Looking to access paid articles across multiple policy topics
Interested in policy insights for EU professional organisations
Protests were held across the country on All Saints’ Day Monday following the death of a 30-year-old woman who died in a hospital in Pszczyna while 22 weeks pregnant
Doctors were told to hold off on removing the foetus until…
Protests were held across the country on All Saints’ Day Monday following the death of a 30-year-old woman who died in a hospital in Pszczyna while 22 weeks pregnant. [Shutterstock / KieferPix]
The death of a pregnant woman in Poland has sparked renewed political controversy as women's rights groups and opposition politicians point the finger of blame at the country’s near-total ban on abortions.
It has been one year since Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal ruled that women can terminate their pregnancies only in cases of rape or incest
The ruling excludes fetal defects — which account for the vast majority of terminations in the country
The death of the 30-year-old woman in a hospital in Pszczyna
is the first to be publicly linked to the ruling
The case dates from September but was first reported over the weekend
A lawyer representing the woman’s family said that the medical decision to not carry out a possibly life-saving abortion was linked to the binding rules.
The news of the death comes at a politically delicate time. A citizens' legal initiative, from an anti-abortion group, that mandates long prison terms in cases of abortion was recently submitted to the Polish parliament's lower house
where it was accepted by Speaker Elżbieta Witek for a first reading
The proposal foresees sentences of five to 25 years
and in certain circumstances life imprisonment
incest and endangerment of the mother as exceptions to the abortion ban
According to a statement by Jolanta Budzowska
the lawyer representing the woman’s family
the unnamed woman was hospitalized in her 22nd week of pregnancy when her amniotic fluid broke
Doctors confirmed birth defects in the pregnancy during her hospitalization
The death of the fetus during treatment sent the woman into septic shock
said that the doctors were taking a "wait and see" approach
They held back from draining her uterus until the fetus died — which the lawyer said was in accordance with the rules limiting abortion
The case has been referred to prosecutors by the family's legal team
The hospital where the woman was treated said that the “only factor” guiding its treatment was the safety of the patient and the fetus
It said that the decision on whether to terminate the pregnancy was “another issue” and that “at this point it should only be emphasized that all medical decisions were made taking into account the legal provisions and standards of conduct in force in Poland.”
Budzowska said in a separate interview that while it was necessary to verify whether medical malpractice had taken place
“we cannot ignore the legal environment in which we operate after the court's ruling.”
She noted that while the law does allow abortions in cases where there is a risk to the mother's health
bearing a fetus with birth defects can itself be a threat to health
by not allowing pregnancy in cases of birth defects
requires women to carry the fetus for longer
It is then difficult to determine when exactly the threat is large enough to justify termination
"A situation of medical uncertainty and legal uncertainty arose," the lawyer said
The Polish court's ruling last year sparked weeks-long protests across the country
Critics of the ban have once again come out against the decision following news of the woman's death
Opposition and women's rights groups say it was a direct result of the fact that the doctors in Poland are afraid to carry out abortions so as not to be held legally accountable
“The doctors were waiting until the fetus was dead. They were waiting and watching, until the fetus’ heart stopped beating. She also had a heart that kept on beating!” Aborcyjny DreamTeam, a group that helps Polish women with abortion, said in a statement
Civic groups are organizing silent protests across the country and on social media under the slogan of “Not one more.”
Irene Donadio, advocacy officer at the International Planned Parenthood Federation European Network, which advocates for abortion rights, compared the case to that of Savita Halappanavar, who died in 2012 in Ireland following a miscarriage after being denied an abortion. The case led to the law being changed in the country
"How much must a woman be dying before the doctor can take action without fearing prosecution?" said Donadio
"A patient should never be in the hands of a doctor who is afraid to go to jail."
Opposition politicians also joined in to criticize the government — which they see as in political control of the court that made the ruling and ultimately responsible for the decision
Polish MEP Sylwia Spurek of the Greens said in a written statement to POLITICO that the death of the woman showed that the ruling had a "chilling" effect on doctors
The case "shows how much women in Poland are endangered," said Spurek
who is vice chair of the European Parliament's Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality
"Today there is systemic institutional oppression of women in Poland."
Barbara Nowacka, a member of parliament from Poland's opposition Civic Coalition, criticized the "paralyzing effect of a hopeless
cruel law that puts the life of a fetus who had no chance to survive above the life of a woman with life experience
The politicians of the ruling conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party say that the death was a result of a medical error
abortion is still legal in Poland and that the ban is not a result of their policy but the Constitutional Tribunal’s interpretation of the law
“The fact that people die is biology,” said PiS MP Marek Suski
sometimes women still die during childbirth.”
