German stereotypes of Poles

Radio Polonia ^ | 29.06.2006 | Slawek Szefs

[twinself]

New, updated version for this special occasion...;)

[ABN 505]

"Springtime for Hitler And Germany! Nightime for Poland and France!" from the "Producers" Mel Brooks original film.

[Malesherbes]

I saw the same IQ survey that put the Poles a close second from the top, but it didn't surprise me. I've been to Poland often and have met enough people from Warsaw University to know that it has first class students and faculty. Given freedom, peace, and a little time, the Poles will well outdistance their neighbors.

[Grzegorz 246]

Thanks !

BTW:

[dfwgator]

One thing that isn't considered is how thoroughly the Polish intelligentsia and business classes were wiped out by the Nazis and Soviets during WWII. And most who were able to flee into exile did not return to the country after the Soviet Puppet state was formed at the end of the war.

Add on 40 years of backward Communism and you have a country that is just now beginning to emerge from the terrible effects of WWII.

And I suspect that the German "Wessies" have the same opinions of their "Ossie" countrymen as they do of Poles.

[twinself]

LOL Knowledge of cyrlic alphabet from the primary school still helps.

[lizol]

You mean NOMO? :-))))

[twinself]

Yeah, exactly.

[winner3000]

(What's worse, they can't even play football!)

I wonder then how come Germany's two strikers (one of them leading the World Cup in scoring) are originally from Poland!

[rmlew]

In the eyes of an average German, Poles are mostly associated with car theft, cultural backwardness and unemployment.
I wonder what they think of the really bad untermenschen.

[Michael81Dus]

You are wrong indeed. If you come over here, I can show you an average lesson of modern history.

[Michael81Dus]

Would you give credit to the home countries of immigrants who have chosen to become Americans for the performance of these immigrants as Americans? No. So, Klose and Podolski are Germans. Period.

[Michael81Dus]

Have you asked a German what he thinks about Islam? By the way, what´s "untermenschen" - isn´t that a dead word?

[twinself]

I agree. They are as much Polish as I am Tunesian. Smolarek is Polish.

[Grzegorz 246]

"Smolarek is Polish."

Janas is Polish too. Unfortunately.

[GeorgefromGeorgia]

I lived in Germany for four years (87-91) and find this article interesting. When I lived there Poland was just another Communist country that just emerged from Soviet dominance. I visited Poland on a tour in 89, and loved the country and its people. I also loved Germany. The irony is that the people are similar in many ways. Poles and Czechs are the most German of the Slavic peoples and share many values like hardworking natures. Many Germans from middle and northern Germany are not Catholic like the Poles. Poland has been occupied by Germany, Austria and Russia (Soviet Union) for much of the past 250 years, and was more agricultural than its neighbor to the West. There is a tendency for city folk to look down on their more bucolic neighbors.
I don't think Nazi hatred of Jews and Slavs is a problem in Germany, except a little in the former DDR.
You must remember that in general, Germans have always considered themselves special vis-a-vis other peoples. Under Nazism it became more than simple pride, it was horror. Germans still have a bit of that pride, but are much more into that Euro thing. Poland is catching up with Germany's standard of living, and if it avoids the anti-capitalist socialist restrains on its economy, it may very well surpass Germany.

[dfwgator]

Janas is Polish too. Unfortunately.

LOL!

[Grzegorz 246]

" lack some sort of "winning instinct" "

I don't think so, except of soccer football of course.

[dfwgator]

I don't think Nazi hatred of Jews and Slavs is a problem in Germany, except a little in the former DDR.

It seemed to me that in the DDR, they taught their people that the Nazis were only bad, because they were anti-Communist, and anti-Working class, etc. and not so much because of their racial policies. That probably explains the difference between how the Ossies and the Wessies view the Nazis.