Lwow

[Halina]

I've visited Lwow only in May this year & I have to say its architecture & its history are 90% Polish. I realise that it is now a Ukrainian city - as Bartosz stresses now & again - but that does not change the fact Lwow with its churches, palaces, opera house, University & even the railway station is a Polish city. By the same token Polish Gdansk does not represent typically Polish style of buildings & art.It tells the German story.
It is only reasonable to accept the fact that Lwow was an extremely important part of Polish history & tradition. It was brutally taken away from Poland after the war.
But everywhere you turn, be it the Latin Cathedral, or the Dominican Church, or Zbigniew Herber's house, or Sieradzki's famous curtain in the opera, or Sobieski's 'Black house' - the culture is Polish.
If Ukrainians want to be truthful & by this civilised, they should accept it & take care of the city which is a historical & architectural gem of Europe.

[zhuk]

Ukrainians do not want to be truthful and by this civilised.
Most of them hardly knows their own country history.

[Nickolas]

Zhuk,

You are communist.

As you will constantly deny, Communism murdered more Ukrainians than Fascism murdered Jews.

In short, socialism kills human life.

Under this past environment of about 90 years,
do you think it was wise for Ukrainians to be truthful....?

[Halina]

Originally posted by zhuk
Ukrainians do not want to be truthful and by this civilised.
Most of them hardly knows their own country history.

Dear Zhuk,
Thanks a lot for your reply to my note on Lwow. Do you think it is really the case that Ukrainians do not know their own country history ? I think they do but at the same time they idealize it a lot to make up for centuries of dependance & lack of organised kingdom. Polish culture in Lwow is thus a source of irritation to them since it reminds them that it is not THEIR property.
I think Ukrainians have every right to be independent & I want them to be happy & prosperous, but if they lie about Lwow, or destroy the remains of Polish history there, or distort facts in their guidebooks, or present all Poles as evil, then I feel sorry for them. That means their inferiority complex is impossible to uproot - ever.

[Halina]

Originally posted by Nickolas
Zhuk,

You are communist.

As you will constantly deny, Communism murdered more Ukrainians than Fascism murdered Jews.

In short, socialism kills human life.

Under this past environment of about 90 years,
do you think it was wise for Ukrainians to be truthful....?

Hi Nicholas,

No, it wouldn't have been wise for Ukrainians to tell the truth at the time of Communist regime. I realise what the feedback from Moscow would have been. However, I think Ukrainians should be truthfull about the history of Lwow NOWADAYS. Fo example, when I went to see St. George's Cathedral in Lwow ( which is really beautiful), I learnt from my Ukrainian guide that the neighbouring rococo palace
was one of the most impressive examples of this art in Ukraine. She somehow forgot to mention the palace was a gift of POLISH aristocrat - Katarzyna Kossakowska to the metropolitas.
In other words, think about what the Polish aristocracy have left for future generations & look on the other side of Lwow & compare the sociorealism display of concrete blocks. And then ask yourself; 'Which part of Lwow represents real culture?'.
( By the way, there is no point in calling people communists, or such & such - it means you are very emotional.)

[zhuk]

In the 17th century one of the wise man (Gyiom de Boplan, or Pierre Shevalier), sorry I do not remember for sure said:

Ukrainians will be always enemy to the Polish Culture, because barbaric people will always be enemies of everithing not barbaric.

[zhuk]

I would like to tell a short story on the communist past of the country.

In fact, I am an owner of the company (7 workers) and each of them has a salary several times more than average income per person in Ukraine.

In 1993-1994 I was young enough (25 years old) to argue with my father, who although not being communist, but being a wise old man usually defended the communist ideas of the past.

During our discussion, he asked me to look around and to see, that all the schools, houses, hospitals, libraries, universities, factories and plants were built by the communists before 1991.

He told me, that I will have the right to argue on the question, what is better? Socialism or capitalism, only after the capitalist will built enough to be compared to the communists of the past.

Now I am a tiny capitalist, but I am clever enough, not to blame those people, who has built schools and libraries for my children.