Babcia (means grandma in Polish) came to Chicagoland Saturday to spend time with us for a week. Since we've moved out to the midwest we don't get to see her that often because she lives on the East Coast. Whereas it was a 3.5-4 hour drive from Babcia's house when we lived in Virginia it has now turned into a 16 hour drive.
My grandfather (left), my grandmother (center with baby), my great-aunt, and don't know the other guy... maybe my great- great-uncle? circa 1959
She told me stories that I had never heard before, about her childhood in Poland during World War 2. How her family had to live underground for two years, how food was so scarce that her mother thought she would starve to death, how no one dared tell anyone that her father was born in the United States and that he was living in the United States during the war as to not incur the Nazi wrath. (My great-grandfather after leaving the U.S. as a child, returned in May 1939 and in September, Poland was invaded by Germany).
It's amazing to think of the progress that Poland has made since then. After the Western Powers handed Poland over to Soviet Russia, a dark time in Polish history ensued. With the fall of communism and the oppression that came to characterize it in 1989, new possibilities opened up for the country. In 2004 Poland joined the European Union and though this transition has not been an easy one (a lot of xenophobia going on with the movement of Polish workers to the richer European countries), it was the only European economy to achieve positive growth in 2009.
It was an amazing experience to visit Poland for the first time this summer. I wanted to write a blog post about it, haven't yet, but I definitely will soon.