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article misstated when a citizen's initiative was submitted to the Polish parliament
Local leaders say they urgently need more funds to address housing crunch and build schools
warning that Warsaw’s proposed reforms are merely cosmetic
The country hasn’t faced energy shortages despite the war — but power companies have taken a major hit
The plan aims to rapidly find alternative sources of energy while ramping up energy savings and renewables
Protesters link woman’s death by septic shock to new restrictions on ending unviable pregnancies
Her family say that the hospital staff refused her life-saving health care because they were afraid of breaking the country’s strict abortion law
Demonstrators were joined by senior opposition politicians
the former president of the European Council
I have to stay in bed and they can’t do anything,” Izabela – whose surname has not been made public– wrote in a text message to her mother after being admitted to a hospital in Pszczyna
they will wait for the baby to die or for something to start happening
The consultant responsible for Izabela told her husband the death was caused by a pulmonary embolism
the initial autopsy found that the woman died of septic shock
View image in fullscreenPeople light up their mobile phones in front of the Royal Castle in Warsaw
Photograph: Czarek Sokołowski/APIzabela died on 22 September but her death was made public by the family last week
sparking controversy and protests across Poland
“Following the tightening of the abortion law in Poland due to the 2020 ruling of the constitutional tribunal
there remains only one ground for an abortion which would have applied in this case: endangerment of the life or health of the mother,” Budzowska said
it is hard for the doctors to apply this in practice
They do not know if they make the right decision when this real danger occurs
If they carry out an abortion too early and the prosecutors then decide that there was no danger to the mother
they can face up to three years in prison.”
that she has people to live for,” a woman who shared the hospital room with Izabela told the Polish TV station TVN
the hospital staff refused to induce a birth or perform a C-section before Izabela’s foetus died
But they kept telling her that the heart is beating
and that as long as the heart is beating this is the way it must be,” she said in a televised interview
Izabela was not accompanied to hospital by friends or family when her waters broke in the 22nd week of pregnancy
She kept in touch with her loved ones via WhatsApp
The series of increasingly desperate messages Izabela sent to her mother the day before her death been admitted as evidence to the regional prosecutors in Katowice
who are investigating the case for potential criminal medical malpractice
A spokesperson for the hospital has said that Izabela was “under constant medical care” and that she received treatment from the moment she was admitted
The woman is like an incubator and the baby is suffering too
it has nothing to breathe with,” Izabela texted her mother in the afternoon before her death
Although prenatal tests showed that the foetus was at a high risk of several abnormalities
her family say that Izabela was determined to carry the pregnancy to term and was not considering an abortion
According to abortion legislation in Poland
it is not illegal for a person to have an abortion up until the 22nd week of pregnancy by
self-administering abortion pills sent from abroad
There are several non-profit organisations
that help pregnant people secure such medication
Many clinics in the Czech Republic and Slovakia – not far from Izabela’s home town – also cater specifically to Poles seeking the procedure
Although performing an illegal abortion on someone else
can be punished by up to three years in prison
few people have served time for such crimes
despite the considerable restrictions that have applied to the procedure over the last 20 years
But a new bill that would treat illegal abortions as equal to murder
and therefore punishable with life imprisonment
has been introduced to parliament via a citizen’s motion
An Aborcyjny Dream Team activist has been charged with aiding an illegal abortion
after a man notified prosecutors that his wife received abortion pills in the post
This was the first time that an activist from the organisation
Budzowska said that Izabela’s family would like to see changes made to the abortion legislation
“so that women will not have to die due to the legal doubts of the doctors”
who has been described by her friends as “strong and determined”
is survived by her husband and a nine-year-old daughter
This article was amended on 7 November 2021
The photo of protesters holding up their phones was taken in front of the Royal Palace in Warsaw
not the health ministry as stated in an earlier caption
It was further amended on 8 November 2021 to correct the time of death
Mohoric retains race lead on rising finish
claiming the tough uphill sprint finish with a blistering acceleration 150 metres from the line
Race leader Matej Mohorič (Bahrain Victorious) finished several bike lengths behind
with João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) surging past Michal Kwiatkowski (Ineos Grenadiers) to claim third
The very hilly 198.8-kilometre stage between Pszczyna and Bielsko-Biala ended with a bunch sprint of some 40 riders
with a crash in the final kilometre bringing down some riders in the middle of the pack
The stage was overshadowed by an earlier incident in the final local circuit, when a motorbike went off the road and struck various spectators
with initial reports saying four members of the public had been injured
Mohoric remains the overall leader ahead of Thursday’s crucial time trial stage
a 16.6km rolling race against the clock in the city of Katowice
by a narrow margin ahead of Almeida.
