Things I DIDN'T Know about POLAND before MOVING here! 

Best of luck to You in Poland. You are such a fine and friendly human being.

Perhaps we should refer more to our common history and cultivate its positive sides. Btw, great job, it's a very good start;)

I'm very glad you decided to move here. What a great addition to our community.

One stage of the Jewish history in PL, which in fact disturbed the integration of multi-national society here was in the 1860 the massive expulsion of the Jews from deeper Russia, who literally flooded the multinational lanscape here and lived mostly in closed communities. This sudden event was a shock to all who were affected by this and left traumas as well as additionally fueled mutual annimosities between Jews and non-Jewish people for next generations. Dzięki i powodzenia!

you speak Polish very well! 👏 if my husband spoke as well as you, that would be a dream come true. but i agree that you should speak English in your videos for Jewish viewers to dispel any misconceptions they might have about Poland 💙

All the best Michael. You are very positive and I like to listen you.

I am Irish subscribed because I am married to a Polish woman. Enjoying ur outsider perspective. :) My wife is of some Jewish heritage like a lot of Polish people.

Wow Michael !!! 😊 You speak Polish 🎉

Wow, bardzo ładnie mówisz po polsku :) Cieszę się, że ci się w Polsce podoba i chcesz tu mieszkać. Dobrze, że chcesz poznać kontekst historyczny, bo Polacy w rozmowach często używają kodów ze zdarzeń z historii Polski. Polacy nie przepracowali jeszcze holokaustu do końca. Wciąż powstają książki i filmy (np: Ida; W ciemności

You're great person Mike - happy to have you in my country - please do feel here at home 🏠

Właśnie takich ludzi świat potrzebuje , otwartych, myślących. Nie zamkniętych w stereotypach ,które serwują im ich rządy. Dam przykład. Do Polski przybywa wiele turystów, wiele wycieczek z różnych krajów, żadna z nich nie ma specjalnych ochraniarzy, tylko wycieczki młodzieży z Izraela ,którzy przyjeżdrżają tu by poznać swoją historię. Wmawia im się że są zagrożeni., odradza się komunikowanie z mieszkańcami ,co tacy młodzi ludzie będą myśleć i wiedzieć o Polsce i swojej pełnej historii. Polska to według świata antysemici. Mam pytanie czy zetknąleś się z w czasie pobytu w Polsce z dyskryminacją z powodu tego że jesteś Żydem, czy musisz chodzić z ochraniarzem.

Subscribed.

I am impressed by how, as you learn about Polish history and how complicated our relations were with our neighbors and with minorities, you begin to understand that Poland was not, in fact, a country hostile to the Jewish nation. On the contrary, Jews have been part of reality for hundreds of years. I come from a town where 30% of the inhabitants were Jews before the war. It would be nice if Israelis and Jews around the world watched your channel and saw a little "the plank in their own eye". That it is not cool to point out anti-Semitism to everyone and look for it in every form of criticism. And it is especially not nice to treat Poland with hostility as if it were the cause of all misfortunes (as Lapid Jair did). I think you are doing a lot of good work because, as you can see, education about history is poor and without it we will not be able to understand each other. So it is worth educating yourself so as not to entrench yourself in hostile positions and look positively into the future and improve relationships.

I worked in a Jewish owned bookshop in the Krakow district of Kazimierz (yes! Named after the king) and Polish-Jewish history and culture is very fascinating! I really wish we could embrace the intersection of our cultures (which is truly immense!) My dad actually wrote a wonderful musical for a anniversary of the city of Lublin that was presented in the musical theatre there. It shows the history of the city from the perspective of the "Seer of Lublin" - the famous Hassidic rabbi who lived there. It's a shame it's not available online :(

Hi Michael. You're hilarious 😂. I'm Australian, but my background is Polish & Russian. I speak Polish, Russian & English, of course. I've been to Poland & Russia many times. Also been to Canada & America, to name a few. Fantastic videos. You speak Polish quite well... Greetings from Adelaide, Australia. Wszystkiego najlepszego🎉. Nazdrowie😊... Всё Хорошего 🎉. Cheers mate!!!

