Marsh marigold (Caltha palustris) is a lovely harbinger of spring. As its name suggests, marsh marigold grows in wet places such as marshes, ditches and woods in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. It grows wild throughout Poland, blooming from April through May and is commonly known as kaczeniec or knieć błotna. Kaczeńce.(Marsh marigold). 1908. Józef Chelmonski Muzeum Narodowa W Warszawie (National Museum in Warsaw). ← In his Dykcyjonarz roslinny (Dictionary of plants…) published in 1786, Polish naturalist Krzysztof Kluk calls it majowka błotna, describing its presence in muddy waters during the month of May. “...It grows in wet meadows. It flowers in April and May. The flowers and leaves are much liked by cattle and goats and, if young and tender, by sheep. If a cow eats it, her butter will be yellowish. The flower, boiled with alum, will give a yellow color to thread. The flower buds, while hard, if marinated can take the place of capers on the table...” In his Rośliny w wierzeniach i zwyczajach ludowych (Plants in folk beliefs and customs), professor Adam Fisher also mentions its use as a dye for pisanki (decorated Easter eggs) when used in conjunction with the bark of the apple tree. He adds that medicinally, in Zakopane in the Nowy Targ region, a deconcoction was made to cleanse puss-filled wounds that wouldn’t heal. The lovely yellow flowers and dark green, heart shaped leaves caught the eye of many Polish painters including Stanisław Wyspiański . Kaczeńce. Stanisław Wyspiański. 1895-6) Muzeum Narodowy w Kielcach (National Museum in Kielce) He collected floral motifs during his wanderings to the Wisła River, Bielany and the area of Panieńskie Skały around Kraków. He wrote of his preference for flowers and herbs in a letter to his friend Lucjana Rydel: "I pulled the most lush flower bushes from the meadows and rocks near Bielany and brought the whole bunch home (...) how I like to sit among these flowers. Hollyhocks, mullein, what wonderful plants, what soaring shapes, how lively they are, what talkative flowers." The artist kept a sketchbook and wanted to publish his own herbal titled "Studium roślin stylizowanych, a materiałów dla celów zdobnictwa dekoracyjnego (a "Study of stylized plants and materials for decorative purposes), but the work was never realized. His love of flowers can be found in his numerous portrait paintings or as part of his work on the interior decorations of the Franciscan church in Kraków. Vase with marsh marigolds. Alfons Karpinski. 1934 Marigolds in floodwaters on the Biebrza. Aleksander Żywiecki (1962- )
If you live in the northeastern United States, keep an eye out for marsh marigolds on your spring walks or hikes through boggy areas of woods or meadows. Lucky for us they are also fairly easy to grow and maintain in gardens if the soil remains consistently moist such as in problematic wet areas. While they bloom more profusely in full sun they can tolerate some shade. If you are an artist and so inclined, make sketch and begin your own herbal or take a photo to document how your garden grows. For more on the plants and flowers of Poland: Polish Herbs, Flowers and Folk Medicine. 2020. Hippocrene Books, Inc.
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One of the goals of Women’s History Month is to make visible the women who have been forgotten or largely ignored over the centuries. It’s about acknowledging the unrecognized trailblazers who changed the world. It’s about digging into archives to reclaim lost stories. It’s about bringing to light the impact of local, national and international events on the lives of everyday women. One such event was the occupation of Poland by Germany during World War II and the policy of forcing the civil population (often at gunpoint) to leave their home country and work for the Germans in order to keep their war economy operating at full speed. Polish women forced laborers digging peat in the area of Großmoor, Celle District, Lower Saxony Photo: AFPNP( Fundacja „Polsko-Niemieckie Pojednanie”) Visible on the woman in the back left of the photo is the required "P" patch on the left side of her apron which marked her as a Pole. Polish women had to leave their families, their children and husbands and sent to Germany to work in industry, agriculture and in various private sectors against their will and often throughout the entire war period. Many died there from tuberculosis, maltreatment and as "collateral damage" during the last days of the war. Graves of Polish forced laborers at the cemetery in Waltersdorf in the district of Saale-Holzland, in Thuringia, Germany that died in air raids in 1944. Photo: AFPNP(Fundacja "Polsko-Niemieckie Pojednanie.”). The young woman on the left is wearing the required "P" patch.
