Poland/Trivia

Where the Brits would make jokes about the stupid Irish, Americans used to make jokes about stupid Poles (Polacks, if you're being really offensive; Jerkass journalist Giles Coren recently brought richly-deserved criticism upon himself for using it in an article in which he suggested that Polish expats had no business in Britain because of what their ancestors actually didn't do to his), but this seems to have died off sometime in The Seventies, or transferred over to the Brits, since many migrants go to the UK nowadays.

Polish gamers infested Dawn of War (and several other online games) for a long time, filling it with servers apparently devoted to nationalism (PL PL PL POLSKA, similar to BR) and being really bad at the game. Two things which don't mix very well, by the way - if you're so proud of your nationality, it's best not to spam that nationality out while you're getting your rear handed to you.

Notes on Poland: On the subject of "things you must know about X country before writing about it":
 * It exists.
 * There's more than one major city.
 * Tropes associated with Ruritania or Überwald are unlikely to be accurate.


 * Poles' stereotype of their history tends to be one part Glory Days, one part Doomed Moral Victor. And history is Serious Business. This is at least partial reason why they're pissy about forgetting that...
 * It's not part of Russia. Even though at least two Polish actors are members of the Lzherusskie Club.
 * By the way, it's not part of Germany either.
 * As it's not part of Russia, people usually don't speak Russian as a first language or have Russian names. Use Russian in Poland and you might actually offend people.
 * Likewise German and Czech, though they're less likely to cause outright offense.
 * On the other hand, most Poles will at least understand one if not all of the above, but won't admit to it.
 * To be more precise, most Poles can more or less understand the meaning of the simple sentences (many words stem from the common Slavic roots) but don't expect comprehension of complex ideas and two-way communication in Czech or Russian from people who never learned these languages.
 * English is now the most widespread foreign language, and the one which young Poles learn in school - perhaps one reason why so many young Poles choose UK or Ireland to work abroad.
 * There hasn't been a Communist government since 1989.
 * Although post-communist leftist parties had held power for ten years, they were democratically elected.
 * They are no different that your average social democratic Western party, though. Advocating true communism (or any totalitarian government) is, in fact, forbidden by law.
 * The Teutonic Knights are bad. Ronald Reagan is good.
 * It's not Eastern Europe, but Central. In fact, depending on how you measure, Europe's center is in Poland or very close.
 * It's not cold there, except in the winter.
 * However, a winter without snow is extremely rare. Poland has a climate in between the temperate maritime climate of Britain and France and the temperate continental climate of European Russia, meaning that compared to the UK the summers are hotter (temperatures in the 30s are common and in the low 40s not unheard of) and the winters are colder (sometimes down to -20, the interior temperature of a domestic freezer).
 * Conversely, Polish autumn is either absolutely ugly (if it's wet), or one of the most gorgeous sights on this Lord's good red-golden earth.


 * Alcoholic drinks other than vodka are available. The most popular drink is beer, which includes several brands of very good lager that have lately become popular in the UK.
 * Poles' consumption of alcohol is rather unremarkable, compared to other European nations. Be wary, though, if you've made Polish friends. They may want to test your strength, If You Know What I Mean.
 * In the first US Presidential debate of 2004, Sen. John Kerry did, indeed, forget Poland. Poland had about 200 troops in Iraq when the invasion started.
 * There was a quite sizable Polish force in Iraq. Another one is serving in Afghan province of Ghazni.
 * Poland is the most religious country in Europe, even more so than (fellow Catholic countries) Ireland and Italy.
 * Altough recent polls have shown that more and more people are simply getting by without thinking about religion at all. While most admit they're Catholic, they do it out of force of habit, or because they have been brought up that way. Fewer and fewer people are attending masses. There is a growing anti-clerical movement which has gotten 10% of the vote during the 2011 parliamentary elections, echoing that trend.
 * Poland also has a long, close relationship with Hungary dating back to the Middle Ages. Today, both nations celebrate a Polish-Hungarian Friendship Day.