Hi Michael! It is a bit out of topic, but I just want to tell you that sometimes, during those cold evenings, I like to make something hot to drink and thing about those times when there were many Jews in Poland. How cultures were overlapping, when a Pole could just get to a small shop owned by a Jew and buy the highest quality craftsmanship or vice versa. I wonder how it would all look today if people wouldn't be so narrow minded, could treat each other better or at least Germans would find enough humanity in themselves to do not let Hitler seize the power. I think that maybe you could really record some videos about Canadian na Jewish culture. I would find such topics interesting for sure!

U r a good guy. And smart. Nobody will tell u how 2 think. Poland is my love. Spent 30 years away. IM BAcK NOW.

keep on Mr. Michael :)

Oprócz tego, że muszę na bieżąco tłumaczyć Twoje kwestie na polski dla Mojej Żony (co jest całkiem niezłym ćwiczeniem, ale ciągle jeszcze zmusza mnie do częstego pauzowania) to nie mam zastrzeżeń. Dobra robota 👍

Dzień dobry Panu :)

This was a much needed video and I wish more Jews watch it to understand their polish roots. You are doing very important work because centuries of common history are being ignored, denigrated or twisted. Thank you.

subscribbed immediatelly, what a wonderful channel, wow. you are a great guy Michael, keep it up! :)

I like that you talk about difficult subjects too. We need dialogue

The so-called general knowledge is declining because people read less and less. Still, I think the average Pole knows more about Canada than the average Canadian knows about Poland. Yet over a million people of Polish descent live in Canada. So maybe it's the education system or Poles' natural curiosity about the world that decides?

Thank u so much, I love this channel. I am a Polish Jew, not by religion anymore, but by genetic heritage. I can't imagine myself living anywhere else than Poland. I am very happy here, either is my family. But we are happy to be Jews too, though we dont necessarily feel anything in common with today's Israel and Israelis, apart from the fact my ancestors come from ancient Judea 😂

Gosh, both the content and the form of this video are so good. A perfect mixture of seriousness and humor 🤣, great editing and acting.👋 Have you heard a of Jankiel ( Yankel?) , the dulcimer player?

Michael, I love your channel. As a Polish Pole with 100% Polish ancestors (at least in the last +150 years), I have deep respect for the Jewish nation, culture and religion. And I think most Jews and most Poles are smart, loving and loveable people, even if a tiny percentage of our great nations are or were nothing but loathesome scoundrels. :) Peace!

my family has never been in the communist party, and I still have right-wing and anti-communist views, but communism in Poland is much more than martial law and controlled shortages of goods. E.g. the 1960s were the best decade for Polish culture ever. Of course, agreed that the Polish historical narrative was mostly ignored in the West

Mam nadzieje że sprawdzisz to rzetelnie i dasz swoje świadectwo w tej prawie. Kibicuje Ci.

I am looking forward about next movies about Canada, jews in Poland or our common history. English is great 😎 I am learning watching You. 😊

Fajnie mówisz po polsku. Jak również fajny kanał - będę oglądał

I was a kid during communist times in Poland but after all decades, I still remember standing in line early in the morning, in the freezing weather, to get bread, meat, flour, sugar using a coupon that communists gave to my family. I still remember a frighten face of my Mom when she learned about the Martial Law on the radio introduced by Gen. Jaruzelski in December, 1981. I still remember tanks and armored infantry vehicles patrolling my town. I still remember young people who used to disappear because they got crossed with communists and secret police. 80's were terrible times in Poland. THANK YOU Michael for learning about it, for being open and bringing this party of painful Polish history to Jewish diaspora attention.

If you're really interested, take a short train ride to Warsaw and visit the PRL Museum in Plac Konstytucji. It's not a very large museum but it shows everyday life in Poland under communism. There is also the Warsaw Uprising Museum which is very large and will take a few hours to visit to see everything, but well worth a visit. Warsaw has a lot of structural history, it still has some parts of the ghetto wall that still survive and buildings and old tenements that are still standing.

