Independence Day celebrations, marked on November 11, and the global financial crunch are the main topics this week.

weekly press reviewed by Krystyna Kolosowska

Tygodnik Powszechny says that on November 11, 1918, Poland rose from a state of non-existence, which had lasted 123 years. Foundations of the future state were emerging amidst frenetic activity of the November days. But these efforts did not necessarily have to succeed. Between 1918 and 1921 six wars were waged, the most important of which was the Polish-Soviet war, which decided about the future of Europe. The condition of Poland was badly affected by the crisis of the 1930s, which in Poland lasted two years longer than in other European countries. It is all the more surprising how fast Poland grew at that time. The weekly says it was thanks to the landed gentry, a group of educated people, who cultivated national traditions and were ready to serve newly independent Poland, usually not for materialistic reasons. In another section of this weekly on Poland’s independence, historian, Professor Wojciech Roszkowski shares this view, saying that the main achievement of that time was a whole generation of citizens, who were ready to sacrifice a lot for their country. It was a generation later massacred by World War II and then by the communists. 

Under a headline “Miracles at the Vistula”, Polityka writes that in August 1920, when newly independent Poland was less than two years old, a miracle happened. The Polish army stopped a Bolshevik offensive and saved Europe from a sprawling communist revolution. The second miracle happened in 1989 – Poles created an independent state after four decades of communist rule and oppression, and changed the history of Europe. Polityka compares the first twenty-year-long period, between 1918 – when Poland regained independence – and the outbreak of World War II in 1939, and the period after 1989, when the communist system collapsed. There is a fundamental difference between the two. After 1918 Poland was surrounded by enemies, it had to strive to build its security in Europe and create survival prospects for itself – knocking at the doors of France and England and trying to use the weak League of Nations. Today – it is a member of NATO, the European Union, has good relations with its neighbors and is in alliance with the United States.

Christmas shopping has begun. Poles are not scared of the financial and economic crisis, writes Newsweek Poland. The US dollar costs 3 zlotys, the euro has risen to almost 4 zlotys in value, panic reigns on the stock market and the future is uncertain. But it looks like Christmas is more important than fear. A survey commissioned by Newsweek shows that despite warning signals, Poles will readily devote their time, energy and money to the ritual of Christmas shopping . In mid-October, right in the middle of the financial cyclone, almost three thirds of Poles declared that their spending on Christmas preparations and presents will be the same as last year, which was a record one. What is happening? Simply, Poles are watching the global crunch from a distance. The only tangible result of the crisis for the Polish consumer so far has been a dramatic increase in the cost of credits in foreign currency – and it rose from a very low level. The cost of the economic slowdown, which is awaiting Poland, will have to be paid in a few months from now, when reductions and pay cuts begin. Poles are expecting this. But the uncertain future, combined with the joyous Yuletide atmosphere, will create a dissonance, which will make us escape into consumption even more readily, psychologists say. 

Wprost writes that some Poles have already started to panic. The mass media report that some foreign currency exchange counters have run out of dollars, that demand for gold has risen and that banks are readying more cash in the event of bigger payouts. Wprost says that the Polish economy can resist the crisis because the scope of operation of Polish banks, compared with the size of the economy, is fairly small. The slowdown may last about two years but Poland is not facing a recession. The weekly disagrees with politicians who say that Poland would be able to resist the crunch better if it were in the euro zone. In the opinion of Wprost the fact that Poland has not embraced the euro so far is its asset in the combat against the crisis. The Polish banking system does not need additional injections of capital. If there was such a need when Poland is in the euro zone, a danger might arise that the government would have no influence on the amount of money circulating in the economy.

The weekly Solidarnosc calls for just treatment of blind children and those with impaired eyesight in Poland. Despite alarming signals from teachers dealing with such kids, exam tests for them are simply copied from exams for children with normal eyesight. Specialists have been pointing out for years that blind children cannot imagine a geometric solid like a prism, for example, simply by touching its raised representation on paper. Due to mistakes in using graphic representation of objects an average blind pupil may have lost anything between 16 and 23 exam points.