No sooner had the 160 riders remaining in the race started from Pscyzyna than a blizzard of early attacks materialized
but none of them secured any lasting advantage
After the fast and furious opening segment with the first hour run off at an average speed of 45.2 kph
it was only when a move with Thomas De Gendt (Lotto-Dstny)
Tobias Andresen (Team dsm-firmenich) and Markus Hoelgard (Lidl-Trek) finally formed that the stage settled into a more stable pattern
The five breakaways headed into the mountainous middle segment of stage 5 with an advantage of just over three minutes
But even if the rest were not an overall threat
Hoelgard’s relatively high placing on GC
meant the quintet never going to get much more of a gap
The five maintained their advantage on a Bahrain-led peloton over the first challenge of the day
verdant countryside of southern Poland to the foot of the first of two category 1 ascents
They continued to collaborate well on the climb
but after initially holding the bunch at bay
Ineos’ and Bahrain’s much more aggressive riding on the second and last first-category
Ineos Grenadiers continued to hammer away on the front on the rolling approach roads to Bielsko-Biala’s seven-kilometre finishing circuit
tackled three times and including a grinding uphill rise to the line
the British team piled on the pressure on the cobbled streets of Bielsko-Biala’s historic centre
even as De Gendt’s persistence reduced the front group to himself and Hoelgard
Bahrain and UAE were both still well represented
the GC teams seemed under little inclination to risk more last minute attacks
with two laps to go the gap was down to eight seconds
and while De Gendt still battled on regardless
it was only for him be swept up 13 kilometres from the line
Ineos’ iron grip on affairs at the head of the pack and the toll of the previous climbs on the day helped prevent any more attacks from going clear
as news broke over race radios that there had been a crash in the finish involving a motorbike and the public
the bunch suddenly slowed before finally regaining a ragged kind of momentum in the last kilometre
In a confused finale on the grinding three kilometre uphill to the line
Ineos hit the front again to try and to set things up for their GC contender Kwiatkowski
But while a crash within sight of the finishing gantries saw around a dozen riders go down
Van Den Berg then accelerated out of the pack to claim the first World Tour victory of his career
Results powered by FirstCycling
Alasdair FotheringhamSocial Links NavigationAlasdair Fotheringham has been reporting on cycling since 1991
He has covered every Tour de France since 1992 bar one
as well as numerous other bike races of all shapes and sizes
ranging from the Olympic Games in 2008 to the now sadly defunct Subida a Urkiola hill climb in Spain
he has also written for The Independent, The Guardian, ProCycling
Nov 8, 2021 | Politics, Society
Poland’s health ministry has issued new guidance to hospitals on treating complications in pregnancies after a woman died following a decision by doctors to wait for her foetus to die before removing it. Many have blamed their decision on last year’s introduction of a near-total ban on abortion
As silent protests took place in many cities and towns throughout Poland following the death of the woman in hospital in Pszczyna
the health minister hinted that doctors treating her may have feared legal repercussions for terminating the abortion
a number of other similar cases of women dying – or being at risk of dying – due to doctors’ reluctance to terminate pregnancies have been published in the media
Sound of silence #anijednejwiecej pic.twitter.com/Y546bnEN1J
— Jakub Wende (@JakubWende) November 6, 2021
“The death of the 30-year-old woman admitted to hospital in Pszczyna is a very difficult issue,” said Adam Niedzielski
“One that will be investigated by the prosecutor’s office and the National Health Fund.”
