As part of the 2024 National Collection of Artifacts campaign ‘We Will Preserve Your History...’ staff at the Museum of the Second World War in Gdańsk received a collection of mementos associated with the Stróżyński and Pater families The collection includes a fragment of a Polish model 31 military helmet found at the site of Sailor Alfons Stróżyński's death was one of seven children of Andrzej Stróżyński Raised in a patriotic spirit from a young age Alfons attended King Jan Sobieski State High School in Wejherowo and later worked at the local Social Insurance Institution he was due to complete his mandatory military service which was extended due to the growing tensions in Europe he took part in the defense of the town of Hel his comrades took a fragment of his helmet and gave it to his family as they passed through Wejherowo as prisoners following the capitulation of the Hel Peninsula World War II affected millions of families in Poland Many mementos and memories have survived to this day bearing witness to these wartime experiences If you would like the memory of your relatives and their stories to be preserved we encourage you to donate items related to the war to our museum as part of the National Collection of Artifacts ‘We Will Preserve Your History...’ All items will be carefully preserved and protected against the effects of time We look forward to welcoming you at the Museum of the Second World War Feb 23, 2024 | Society An unusual intervention took place in the Polish town of Wejherowo where the police were called out in response to a man leading a horse up the staircase of an apartment block The suspect has been arrested and could now face up to five years in prison for stealing the animal The horse thief was stopped by a bystander who noticed the unusual situation A spokesperson for the local police told Notes from Poland that the bystander then notified the authorities and kept hold of the horse until their arrival preventing the thief from taking the animal to higher floors of the building “The man [the bystander] had the horse secured with him while the perpetrator returned to the scene after a while and was apprehended by police,” an officer It was later established that the 19-year-old had stolen the mare – which is worth 15,000 zloty (€3,500) – from a local stud “He lives on the third floor so he tried to get to the third floor with this horse,” a resident of the block told TVN described by the resident as “problematic” had allegedly been seen around the stable before and had already tried to steal a horse in the past he could face a jail sentence of up to five years The situation is not without consequences for the mare Even though the animal was returned to its owner it was described as “traumatised” by her partner It will have a long way to go before getting better,” he told TVN Police detained a man after he came to a pharmacy to buy medicine prescribed by a vet for his sick horse, but which could also in theory also be used to induce miscarriages in violation of Poland's strict abortion laws https://t.co/wFVa4wvEAX — Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) March 20, 2023 Main image credit: Komenda Powiatowa Policji w Wejherowie  Agata Pyka is an assistant editor at Notes from Poland She is a journalist and a political communication student at the University of Amsterdam She specialises in Polish and European politics as well as investigative journalism and has previously written for Euractiv and The European Correspondent , , Karol Nawrocki even suggested that the state security services were involved in creating the scandal , , The 1,200 square metre national symbol was unfurled on the beach in Międzyzdroje , , The proportion of Poles saying the US has a positive influence on the world has also fallen to its lowest recorded level Apr 30, 2025 | , , , That response will include “large Polish and NATO exercises in Poland” Apr 29, 2025 | , , , Those employed in Poland work on average the third-longest hours in the European Union Apr 28, 2025 | , , , , 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 She has previously worked for Gazeta.pl and Tokfm.pl and contributed to Gazeta Wyborcza 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 Subscribe to BuzzFeed Daily NewsletterCaret DownA Snowfall Transformed This Historic Statue Into Darth Vader"May the Force be with us." Wejher founded Wejherowo on May 28, 1643, according to the city's website and a part of the Holy Roman Empire's nobility City officials pointed out the resemblance last week on the city's official Instagram account cultural events and sports like soccer and ski jumping so ever since my childhood I have been very close to the subject He actually didn’t want me to become a photographer but at the age of 12 I inherited his darkroom With help from his photographer friends I explored the equipment he had left me finding my way through the camera bodies and lenses he left behind I soon realised that photography was more than just a hobby I started to work for the local newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza during high school from shots of pot-holes in the roads after a rough winter to low-level political conferences and jazz concerts Working for the local paper taught me the basic rules of photojournalism; not just how to frame a shot and how to suit the picture to the situation I went on to study photography in Polish Film School in Lodz which gave me wider view of different kinds of photography from art In 1990 one of my father’s friends offered me the chance to attend a car show - the first one we’d ever had in Poland since the fall of Communism At a time when every car on the street was an Eastern European relic I got the chance to see under the hoods of all these brand new luxury cars from the West this was an incredible dream - one made even better when it was published by a local newspaper as my first picture the most shocking event of my career was the plane crash that killed Polish President Lech Kaczynski and his wife along with another 94 top officials in Smolensk When I first heard the news I couldn’t believe it had happened But at the time I was the only photographer on duty in the Warsaw bureau Other photographers rushed in from the region to help and the flood of work helped me keep some distance from what was to be the biggest peacetime tragedy in modern Polish history But when the President’s coffin arrived at a military airport in Warsaw the next day the full scale of the tragedy