At the moment it is feeling more safe there than in uk even when russia is so close. When i came to UK in 2006 it was different. Now it has changed too much.
The world don’t need more big soul eating companies. We need innovative and creative solutions in an harmonious way of integrating all important aspects of life. We don’t need industrial bullshit that’s not the future
Recent official data revealed that NET EU funds inflow to Poland reached 160 billion euro within 20 years. So it makes on average 8 billion euro per year. Considering that 90 % (I do jot recall exactly) went back to so called "old"😅 Europe countries, this EU fund bonanza needs to be viewed without bias.
According to wikipedia, average net income, per month: 1343 EUR. According to Numbeo, cost of living without rent: 660 EUR, single bedroom apt rent: 650 EUR. 1343-660-650=33 EUR. How's that rich if you have only 30 euro after spending on basic needs?
Most Poles (close to 90 per cent) do not rent but own their houses/apartments so they spend considerably less on housing than people in western Europe. Check home ownership by country at Wikipedia.
@@MK-lm6hb in this case, one pays one's mortgage instead of rent for many years and still left with 30 euros after basic necessities. Unless he/she inherited his/her home.
@@Murmilone Nowadays, you can make similar calculations about any developed country. Housing in any European country, America or Australia is prohibitively expensive. In Australia, where I live, it takes more than 30 years to pay off a mortgage. Usually, a couple's one salary is spent on housing and the other salary on other needs. A single wage earner is unlikely to qualify for a mortgage.
@@Murmilone They OWN their houses, especially in villages and small towns. To have a mortgage in Poland is not as common as in English-speaking countries.
As an spnaiard I envy Poland. I am currently working for a nuclear project in Poland while politicians plan to shut down the existing ones here. I have multiple friends who have enjoyed their erasmus exchange program in Poland and they all agree on thst property is on the rise at can be felt in the mentality and life projects of its citizens as well as the parity buy power.
A lot of money from the EU as well. Not to diminish their accomplishment, just to say that they were really smart at spending well those money, it wasn't a given.
After all they had lost because of the past it’s more than deserving to get the support from the EU. The EU would never support if they wouldn’t get it back double, and that’s already a fact. So hold your horses
@@Kaylyc Nobody gives you free money, and Poland was a net beneficiary for years. But again, that's my point. They were smart enough to invest it wisely putting up with whatever condition they had to pay to develop their economy.
@@LucaStanga-ww4pm EU funds are way overhyped, its not really about that EU funds but EU's single market, thats the most important thing. And I think thats also what UK didnt understand, that even though they "paid" to EU more than they were taking, it was still worth to be part of EU to be part of single market that gives growth.
At 4:48 where there is someone holding a large container of what looks like bread over their head you can see on the window of the store a SOLIDARITY poster. The struggle for independence and freedom had begun...
Poland suffered a great deal under communism and socialism and knows quite well the kind of misery and depression that socialism brings. Therefore Poland has embraced capitalism at its core and prospered in the process. In the meantime western EU countries are becoming ever more socialist and as a result the standard of living is continuously dropping so it is a no wonder if Poland be more prosperous by 2030 than UK or Germany and generally speaking this apply to all former communist socialist states in Europe. West needs to wake up.
Why do You assume, that we were a poor nation throughout almost entire history? :D We were almost imperial-sized country once (Big Polish-Lithuanian union). We were poor for last 200 years, when Germans, and Russians (mostly) pacted before us to completely annihilate Poland (and yet we had survived), but before that... man, we were nuts for most of our millenium of existence as a Poland. German emperor once been amazed by Polish power and treated us like true and seriously potent nation. AND we were NOT a soviet state. It was communist country partnering with soviet union but we weren't directly dependent as soviet state. We had CHOOSE to transform to a Commonwealth (02-1989) before Soviet Union had fallen down (12-1991).
Ye its always funny when somebody says how much money Poland received from EU and nobody says that Poland received less money in 20 years combined from EU funds than Russia received in 1 year from selling their gas and oil to EU.
It’s 2024 and we actually still subsidize coal mining, even thought coal companies are listed and at least partially privately owned. The industry is and has been inefficient for many years now and the quality of their product is subpar. We actually import coal, but every single ruling party is giving in to coal mining business and unions. The former government actually chose to return to the state-owned conglomerates i.a. in the energy sector. We see that some private owned mines are undergoing a transition, with views on quitting fossil mining in the future to simply secure their business topline - not the same for state capital entities because hey, if investors leave they’ll turn to the state for money.
This is no longer valid as new government actively works towards aborting all the development efforts and recent progress in the name of germany. We have entered at least 4 years period of no progress or regress and delaying investments even more.
I'm from Poland and "Poland is on the brink of becoming a superpower" is the most funny thing I heard in last days ;d And no, we don't have a largest army in EU. In fact, we have fewer tanks now than we had in 40s in WW2 (where Poland didn't even existed), poor soldiers traning and bad equipment. The last problems on the Belarus border show how bad polish army is, three soldiers even got charges after firing warning shoots in the air and a soldier died (was punched with a knife on a stick).
There are many other sources that say Poland will become an European superpower and the army will be the largest in Europe by the 2030’s. You can look this up.
@@lesfleurs9781Its just propaganda becuase they are trying to make polish society comfortable with potentially going to war with russia. If you talk to polish soldiers they will tell you that military warehauses lack basic equipement like helmets, uniforms, boots etc Strongest militaries in europe are UK and France they dont need even 1 tank, they have nuclear weapons😂
@@lesfleurs9781The current super power got 340m people if I'm right, potential 1 has well over a billion, former Soviet super power ( at time of becoming super power had just won spoils of war that are 8 countries and would be paying off in coming decades after ww2 since they all got shit economies at end of it and ruins in some. Basically Soviet empire had population that might make Poland feel as crowded as Gaza. Imagine Poland with over 4 times as many people and imagine how populated the Soviet sphere of influence was. The British empire became impenetrable for land invasion due to it's navy and was largest in history. They all got much much more resources, human capital and land. Poland cannot afford a superpower's army any time soon. The size of a super power's army in another matter. Poland is not gonna own any sea around itself and it's safe as hell to claim that it can easily be attacked by land. Thousands of km or miles of land connection with 7 or so other countries.
Join The Invisible Hand on shortform.com/invisiblehand where you'll get a FREE TRIAL and 20% OFF an annual subscription for the first 500 of my followers to sign up!
Y U using star wars names?
for F sake man , Poland was never a part of Soviet Union . Another genius without basic knowlage in topic .....
He said that he didn't read books just some summaries of them. No wonder his story suffers from so many errors and egregious simplifications.
@@galt82 haha correct!
Soviet Union did not collapse in 1989! Communism in Poland ended in 1989. Dissolution of the Soviet Union was on December 26, 1991
Poland was part of the Warsaw pact. It was essentially a Soviet vassal state. It was not a part of the USSR.
same thing for the purpose of modern history.
The narrator didn't say Poland was part of the USSR. He said Poland of that era was a satellite state of the Soviet Union. But that separation was on paper only. As a bitter joke of the Poland's dark communism era would say, the most important person in Warsaw at the time was the Russian ambassador.
