In Episode 71 you will hear: Interviews: • “Memory is Our Homeland” – a tribute to those whose story was never told This happened during WWII, after the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east just 17 days after the Germans attacked Poland from the west, thus beginning the second world war. Thousands of Polish families were forcefully deported to labour camps in Siberia and other parts of the Soviet Union, where many of them died of starvation, disease and exhaustion. Then, when Germany attacked its Soviet ally in 1941, Poles were freed by Stalin and made their way south,…
Author: Malgorzata P. Bonikowska
This story is featured in Episode 71 Our loyal POLcast listeners will surely remember a very popular story we featured over two episodes – Episode 46 and Episode 47, entitled “A child’s journey from the Arctic to the Equator” (Part 1 and Part 2), where I interviewed our POLcast friend Irene Tomaszewski, autor and the editor-in-chief of a great online magazine Cosmopolitan Review. We talked about her childhood and the unbelievable journey she and her family made from Siberia to Africa. This happened during WWII, after the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east just 17 days after the Germans…
This story is featured in Episode 70 It’s fantastic that children of emigrants, Poles who settled in other countries such as Canada, even though they were often born and educated here, are interetsed in their roots, cultural heritage and want to incorporate their Polishness into their identity. There are a few Polish Canadian youth organizations, including the one and only Quo Vadis movement, which we have featured on POLcast. A Polish Canadian young professionals’ organization, whose launch we celebrated on POLcast last year – Konekt is a bit different from other such groups. It’s been growing and expanding. To learn…
This story is featured in Episode 70 I am introducing to you our new POLcast collaborator – Maria Rozynska and her Just Be Cooking. Maria will be collaborating with POLcast and will have her own segment in each episode. Originally from Warsaw, Maria Rozynska grew up in a Polish household observing her mother, grandmother and great grandmother create consistently yummy Easter European cuisine picking up generations of knowledge and recipes. They were the recipes worth talking about and ones Maria wanted to spread. Through her cultural cooking school Just Be Cooking, Maria now teaches people how to make traditional food,…
In Episode 70 you will hear: Interviews: • A no-barrier approach to Polishness It’s fantastic that children of emigrants, Poles who settled in other countries such as Canada, even though they were often born and educated here, are interetsed in their roots, cultural heritage and want to incorporate their Polishness into their identity. There are a few Polish Canadian youth organizations, including the one and only Quo Vadis movement, which we have featured on POLcast. A Polish Canadian young professionals’ organization, whose launch we celebrated on POLcast last year – Konekt is a bit different from other such groups. It’s…
This story is featured in Episode 70 How can knowing multiple languages help you stay alive? A Polish American academic Tadeusz “Tad” Haska survived WWII and the stalinist repressions thanks to his unusual linguistics talent. This incredible story was lovingly described by his granddaughter Stefanie Naumann in her book How Languages Saved Me: A Polish Story of Survival, released in September 2019 with Koehler Books. *** Winner of the Royal Dragonfly Book Award *** 2019 First Place – Historical Nonfiction 2019 First Place – Memoir It’s a great book and a must for anyone interested in world war II and…
This story is featured in Episode 69 Marta Hanyżkiewicz, born in Poland, is a student of business and psychology at New York University and Baruch College in New York City. She is blind but has decided to live her life like any other person her age who can see. This is what she says about herself: I’m Marta. I like yoga, kickboxing and Caesar salad. I’m studying business and psychology at New York University and Baruch College. And I am blind. I’ve lost my scholarship and without your help I won’t get my graduation diploma. Międzychód is a small Polish…
This story is featured in Episode 69 Arthur Lewinowicz, a violin and viola player, composer and teacher, has made it his life mission to help kids with various disabilities and special needs learn to play the violin and enjoy music. His school Singing Strings in Toronto offers unconventional music education to everybody, including kids wth special needs and from low income families. We featured Arthur in Episode 59 of POLcast. The corresponding story – Each child deserves to learn music Arthur has been fighting with cancer since August. This is the fundraising page on gofundme initiated by his friend Lavender where…
In Episode 68 you will hear: Interviews: • How young Polish Canadians stirred up Polish youth around the world – 10 years of Quo Vadis On September 20-22, 2019 delegates from all over the world came to Toronto to celebrate 10 years of Quo Vadis, a unique youth movement, one and only in the world. POLcast talks to Ania Barycka, the conference spiritus movens, organizer and veteran. • An Australian Quo Vadis organizer’s experience with polishness While at the 10th QV conference in Toronto, I met a really enthusiastic young Pole Szymon Motylek, who now lives in Edinburgh, Scotland. His life…
This story is featured in Episode 68 On September 20-22, 2019 delegates from all over the world came to Toronto to celebrate 10 years of Quo Vadis, a unique youth movement, one and only in the world. Quo Vadis in Latin means “where are you going?” It is the title of a 1896 iconic historical novel by one of the most famous Polish writers Henryk Sienkiewicz, which contributed to his Nobel Prize in literature in 1905. Young Polish Canadians adopted this phrase as the title of their conferences. The focus on the themes of heritage, leadership and unity. Over…