The end of the war brought liberation and freedom but many would never be the same again. May their story never be forgotten. Wearing the Letter "P" Polish Women as Forced Laborers in Nazi Germany 1939-1945. www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9pOnS399Vw The cross is the most recognizable symbol of Christianity. It is believed to have been used as a symbol of the faith as early as the 2nd century but it wasn’t until the 4th century that the suffering of Jesus Christ and His ultimate sacrifice became the predominant symbol of Christianity. Photo: Polish village between the world wars. Undetermined location. Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe. In Poland, the cross came to be called Boże Męki, or God’s Suffering. It was believed that only after erecting a cross did a village truly become Christian as embodied by the Polish proverb: A cross in the village, God in the village. The cross and the immediate area around it was seen as sacred and as such became a place of prayer. This was especially vital to small hamlets and villages that did not yet have a church of its own. The cross was a sign of God's presence and protection. Throughout the Catholic liturgical year, the inhabitants gathered to hold devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary in May or to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in June. It was also the place of importance on Holy Saturday, the last day of Holy Week. One of the most cherished of Polish Easter traditions, the blessing of foods on Holy Saturday, called święnconka, has been practiced in Poland since the Middle Ages. In the small hamlets and villages that did not have a church of its own, the people brought their food to the most sacred place in their community – the cross. There they waited for the priest to make his rounds through all of the rural communities and arrive to bless their food. They sometimes erected a table in front of the cross to place their baskets or bowls or simply sat or kneeled around the cross. After the blessing, they carried their food home in anticipation of its enjoyment the very next morning. 19th c. illustration by Jan Feliks Piwarski. Public domain. As can be seen by the photographs, the tall crosses were most often made of wood which gradually rotted at the base or deteriorated from the elements and had to be replaced. The cross was sacred, no matter that it was old and in disrepair. It was the tradition in Poland that if an old cross was removed, it would be burnt at a sacred time - on Holy Saturday night, the eve of keeping vigil for the Resurrection of the Lord. Blessing of fire in front of St. Mary's Church in Warsaw. Eugeniusz Małyszczycki. 1894. Wikimedia. In Roman Catholic practices, fire and water are blessed on this night. In the cities or towns that had one, this took place in front of the church. In rural communities that didn’t have a church it took place on cemetery grounds. The wood for the fire consisted of an old cross together with the dense and thorny branches of blackthorn (Prunus spinosa) because of legendary beliefs that its branches were used to make the crown of thorns worn by Jesus Christ at His crucifixion on Good Friday. It was also believed that the ashes from this Holy Saturday pyre would protect the fields from hail and lightning and ensure a good harvest so it was collected and scattered on the land during the first plowing of the fields. Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa). Photo by Dawid Bagiński. RadioMaryja.pl
It was only after this late-in-the day blessing of fire and water that the attending priest could sing “Alleluja” for the first time since the beginning of Lent. Christ’s suffering is over and the faithful exalt in joy at His resurrection. Sources: Gawełek, Franciszek. Wielkanoc. Drukarnia Literackiej w Krakowie 1911 Spirit of Place: The Roadside Shrines of Poland. Hippocrene Books. 2023 On March 8, 1940, during World War II, German Field Marshall Herman Göring released a series of laws, that required all the Polish people working in Germany as forced laborers to wear a visible patch with the letter P. The laws, known as the infamous March Decrees, dictated how the Poles were to be treated while in Germany. Enlargement of photo(see below) obtained by U.S. Army Signal Corps photographer T/4 J.A. Ryan. Photo from National Archives in College Park, Maryland. Those laws, translated and used by U.S Chief of Counsel at Nuremberg Trials, gave evidence of the discrimination against Poles. Here are some excerpts: “….it is also necessary to provide all Polish workers who enter the Reich with an outward mark of identification. From the very first day of his employment, there must be a guarantee that a Polish worker can be recognized as such by anybody and at any time. …. Poles must be made to understand, by restricting their liberty, that they have come to Germany for the sole purpose of working …. Appropriate measures, such as absolute compulsion to stay at the place of employment, more severe compulsory registration, introduction of a curfew, restrictions on the consumption of alcohol etc., must be taken at once … free use of public conveyances, such as railroads, omnibuses etc., is an inducement to Poles to leave their places of work without permission and to roam about uncontrolled in the Reich and it urgently needs to be stopped.” Five years later, in March 1945 U.S. Army Signal Corps photographer T/4 J. A. Ryan captured this photograph: Photo from the National Archives in College Park, Maryland. U.S. Army Signal Corps photographer T/4 J. A. Ryan.
