The Animated History of Poland

Here is just a quick link share because I’m pretty spent today. I recently saw this and got all misty-eyed.

It’s an animated movie that summarizes the history of Poland in just 8 minutes. It was made by a successfull polish animator Tomasz Bagiński who was also responsible for the Oscar-nominated short movie The Cathedral and who also worked on The Witcher.

Poland is the land where I was born in and where I spent the first 10 years of my life. It had a very turbulent history and enjoys a quite peculiar status today. There were many periods of time in history where Poland didn’t even exist. It has been invaded, annexed and liberated numeral times. There were also periods where Poland played a vital role in the history of Europe. The video reflects different periods, even though I must admit that it doesn’t explain anything so it will remain cryptic to most viewers. Nevermind, it’s still damn beautiful.

There is one aspect I remember quite fondly. At some point in the history, Poland was a major military force in Europe. There was a very iconic military unit that was unique to Poland – the Polish Hussars. They were super-elite horse riders quipped with a lace, a saber and some heavy armor. They were immediately recognizable by a wing made of feathers on each rider’s back. It’s not clear why they had these. I suppose they just looked intimidating. But I also heard the myth that the wings made a terrifying howling noise when the entire united charged with full speed at their enemies. I’m not an expert on military so this all might be wrong. My point is that at I realized they were the closest thing to – don’t laugh – a Polish Samurai. It’s a pity hardly anybody knows about them. It would be a great source for a new epic, historic, action story. Something other than the usual Ninjas, Samuari, Spartans and Roman Legionnaires. Maybe I need to do it myself?

Certainly watch out for some kickass Polish Hussars in this short movie and don’t mind the kitschy ending. That small, battered country deserves it.