A Visit To Poland (1950s)

[Music] the colorful holiday costumes rural polish villagers are section of the long history and tradition of Poland so are simple old-fashioned farm implements which are still used to cultivate much of the land and slow methods of transportation which are still used in much of rural Poland stately palaces which once housed the nobility are another Polish tradition that were established in the Middle Ages although history and tradition are important in Poland this is a country slowly becoming part of the modern world modern public buildings transition new and new factories producing a variety of manufactured goods are also important in today's po but with all its recent emphasis on heavy industry and modern Trends the key to understanding Poland is knowing that this is a country where agriculture is most important to the people understanding the geography of Poland will help us discover why farming is important broad flat plains as a physical map of Poland shows occupy nearly 2third of the country in addition to these flat Plains is a region of hills and a fringe of mountains although the mountains and hills are useful to the Polish people this flat region of plains has been the traditional source of Poland's wealth here the land is land that has been valued highly for centuries early in Poland's history when the country was a vast Kingdom large areas of rich productive land were sectioned off and ruled by members of the nobility who lived in state palaces palaces and mansions were maintained by the rental paid by peasants who lived simply and who worked the land belonging to the Nobles the richness of the land and the bumper crops It produced did not go unnoticed throughout history several Nations have been envious of the productive polish soil and the country has often been a Battleground for example in the last half of the 18th century Prussia and Russia joined Austria in attacking the rich almost defenseless country three times Poland was overrun and the land divided between the victors but the Polish people who deeply loved their country continued to survive following World War I in which many polish soldiers fought and died Poland was reestablished as an independent nation through the efforts of the United States once again however at the outbreak of World War II Poland was trapped in a vice between Germany and Russia both these countries again overran the practically defenseless land the destruction that took this Great War was tremendous at the end of the war Polish people as they had after past Wars set about clearing away the rubble and began the gigantic task of rebuilding their cities because of their love for tradition many of the new buildings constructed by the poles are almost exact duplicates of historic buildings which stood centuries ago for example this in the capital city of Warsaw was copied from paintings made by the Italian artist canaletto who who visited Poland in the 18th century rebuilding the cities has been done not only in the tradition of history but in the modern style as well although some of the modern Pol buildings might look oldfashioned in modern American cities a change in building styles was only one of the changes that took place in postwar Poland for peace again brought changes to the map of Poland Poland gained a large area of productive Farmland from Germany but gave up some of its eastern territory to the Soviet Union in addition Soviet troops occupied East Germany and Poland and were instrumental in bringing Communist governments into power in both countries a communist government established the People's Republic of Poland though it was contrary to the country's historic Traditions to the other communist Nations po is important because its people produce much needed goods and food stuffs as we take a closer look at communist govern Poland try to keep in mind how the things this country is doing affect World politics and trade let's begin with the Bread Basket region the wide flat Central Plains area of Poland this area contains over 31 million acres of land under cultivation more than the entire total area of East Germany one of Poland's neighbors not long after the second World War the government tried to control Farm production by establishing large Collective Farms on Collective Farms many families work together but the Machinery as well as the land and houses belong to the government most po polish Farmers did not care for this system of collective farms and today most homes and farms are still owned by individual families one reason for this can be seen in the small villages which dot the Polish Countryside the poles have always been a devoutly religious people and their loyalty to the Catholic Church which opposes communism has helped maintain some Freedom after early services the families return to their farms for breakfast this Farm belongs to the kovski family the morning meal consists of a variety of favorite Polish foods there's the familiar polish rye bread cut in thick generous slices Farm sausage eggs and butter and fresh milk after breakfast work begins all will stay on the farm except Maria who goes to the Village School father kovski and his oldest son stanisa set out for the fields and Maria leaves for school while mother and tush go off to feed the chickens most Farm families raise Hogs and cows as well as poultry much livestock was killed in the war but the raising of animals is once again increasing in Poland Crop Production too is increasing after the unsuccessful experiment in collectivized farming polish Farmers like the kovski produce bumper crops of the very important wheat and other grains such as oats and Rye these grains grow well in the fertile soil and favor a climate of Poland this is a climate that is generally pleasantly cool In Summer with abundant amounts of rainfall also contributing to increased Crop Production is the widespread use by polish farmers of chemical fertilizers these fertilizers are produced in Poland itself in the South the industrial area of the country in this area of Poland we'll find farming for this is an area of mining activity the land here is rich in a variety of Natural Resources new mines are being opened and quantities of ores are being mined today ores such as zinc magnesium barium and others used in the production of chemicals in addition there are mines producing ores for heavy industry lead and copper some iron is also mined iron is essential to the production of steel steel production also depends upon a steady supply of coal Poland is the world's seventh largest producer of hard coal and though much of the coal is used in Polish Industries large amounts are exported this coal is from a mine located in the busy district of Upper cesia where most of Poland's coal mining activity is concentrated in and around upper cesia this large mining area are many industrial cities the people who live in these cities are mainly Factory workers all large factories like the mines of Poland are owned and operated by the government in these factories poles produce a number of different Goods steel of course to be used in Polish Industries such as the making of automobiles heavy Industrial Equipment farm machinery television receivers and other electrical equipment Precision Instruments for use in engineering projects and ship building as Poland's Merchant Fleet continues to grow there are light Industries throughout Poland too some factories manufacture chemicals for farms and Industry others manufacture drugs Tacs and cloth making are more of the important light Industries in Poland industries that are found not only in the South but the more centrally located cities of Poland as well but many of the goods manufactured in Poland are not used in the country many of Poland's Goods find their ways to other countries manufactured mineral and agricultural products are sent by rail by truck or by barge to the busy port cities this barge is on one of the largest rivers in Poland the odor or in Polish the odra during the spring summer and Early Autumn months the odor and other rivers become important highways of trade transporting materials to Poland's Baltic Sea ports such as schin gdin and Ginia in Ginia Goods brought by barges and railroad cars are loaded on to waiting ships for export polish Goods shipped by water to such areas as Africa and ports of Asia and South America are becoming increasingly important in the World Market most polish exports however are sent by rail to communist lands Poland is very important in the block of communist countries for it is a land of many resources its hardworking people have rebuilt their country from near RS once again as has been the tradition of centuries the farmers of the central flat Plains region of Poland are producing a variety of fine crops and livestock to feed the people of Poland and other lands as well from the industrial South again come large amounts of mineral resources coal to power factories and mineral ores to be used as raw materials in the production of many Goods the very same reasons the increasing productivity of the country and its wealth of resources make Poland important not only to the communist block of Nations but to other nations of the world as well