All Soviet Propaganda for the dumb West masses. The Ruling Communists were all Soviet sock puppets, some were Russians with changed names. MOST were Zydishers hiding their ID under New Polish names - as is the case today.
grow up and face facts
@@kaminski8000 w sumie na początku mapa wskazuje na Polskę jako część związku radzieckiego hehe nawet nie ma tam wschodnich Niemiec
And that was worse than being part of the Soviet Union.
Poland IS NOT a former soviet state!
Państwo satelitarne .... Wschodniego bloku uzależnione od ZSRR ... język angielski jest prymitywny....
@@neosolve6781 Nie jest, satellite state to określenie którego szukasz.
Albo soviet puppet state, I jest prosty ale nie prymitywny.
@@neosolve6781 państwo satelickie*
In addition to that statement, there is a mistake in the narrative of this video "with the fall of Soviet Union". Communism collapsed in Poland in 1989 whereas the Soviet Union fell 2 years later in 1991.
0:21 "...costing thousands of lives" I wish you were right but in WW2 Poland lost about 6 MILION citizens.
As pre-war Poland included many minorities total of 6 MILION includes 3 MILION Jews and up to 3 MILION Poles killed in the WW2 started in September 1939 by Germany, Soviet Union and Slovakia.
All of them were polish citizens so all of them were Poles, Jewish Poles that lived there for almost one thousand years.. Distinguishing them is like saying that there is no such thing as Jewish Americans, just Jews that live in America. They are obviously all american.
@@JannSeb never trusted. Why ? They didn't speak Polish. They spoke German Yiddisher. Why ?
@@metanoian965 they spoke Polish and even when some didn't, they were still Poles.
@@metanoian965 They spoke Polish
@@HAL-kd7ve After which date did they begin to learn outside their Magdeburg Recht sin-a-gogos ?
Never Polish - always Jws.
During WW ii the Polish Resistant Groups had to protect Polish villagers from the J gangs who attacked remote villages.
Polish protecting Polish from the always Jw foreigners. Why ?
NOT Polish.
Happy to hear about Poland’s progress. Pozdrowienia z Bułgarii!
I hope that your country will also have such a bright future. Поздрави от Полша
I am also happy to hear good news from my Polish kuzyn. Pozdrowienia z Kanada!
☮️🤝💟👍
Happy to see Bulgaria (and Romania also) grow. No one believed, but all of us former Warsaw Pacters (is there such a word?) are pretty competent and stubborn bastars apparently. Lets keep on good work :)
Nie ma żadnego rozwoju tylko regres
Apart from the fact that Poland was never part of the USSR, there is one more mistake in the film. Claiming that Poland has been a poor country for centuries. Meanwhile, until the 18th century it was one of the richest countries in Europe. Even after various parts of it came under Russian rule in the 19th century, it was its richest province. In fact, it was only in the 19th century when industrialization began, which we could not take advantage of because we were divided, and as a result of the destruction of both world wars, our economic position decreased.
Another important inaccuracy. Poland was the first to reject communism. Only later did the Soviet Union and the Berlin Wall fall. We were already a free country when communism was still in force in other Eastern Bloc countries. There was a period of time when Germans from the DDR fled west through Poland.
Co ty pierdolisz. Nie wzięliśmy udziału w rewolucji przemysłowej, bo byliśmy biednym, zacofanym, niedorozwiniętym państwem bez żadnych instytucji, z niewyobrażalnymi nierównościami. Sami jesteśmy sobie winni.
100%
Not soviets, Orcssians.
If Orcssia keeps soviet union's seat in UN, we should name drop them for their Crimeas.
"until the 18th century it was one of the richest countries in Europe" - it wasn't, but it was not poor either - up until about the Swedish Deluge. Since then it became basically a shithole and whenever someone tried to fix this, foreign powers crushed all initiative with brute force.
This film shows clearly Poland was not a part of USSR. Watch the whole thing.
August 1939 poland was ranked 20th biggest economy in the world . Then in 1991 Polish economy was ranked 100th in the world . Poland is just getting back to where it used to be
before ww2 estonia was richer then finland
You are so silly writing all this
there were less countries back then.
At peak of Polish- Commonwealth in 1600, according to the statistic Poland was 5th biggest economy in the world (only behind China, India Ottoman Empire and German Holly Empire) - hard to imagine now (currently: 20th place)
Yeah we r coming back as China
Communism in Poland fell when there was still Berlin wall and soviet union (1989)
It must be hard-driven into westerners' minds that Solidarnosc/Solidarity peoples' movement under disguise of Unions was the first to dismantle the communist regime. The political forces behind political correctness reluctantly admit it. They are also those who profited from Polish companies, taking them over for next to nothing with the help of their politicians-agents before people realized what was happening. Leszek Balcerowicz was the architect of the project and hated for that. That's the piece of truth about those time not like it's presented in the video.
It was a feat to talk about Poland in this perion and never mention Solidarność, even when showing slips from the strikes and even Lech Wałęsa!
@@outmatrix8881 it wasn't the first, Kazakhstan started the student protests earlier, Ukraine repealed the Soviet system and only then in 1988 Polish protests started.
@@tkg__Maybe before you write something, first read about these dates in Poland
Poznań June 1956
December 1970
June 1976
Solidarity June 1980
Martial law December 1981 July 1983
Partially free elections and the fall of communism in 1989
Departure of the occupying forces of the USSR on April 9, 1991
did it really fall? these 1989 elections were a big bad joke
I am Polish, I am 46 years old and I am proud of what we have achieved during this time. I have never left the country. I always live in Poland and I remember eating bread with sugar when I was young. Today I am simply proud of what we have achieved as POLES.
i am also 46 from PL and i also remember having eaten bread with sugar in my childhood ;-)
I was born in szczecin in 1988. One of my first memories is my dad going to the army during conscription and asking my parents if I can get this toy robot dinosaur at a fle market. They were debating if they could afford a cheap toy.i never got it. They didn't have the money. Man times have changes
I was born in 1974 in western Poland. My parents took a picture of me in 1978 - there was a banana lying on the table on that picture. That was the only banana I had been seeing till 1989.
Later on I finished university and got a job in 1999 working for American IT company. I ended up working for Silicon Valley and took a part in GSM revolution changing the world and making six figures a year in euro… it lasts till now! Times had changed indeed.
We have achieved shit. Wow, you love to fool yourself.
@@przemysawpawlinski5536 you have achieved shit. Speak for yourself!
Love from LITHUANIA big brothers :))
Greetings from Lublin, when Polish - Lithuanian Commonwealth started!
Big?! Did you say we're fat?!
have you forgotten they invaded and took over one of our cities?
@@Markizas.Karabasasso as russians couple times
@@LowCry997 you're digressing
Beautiful country, beautiful people, a proud and ancient culture forged by a thousand years of war and hardship, Poland knows a thing or two about adapting and surviving. Poland would already have been a global superpower long ago if its population didn't spend so much of their brainpower trying to comprehend their own language.
😅 dobre
As one scientist stated. Poles have more developed minds, thanks to their language.
*The last sentence is stupid. Polish is the basic Slavic language, it is no more difficult than Czech, Slovak, Russian or Ukrainian.*
@@gorniklecznaman3414 that's like saying that brain surgery is just a basic medical procedure no more difficult than a heart transplant.