“Perhaps the interpretation of last year’s ruling could have resulted in a doctor being afraid to make a decision,” added Niedzielski, referring to last year’s decision by the Constitutional Tribunal that made nearly all abortions illegal. Such doubts should be clarified by the publication of a new set of guidelines entitled “The mother’s life and health are most important”
The document outlines the necessary procedures and stresses that if there is a threat to a pregnant woman’s life
including suspicion of infection in the uterus or haemorrhage
current regulations allow termination of the pregnancy
The law “clearly specifies that risk to mother’s life or health constitutes a premise [for terminating a pregnancy],” said Niedzielski
He added that “it is enough for one of these premises to occur for a doctor to react”
There is no abortion ban in Poland, says Kaczyński. Women “can arrange abortions abroad”
the ministry point out that the patient has to be informed at every stage of prenatal care about any risks to her health or life
“We have to fully stress that doctors can’t be afraid of taking obvious decisions
based on their experience and current medical knowledge,” the ministry wrote
The document lists a number of procedures that should be followed in each instance of premature rupture of membranes
who previously ordered an audit in the hospital in which Izabela died
has also asked the head of the National Health Fund to monitor all the instances throughout the country in which the life or health of pregnant women could be at risk
amid the weekend’s large-scale protests over the death
other stories emerged showing that this might have not been an isolated case
One of them took place in mid-June in Świdnica in southwestern Poland
“My wife Ania was told to give birth to a dead child,” recalls her husband
who after reading about what happened in Pszczyna decided to talk to the media
“It’s the same situation,” he told Gazeta Wyborcza
Agnieszka w ciąży pozamacicznej usłyszała w szpitalu w Kaliszu: Mamy związane ręce, musimy czekać https://t.co/tzfYLPG3MK
— Bartosz T. Wieliński 🇵🇱💯 (@Bart_Wielinski) November 7, 2021
Ania was brought to the hospital in the fifth month of pregnancy as she was feeling unwell
it turned out that the foetus was no longer alive
yet still they told her to give birth,” the husband told Onet
died of septic shock within 24 hours of admission to the hospital
I could have orphaned two kids,” said Agnieszka from Kalisz
who told Gazeta Wyborcza that she was denied a termination of an ectopic pregnancy
with doctors saying “that’s the climate we have at the moment”
A new poll shows that a large majority of people in Poland want the country’s abortion law to be liberalised
The findings follow similar results in previous surveys
Three quarters of Poles want abortion law softened amid protests over pregnant woman’s death
argued that the tragedy has nothing to do with the abortion law
which they note still allows for pregnancies to be terminated if they threaten the health or life of the mother
an ultraconservative organisation that lobbied for the restriction of abortion in Poland
has argued that the tragedy is the result of medical malpractice and criticised those who blame it on the abortion law
accused the opposition of playing “a political game with a tragic death”
Abortion ban forces Polish women to seek terminations abroad and mental health support at home
Main image credit: Adrianna Bochenek/Agencja Wyborcza.pl
Agnieszka Wądołowska is deputy editor of Notes from Poland
She has previously worked for Gazeta.pl and Tokfm.pl and contributed to Gazeta Wyborcza
Defence, Energy & Climate, News
The project will strengthen national security and regional infrastructure
Business, Law, News, Politics
Figures from PiS have dismissed the claims against Karol Nawrocki as “lies”
Business, News, Politics
Karol Nawrocki even suggested that the state security services were involved in creating the scandal
Apr 30, 2025 | Defence, Hot news, News, Politics
That response will include “large Polish and NATO exercises in Poland”
Apr 29, 2025 | Business, Hot news, News, Society
Those employed in Poland work on average the third-longest hours in the European Union
Apr 28, 2025 | Business, Energy & Climate, Hot news, News, Politics
Westinghouse and Bechtel were first chosen in 2022 as partners on the 192 billion zloty ($51 billion) project
please consider helping us to continue and expand it
[email protected]
Copyright © 2025 Notes From Poland | Design jurko studio | Code by 2sides.pl
Senior Research Fellow at the Global Europe Centre
ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR
Weronika Strzyżyńska is currently studying journalism at Goldsmiths as a Scott Trust Bursary recipient
She has written on issues immigration and Brexit for New Statesman and Prospect
Agnieszka Wądołowska is managing editor of Notes from Poland
ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR
ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland and assistant professor of history at the Pedagogical University of Krakow
He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications
The Independent and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna
ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR
Stanley Bill is the founder and editor-at-large of Notes from Poland.He is also Senior Lecturer in Polish Studies and Director of the Polish Studies Programme at the University of Cambridge
Stanley has spent more than ten years living in Poland
He founded Notes from Poland in 2014 as a blog dedicated to personal impressions
cultural analysis and political commentary
He is committed to the promotion of deeper knowledge and understanding of Poland