You crack me up every time. There is hint of Woody Allen & Mel Brooks in your humor 😂

Hey Michael, you're saying that the Jews created much of their culture in Poland but it works both ways, it's difficult to estimate how big an impact Jews had on Polish language and culture. Every Polish child knows poems of Julian Tuwim or Jan Brzechwa, Janusz Korczak invented modern parenting more than 80 years ago, Bolesław Leśmian was a poetry genius making up stunning neologisms, the list goes on and on. Also, I was thinking, since the majority of your viewers seem to be Polish, would you consider adding Polish subtitles to your videos? I'd like to share them with my Polish friends but not all speak good English (especially the older generation).

Welcome home! :)

thank you for making this video

Good for you you get to know the historical context of Poland.

Stały subskrybent Polak, katolik,patriota, nacjonalista. Witam w polskiej rodzinie... 🇵🇱🤜🤛🇵🇱

Wow. Your one of those people... Those who shamesly and with ease build bridges rather than walls. Orange face pun entirely intended. All the best, Michael and good luck with your channel.

Carry on with your good work!

Ogladam i jem placki ziemniaczane

You speak polish great!

Thx man. It is always interesting to learn perspective of people from different part of the world/other cultures. Only thing I would suggest - drop sound and video effects :).

well in poland its rather common knowledge that before ww2 jews were around 10% of polands population because of polands tolarance throughout the ages (which is ironic when you see that poland is considered intolerant nowadays) to the point that (according to wikipedia) at some point in 16th century poland was home to almost 80% of all jews world wide

Nawet nawet dajesz po polsku. Ucz się dalej a będziesz miał wprawę ;)

You should read the article about Antysemitism in Poland prior to WWII by Eliseo Nesci. He wrote a masterpiece that is just stacked with Jewish sources talking about centuries of Polish-Jewish relations. Difficult subject but great stuff. I have not read any other single source that had such a comprehensive analysis of Polish-Jewish relations. And we do know the difference between Canada and USA we have seen South Park. jk The Canadians that Polish people might know about are Jordan B Peterson, Tom Macdonald and... the guy who sent his condolences after Castro's death. There are Poles who escaped to Canada during communism so some of us do know a little.

Good job :)

Thanks man for your curiosity, your open mind and benefit of the doubt. In PL we accept everyone who loves this country. Not us (certainly not all:), but the country. You will regret coming here 100 times, mostly because of the people, but I hope you will stay anyway because you like it 101 times more. Make yourself at home no matter what. Thanks for coming.

Bardzo długa historia żydów w Polsce doprowadziła do takich sytuacji jak to, że jeden z najlepszych polskich poetów, taki którego twórczość dla dzieci czyta się chyba w każdym domu w Polsce, to Julian Tuwim - polecam kiedyś sprawdzić jego twórczość, facet niesamowicie posługiwał się j. polskim :)

Have you ever visited Polin in Warsaw? It's amazing museum dedicated to Polish Jews

Sup fellow Torontonian/Warszawiak. I would love to grab a coffee with you next time I’m in Warsaw. I think you’re doing a wonderful job with a much needed rapprochement.

Friend, I appreciate that you are interested in history of Poland, and Jews in Poland, it was complex and had its ups and downs. But there is one thing you should know as a basis. Life in Poland after II WW was simply - normal. OK, I can admit that right until Khruschev there were political persecutions and even actually a civil war for few years just after the II WW. But on the other hand it was also the time when millions of Polish citizens have been pulled from literally mud in their villages, illiteracy, unimaginable now poverty and put into industrial economics. Think about end of slavery in USA, not excluding some of current resulting social problems. Socialism did not push Poland in any kind of poverty - in fact it pulled Poland to welfare, but starting from such low a prewar level that comparing to western countries it was still somewhat poorer. Anyway, from mid-50s life in Poland was simply normal, not differing more from western countries than countries differ from one another, with respect also to the system differences like e.g. betwen USA and EU, but still people live in both those systems and consider them normal. We felt that we live in Poland (and can travel abroad if we want to, although currency conversion rates were very unfavorable) and complaints about USSR were similar to current complaints about UE - mostly nobody cared. Even Solidarity protests were not about politics and any "freedom", but about simply more money.

Maybe there is this thing among some Polish born people like me, that haven’t lived in Poland for many decades, that is reminded of Pan Tadeusz (book) set in Russian partition in early 1800s. That book has been the Polish bible to some weird of us. Nonetheless, it is impossible to reminisce the book without the character Jankiel.

