Polish Train: Revisited
Ξ February 4th, 2006 | → 1 Comments | ∇ That's Life |
I was quite taken aback when a Polish friend of mine who was born and raised in Poland and who lives there now, emailed me to thank me for the “First Class Ticket in Poland” post. I don’t write all that follows here to toot my own horn, but rather to re-iterate the whole idea that though the military conquest part of WWII was impressive, there was more to it that what was going on with the Soldiers.
Let’s face it; Hitler would have considered Poland one of the first of a number of stepping stones towards the final solution. The allies would have considered it one of the final steps to finally defeating the Nazis. As far as the fight itself goes, there would have been allies who felt as though they were fighting someone else’s war. There would have been people who were fighting because if they got the job done, they would earn the right to go home to their families. With so much nasty stuff going on, it would have been hard to keep mindful of the innocent that suffered during those years.
Do you realize how devastating WWII was statistically? Do you know who suffered the most total deaths, Military and Civilian together? No, not Poland, but the USSR with over 20.5 million dead. 13.6 million of those were military, the rest were civilian. This was about 10.5% of the total population of that country before the war. Seems like a lot hey? Poland lost more that any country in that almost 20% of her population was killed during WWII. 17.2% is the real number. This is the highest percentage of deaths for any country involved in WWII. That works out to over 6.1 million. Get this. Only 123 000 of those were military casualties. The other 6 000 000 were civilian. *
Imagine 17% of all the people you know, gone over a 6 year period give or take.
What’s my point? A country can’t take a blow that devastating without feeling it for generations. My Polish friend has proven this to me. As I said at the beginning of this entry, I was surprised to hear a response quite like this. I didn’t really thing what those thoughts could mean to a person who actually lives there in Poland. I am flattered and pleased to have evoked such a response.
My Polish friend says this:
“Yesterday I’ve read only few lines [of First Class Ticket in Poland] and I had this strange feeling …this feeling of joy and honour to know you. I know it all sounds strange. I just wanted to tell you that. …I wanted to tell you, for a long time there was this feeling of anger that Poland has always been occupied. Destroyed time after time… Why those things happen to us? Now when I read your thoughts, I feel such relief that not everything is forgotten. Thank you so much for that. First class ticket to Poland gave me something special. I would never think that it is this strong in me but I keep crying so probably it is. Anthony, I feel much better now but actually I don’t know why…. The thing I know is that I am honoured to be your friend and just wanted you to know how much you gave me today.”
You can see why I might feel flattered and pleased. The truth is that I’m more than pleased. I’m honoured and delighted to have written something that really meant something to someone. But more importantly, can you see why it’s so important that we consider things like WWII at a deeper level than just who fought who and all the heroic details of battle.
What about things in our own back yard? You might not have noticed, but there are people hurting here in North America too form things that happen years and years ago. We shouldn’t forget to consider those people either.
The noble, yet unsavory deed of liberating Europe may have been done 60 years ago, but there is still much from that time that is still alive and well across Europe. The damage done 60 years ago lasts in the men who fought in the war. They have the solace of knowing that they did a thing that needed to be done and they succeeded. The damage also lasts in the hearts of the peoples who were oppressed during those years. For them it reaches beyond the lives that were directly involved. Their children’s children will know something of the injustice that was done. We must remember that.
So why this post? I’m not trying to say, “Aren’t I wonderful for writing something SO great?” I just wanted to drive home my point. I also wanted to mention that I have considered blogging for quite some time. I never actually did it because I just couldn’t figure out who would be the least bit interested in my thoughts. My Polish friend’s response has confirmed for me that this blog concept actually has some merit after all. I encourage you all to try it. You never know who might be reading and be profoundly influenced by what you’ve written.
Blessings everyone.
And a big hug to my favorite Polish person! Thanks for the heartfelt email, my friend. I’m so glad to have been able to offer you something so meaningful to you.
*Stats taken from http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/timeline/statistics.htm