The caption reads: "Liberated Polish workers, former prisoners of the Germans, were liberated when troops of the Infantry Division, 3rd U.S. Army entered the town of Kelberg, Germany. Using debris from bombed out houses to fill in holes in a road which was used constantly by American troops as they advanced to the front. " No other details were given but many thanks to the National Archives in College Park, Maryland which holds documents, both written and photographic, to support the facts about the experiences of Polish forced laborers in Germany during World War II. For more reading on the subject: Wearing the Latter P: Polish Women as Forced Laborers in Nazi Germany 1939-1945. Hippocrene Books, Inc. In January 1845, an article appeared in the newspaper Kurjer Warszawski about the newest fad of ice skating: “This winter ice skating is the newest fun activity. The London papers report that Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, enjoys skating practically every day and the young lords are following his example. Here in the pleasant Powązki in a place called Izabelin ( western portion of Warsaw) they have organized ice skating which is much enjoyed by Warsovians and much more so because in adjacent rooms you can get something to eat and drink. Seen skating at the Izabelin are not only men but women as well.” Thanks to carefully kept archives we can get a picture of how the people of Warsaw enjoyed one of the most popular wintertime entertainments in various parks throughout the city. Ice skating on the frozen Wisła as seen from the Praga district. Illustration from the periodical “Kłosy.” 1870 Outdoor ice skating on the waters of Łazienki Park. 1845-1889. Archiwum Państwowe w Warszawie Outdoor ice skating in Ujazdowski Park. Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe. 1845-1889 Ice skating continued to be a popular wintertime activity in Warsaw into the 20th century Ogród Saski 1927. Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe
Spreading out from the capital city, ice skating as a wintertime activity became popular throughout all of Poland. From a recreational activity it soon developed its own clubs, organizations, associations and eventually also into a competitive sport. January 27, 2024 is designated by the United Nations General Assembly as International Holocaust Remembrance Day to mark the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp and honor those that died there but also to recognize other groups who were victims of Nazism. Today, let us remember the thousands of Polish children who were racially profiled and stolen by the Nazi occupiers for the purpose of Germanization. Polish children being examined for purposes of Germanization. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Among the 12 major proceedings in the American military tribunals in Nuremberg after World War II was what was called the RuSHA Case. The defendants in the case were accused of criminal responsibility for the many branches of the Nazi racial program, including the kidnapping of "racially valuable" children for purposes of Germanizing them. In 1941, SS leader Heinrich Himmler noted:" I would consider it right if small children of Polish families who show especially good racial characteristics were apprehended and educated by us." Document NO-1404 TRIALS OF WAR CRIMINALS BEFORE THE NUERNBERG MILITARY TRIBUNALS UNDER CONTROL COUNCIL LAW NO. 10 Racial tests were carried out by "experts" who completed special tests noting the size and shape of head and main body parts, hair and eye color. Attached to the forms were photographs of the child in three poses. Medical and psychological tests were also carried out. Infants or small children found suitable were to be placed with German families or, if they were older, placed with the Hitlerjugend organization for boys and Bund Deutscher Mädel for girls, both Nazi party youth organizations. Relationships or contact with any remaining relatives was completely severed. Under threats and severe punishments, the children were forced to stop speaking Polish and learned German instead. They received German sounding names and were designated as German orphans from the Incorporated Eastern territories, also known as Warta or Warthegau region. This was a plausible tactic as there were many Germans living in this region who also spoke Polish. Photo of Barbara Gajzler .