 “Było cymbalistów wielu,
Ale żaden z nich nie śmiał zagrać przy Jankielu;
(Jankiel przez całą zimę nie wiedzieć gdzie bawił,
Teraz się nagle z głównym sztabem wojska zjawił). Wiedzą wszyscy, że mu nikt na tym instrumencie
Nie wyrówna w biegłości, w guście i w talencie.
Proszą, ażeby zagrał, podają cymbały;
Żyd wzbrania się, powiada, że ręce zgrubiały,
Odwykł od grania, nie śmie i panów się wstydzi; Kłaniając się umyka. Gdy to Zosia widzi,
Podbiega, i na białej podaje mu dłoni
Drążki, któremi zwykle mistrz we struny dzwoni;
Drugą rączką po siwej brodzie starca głaska,
I dygając: „Jankielu - mówi, - jeśli łaska! Wszak to me zaręczyny, zagrajże Jankielu!
Wszak nieraz przyrzekałeś grać na mem weselu?“

 Jankiel niezmiernie Zosię lubił, kiwnął brodą
Na znak, że nie odmawia; więc go w środek wiodą,
Podają krzesło, usiadł, cymbały przynoszą, Kładą mu na kolanach. On patrzy z rozkoszą….”

Dear Michael you forget the Periode 1772-1914 when Poland suffered from Austria Prussia and Russia. There the Jews suffered also a lot and thats why so many has moved to the West. So much Holland and Germany as to America

Polacy kochają Cię!!!

Good job. History should be known, not manipulated. It's the first time I hear a Jew from the West speaking like it was.

By the way: czy już wiesz, że jedyna Królowa, jaką ma obecnie nasz naród, jest z Waszego Narodu Wybranego? I jest przez wielu z nas bardzo kochana. Bo przypuszczam, że o Irenie Sendler, rodzinie Ulmów i jeszcze wielu innych, to mogłeś już usłyszeć. Cieszę się, że pokazujesz Polaków i Polskę od strony, która w wielu krajach świata nie jest znana. Dziękuję.

You could deepen your knowledge about the golden age of jewry in poland and present it. The jewish parliament, the Ezofowicz noble dynasty, the arrenda system, chassidism, frankism, the jewish parties in newly born state of poland before WW2, the influx of russian jewry in the 19th century to poland and the tsar's policy to play national groups against each other in his empire and occupated poland

everyone talks about the extermination of the Jews, and the extermination of Poles is ignored, as if Poles lived normally at that time and were so vile and did not save others, Poles were also murdered, - we should also remember this, we also have our traumas, from the period of World War II as well as the post-war years with imposed Stalinism

You should visit Kazimierz Dolny city in Poland. It’s a beautiful place 😊

We don’t blame Jews for communism. However the matter of fact is that quite a lot Jews served as members of the communist political police UB, which commited crimes against Polish patriots, sometimes on very high positions. But it was a Russian policy and Russians were decisionmakers

Dzięki za ten film. Mam wrażenie jakby odnosił się do mojego komentarza pod jednym z poprzednich filmów. Mało prawdopodobne, ale jeśli tak to jestem z siebie zadowolony, że udało mi się zmusić Ciebie do poszerzenia horyzontów. Również trochę mi głupio bo komentarz był mocno i spłycał cały kontekst sytuacji po wojnie, ale ciężko coś omówić w krótkim komentarzu pod filmem. Komentarz napisałem w ten sposób bo dla mnie jako Polaka naprawdę ciężkie do zrozumienia jest nastawienie żydów do nas. Jestem w stanie zrozumieć, że macie Nam coś za złe, ale nie potrafię zrozumieć dlaczego to Polska jest obwiniana dużo bardziej niż Niemcy za to co was spotkało. W naszych książkach oba nasze narody są przedstawiane jako ofiary tej strasznej wojny. Dlatego myślałem, że automatycznie powinny się dogadywać bardzo dobrze, ponieważ są w stanie lepiej zrozumieć co druga strona przeszła. Myśl, że tak nie jest, a wręcz jest przeciwnie i z perspektywy większości Żydów Polacy to nie ofiary tylko oprawcy którzy ponoszą odpowiedzialność za holokaust powoduje u mnie strasznie dużo złych emocji. Po rozpoczęciu wojny Rosji z Ukrainą zacząłem się interesować Rosyjską wersją historii i doznałem szoku jak bardzo różni się ich punkt widzenia. Chyba powinienem przestudiować również historię Izraela. Stary testament pominę, strasznie nudny. Napisałem po Polsku bo musisz ćwiczyć

Micheal read about Witold Pilecki and what he did to show the world what germans were doing in Poland during WWII.