@@Max-vl1in Semitic languages are more developed and more Rich than Slavic languages by thousands of light years 😊
No doubt, the semitic minds are more advanced by many levels 🙃
I travelled all over Europe and most
Of the world. Poland is the best country in Europe.
the scenery or people?
All of it!
Damn, thanks 🥰
@@izeko.3265 Hmm I Like your answer... You are welcomed in POLSKA...!!!
@@skuadak2 that IS a true Polish answer...
Poland was never dominated by the Soviets, and they knew it. The Soviet ideology, way of life was openly dismissed by Poles. As one Soviet diplomat said: "it would be easier to train a cow for horse racing rather then make Poles admiring Soviets".
Dude Poland was fucking abused by them
Some historians claim Poland to be for the Russia what China was for Mongols. It indeed was the most developed part of Russian Tsardom and most influential/rich people of Third Rome were Poles. Unfortunately Polish higher class was kept away from institutional power in Russia and strongly discriminated against which led to insurrections that made sharing a state impossible from then on. Consequences of those animosities are felt to this day, as Russians perceive Poles to be American puppets and Poles see Russians as uncivilized and "more Mongol than European"
they were more GERMAN oriented we know even in those years WWII
"Poland was never dominated by the Soviets" - the Polish authorities were approved in Moscow, the Polish economy was controlled from Moscow, products and natural resources were transfered from Poland to the USSR in exchange for so-called transfer rubles (meaningless pieces of paper), can you explain exactly what you mean when you say that Poland was not dominated by Russia?
Translating this to present times, compare the GDP of Poland and Ukraine starting from 1990 - and check what in reality means Russian dominated country
@@Marcin-xx9cd
Idelogically.
Look at Ukraine before the invasion. Half of them were actually pro Mordor before Bucha.
Acutally, Poland´s success stroy is more complex than what you have found out. Poland may have been a coummunist state with command economy on paper, but in fact it was only partially a command economy. The great majority of polish farm land was privatly owned, as the oppostion against nationalization of land and peasant traditions were too strong and the communists had to abandon their nationalization plans. Same can be said for a hudge number of private entrepreneurs who owned thousands of small businesses across the country, from a backyard toy-factory to private owned car-repair-shops and taxis. They all were filling the gaps left by the the command economy. The farms were small but they provided the food items which could be found at farmers markets in the towns, the private producers provided the consumers with items, which couldn´t be found in state-owned shops. Those people learned how to manage in a market economy and they were the real pioneers after the change of the political system in 1989. It didn´t take them long to start successful businesses. This is a big difference to neighbouring countries like Czechoslovakia or GDR, not to mention the USSR where private entrepreneurship was virtually non existant.
There are more aspects: Polish communists were more liberal than their peers in other countries of the Eastern Block (maybe with exception of Hungary with its goulash communism). Poles were allowed to a certain extend to travel abroad to western countries. They were there for work and either send money to their families back home or they came back with cash and experience and started some kind of business. Therefore Poles were more industrious, mobile and flexible after 1989.
And not to forget: communist rule may have left the economy in shambles, but it gave millions of people good education after the WWII, it mobilized millions of peasants to move to towns, to learn new skills and to study.
All this explains, why Poles had some advantages at the start in 1989 other similar countries didn´t have.
In the 9th minute, there is an information that Poland was a former Soviet state. That is obviously not true. Please change this false audio part. The clip is very good otherwise.
im pretty sure that just meant soviet sattelite state
Said satellite
@@Enhancedgenetics 2:08 literally shows a "map" of Soviet Union with Poland in it. It's just misinformation and bullshit.
3:42 „become a satelite state of Soviet Union”.
There are quite a few errors in this video although I enjoyed most of it.
If an underdog rises up to become a superpower, then it inspires all of us. Wishes to Polish power from India!!
I wish my country of Bulgaria would have been like Poland. Instead, at least half of the population romanticizes the Soviet times, about two million people have left the country and the mafia still has relatively big influence. Sure, there is some progress, but this is despite of the above. I hope in the next decades we will continue to catch up.
Lots of Poles complain about the transformation and some wants more direct state control in economy or basically every part of the country, currently the biggest party and previously ruling PIS is basically more socialist than the former communists. Also, plenty Poles emigrated after 2004, Poles are the biggest minorities in Iceland, Norway or Netherlands, maybe even in UK. There's no soviet sentiment because Poles see it as a foreign occupation, just another chapter in our fight with Moscow.
I'm not complaining, I'm still proud of what Poland achieved but it's not perfect.
I hope and wish Bulgaria to catch up, it has a great potential but don't count on politicians to do it for you.
@@05KARPIS is the best Gouverment Poland ever had. Thanks to them economy grewth, poverty went low as also corruption.
@@azeca0025 One of the most corrupted governments, with convicted criminals on board like Kamiński and Wąsik, wasted and stole billions, destroyed the judicial system and conflicted Poland with its closest allies for no reason.
@@azeca0025 The most corrupted government, with convicted criminals, tried to destroy the judicial system and relationships with EU together with Orban and Le Pen.
@@azeca0025 super partia kurvo!
2:30 Poland wasn't poor for centuries. The 16th century is called by historians and publicists the golden age in the history of Poland. It is widely believed that this is a period of state power, peace, security and prosperity.
Yeah, but it was 500 years ago and did not last long.
16th century was centuries ago
These are historic details of little significance to the contemporary hitory presented in the video.
@@grawl69 this is a psy ops movie. Poland was very powerful from 966 - 1700. We have beaten many times Germans, Russians, Czechs, Teutons, Swedes and even Turks near Vienna. There were some short periods where Poland was weaker, but in general it was major power in the central Europe.
and the beginning of the prussian evil: King Sigismund agreed that this state remained and thrived
Poles lost 25% of population in six years of second world war. In Poland war ended in 1990
And when I look on hooligan pages on instagram or telegram, I see some Polish people supporting nazis...
Not so funny fact was that in the same 1990, during negotiations of Two Plus Four Treaty, Germany (read Kohl's diary) initially rejected Poland's western border. And later was in fact forced to include this in the Treaty. So because of this German idea and attempt to reverse the defeat of 1945, the term "end of the WW2 in 1990" seems to me a bit overstatement. We'll see...
Indeed. More Polish owned big businesses will grow and thrive. What Poland has already accomplished in the past three decades would never have been dreamed of in 1990.
@@jloki9259 three decades of deceipt
Last russian soldiers left in 1993, so you can say that IIWW lasted in Poland till 1993.
There is one very serious error in this movie. Poland was never a state of the Soviet Union. We were living in a country dependent on USRR, like other satellite countries of the East block, but we maintained some independence. This is why such movements like Solidarity appeared here and the fall of the Soviet block started here (not in Germany).
Ale nikogo to nie obchodzi. To nie o tym jest ten filmik. Odnoś się do meritum sprawy, a nie rozmieniaj swojej uwagi na drobne. Skup się, skoncentruj się lepiej, a będziesz mieć łatwiej w życiu. Trenuj swój umysł, żeby był ostry jak brzytwa.