One such case was that of Barbara (Basia) Gajzler, born in Gdynia on February 1, 1938, who became an orphan at the beginning of the occupation. Basia’s mother died of a heart attack in the first days of the war. Her father died during the September campaign. The rest of the family was displaced from Gdynia and Basia and her grandmother went to Łódź. In February 1942, the grandmother received a summons from the Jugendamt. She was supposed to come with her four-year-old granddaughter for tests. The commission became interested in Basia. The grandmother was told that Basia should be kept for further tests. The grandmother returned home alone. She never saw her granddaughter again during the course of the war. Basia Gajzler was taken to the orphanage in Łódź at Przędzalnia Street, and later sent to the Lebensborn center in Bad Polzin. Like many other children, Basia's name and surname were changed. She became Bärbel Geisler. At the center, caregivers addressed children only in German. If they tried to talk to each other in Polish, they were punished. In September 1942, Wilhelm Rossmann came to the center wanting to adopt a child and took the child to raise. After the war valiant efforts were made to locate Polish children scattered throughout Germany. In 1948, when Basia was 10 years old, she was repatriated to Poland. She found out that her real grandmother was waiting for her there and that her name was Barbara Gajzler, not Bärbel Rossmann. Bärbel had mastered German perfectly, and had completely forgotten any Polish words. (4) In 1948 Polish historian Roman Hrabar and his colleagues estimated the Nazi’s deported at least 200,000 boys and girls from Poland. Today’s historians bring the number to closer to 50,000, but the actual number is not known not only because the Germans changed the children’s identity at an age where the child could not remember who they were or where they came from, but they also falsified records or destroyed them at the end of the war. As a result, Poland lost thousands of its children, its future generation. The hope, strength and future of every country lies with its youth. The loss was catastrophic. The defendants in the case Greifelt, Creutz, Lorenz, Brueckner, Hofmann, and Schwalm were convicted of special responsibility for and participation in criminal conduct involving kidnaping of children of foreign nationality were given prison sentences. Hildebrandt was subsequently extradited to Poland to stand trial for separate charges where he was sentenced to death and executed The defendants Meyer, Hetling, Schwarzenberger, Huebner, Sollmann, Ebner, Tesch, and Viermetz were acquitted. On this International Holocaust Remembrance Day 2024, let us honor the Polish children who tragically lost their true identities forever. Cześć ich pamięci. Sources: Trials of War Criminals before the Nuerenberg Military Tribunals under Control council No. 10 (Oct. 1946–Apr. 1949). Document NO-1615. Prosecution Exhibit 407. Circular signed by Greifelt, 19 February, 1942, concerning the Germanization of Polish Children, Regulation No. 67/1 in: Trials of War Criminals before the Nuerenberg Military Tribunals under Control council No. 10 (Oct. 1946–Apr. 1949), Volume 4. Biuletyn Głównej Komisji badania Zbrodni Niemieckich w Polsce No. 5 1949 p.110 Malinowska, A. and Kaczorowska, K. Losy dzieci odebranych rodzinom przez niemieckie władze okupacyjnepodczas II wojny światowej. Internet:https://www.academia.edu/79495994/Zrabowane_Wykorzenione_Losy_dzieci_odebranych_rodzinom_przez_niemieckie_w%C5%82adze_okupacyjne_podczas_II_wojny_%C5%9Bwiatowej Documents regarding the RuSHA trial can be found in: Trials of War criminals before Nuerenberg Military Tribunals under Control council 10, supra, vol. IV, p.993-1027 December 4th is celebrated as the Feast of St. Barbara in Poland. She is the patron saint of stone, coal, metal and salt miners miners throughout the country. Celebration of Feast of St. Barbara in Wieliczka salt mine 2023. In the Wieliczka salt mine in Kraków, listed by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) as one of the most remarkable sites in the world, her feast day is celebrated by miners with a mass in the chapel of St. Kinga. Prayers to her begin with "St. Barbara, patroness of the brotherhood of