That was quite funny when you were talking abut smolensk, most polish people like dark humour. English is fine, young people know english well in pl.

I tell you one thing what Polish people are - proud! And that can be a good and a bad thing. For example the better educated Poles ate proud of our history, the battles and the reletnessness of Polish spirit . Some Poles are proud of being part of Slavic culture and consider that their true heritage (sort of in opposite to the Poland the Martyrdom) . Other Poles are too proud to have a real two - way conversation and definitely too proud to admit that they can be wrong. Some Polish mothers are too proud (especially the older hardened generation) to admit that they are only human, who can feel tired or overwhelmed or sad . There are Poles who are simply proud of being Polish , for having Poland as their motherland , but those feelings come to them the stronger the further they go from polish borders. There is a lot that constitutes into being Polish and it can be complicated and it is something that runs through those veins , hadbeen told into us as family stories to the point you hear it in your head all the time and the events of the past that shaped us as a nation and individually. From each historical event we came a little bit different, a little heartbroken , a little stronger, a little indifferent, a little defeated, a little uplifted.

There was a time when a Canadian from Mississauga almost became President of Poland. It was both funny and ridiculous.

Good future can only be built on truth. Nothing stable and resilent can be built on lie. Agree?

It is good that there are such people like you in the world. BTW I went through Bathurst in Toronto which was considered as a Jewish district each day for two years. Are you from there ?

I recommend a song by Jacek Kaczmarski “ Opowieść pewnego emigranta “ A nostalgic, dramatic song about “ teared soul “

Have you heard...about Winged Hussars? Check out this topic if you wanna know why we say: "In 17 century we also had a nuke."

Tre amuza... :D Tre simpatia :D Dankon, pro tio, kion vi faras, kara.

Michael, your Polish is solid!

Those Hasids can dance. No boy band could ever match them on the dance floor.

Actually Polish audience already knows a lot about Poland so ... ( in terms of spoken language)

Wait, if you didn't know Poland was Communist, then did you know about the Cold War? Or the Soviet Union?

Your Polish is great🎉 Come to Łódź there's a lot of Jewish history there. For example the graves of Jewish mafia from interwar times.

Thank you for clearing up the polish name in the eyes of other Jews. I wish that more Jews would come back to Poland... i miss 1st Rzeczpospolita Obojga Narodów. We have a lot of history together.

I know everything about Canada😉 Justin Trudeau, Jordan Peterson and of course Ryan Gosling😅 Is there something else?

I grew up in Poland, arguably in the most progressive city (Gdansk), but I have never seen or experienced antisemitism - until 1990’s when I came back for my Dad’s funeral. The priests’ sermon was so antisemitic that my jaw literally dropped down to the floor. I hear that father Rydzyk is also spewing hatred towards Jews. So unfortunately there are few antisemitism on generally judeophilic Poland. 🖖

It just ocured to me that your name translates to Beethoven in Dutch. Are you related to the great composer? ;)

Some people blame Jews for communism because internationalism was attractive to them back then, however Jews were prosecuted by communism so this is very simplified point of view

Despite your enthusiasm, there is no rush to emigrate- or even work in a country who collaborated with the Germans and wiped out a whole generation of Jews. I know that the trauma still haunts the current generation. That many still bear psychological scars.

I agree that Jews don't know much about their own history. Even about the Holocaust. They are strong on emotional side of things but don't know much about dry historical facts. All Jewish Canadians will recite how many their family members died during the war but ask them from which town or shtetel they were from -- and there is mostly silence. Some know the name -- by now I know that Lots means Łódź -- but have no clue where that place is: eastern Poland? Ukraine? Belarus? No curiosity at all. Older Jews never visited Poland, younger might go with the March of the Living but never ventured beyond Auschwitz. So basically Poland equals massive Jewish graveyard and nothing beyond that for them.