@@Matt-rw9py ok brzytwo. Wiesz co to są szczegóły? wytrenuj sie zeby zrozumieć co to są szczegóły bo to one są ważne w życiu
@@nexor7809 No tak, będziemy analizować każdy nieistotny szczególik, a nie odnosić się do istoty sprawy. Taka właśnie zawsze jest dyskusja z Polakami - ja o niebie Ty o chlebie. Zawsze będziemy przegrywać bo jesteśmy mało precyzyjni i zbyt powolni w myśleniu i działaniu.
@@Matt-rw9py Jesli zignorujemy szczegoły ryzykujemy uproszczenie historii i pominięcie ważnych aspektow które mogą wpływać na naszą interpretację wydarzeń. Dlatego właśnie warto zwracac uwagę na te "drobne" rzeczy - to one składają się na pełny obraz i pozwalają nam lepiej zrozumieć zarówno przeszłość, jak i teraźniejszość. Bez precyzyjności która obejmuje dbałość o szczegóły nasze argumenty stają się mniej wiarygodne i bardziej podatne na błędy
A twój problem tez tkwi w typowym dla polski obwinianiu polaków ze coś robią zle i są gorsi bo nie zgadza sie to z twoją wizją
He clearly said: "satellite state of Soviet Union".
MILIONS OF LIVES! 6 milions in just WW2 alone ...
that's a common lie.
@@whocares6302 udowodnij 🤷♂️
The film presents Poland primarily through the example of Warsaw, portraying it as a symbol of the country's economic success as a whole. However, it is important to emphasize that many other Polish cities and regions have also experienced impressive development and prosperity. It would be worth including their stories in the next episode to present a more comprehensive picture of Poland.
Im from Chechnya, watching this, being happy for Poland. Hope poland will be rich one day.
Thank you for the video! There are some misconceptions explained in other comments, but you made amazing job putting it all together anyway and I admire you talking about Poland ❤️
I left Poland in 1983 when I was 8 years old and gruw up in 3 different western countrys... But 3 years ago I returnd to POLSKA... But I am living in Germany too because I am a Truck Driver 😊😊😊 brrrumm, brum, brrrum😂😂😂
Ciekawe jak kurwa wyjechałeś z Polski w wieku 8 lat w tamtych latach. Chyba po znajomościach.
Nie rozumiem - czy wróciłeś do Polski czy Niemiec , czy obecnie jesteś bezpaństwowcem ?
Za komuny nikt tak zwyczajnie nie mógł wyjechać z Polski , można było uciec przez tzw zieloną granicę z narażeniem życia bo strzelali do uciekinierów - wyjechać mogli szpiedzy i kolaboranci wykonać określone zadania a oficjalnie byli jako dyplomaci lub studenci
@@JarrowJR Hmmm... Nie bylo latwo...
@@MieczysawDerezinski Wrucilem... Ale zyje tez w Niemiec. Dlatego te niemieckie litery... Witam Wojciech
I believe a crucial factor for Polish economic success is its currency. Not having the Euro and controlling its own currency allows Poland to adjust its exchange rate based on the needs of its own economy to attract FDI. The Euro is the reason why the Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Greek economies are so damaged, as they cannot control their own exchange rate to adjust to their economic needs, like the Italians did with the Lira in the 20th century. Hopefully Poland can keep its currency and keep up the good growth in the next decades.
Wrong. Poland has been developing without interruption since 1992, when the euro did not yet exist. Your problem is not the euro, but the lack of difficult and painful reforms. Poland had to introduce such reforms 30 years ago and is reaping the benefits. I would even say that the introduction of the euro could significantly accelerate economic growth in Poland.
@KunDziki What are the EU institutions? A parliament in which there are Poles? A Commission with a Polish Commissioner with dozens if not hundreds of Polish officials? The Court of Justice of the EU in which there are Polish judges? It was Polish poiticians who co-created the Green Deal with which they are now scaring the Poles. The European Union is us. Not the Martians from Brussels.
Estonia and lithuania were almost as rich as pole 30years ago, they use the euro and they have a gdp per capita ppa a bit higher than polish today, it's not about the currency it's more a catch up from former soviet influence countries, and this catch up is more or less faster depending on the political stability and the efficience of their economics policies
@@g.peters244 Every centralized institutions has its flaws, there is a reason why the richest and best to live countries on earth are not very big. Generally big countries are pretty bad to live outside of wartime.
Decentralization is power and it doesn't matter if there are Poles in Parliament or not, its about how far from controllers (voters) are those who make decisions.
The further the distance between controlling force and decisionmakers the worse it is.
Yes yes course , good day❤
My parents fled Poland to Italy (later went to Canada cause my mom was an illegal immigrate) in the 1980s for a better life for themselves. They tell me stories of how poor and horrible life was for them growing up during Soviet controlled Poland. Even though I was born and raised in Canada, I am proud for my Polish heritage
Poor because there is Russia. Rich because there is no Russia. Easy
Then explain to me why Russia have similar GDP per capita like Poland?
@@play_boy7543Firstly Russian gdp per capita is lower. Secondly it’s actually amazing since Russia has all those natural resources and exploited its colonial empire in Europe until 1990s. And yet an average salary in Poland is 3 times an average salary in Russia.😂😂😂
@@kroolis77 How can salary be 3x lower when gdp per capita is lower just about 15% in Russia,and if we count gdp ppp there is even smaller gap,so no standard in Russia is same like in Poland
@@kroolis77 I just checked your fake data about salary in Russia,there is about 15k us dollar a year income in russia,in poland it is about 23k,but when we count inflation and cost of living via gdp ppp,we can see that real standard is the same
@@play_boy7543 you didn’t mention ppp in your original comment. Only gdp so you lied and I was right. PPP is subjective and imprecise. Especially since Russian inflation figures are … unreliable. Their central bank interest rate is at 16% yet inflation is supposedly at single digits? How does that work exactly?
Poland was a relatively rich country for centuries, and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was a European superpower, competing with Russia, Turkey and Sweden. In mid 1930s, Poland was on the same level of development as Spain - in terms of GDP , infrastructure etc.
Poland was never part of soviet union.
@@BluestoryKamil Bruh. Learn some english before commenting
Ja tez nie. W orginale napisalem ze Polska nigdy nie byla czescia zwiazku radzieckiego. Chyba zgadasz sie z tym faktem? Pozdrawiam
@@matti2357 Sorry i must have mixed up something
I wish Poland all the best. Just came back from a visit to Krakow and Wroclaw. What great cities. The people there were friendly and helpful to us strictly English speakers. It's a county worth a visit. Happy to hear things are improving for them.
3:49 poland, czhecia, east germany, romania and bulgaria were all part of warsaw pact not directly part of the ussr, also yugoslavia wasnt part of the warsaw pact and was mostly independant even though it was communist
czechoslovakia
Middle income trap and foreign ownership of key industries is indeed an issue. But Poland's possible ticket in the big leagues is its IT industry with many experts in AI.
Middle income trap is a joke theory, it doesnt even exist. How many big companies has Iceland or Liechtenstein?
It doesn't matter if country has "its own" companies or they are foreign, ask Ireland.
How can an already high income country be caught in the middle income trap?
That is not a ticket. This make us still dependent on whether foreign companies will hire us. What Poland needs at this point is to start building it's own strong global companies.
I could see the growth and the generalized positive feeling of the Poles when visiting Krakow (2023) and Gdansk (2024). They have got HOPE and COURAGE back on track. Hope that they make it and make it last! Love.