miners, protect us on the ground and under the ground...". Her image can frequently be found near mines along the Carpathians where the extraction of metals and ore has been a tradition since the 15th century. Not as well known is the fact that St. Barbara is patron saint to fishermen and anyone who worked on rivers or plied the sea. In olden times in Mazowsze her image could be found on the masthead of boats and barges and no sailor or deckhand would leave land without her image on their person. During the reign of Augustus the II in the 17th century, in the church of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Warsaw, fishermen and their entire families attended masses in the morning and evening of her feast day and brought fish that was to be distributed to the poor. Because of her close association with water her image also appears in numerous churches and roadside chapels and shrines in the Pomorze (Pomerania) district along the Baltic Sea coast. In church statues, roadside shrines and paintings, St. Barbara may be depicted in a variety of ways; carrying the sacramental cup and host; a tower, in which she was confined before her beheading; a sword, the instrument of her death and holding a green palm. This roadside shrine, established at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries and located on the road from Czarnej Dunajec to Nowy Targ, depicts St. Barbara holding a chalice and host, which according to legend an angel was to have brought her communion while confined to the tower; a sword that was used to behead her for refusing to deny her faith; and the tower of her imprisonment behind her. Excerpted from Spirit of Place: The Roadside Shrines of Poland. Hippocrene Books, Inc. Photo of miners at Wieliczka from https://www.kopalniawieliczka.eu/barborka-2023/ Not to confused with the barley soup that uses the same name, krupnik was (and still is) a popular alcoholic drink prepared in homes throughout Poland and Lithuania from the time of the Middle Ages. Vodka began to appear in Poland in the 16th century and commonly available by the 1800s. Sugar, however was a more rare commodity - too expensive to be used as a sweetener- people reached for the more readily available honey that often came from their own beehives to make their liqueurs. Krupnik is made from easily available ingredients but there are as many recipes for krupnik as there are individuals who like to make their own spirits. Some may have an old family recipe or preferences for a particular spice or ingredient such as cardamom or anise or seek a more intense ginger flavor. Author photo. The two mandatory ingredients to make krupnik are (1) vodka which comes in a range of proofs such as 80 or 100 or the very potent spirytus at 192 proof; and (2) honey. The type of honey (buckwheat, wild flower, orange blossom, linden flower, etc.) will make a difference in shaping the color, taste and final aroma of the drink so that, too, is personal preference. The beautiful amber color, the final sweet and aromatic aroma with hints of cinnamon, ginger and cloves is worth making in autumn or winter or for the Easter holidays. It can be served in small glasses at room temperature or, for those cold nights, heated in a pot over low heat and served in tiny cups. It also goes great with chocolate! Woodcut of beehive from 16th c. Polish text. Here is a recipe from Polish Country Kitchen Cookbook p.201 Smacznego! (May it be tasty!) Meeting the legacy left by St. Pope John Paul II amidst ancient historical ruins, cathedrals and streets of England, Ireland and Scotland. England October 2, 2023 I would have missed it altogether. I was looking at the inscription on the stone floor marking the place of Thomas Becket’s martyrdom in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170 when the tour guide suddenly spoke about Pope John Paul II and pointed out the memorial plaque on the side wall commemorating his visit to the chapel. On May 29, 1982, two major church leaders – the Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert Runcie, the leader of the world-wide Church of England, and Pope John Paul II, leader of world-wide Roman Catholic Church knelt together in silent prayer in the spot where Thomas Becket, also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, was