He is the Chair of the Board of the Notes from Poland Foundation
ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR
ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR
Professor of European Studies at Oxford University
ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR
Professor at the Institute of History of the Jagiellonian University
ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR
Executive Director of Taube Family Foundation
ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR
Associate Professor at the Institute of Political Studies of the Polish Academy of Science
ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR
ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR
ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR
Russian bikers from the Putin-friendly Night Wolves motorcycle club have visited the former German concentration camp in Auschwitz and a Russian soldiers’ WWII cemetery in Pszczyna
They claim they will conduct their rally to Berlin as planned
The ones that visited Auschwitz and Pszczyna hid the fact that they are from Night Wolves
rented bikes and drove to Poland to lay flowers in the camp
one of the biggest Nazi extermination centres
which was liberated by the Soviet Union’s Red Army on 27 January 1945
Russian bikers started their rally from Moscow to Berlin last Saturday (25 April)
They wanted to take the same route as the Red Army in their so called “victory march” over fascism in 1945 via Minsk
they reached the Polish-Belarusian border but were refused entry on technical grounds
they tried to get in through Lithuania but were stopped there as well
The whole event was branded as a “Russian provocation”
\"The kind of political demonstrations performed by the Night Wolves do not serve European-Russian relations well,\" Polish foreign minister Grzegorz Schetyna said
nationalistic world view and supports the politics of Russian president Vladimir Putin
Putin himself has said they are “carrying out very important patriotic and military work”
The bikers took an active role in the annexation of Crimea and they are allegedly involved in the war in Eastern Ukraine
“They praise Joseph Stalin and each year they celebrate the end of the Great Patriotic War – part of WWII which started in October 1941
when Hitler attacked the Soviet Union,” Anna Maria Dynar
Russia expert at The Polish Institute of International Affairs
The victory over Nazi Germany is central to Putin’s nationalist propaganda
But there are important differences between the “European” and “Russian” narratives of WWII history
“For former Soviet republics and the satellite countries
the so-called Russian victory over fascism was the beginning of Soviet occupation
so for us there is not much to celebrate on 9 May
they think we are ungrateful,” Dynar explains
chair of the subcommittee on security and sefence
believes that the Night Wolves rally will be “an opportunity to offend the people of Central and Eastern Europe and promote Russia’s bogus historical propaganda”
ties in perfectly with the Kremlin’s latest strategies,” she said
“By not letting them into our country we show that we don’t accept their actions
It’s our solidarity with Ukraine,” Wiktor Ross
former charge d’affaires in Polish embassy in Moscow
the controversy is already a win for Putin
the EU shows its hypocrisy in the way it grants civil liberties only to some
Russian propaganda will praise a symbolic victory march over resurgent fascism
In both cases Russian propaganda wins,\" Jan W
the situation reflects the bad state of EU-Russia relations
\"Normally such minor events should not affect diplomatic relations
But in this case we had embassies involved
there were some comments from both Polish and Russian foreign ministries
It just shows that the tension is really huge
there is no consensus in Polish society on whether the Night Wolves should be allowed to pass through
According to a Millward Brown SMG/KRC poll
52 percent of respondents didn’t want the Russian bikers to cross Poland
but 40 percent thought they should be allowed to
0 CommentsEU Politicalby Paulina Pacula
log in or subscribeEnjoy access to all articles and 25 years of archives
Become a member for as low as €1,75 per week
Log in and download the free e-publication of the latest A&B
The printed version is available for sale online in our store and press salons throughout Poland
unique e-mail [will also be used as login in the portal]
Only name - check the correctness of the data
Only the last name - check the correctness of the data
password must be at least 8 characters long
* fields required for registration; data can be completed in account settings after logging in
** establishment of a student account follows verification of the validity of the student ID card
Please try later or let us know: contact
Technology: aitnet.pl Ⓒ AiB Publishing House 2025
officers of the CBA Regional Office in Katowice detained former employees of Alior Bank SA: 5 men and a woman
Procedural activities were carried out at the prosecutor's request in Warsaw
The detainees were brought to the Silesian Branch of the Department for Organized Crime and Corruption of the National Prosecutor's Office in Katowice
The prosecutor presented the suspects with a total of 10 charges
The investigation findings indicate that in connection with granting credit support to Meat Processing Business Henryk Kania SA based on documents certifying untruth
actions were taken to the detriment of Alior Bank SA
served as director of the Agro Business Department of Alior Bank
The remaining persons are former bank employees who
issued opinions on the justification for granting financial support to the entrepreneur from Pszczyna