I listened to many testimonies of Polish Jews who survived the Holocaust. It was difficult for me to hear about bad Poles, because during communism we were not allowed to talk about Polish-Jewish relations. There was no such discussion in schools. We were not told about evil Poles - szmalcowniks and those who dared to save Jews. That's why I started reading, listening, watching everything about this subject and I came to the conclusion that in old Poland, Jews were not liked mainly by peasants. The peasants were afraid of the nobility and aristocracy, they had to serve them and they saw a free Jew who received his rights from the nobility and could educate his children. The peasant couldn't. The most he could do was buy something from a Jew at the market. / This injustice was not the fault of the Jews, but of the Polish nobility (part of the nobility), who also led to the partitions of Poland. Unequal treatment of people always leads to envy. However, there were peasants who saved Jews. There were those who were indifferent and there were those who wanted to harm them. / Peasants also did not understand Jews, their language, their separation. Because there were groups who separated themselves from Poles. / I wish you all the best in Poland 🌹🌻🌷🏡

I see improvements in speaking! Remember reading books in polish will help greatly with vocabulary!

3:11 To bardzo interesujący wątek, połączenie Żydów i komunizmu się wzięło prawdopodobnie z czasów wojny domowej w Rosji, gdzie obrońcy caratu posługiwali się antysemickimi uprzedzeniami żeby odwieść ludzi od bolszewików. Faktem jest, że dużo Żydów (Radek, Trocki, Jagoda) angażowało się w budowanie ruchu komunistycznego, natomiast także bardzo wielu Polaków, wychowanych w „typowo” polskich, katolickich, ziemiańskich, szlacheckich rodzinach (Dzierżyński, Koszutska, Marchlewski) budowało komunizm przed wojną. Bardzo często w obu przypadkach wynikało to z głęboko przeżywanej religijności, chęci naprawienia świata, walki z ubóstwem. Jak się to skończyło wszyscy wiemy.

Hello from Canada 😊

Poles love Shlomos, I am glad you found home :)

Your intro was so, so moving 😂.

What do you have next to your right ear? Leaf? As soon as I saw it, I remembered the song: 🎵A man with a leaf on his head entered a bus, No one will save him, no body will tell him anything, Everyone just stares, Everyone just stares and nothing.)🎵 (Elektryczne Gitary - Człowiek z liściem na głowie) 🤣 ...and why video is only in 480p? Edit: It's probably an earring, but the video quality is so poor that it looks like you have something in your hair🤣

When I went to visit my Polish relatives in Canada in the 2000s they where showing me white toilet paper as something exotic and took me to a freaking shopping mall for some mediocre ice cream as sth that was supposed to be impressive, asked me very odd questions about like, availability of colgate toothpaste and chewing gums and I looked at them like if they had two heads 😅 . So yeah people dont bother to update their memories and sound so unglued from reality as a result 😂

I would love to know more about Kanada from you. After WWII pols in america where often presented as sad grumpy drunks(Clint Eastwood often play Kowalski). Because in that time moust of Polish emigrants in the west where veterans that fight nazies at the side of western alies and cudnt back homecountry. Because they where vieved as spies by the comunists goverment and they Russian overlords. In Poland weaiting for them represions, provocations and sometime court marshall and execution. They where often vieved as representation of old pre WWII goverment -conunist didnt like competition.

Komentarz dla bogów algorytmu.

Historically, Jews waited for OTHERS to produce something they could buy and sell at a profit... Trouble is that the OTHERS inevitably noticed this craftiness - then learned to despise it...

Have you heard of Radek Sikorski and his famous household nuke rocket? CH- 55?

You know, you should learn polish because of tradition, in 50s and 60s Polish language was in Israel as popular as Hebrew.

I am Polish and watching from New Zealand Pa Pa

I love Canada. It feels similar to US as far as the life style goes, but soooo much more normal. I often go to Quebec and I really feel there more at home than in the US, even though I have been living here for a few decades. The food in Quebec is amazing!!

There's a gap between end of war and birth od Israel... U could touch this topic considering Palestinian problem.