The projections of Poland being wealthier than the UK in 2030, while widely reported, are inaccurate. It’s very unlikely that will be the case in terms of PPP. What can be said though, is that there is much to learn from the Poles. They’re doing a great job at helping their citizens live more prosperous lives.
i think it’s very likely the UK is poorer every day while Poland keeps getting richer
Correct. The City of London = Banksters Central - is not going anywhere for any reason
It’s the GDP per capita PPP that Poland is set to overtake UK by 2030. This was reported by World Bank.
Wealthier definetly not, since wealth is accumulated across many generations and UK didn't have communism, UK was not that badly destroyed by 2nd world war and even before war they were far richer, so average Briton will be still a lot of wealthier than average Pole, its about purchasing power of a single salary and yes probly around 2030 purchasing power of salary in Poland will be higher than in UK, since UK did some really stupid moves, first leaving EU and then refusing to be part of single market.
Yes ok Good Day. 👍♥️ From Poland
Poland was never part of the soviet union. It was a satelite state, but not a part of the soviet union. Also our military spending is not a good thing. What is the limit? Are we gonna spend 6% on military next? What about our other problems?? This is ridiculous.
Poland has become a highly appreciated factory for videogames also
Poland was not rapidly defeated in 1939, as you claim in the video. The Polish campaign lasted for 5 weeks, just a week shorter that the Battle of France and you need to remember that on 17 September 1939 Poland was attacked by Soviet Union from the East, but for that Poland would had defended itself for much, much longer than it actually did.
And Poland existed only for 20 years and was 10 years after war with Bolsheviks... Plus was made from three different parts after partitions, where even railway tracks had different width.
After 6 days, capital Warsaw was encircled, so ye theoreticly Poles were defending on some minor and not important areas, but majority and most important parts of the country were taken by Germans within few days.
Jakie pięć tygodni... czytasz nie te książki, co trzeba. Kampania wrześniowa była przegrana już po 3 dniach. Później tylko nieskładne wycofywanie się, bitwa nad Bzurą, kilka potyczek miejscowo. Przestań mitologizować naszą największą militarną porażkę w dziejach. Zostaliśmy rozjechani niesamowicie.
And war at polish soil didnt stop even for a day until day of victory. There is only one country which fought against Germany from very first day till very last- Poland.
The Polish campaign lasted 18 days. Afterwars only isolated battles and sieges continued or occured, being definitely doomed.
As a proud Polish-American, i implore of Poland's young adults: Have more -- MANY more -- Polish babies! The Polish birthrate is far below replacement level and represents the largest threat to Poland's long-term continued growth & prosperity. Poland -- and the world -- needs more Polish babies.
Viva Polska! 🇵🇱
May be too late. Immigration may be necessary and may be possible at the pace of current progress and current low unemployment rates. Hopefully the immigrants will be chosen wisely so they can build prosperity like in the US.
nie interesuj się problemami innych ludzi i nie pouczaj ich jak mają żyć zagraniczny głupcze
Well done Poland ❤❤🎉
Poland was never part of the Soviet Union. was a member of the Warsaw Pact and was dependent on the communist authorities of the USSR. Poland was poor because the Polish economy was drained by the USSR.
It is not correct to say that Poland is the only East European country which does not have oligarchs. For example, Czech republic and Slovenia had a very fair process of privatization which led to smaller social differences than in most other ex-communist countries.
Poland is central not eastern Europe.
Poland was not poor for centuries!Also quality of life in comusnitic Poland was not poor at all!We didn't have much but we had everything we needed and we were happy!
The Soviet Union did not collapse in 1989. It collapsed in late 1991, two years after Poland and the rest of the Eastern European satellite states had terminated communist rule.
But Lech Walesa and the Gdansk shipyards were big news globally in 1981.
Poland was not part of the soviet union
3:42 „become a SATELITE state of Soviet Union”.
Javier Milei ought to consider having some Polish talent in his circle of advisors.
Direct experience and a thorough understanding of Poland's economic transformation could be highly useful.
Something that worked in PL not nessesarly will work anywhere else. It's just too complex. We have rich freind on our borders, who helped us growth (trade) . Not mentioning extremly motivated people who want work very hard to escape poverty. Southern Countries have more relax way of living, mostly due to heat waves. Therfore it's not copy/pastę situation.
@@baassiia I forget where I said "Poland is identical to Argentina. No significant difference. I recommend mindlessly copying everything it did." Help me out here.
The moment Milei gets in contact with Korwin-Mikke, sh*t will hit the fan so f*cking hard. One can only imagine...
Poland is successful because of EU
Poland was not a "Soviet State" as it wans't a part of the USSR!! Simple fact easy to check!
It was still under Soviet government
@@misiosz1983 No it wasn't lol, USSR was under Soviet government, Poland was under Polish government
@@PanPlankton but polish goverment was under soviet goverment
Kids in Poland all had to learn the Russian language.
Polish economical reform started actually in late 80s before the communist state collapsed, thanks to former minister of economy and industry Mieczyslaw Wilczek. He made an significant piece of progress by writing the most laisses-faire trade policy ever existed in Poland. It was much helpful especially for farmers and small businesses.
Poland is such a perfect example to follow, i have great respect and admiration for this country
The story being told is much more complex. The free market was introduced in Poland by the last communist government (the so-called ‘Wilczek Act’) a year before Balcerowicz.
Meanwhile, most people in Popand happen to continuously complain about their country. Our economy is growing and what's most important - we live in a very safe country in comparison with western Europe. I wish people would appreciate that
Yesterday I found out, that American minimum wage is about the same as Polish one. It is 7.25 USD per hour, and Polish is 28.10 PLN (~7.17 USD). But in Poland, prices and cost of living is much, much lower. This literally blew my mind. Our poorest live better lives than American poorest. You can easily rent an apartment at minimal wage - it will take half of your pay, and it will be very small apartment of course, but it i possible. I would never imagined how far my country will develop. As I millennial, I remember well how poor we were.
In USA around 1% of people are earning minimum wage, in Poland its about 20%, so that's a little bit of difference.
Minimum wage in USA is compared to their economy way too low and in Poland it is a bit too high.
USA could easly have like 15$ minimum wage.
@@hehenoelo4858 In USA about 5%, but up to 25% in some counties. Remember that USA is like a country within a country. I know it's still hard to compare US to Poland, but my point is we made all that in 30 years. While in the meantime, US practically got stuck, and many Americans even says that living quality is on a downfall and got much worse since 90s and 80s. Today many people cannot afford rent with just a single wage, I heard that NYC Bus driver earns 80% of a rent. Warsaw bus driver earns 8k PLN and rent in Warsaw is about 3k. So he has 5k left for living. In small town where I live, rent is 1500PLN so even people on minimal wage can afford that.
@@hehenoelo4858 you do realise that america has bigger wealth gap than russia right? all this gdp per capita in america is very inaccurate as most of that per capita goes to the top 5% basically
on the other hand poland is very equal. Its more equal than even germany in terms of wealth distribution. If you look at the nordic countries they all have great distribution of wealth as well. America is the opposite
@@Blido No, i quote you official data, in USA it's 1.3% of people who earn minimum wage. In Poland It is 25-30% of workers.