murdered when he opposed his king and placed the rights of the church before any government interests. The Pope’s visit to the United Kingdom, which had begun the day before, made history. It was the first time a reigning pope had ever visited the country. From left: the newer altar (1986) at Canterbury (author photo); Pope John Paul and Robert Runcie at prayer (Canterbury Cathedral photo); the commemorative plaque on side wall of the chapel (author photo). Ireland October 8, 2023 Clonmacnois was a stop on our way to Dublin. Located at the geographical center of Ireland, Clonmacnois was founded by St Ciarán and his small band of monks. It became an outstanding spiritual center for one thousand years where people sought silence, renewal and a sense of the sacred. There really was something otherworldly about the ruins and the location. And again, it was the tour guide who startled me when he said Pope John Paul II visited the ancient ruins of Clonmacnois in 1979 and pointed to the modern covered structure where he said mass during his that visit. Pope John Paul II became the first pope to ever visit Ireland when he had arrived in Dublin the day before for a three-day visit . From left: Ruins at Clonmacnois (author photo);Pope John Paul II at Clonmacnois in 1982 (Clonmacnois photo); covered building where Pope John Paul II celebrated mass during his visit (author photo). Scotland, October 11, 2023 In Edinburgh, Scotland our hotel was on Princess Street, almost directly across from the magnificent Balmoral Hotel, once a great railway hotel built in 1902. It is a main thoroughfare and highly traveled. I discover that it was on this very same street that His Holiness traveled in his pope mobile during his visit to Edinburgh in 1982. Some 40.000 young people from all over Scotland came to greet him, singing 'You'll Never Walk Alone” referring perhaps to the pope’s constant reminder in his many addresses and homilies “that you are never alone, Christ is with you on your journey every day of your lives.” He became the patron saint of World Youth Day. Photos from Edinburgh Herald News 2022 in a retrospective of his visit 40 years earlier. He was: the first non-Italian since 1523 to become Pope; the longest serving Pope in history; a Pope that circled the globe fulfilling a mission to be present to all, praying with Anglicans, Jews and Catholics alike; a man so many agree to be the most consequential pontiff of modern times. Something I also didn’t know. As a result of Pope John Paul II’s special devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, he had the following Latin motto engraved on his coat of arms: “Totus Tuus,” meaning, "I am totally yours." It was taken from a book written much earlier by St. Louis de Montfort’s (1673 – 1716) titled True Devotion to Mary. The full line reads: “Totus tuus ego sum et omnia mea tua sunt… I am totally yours and all that I have is yours.” He entrusted himself and his purpose completely to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The small, unexpected encounters during this trip; to see and be in a few places of what I know to be a very, very tiny portion of the travels and sphere of influence of St. Pope John Paul II, felt extraordinary and very personal. (Photo left from St.Peter's Basilica) Sources: https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/20185760.herald-decades-popes-visit-scotland-1982-changed-nation/ https://www.armagharchdiocese.org/19-sep-national-commemoration-of-pope-john-paul-iis-visit-to-ireland-clonmacnois/ https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/speeches/1979/september/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_19790930_irlanda-clonmacnois.html Photo credit on Princess Street: https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/heritage-and-retro/heritage/the-pope-in-edinburgh-40-years-on-here-are-27-amazing-pictures-of-pope-john-paul-iis-visit-to-the-capital |
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One of the biggest moments in my life was being able to sign for my very own library card. When I'm not reading, researching and writing I'm riding my bike, sewing or gardening. I love flea markets, folk art, and traveling to Poland.
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