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Hi Krzysztof,
My 'education' of the Polish culture is, basically, second hand. My mother and 4 other surviving brothers and sisters (7 in all) 'feed' me information about their lives in America and their lives as children of immigrant Polish parents. I have to admit that at the time my Grandmother passed away, I was only a teenager and I didn't have much 'interest' in the Polish culture. As a teenager, I had other more 'pressing interests. :-) Anyways, because I grew up in the environment I described, I kind of felt that what I ate, what I learned, and what I experienced, it was all just part of being 'part Polish'. TODAY is a different matter.
Because I'm the 'family historian', I have a keen interest in my Polish background. I have the same interest in my Italian and Lebanese backgrounds as well. Since my interest is from a Genealogy perspective, I'm not learning about Polish culture as you know it. I'm learning about Polish culture in America, mostly, and about some Polish culture back in the Motherland. I learned about the Russian oppression, I learned why my Grandparents came to America. (They met in the US ...), I learned about Polish traditions, I ate Polish food, but I don't know about any family members in Poland. Believe it or not, my Grandparents were told by their parents NOT to contact any family back in Poland because, at that time, if contact was made, 'bad' things could happen to the remaining family. You couldn't just "hop a boat" to America (of all places) and not expect someone to 'question' your motives. Because of what my Grandparents were told, that didn't help my project at all!
No, I don't know Mickiewicz, Sowacki, et. al.. No, I never gave much thought to learning the language of my Grandfather. (I do know Italian enough to be 'dangerous'.) No, I've never been to Poland. No, I'm not offended at all. In fact, like I said, I think your question is a very interesting one. I totally respect your feelings and position on the subject. I will be honest with you - I don't think I'll be learning the Polish language any time soon. I'm not sure if you can understand (which I mean in a heart-felt way), but I'm 2 generations removed from Polish heritage/culture. Respectfully, I'm living in an English-speaking, Western culture part of the world. I'm living in a land of immigrants. A land where our Grandparents came to in order to seek a better life. I owe them a great deal of admiration because if it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be here. And because of the sacrifices of my Grandparents, and because of the way my parents and I were raised, I am reaping all the benefits. I know that there are an awful lot of people out there struggling on a daily basis.
I'm trying to honor my family with my Genealogy project. It survives my Grandparents and it will survive me. By the time my children inherit my project, which will be a lasting tribute, I hope to have taught them this same history as to how my family came into existance. I'll spare you now but the reasons my Grandparents from BOTH sides of the family came to America, are very close in definition. That's the way it was at that time. Their lives need to be viewed from that perspective. I feel that what they did, in a way, honors the Polish people. They certainly were hard working, family loving people.
I wish you well for now. Take care and God bless.
Best,
J
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