If we had to name the second-most freedom-loving nation in the world, after us passionate "Give me liberty or give me death" Americans, it would have to be Poland. MelvilleBell Grosvenor, who would go on to become Chairman of the Board of the National Geographic Magazine, tells us of Poland's post-World War I rebuilding in Poland, Land of the White Eagle, April, 1932. "The symbol of Polish patriotism is that combination fortress, palace, and cathedral, the Wawel. . . the pride of every Pole" (p. 435).
On one of the Cathedral's steeples, "a huge white eagle spreads its wings. This defiant bird appears prominently as a shield on most public buildings and monuments everywhere throughout the country and is the central motif of the national flag and crest" (p. 435).
Another venerable Polish institution is Krakow University, founded in 1364. It is second in age in Central Europe only to the one in Prague. Mr. Grosvenor reports that "Poland is a land of fervent faith. At home, in the fields, by the roadside, or in city streets, shrines and calvaries, chapels and churches testify to the intimate part religion plays in the daily life of the people" (photo caption, p. 443).
This article was short but there was a beautiful 8-page section of color photographs. In 1932, most people in the countryside still wore their native dress and lived in thatched-roof homes. The country was mostly agricultural at that time.
Krakow's main church, St. Mary's, continues a practice started in the 12th century. On the hour, a trumpeter plays a call then abruptly stops, in memory of a trumpeter shot to death by an arrow as he called the city to defend itself against the invading Tatars in the 1200's. The people of this old and proud European nation have suffered through uncounted battles and periods of rebuilding!
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