Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-08-22

why people in Poland are so
bitter and unhappy.
! have heard many times from
the lips Of Communist lecture
Fifth Of Series
.-~---~-->-
ers that postwar Poland Is q
state Of workers and peasants.
created to deliver them from the
ages of exploitation BY the aris-
tocrats and capitalists. Well. ]
am from q working family. My
father is q worker, my two
brothers who are married and
away from home are workers,
andi my only sister married .
working man. Seeing their every
day struggle for existence. ! had
come to the conclusion that the
Communists lie.
In the new Polish state the
workers have q much worse lot
than any other class.
It Is chiefly religion which
supports the people. The post
war wave of alcoholism is fright
eningly widespread, and does
not subside, although now the
Communists have started to fight
against it, seeing in it q danger
to their productive targets"
People drink because they are
desperate.
For the Polish people. all hope
Is in the West--which they see
as the source of future freedom.
But many wonder now il the
West cares what happens to
them, If the West really wants
to help.
Father Working at 20.
My father Is nearing 10, but he
is still working. He holds on to
his job desperately, because he
must support my mother and my
invalid brother. There are old
age pensions in Poland. but they
are so small that even a single
man starves on them
A worker, such as my father.
employed in ports, shipyards or
any other coastal enterprise,
earns something between TOO and
900 zloties monthly. Cat the Of
fetal rate, a zloty is worth Is
cents, but this does not truly
represent purchasing power
Ed If he wants to work him
self to death at the exhausting
Stakhanovite pace, he could earn
more-say 1,100 to 1000 zloties.
But even this is not enough to
secure the minimum necessary
for existence.
The only inexpensive thing Is
housing. The Government has
taken control of all private
houses, and allots quarters to
people according to the size OF
the family-but never more than
two rooms and a kitchen. But
when a pound of bread costs "
zloties, a1pound Of sausage from
10 to 80, meat from - to 20,
herrings IL to Is. sugar 6 zloties
a pound. coffee 200, to 500 and a
pound Of tea up TO f50.s How can
one manage to live decently?
For breakfast we usually ate
corn, coffee and bread: for
lunch, workers take sandwiches
made Of bread and q piece Of
bacon or fish. Dinner consists
sometimes Of Kasfia (barley) !.
perhaps noodles or fish. but sell
dom meat-it Is too expensive.
Luxuries Beyond Workers.
OF course, II one has the
money he may go to a deli
catessen and buy all kinds OF
luxuries. But all this Is beyond
the reach of a working family.
1t is only for privileged menu
bers of the party. high state of
ficials or officers Of the secret
police.
Most workers wives now must
work to contribute toward the
family budget. They are all en-
couraged by the Communists to
take jobs. This Is part Of the
Communist plan to keep parents
away from their children, 90
that they may be educated In
Com m unist nurseries and
schools.
Even the simplest folk realize
that and fight back as well as
they can to protect their chill
dren from Communist contami-
nation. Religion is a great help.
Our working people are deeply re-
! ligious and bring up their young
in the same spirit.
The communists 40 everything
they can to persuade us that
there is no God.
But you should have seen the
Corpus Christi procession in
Gdynia, a few weeks before /
left home. It started from
Oburze, q working suburb, and
was directed by the police into
fields and u1inhabited roads.
This was q trick. but tens Of
thousands Of people followed the
procession into the wilderness.
The Communists liquidated
the traditional children's feast
of st. Nicholas on December 6
and instead introduced q new
LOST.
CAT, male. dark grey. yellow. eyes. half
pet; reward. JE. 3-2972. -22
r SITS. Reward. UN. 1904. rs
PARAKEET. vic. 10th and Crittenden.
ne hn,a rnola handed sHfka't.