When it comes to rent prices, remember that in USA, people are thinking more about buying house rather than renting it.
In USA average square meter of apartment in city centre is around 3 300 $ while in Poland it is 3 900$, while average salary in Poland (after tax) is around 1 400$ versus 4 500$ in USA. So people in USA earn 3-times more than in Poland, while paying less to buy house.
@@Blido You don't know what you are talking about. US didn't increase their minimum wage for YEARS. That doesn't mean that the wages didn't incerease. Imagine the next 20 years polish minimum wage would increase similary to the last 20 years, while the US one would stay the same. Does that mean Poland would be twice as welathy? Ofc no, because the US does not rely on the minimum wage.
..."poor for centuries..." WTF man? Did you even read the history of Poland on Wikipedia at least?? We had some downfalls and ups, but not for centuries.. for God's sake!
Saying that localization between Germany and Russia cost Poland thousands of lives is understatement. WW2 alone killed millions of Poles.
Countless people were annihilated during various occupations or enslaved and sent to Syberia for near certain death in work camps.
Well done Poland, your hard work has paid off. God bless
Important to note even though the war started with invasion on Poland, and the country suffered the most damage, we never received any war reparations and Russia made us refuse to receive the US help that other European countries got.
Good movie, thank you. Prof. Leszek Balcerowicz was my boss in Union of Freedom in Poland 1995-1997. Respect for this genius.
Poland was occupied by the Soviets. Communism was never a choice of the Polish people. The Western world sold devasted after II world war Poland to Stalin's hand. Poland after the war was too weak to say no and keep fighting for freedom
what do you know? the last Polish partisan soldier who fought the soviets died in 1963
Many people wrongly think that Poland has had nothing but a sad history.
Poland is among the oldest states in Europe - right there with England, France and Spain. It is much older than Germany and Russia. Poland was once the largest state encompassed entirely in Europe (about twice the size of France). It was a major power and had it's golden age in 15th and 16th Centuries. It took three major powers (Russian Empire, the Prussian Empire and the Austro Hungarian Empire) to overwhelm her and partition the country between themselves effectively wiping Poland off the map in the late 18th Century. This is the beginning of Poland's sad modern times.
Poland was finally restored after WWI. Amazingly, the infant nation was able to defeat the Russian Soviets who attempted to invade Western Europe through defeated Germany after WWI. Poland's freedom was short lived and a mere 20 years later the Nazi's invaded.
Contrary to myth - Poland fought valiantly against the Nazi's and it took the Germans a month to conquer the country. Compare that to France - which had the largest standing army in the world and fell to the Nazi's in less time. Also, the Poles inflicted significant casualties on the Germans - including against the Luftwaffe. Moreover, hundreds of thousands of Poles fled to Western Europe to regroup. There they would fight alongside of the allies with the 4th largest number of Allied forces behind the Soviets, Americans, and English. Neither France nor any of the other conquered European states produced an army - only Poland.
Poland was again restrained when it became a vassal state of the Soviet Union. This video implies that Poland merely got its freedom from the Soviets along with the other Warsaw Pact countries when the Soviet Union fell. In fact, it was Poland and its Solidarity movement that precipitated the fall of the Soviet Union.
All of the current stunning advancements made by Poland has occurred since it broke from the Soviet orbit in 1990 - a mere 34 years ago. I often wonder what Poland would have become had she not been partitioned in 1795 and remained free for all of those years.
Thousands? lol
Right?
That's more offensive than claiming Poland to be a soviet state. Milions of lives, oh! what an oversight, clumsy me.
Poland was not part of the USSR. Many westerners seem to mix up the USSR with the whole of Eastern Bloc. While USSR was a state, eastern bloc was not. It was just a collection of formally independent states which were under the influence of Moscow, shared the socialist-communist ideology and in many cases were part of the Warsaw military pact. But were not part of the USSR. I know it might be little confusing because the USSR was also composed of various republics who after the fall of communism became independent states (e.g. Lithuania, Latvia etc.).
But imagine it like that: there was also the Western bloc, countries like West Germany and UK and most powerful of them USA, but you would not call West Germany part of USA. It was just under influence of USA and was having US military bases (like the famous Ramstein base) on its soil, but was an independent state.
❤Poland from Lithuania
Soviet Union collapsing in 1989?! May want to fact check. Even a referendum in March 1991 stated that most states wanted the USSR to remain- which it would until December of that year.
Americans are confused since poland got out of communism in 1989 being the first country that did so
unofficial it collapsed 1989 , you are not correwct if you say* most states wanted to stay* poor region wanted to stay in the ussr because thgey got alot money from ussr
Poland was never part of the Soviet Union
it was vasall , russia still controlled it
@@naapsuvaimne740 all of the european communist countries besides Jugoslavia were satelite states. But still sovereign and not part of the USSR.
@@JannSeb thats true, russia controlled all of them
@@JannSeb Soviet tanks in Hungary and Czechoslovakia put that myth to bed.
@@naapsuvaimne740 you do not know what you say
I’m so proud to be Polish 🇵🇱. Throughout history, we have faced many struggles. Our geopolitical location hasn’t made things easier. Having visited many countries around the world, the more I travel, the more I am convinced that Poland is a safe, beautiful, and clean place to live. You are more than welcome to visit our country and see for yourself if what I’m saying is true 🙃
Poland was never a part of the soviet union. Correct the video if possible please. It is offensive.
Free speech. It doesn't matter if it's offensive. The comment section is to correct that. You did that very good.
Free speech Has nothing to do with talking bullshits. Facts are not matter of opiniom. You can easy research what is true and what is not.
3:42 „become a SATELITE state of Soviet Union”.
Correct it and say Poland was a fiefdom of Russia after the WWII.
TV sets and refrigirators were common
in Poland since the 60's.
false...
@@giovannip8600 I used them then.
And one of the first TV transmitions
in Europe beafore 2WW was in
Warsaw.
@@piotr.leniec-lincow5209 👍👍👍👍, nontheless statistics don't change
@@giovannip8600 there is the truth,
there is the lie and there is the.....
statistics.
@@piotr.leniec-lincow5209 hahaha, yeah, they weren't commonplace in households tho, can't deny that
One minute in and there are already rookie mistakes.
1. 0:04 Poland was not a part of the USSR
2. 0:12 Europe did not look like that pre-1945
3. 0:20 Millions, not thousands of lives.
major mistakes, sure
Even that in general it's a good message and logic chain, thee are some false affirmation like Poland was the poorest in Europe - it wasn't: as Albania, Bulgaria, Romania or even Yugoslavia & Hungary was lagging behind
there was a pint where PL was 146 in the world behind Gabon and poorest in Europe by gdp i capita only for a moment thou
Only Albania was poorer than Poland in the late 80s.
Not to mention that Poland saved Europe a few times hundreds of years ago, we all would pray 5 times a day on our knees if not Poland and probably still be in iron age...
wait until 2028 :)
Poland, a part of the Soviet Union ? NEVER !!!
But he never say that
because they are brave amazing fantastic people, hard workers and warm souls
This map is incorrect. Poland has never been a part of USSR. You should change it as fast as you can
THANK YOU 🇵🇱 FOR BEING HERE AND FOR BEING WITH YOU. THANK YOU FOR MY FAMILY, FOR THE STORY AND FOR EVERY BREATH. THANK YOU 🇵🇱 FOR NOT ABANDONING ME.