really hit home and instead raise my camera to record the event for others I don’t usually have a target audience in mind when I frame a shot I’m normally thinking about the subject whose picture is being taken I have enormous respect for war journalists and for how much they suffer for their work I also admire the talents of Elliot Erwitt who has a fantastic eye for photography and the story-telling skills of Sebastiao Salgado I think good photography and photojournalism is a mix of professionalism and experience is the key to a good picture in my opinion A 19-year-old man faces three months to five years in prison for stealing a horse and trying to hide it in his apartment on the third floor of a residential building received an emergency call about a man trying to lead a horse to the upper floors of a local apartment building the person on the other end of the line was not laughing They insisted that there was a grown horse on the staircase of their building making its way up and the residents needed police assistance Police reluctantly sent out a crew to investigate but they were shocked to find that the caller’s story checked out There was indeed a full-grown horse being led to the upper floors of the apartment building by a young man who appeared to be arguing with disgruntled neighbors trying to stop him “A young man was trying to lead a mare into the stairwell of a multi-family building,” Anetta Potrykus, a spokeswoman from the District Police Headquarters in Wejherowo, told Radio Gdansk. Officers later learned that the unnamed resident trying to lead the horse into his third-floor apartment had stolen the animal and was trying to conceal it, in case someone came asking about it. He apparently never considered how conspicuous that operation would be, or how he would keep a full-grown mare in his two-bedroom apartment if he managed to get it through the front door. Police officers estimated the price of the horse at around 15,000 Polish zloti ($3,800). They managed to get the animal back to the owner – who had already reported it stolen – safe and sound. As for the 19-year-old genius who tried to hide the stolen horse in his apartment, he has been charged with theft and risks spending up to five years behind bars. By 2015, more than 600 organisational units of the Polish Army were liquidated in Poland. Many of them were located in the eastern areas our country, near the borders with Russia and Belarus. Among the liquidated units, there were the 14th Suwałki Anti-Tank Artillery Regiment or the 3rd Mechanised Brigade in Lublin. - After the attack on Georgia and after the attack on Crimea, more military units were still liquidated. Why was this the case? It is worth asking. Today, we are faced with all sorts of threats. The war in Ukraine poses obvious threats. The Wagner group in Belarus also creates threats, but Poland will be defended against those threats by the good government - stressed Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. We do not allow Polish security to be weakened. We are creating new military units and strengthening those that already exist. We have appointed the 1st Legion Infantry Division and the 18th Mechanised Division, inter alia. In 2017, we created the Territorial Defence Forces, which consist of more than 36,000 soldiers today, and continue to grow in strength. We have also expanded the scope of our state's defence with the creation of the Cyber Defence Forces in 2022. Polish army defends the security of our country Our army, which will eventually reach 300,000 soldiers, is the foundation of our security. We are increasing the number of troops and buying state-of-the-art equipment - this is how we are creating new military units. The strength of our army makes us an important member of the North Atlantic Alliance. - Today, Poland can be more relaxed, in spite of the fact that the times are difficult. There is a war going on beyond our eastern border. Being relaxed comes from strength – pointed out Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. We know the price of freedom and independence of our homeland, which is why we are investing in our country's defence potential. Poland is safe and our army is getting stronger. In recent months, the Polish Armed Forces have been given the state-of-the-art military equipment. The purchase of modern tanks, aircraft and artillery is possible thanks to record spending on defence - at least 3% of GDP. New recruits are joining the ranks of the Polish army because we have increased the attractiveness of military service. We have increased the minimum salary of soldiers by almost 100%, compared to 2015 - today it is PLN 4,960 gross. We have also introduced new types of service - from short military training, through voluntary basic military service, to training with the Territorial Defence Forces or regular service in the ranks of the Polish Armed Forces. Higher salaries, flexible recruitment, modern equipment - these are important arguments today proving the attractiveness of service in the Polish Army and the new units created by us. Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Are you sure you want to post this? 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Expect to receive your first email very soon! When Jakub Wejher founded the town of Wejherowo in 1643 he never thought he would be declared a Sith Lord in 2016 But little did he know that a statue of him in the town square would reveal his true identity: Darth Vader If you thought that this post was pretty funny, check out what some Star Wars fans did over in Ukraine: they replaced a statue of Lenin with Darth Vader More info: bkielbaszewski Share icon Share icon Share icon Image credits: polskieszlaki.pl / Wejherowo.pl Anyone can write on Bored Panda. Start writing! Follow Bored Panda on Google News! Follow us on Flipboard.com/@boredpanda! This lazy panda forgot to write something about itself. Round attention Svg Vector Icons : http://www.onlinewebfonts.com/icon Report "I am your founder, Luke" Round attention Svg Vector Icons : http://www.onlinewebfonts.com/icon Report I saw the original post on reddit. Before someone decided to shop the s**t out of it. Round attention Svg Vector Icons : http://www.onlinewebfonts.com/icon Report will be a trooper if that snow goes on 0comments 20 points 2comments 22 points 0comments 18 points 1comment 28 points 5comments 30 points 3comments 18 points 3comments 28 points 3comments 21 points 12comments 36 points 1comment 19 points