Question to Polish posters

[Ecthy]

that border between German and Polish ethnic majorities / states had existed since the middle ages, BTW... only got corrupted shortly, from 1773 to 1919...

[Bas]

Thanks a lot, Saras (and Cruddy). I still have loads of time, so I'll have a look.

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by Saras


Nice! Is that a Litvak song?

its yiddish song. Since jews from lithuania are called Litvaks, yes, its a litvak song. (BTW the term Litvak in Jewish geography refers not to modern ethnic lithuania, but to the entire area of historical ducal lithuania - jews from Belarus are also called litvaks. Indeed sometimes the two terms - litvak and galitizianer (galician) are used for the entire east european world - all jews from south of the pripet marshes are galitizianers, all from north are litvaks. this reflects distinctions in Yiddish dialect and various aspects of folk culture - also some religious distinctions, the areas under the influence of the great Litvak yeshivas versus everyone else. The litvak yeshivas historically emphazed logical, detailed analysis of jewish law, while the galitzianers tended to embrace the mystical, emotional ways of the hasidim. Thus my hasidic inlaws think of me as a litvak, despite the fact that im actually half galitzianer.

[Saras]

Been to Vilnius?

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by Saras
Been to Vilnius?

no. is there much of the old ghetto still left?

[Saras]

Most of it. Vilnius was not too badly bombed as other cities in WW2. The area of the former ghetto is a very nice place now.

[Heresson]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Question to Polish posters

You mean the historical capital city of Lithuania which you illegally annxed? I thought we were over this stupid notion.

Lithuanian rule over it wasn't legal;
it was earlier in Polish hands, after it was captured by Soviets, who handed it over to Lithuanians, despite they were a marginal minority both in the city and almost all the other disputed areas.

I wont dispute the legality - apparently under League of Nations rules a city that was an ethnic island was supposed to go with the surrounding rural areas - which in the case of vilna/Vilnius was lithuanian.

You're wrong here; unlike in Lwow case, all the surrounding of the disputed city was Polish as well, and, unlike it, stayed like this up to today; recently, Polish party won elections in some surrounding areas.

anti-semitism widespread among many Polish nationalists

That's a matter of discussion

<http://www.apolyton.net/civ2/images/site/blank.gif>

is it true that almost 100% of the Breslau/Wroclaw (sp excused) were exchanged during those days?

Yes; it seems that not as far as in XIX century, the surrounding villages were Polish, but shortly before the war, Poles were a small minority (1 or 2% or even less);
there were a lot Polish students of the University, though (a third of all), before Poles were forbidden studying there by German authorities.
You know, some time after the war, as another reason for Polish rule over the city, a book of phones of the city from before the war was exhibited; the people in it were Germans of course, but over 2/3 of them had Polish-rooted surnames.

that border between German and Polish ethnic majorities / states had existed since the middle ages, BTW... only got corrupted shortly, from 1773 to 1919...

That's not quite truth; there's a big difference between state border and majority border; Germans speech was moving on and on, but not that rapidly.

Since jews from lithuania are called Litvaks, yes

I believe that Litvaks were Russian-speaking Jews who settled on former Polish (mostly ducal Lithuania) groundsafter being expelled from Russia?