The total value of the damage caused to the bank is estimated at PLN 161 million
The prosecutor filed a motion with the Court to apply temporary arrest to Wojciech O
the Court applied a property guarantee of PLN 1 million
a ban on leaving the country and police supervision to Wojciech O
Preventive measures were applied to the remaining three individuals in the form of property guarantees ranging from PLN 20,000 to PLN 100,000
police supervision combined with a ban on contacting specific individuals
Police supervision and a ban on leaving the country were applied to one individual
Tens of thousands of people demonstrated Saturday (6 November) in Warsaw and dozens of other Polish cities to denounce a nine-month-old abortion law blamed for claiming the life of a pregnant mother
A protest under the slogan 'Not one more' in Wroclaw
which banned terminations in cases of foetal defects
sparked all over the country under the slogan 'Not one more'
after the death of septic shock of a 30-year-old pregnant woman from Pszczyna
Thousands of people took to the streets of Poland for a fifth straight day of protests against a constitutional court ruling that would impose a near-total ban on abortion in the EU country
Piotr Korczyński talks with Józef Kłyk about the Silesian western
and the dramatic fate of the Silesian people during World War II
When you served in the bomb disposal unit in Łódź
you ended up at the set of the “Hubal” movie
believed to be one of the best Polish wartime films
we were responsible for pyrotechnical effects
but we also worked as extras in the battle scenes
there were many Silesians who spoke both the Silesian dialect and German language well
so most often we played Wehrmacht soldiers
In one of the scenes we stepped in as a German unit between two burning barns
There was such heat there that the helmets deformed on our heads and began to resemble those of the Red Army
Germans entered the clouds of smoke and Russians ran out of them
But your film experience began much earlier
In my childhood I found old issues of the German magazine “Filmwelt” in the attic of my family’s house
beautiful photos from the set of “The Gold Rush”
All this “backroom of illusion” immediately captured my imagination
My first fascination with the Wild West is closely tied to him
I started to prepare western accessories: belts with pouches
I was also looking for a stage because I wanted to shoot a classic western scene of an assault on such a vehicle
I remembered then that in Bojszów there is an old landauer [a glass coach in the Silesian dialect]
Its owner Tomek Rogalski was a full-fledged horse-rider
but he also liked to show off his riding skills
I was only 17; so when I came to him with my friends
I was amazed to see that he had a Pszczyna [a town in Poland] hat with a wide roundabout on his head
tall leather shoes and so-called manchestroks – tight trousers
Just fasten the belt with collars and it’s ready
But what surprised me the most was the cowboy shawl around his neck
I think you tied this scarf to the coolness of yours”
When I ride in the field it gets sweaty; here’s the rein
here’s where the levers be to the machine – when it gets sweaty ‘dis shawl take my sweat away
and then it dry on my back as I be turning it around.” He used the scarf like cowboys on the prairie
when Kazimierz Kutz saw “Człowiek znikąd” (Man from Nowhere)
“You are natural there because the Silesians in Texas didn’t buy horses for adornment but for work
so after work they would sit on their mounts and run as much as they could to a saloon to get a beer.”
You also made films about the fate of the Bojszów residents during the Silesian Uprisings
which were no less dramatic than the experiences of the Silesians in Texas
I made my first film about the Silesian Uprising in 1976
The script of “Ku Polsce” (Towards Poland) was based on the memories of two veterans of the Bojszów Uprising still living at that time – Konrad Kapias and Wiktor Piekorz
who survived the massacre in the Third Silesian Uprising
I focused on the motifs of the First Uprising
the headquarters of the Polish Military Organization were installed in Oświęcim
They ordered the Bojszów residents to acquire weapons from a warehouse located in the German manor
that the weapons would be used in the planned uprising
so they reported with them to the headquarters in Oświęcim
and the staff announced that they were needed to fight the Bolsheviks on the eastern border
for which they were thrown into custody by the Poles
Then a paradoxical situation arose – the militiamen were outlawed by both the German and Polish authorities
when the uprising broke out in August 1919
They killed four Grenschutz [a volunteer territorial militia unit] but their commander managed to escape in a woman’s disguise and brought relief
When the Germans surrounded the village to pacify it
Those who managed to escape from the cauldron took the escape route across the Vistula River to the Polish side
My film tells the story of the events in question
You show the equally convoluted fate of the Silesian people in the Second World War
Did you use your father’s frontline experience in these films
my father’s life was marked by a truly western-like episode
Before my father was sent to the Second Corps of General Anders
had ritualistic bands and held bowie knives in their hands
My father was incorporated into the Wehrmacht even though he had only one eye
He lost the other one when he was 16-year-old and chopping wood
he was not conscripted into the Polish Army
When my father reported to the recruiting officer that he couldn’t see one eye
“You are the best prepared of all for the army here; others have to close the eye when shooting.”
