A chilly refuge in Spain

“The regime in the camp was not as tough and inhumane as in the Nazi camps. But one cannot say it was gentle.” With these words Henryk Vogt summarized his stay in the Miranda de Ebro concentration camp in the Spanish province of Burgos. Although some of the brightest Polish artists, scientist and soldiers passed…


The Peculiar Autumn of 1978: The Election of John Paul II

On the occasion of subsequent papal conclaves, photo agencies would compete to catch cardinals electing the successor of Saint Peter. Even after the reforms of Vatican II, the garments of Church dignitaries and the ceremonies accompanying the new pope’s assumption of office remain baroque in style. In 1978, however, greatest interest was generated by quite…


At the side of Poles in Tobruk

The Czechoslovak Legion, established in September 1939 in Poland, was captured by the Soviets. After the Allies recognized the Edvard Beneš group in exile as the official government-in-exile in July 1940, the Czechs contacted the Soviet embassy in London requesting the release of Col. Svoboda’s soldiers interned in the USSR. The fact that the British…


The Golden Age That Lasted 20 Years

The architectural Eldorado lasted a little over 20 years. And this is also how long it waited for recognition in the Third Republic of Poland. The formal and substantial richness, the diversity of solutions, and the pursuit of international trends filtered through the Polish tradition produced a fascinating and inspiring mix. It is echoed in…


Races and duels. Knightly tournaments in the Kingdom of Poland

The Slavs were familiar with various sports competitions, but the custom of organizing tournaments only reached Poland via neighboring countries. However, fighting in the lists quickly appealed to the local knights. by Antoni Olbrychski   Louis, the German Landgrave of Thuringia, organized the first tourney in Poland after he attacked the border town of Lubusz….


Stanisław Żółkiewski: Between Military Service and Private Interests

On the night from 6 to 7 October 1620, a seventy-three-year-old Crown Grand Hetman Stanisław Żółkiewski perished on the battlefield in the last act of a drama that had begun a month prior. At the beginning of September, amid growing political tensions between the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Ottoman Empire, the Hetman entered Moldavia –…


1 10 11 12 13 14 27