AND I THANK YOU FOR YOUR FAITH AND FOR EVERY DROP OF BLOOD SPILLED, FOR OUR BLESSED MOTHER. FOR MARY, QUEEN OF POLAND!
GOD! HONOUR! HOMELAND!
Major Advantages and Strengths of Poland Compared to the Rest of Europe
1. Own currency and large reserves of USD, EUR, and significant reserves of gold and silver:
Poland has retained its national currency, the zloty, providing flexibility in monetary policy. Additionally, Poland holds substantial reserves in US dollars, euros, as well as in gold and silver. These reserves strengthen the country's financial stability and protect it against global market fluctuations.
2. Natural resource deposits:
Poland is one of the leading producers of copper, gold, and silver globally. It also has significant coal reserves, which constitute a major part of its energy mix, along with smaller but notable reserves of gas and oil. The historical importance of the mining industry in Poland underscores the country's role as a key player in the global raw materials sector.
3. Favorable climate and water conditions:
The Central Polish Lowlands, characterized by a temperate climate and favorable water conditions, are a significant asset for Poland. In the face of rising temperatures across Europe, Poland and Germany are the only countries with stable climatic conditions conducive to agriculture and industry. This gives Poland an advantage in the context of climate change.
4. Strong agricultural and horticultural traditions:
Poland has a long history as an agricultural and horticultural country. Despite bureaucratic constraints from the European Union, Polish agriculture has the potential to feed not only the country but also a significant part of Europe. Poland is the leading producer of apples in the EU and also a major producer of mushrooms, blueberries, currants, plums, and pears, highlighting its agricultural potential.
5. Specialization in key industrial sectors:
Poles are highly specialized in various industrial sectors such as road transport, furniture production, household appliances, fertilizers, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, IT, as well as heavy and chemical industries. This industrial diversification makes the Polish economy flexible and competitive in the global market.
6. Growing role of seaports:
Polish seaports, particularly Gdańsk, play an increasingly significant role in European maritime transport. Gdańsk, returning to its historical prominence, is becoming a crucial logistics hub supplying a large part of Europe. The dynamic development of seaports strengthens Poland's position on the economic map of the continent.
7. Military history and national spirit:
Poles have a long history as a nation of warriors, which has shaped their national identity. For centuries, Poland has fought wars during which its enemies, such as Prussia, Austria-Hungary, and Tsarist Russia, disappeared from the pages of history. The historical military strength and strategic position have made Poland a key player in Europe, attracting settlers from the West.
Interesting article. Would love to see another one on Australia.
You did mistake you did draw Soviet Union own Poland at start
Haha, yes, fortunately later it was underlined Poland was a satelite state and not a part of it, but already in the comments Poles went to war armed with words about it :D It's the worst insult imaginable to us after all :D
Well Poland was free nasion at there
A good overall summary, kudos from Poland.
Nice that you listed all crucial factors behind the rise of Polish economy after 1989:
- Balcerowicz plan (hated by ~70-80% of population, up until now)
- relatively low level of oligarchy and mafia-run economy (much to talk about...)
- hunger for success + common Polish industriousness + relatively young society
- low starting point, lots of low-hanging fruits
- foreign investments
- EU & NATO membership, structural funds, anchor to western institutions
I love my country and I would die for it. Remember this.
Poland is one of my favourite places on earth and I could move there in a heartbeat- I already do a good deal of work there. But to call a country of 50 million a superpower is a reach.
The current super power has 2 large oceans warm water and 2 neighbours non of whom could over dare call itself an empire or a state with mighty millitary record. Canadians fighting bravely for Britain doesn't count for that. Sure brave and admirable to fight for the family but still. Soviet empire was left alone in Europe as the sole standing empire after ww2. It had giant population and an army so big that nothing in Europe could go for 1 on 1. The British empire at its peak ruled the waves and that is cheapest form of transport so it rich as heck plus an island so nobody can attack it. Now let's forget about NATO and sanctions. If Russia tommorow attacks Poland then where would Poland get the money to fight it? Hand outs ofcourse. If Germany in 6 years decided to at it again then where is Poland getting the money to fight that war? This is why I agree it's ridiculous to think of Poland as a future superpower.
To be a significant power, you need population. And no, immigration wouldn't help, because the population also needs to be loyal and with common interests.
What are you talking about? The US was built on immigration and remains the world's only superpower. They clearly did something right.
I gotta hate these donkeys for mentioning " super power" and Poland in same sentence. It does not add up at all. The current super power has well over 300m citizens while bordering nobodies since day 1 of its existence, the Soviet super power had been the only 1 left standing in Europe after ww2 and had managed to rule over vastly more people than Poland would have even if this century is a golden century for Poland. It doesn't even have resources worth mentioning. Them Russians loaded with important shit in ground, Americans been top tier oil sellers for long long time, 1 of the very few actual winner of either world war (France didn't win shit worth a damn to justify it's expense in either world war if we are real here even through it's Ottoman loot from aftermath of ww1 may have paid of very handsomely if they didn't lose ww2 like that. To clarify ww1 all the shit from fighting on western front was on their soil. Germany proper was probably fine as hell if we discount air bombing to whatever degree it may be and naval blockade by Britain. China today while not a true millitary super power is an economic 1. Let be real it's population is way more than USA today and Soviet Union with its sphere of influence.
Poland can perhaps be a very successful state. It's just that these dorks on yt should stop thinking about it's possible super power future. By 2030 it may have better average pay than that of UK. After all 1 can double UK economy and it won't be near super power level. USA far ahead and China might go ahead of it too if it plays it's cards right. So Poland with it's population is not destined for such status. It's geography is another problem. The British empire as a super power was an undisputable at sea and being an island makes it secure from outside invasion. It was the largest empire in history after all. USA is as big as Europe maybe or more and obviously it's loaded with resources + planty of space to continue population growth. China doesn't need more population growth but to become a country of younger people because they are gonna have insane quantity of pensioners in future. That group alone is far far far more numerous than Polish population. Russia on the decline is over 3 times the people with dozens of millions of vassal state people here and there. This is while all the former great enemies of Russia are unified to be protected by an outside power from Russia. Imagine something changes and they get their shit together. Ability to increase population is unholy in scale. They can triple their population and under best conditions go ahead of that. When is Poland going to be 60m people? U mention immigration. The skilled and worthy labour force had been leaving the country for a while. That state has 0 chance of becoming a super power. A marriage with Germany or something of that sort might help but they gonna be poor in oil resources together. Superpower in somebody's dreams again.
It makes me very happy that Poland and a lot of other Eastern European countries were able to escape from Russia's influence in 1989. I'm also glad that American economic ideas have helped the area. I am proud of both my Polish ancestors and the country they adopted, the United States.
"Poland was poor for centuries" We were poor for 150 years because of aggressors.
In fact Poland was leading force in Europe for centuries.
With an impoverished economy for centuries, we only caught up with Western Europe in the Middle Ages. After great geographical discoveries and cruel policies against peasants and townsfolk, supported by the nobility, we had fallen behind.