How long did your father serve in the German army
he was appointed a liaison officer and often took a train to Warsaw with one of the officers
He told me that he always started his journey in the “Nur für Deutsche” compartment
the passengers did not look very favorably at his uniform
Once upon a time they talked quite freely about the contraband they had hidden in their luggage and under their clothes
my father suddenly spoke dialectical Polish
there will be a military policeman’s checkpoint and they will take all of you to jail.” He also turned to a teenage girl sitting next to him
it’s too heavy for the violin alone.” Everyone went pale
“I take it through the checkpoint for you”
the gendarmes stopped the soldier loaded with suitcases
Then father pointed to his commander sitting in the wagon and shouted
it’s all his!” The officer looked out only through the window and confirmed in German
ja.” That’s how my father started working with the Polish underground
First he was in Sevastopol where the fights took place in the heat of 50 degrees Celsius
and the temperature reached minus 50 degrees Celsius
my father managed to break away from the Stalingrad hell thanks to a friend of his
Together with a certain Bavarian he deserted and both of them reached Romania
There they were arrested by the SS and put against the wall
the same familiar officer with the survivors of their unit was passing by and he certified that the convicts were not deserters but soldiers sent for reconnaissance
any filmmaker would be afraid to invent such a story so as not to be accused of too much fantasy
someone reported to nearby Auschwitz that two soldiers in field uniforms with frostbite marks on their faces
thus most likely deserters from the eastern front
An SS officer who came home gave both of them an alternative: either death or they return to the mother unit in Przemyśl
father was unexpectedly sent to the eastern front again
but eventually he was sent with the unit to the West
or rather pretending to defend Frankfurt against the Americans
Polish officers came to the POW camp and announced that those who felt Polish should come forward
Some of the boys did come forward but my father decided to wait
He did the right thing because the Germans slit all their throats at night
The next time Polish recruiters arrived in trucks and then father entered on the list of volunteers for the Polish Army
They were traveling on open train platforms
and the French thought they were German prisoners
so they poured boiling water and hot tar on them from bridges and viaducts
In Marseilles they were dressed up in British battle tracksuits with patches with the inscription “Poland” and sailed to Naples
From there they were taken to Bari and incorporated into the armored regiment of the 2nd Corps
so they started to practice fighting with..
because then it was planned to send Poles to the Japanese front
The communist secret police officers waited for my father at home Not because he served in the Wehrmacht
he managed to get away from them and hid for a year
On the basis of my father’s experiences I made “Czterech synów ojciec miał” (Father and His Lordship had Four Sons) and “Nie wszystko mi wojna zabrała” (War Didn’t Take Everything away from Me)
You used many other accounts of Silesian people on the fronts of World War II in your films
In “War Didn’t Take Everything away from Me” I told the story of two Wehrmacht conscripts who were taken to Lviv
One day they stand under barracks and smoking cigarettes
Suddenly a young woman with a child in her arms approaches them and asks
you speak Polish and you are in the German army?” And they answer
“My husband was taken away by the Russians,” she answered
you don’t go under the barracks here because they’ll think badly about you,” they advised her kindly
“But I don’t have anything to give my child to eat,” she cried
the Silesians prepared a food package for her every day
their unit was ordered to go to the front to the depths of Russia
One of them was seriously injured during the fighting
which he gave to the wife of the fallen man
the Russians released the last prisoners of Stalingrad from captivity
Then it turned out that his friend survived the war
And there is a scene in the film when the survivor
and here his ex-wife and his front friend play with a small child
He stares for a second and says in dialect
so I won’t interrupt you,” and he goes to Pszczyna to start a new life for himself
Then the repatriates from the East come to the town
stops in the middle of the road because in the crowd he sees a woman he knows from Lviv
“It was you who brought us bread!” It turned out that her husband died in a Russian camp
Józef Kłyk is a creator of Silesian westerns and war films that he shoots in Bojszów near Pszczyna
With over 6 million Ruger 10/22 made it’s no surprise that there are several stock kits available
has just added another option if you want to upgrade yours
What is extra cool with this one is that the under folding stock in metal is from an original AK47
This might not be the most ergonomic thing to shoulder
If the stock can take the recoil of a 7,62×39 a .22LR should be no problem
Manufactured in Poland from handpicked European Ash
Fits perfectly to Ruger 10/22 with Factory Barrel
Metal underfolding stock original from AK47
which you receive may look different (each piece of wood is unique)
Folded length with standard 18″ barell – 27″
Shipping from Poland via UPS Express Saver – 2-4 days guaranteed delivery time
It would have been nice with a picture of the Ruger 10/22 in the stock
The stocks are available via GunBroker and they cost 155$ plus shipping
http://mbwstocks.com/where-to-buy/
Competitive practical shooter and hunter with a European focus
Always ready to increase my collection of modern semi-automatics
More by Eric B
Probably being overly pedantic here butAren't these folders from AKMSs
@FulMetlJakit They did make a small number of underfolding AK-47s as the AKS
Więcej informacji o sytuacji kobiet w Polsce przeczytasz na stronie głównej Gazeta.pl.
W środę w programie "UWAGA! TVN" dziennikarze rozmawiali z matką i bratem 30-letniej Izabeli
które wykonała na początku września
że dziecko może mieć liczne wady
zdecydowała się donosić ciążę - mówi "Uwadze" matka zmarłej
Córka pani Izabeli przewróciła się podczas zabawy i dostała krwotoku z nosa
Kobieta pojechała z nią do szpitala do Bielska-Białej
zadzwoniła do mamy i powiedziała
Do szpitala miała stawić się następnego dnia. Matka pani Izabeli podkreśla
że córka bardzo się bała
o czym pisała jej w wiadomościach
W kolejnych wiadomościach Izabela sygnalizowała mamie
że bardzo źle się czuje i ma gorączkę. Rodzina twierdzi
że o swoim samopoczuciu wyraźnie informowała personel szpitala
czekając biernie aż płód obumrze
które stwierdziło śmierć płodu
Nie udało się jej jednak uratować
Wolałabym swoje życie za nią oddać
jak to dalej przeżyję - mówi pani Barbara.
2 listopada szpital w Pszczynie odniósł się do śmierci kobiety
"Łączymy się w bólu z wszystkimi
których tak jak nas dotknęła śmierć naszej Pacjentki
poród i połóg od wieków postrzegane są przez medyków jako jedne z najtrudniejszych momentów życia kobiety
Postęp medycyny znacznie ograniczył ryzyka w tym zakresie
ciągle jeszcze ich nie wykluczył" - czytamy na początku komunikatu.
że personel medyczny kierował się troską o zdrowie i życia pacjentki oraz płodu
"Osobną sprawą jest ocena stanu prawnego w zakresie dopuszczalności przerywania ciąży
W tym miejscu należy jedynie podkreślić
że wszystkie decyzje lekarskie zostały podjęte z uwzględnieniem obowiązujących w Polsce przepisów prawa oraz standardów postępowania" - zaznaczyła dyrekcja szpitala
- Śmierć ciężarnej 30-latki w szpitalu w Pszczynie jest spowodowana przez polityczną decyzję Trybunału Konstytucyjnego
Trybunał pani Przyłębskiej zasiał śmierć
Teraz zaczynają się żniwa
to takie przypadki by się nie zdarzały
A tych przypadków będzie więcej
bo konsekwencje tej decyzji politycznej są takie
że lekarze zaczynają się zachowywać w taki sposób
Nie zachowują się często tak
jak lekarze powinni się zachować
bo boją się konsekwencji prawnych
które mogą ich dotknąć - powiedział w rozmowie z TVN24 wicemarszałek Sejmu i poseł Lewicy Włodzimierz Czarzasty
że w tej sytuacji "wszystko jest jasne"
a śmierć 30-latki jest bezpośrednim skutkiem decyzji TK ws
- Polityczny trybunał kierowany przez odkrycie towarzyskie prezesa Kaczyńskiego podjął polityczną decyzję
Dzisiaj płacimy za to straszną cenę
Za to barbarzyńskie prawo płacą Polacy
ale rachunek sumienia w tej sprawie powinien być wystawiony panu Kaczyńskiemu
Morawieckiemu i wszystkim tym politykom PiS-u
którzy zdecydowali się na taki krok - stwierdził poseł Koalicji Obywatelskiej
Do sprawy na antenie TVP odniósł się też Marek Suski z PiS
Zdarzają się rzeczywiście błędy lekarskie
zdarzają się po prostu osoby chore i niestety wciąż czasem przy porodach kobiety umierają
która się nie zdarza - powiedział poseł.
ale z całą pewnością nie ma to żadnego związku z jakąkolwiek decyzją trybunału - stwierdził polityk
że to może pod domem Bodnara te świeczki się paliły - odparł Suski
mówiąc o poniedziałkowych manifestacjach.