Poor Polish/ Lithuanian empire. Everybody did it wrong. Oh man spare me the propaganda. It literally did some shit to others as well.
@@stevekook-xw3is what can You expect in today's world? It is a "who is the biggest victim" contest. 😁
Im a polish citizen living in uk for 18 years. End of this year im moving back to poland. I feel much more safer there than here in UK. Have been working for 10 years in London then moved to Manchester. At the moment it is feeling more safe there than in uk even when russia is so close. When i came to UK in 2006 it was different. Now it has changed too much.
Poland still need to develop big companies, but I would not worry about savings rate. Plenty of foreign investors would invest in a promising company.
The world don’t need more big soul eating companies. We need innovative and creative solutions in an harmonious way of integrating all important aspects of life. We don’t need industrial bullshit that’s not the future
Finnland is a good example*
Recent official data revealed that NET EU funds inflow to Poland reached 160 billion euro within 20 years. So it makes on average 8 billion euro per year. Considering that 90 % (I do jot recall exactly) went back to so called "old"😅 Europe countries, this EU fund bonanza needs to be viewed without bias.
It is 85 % not 90 %
Love Poland from Sweden
According to wikipedia, average net income, per month: 1343 EUR. According to Numbeo, cost of living without rent: 660 EUR, single bedroom apt rent: 650 EUR. 1343-660-650=33 EUR. How's that rich if you have only 30 euro after spending on basic needs?
Most Poles (close to 90 per cent) do not rent but own their houses/apartments so they spend considerably less on housing than people in western Europe. Check home ownership by country at Wikipedia.
Numbeo is full of shit and has nothing to do with reality
@@MK-lm6hb in this case, one pays one's mortgage instead of rent for many years and still left with 30 euros after basic necessities. Unless he/she inherited his/her home.
@@Murmilone Nowadays, you can make similar calculations about any developed country. Housing in any European country, America or Australia is prohibitively expensive. In Australia, where I live, it takes more than 30 years to pay off a mortgage. Usually, a couple's one salary is spent on housing and the other salary on other needs. A single wage earner is unlikely to qualify for a mortgage.
@@Murmilone They OWN their houses, especially in villages and small towns. To have a mortgage in Poland is not as common as in English-speaking countries.
As an spnaiard I envy Poland. I am currently working for a nuclear project in Poland while politicians plan to shut down the existing ones here. I have multiple friends who have enjoyed their erasmus exchange program in Poland and they all agree on thst property is on the rise at can be felt in the mentality and life projects of its citizens as well as the parity buy power.
A lot of money from the EU as well. Not to diminish their accomplishment, just to say that they were really smart at spending well those money, it wasn't a given.
After all they had lost because of the past it’s more than deserving to get the support from the EU. The EU would never support if they wouldn’t get it back double, and that’s already a fact. So hold your horses
@@Kaylyc Nobody gives you free money, and Poland was a net beneficiary for years. But again, that's my point. They were smart enough to invest it wisely putting up with whatever condition they had to pay to develop their economy.
@@LucaStanga-ww4pm EU funds are way overhyped, its not really about that EU funds but EU's single market, thats the most important thing.
And I think thats also what UK didnt understand, that even though they "paid" to EU more than they were taking, it was still worth to be part of EU to be part of single market that gives growth.
"Poland is on a brink to become a superpower" - are you mad?
At 4:48 where there is someone holding a large container of what looks like bread over their head you can see on the window of the store a SOLIDARITY poster. The struggle for independence and freedom had begun...
So much misinformation... And i see this growing trend also on other similar channels. They just cannot keep up the quality with present volumes.
Poland suffered a great deal under communism and socialism and knows quite well the kind of misery and depression that socialism brings. Therefore Poland has embraced capitalism at its core and prospered in the process. In the meantime western EU countries are becoming ever more socialist and as a result the standard of living is continuously dropping so it is a no wonder if Poland be more prosperous by 2030 than UK or Germany and generally speaking this apply to all former communist socialist states in Europe. West needs to wake up.
POLANDwas not part of ussr , only baltics and ukraine was part of ussr , and then nations from southeast russia
Why do You assume, that we were a poor nation throughout almost entire history? :D We were almost imperial-sized country once (Big Polish-Lithuanian union).
We were poor for last 200 years, when Germans, and Russians (mostly) pacted before us to completely annihilate Poland (and yet we had survived), but before that... man, we were nuts for most of our millenium of existence as a Poland. German emperor once been amazed by Polish power and treated us like true and seriously potent nation.
AND we were NOT a soviet state. It was communist country partnering with soviet union but we weren't directly dependent as soviet state. We had CHOOSE to transform to a Commonwealth (02-1989) before Soviet Union had fallen down (12-1991).
Transfer of funds from European Union was 1-2% of Polands GDP per year for 20 years. Flood of funds🤣
Ye its always funny when somebody says how much money Poland received from EU and nobody says that Poland received less money in 20 years combined from EU funds than Russia received in 1 year from selling their gas and oil to EU.
It’s 2024 and we actually still subsidize coal mining, even thought coal companies are listed and at least partially privately owned. The industry is and has been inefficient for many years now and the quality of their product is subpar. We actually import coal, but every single ruling party is giving in to coal mining business and unions. The former government actually chose to return to the state-owned conglomerates i.a. in the energy sector. We see that some private owned mines are undergoing a transition, with views on quitting fossil mining in the future to simply secure their business topline - not the same for state capital entities because hey, if investors leave they’ll turn to the state for money.
This is no longer valid as new government actively works towards aborting all the development efforts and recent progress in the name of germany. We have entered at least 4 years period of no progress or regress and delaying investments even more.
True😢
@mrget1293@ BS
I'm from Poland and "Poland is on the brink of becoming a superpower" is the most funny thing I heard in last days ;d And no, we don't have a largest army in EU. In fact, we have fewer tanks now than we had in 40s in WW2 (where Poland didn't even existed), poor soldiers traning and bad equipment. The last problems on the Belarus border show how bad polish army is, three soldiers even got charges after firing warning shoots in the air and a soldier died (was punched with a knife on a stick).
There are many other sources that say Poland will become an European superpower and the army will be the largest in Europe by the 2030’s. You can look this up.
@@lesfleurs9781Its just propaganda becuase they are trying to make polish society comfortable with potentially going to war with russia.
If you talk to polish soldiers they will tell you that military warehauses lack basic equipement like helmets, uniforms, boots etc
Strongest militaries in europe are UK and France
they dont need even 1 tank, they have nuclear weapons😂
@@lesfleurs9781The current super power got 340m people if I'm right, potential 1 has well over a billion, former Soviet super power ( at time of becoming super power had just won spoils of war that are 8 countries and would be paying off in coming decades after ww2 since they all got shit economies at end of it and ruins in some. Basically Soviet empire had population that might make Poland feel as crowded as Gaza. Imagine Poland with over 4 times as many people and imagine how populated the Soviet sphere of influence was. The British empire became impenetrable for land invasion due to it's navy and was largest in history. They all got much much more resources, human capital and land. Poland cannot afford a superpower's army any time soon. The size of a super power's army in another matter. Poland is not gonna own any sea around itself and it's safe as hell to claim that it can easily be attacked by land. Thousands of km or miles of land connection with 7 or so other countries.