Kasia Pietr reflects on Poland’s rise from a country lagging behind the Iron Curtain to one of the world’s top 20 economies.
“𝐎𝐧 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞’𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐩-𝐡𝐨𝐩.”
„Na Europy peryferiach świat mówi hop hop…” – Kasta Squad, 2002
A line from a very different Poland.
A Poland that still saw itself as the periphery – not the rising powerhouse it has become.
I was driving with my parents through Dubai on November 11th, Polish Independence Day, when this track came on. They were visiting, so I’m posting this late – but that line hit me harder than expected.
Back in 2002, when Kasta Squad – from Wrocław, my hometown – dropped this lyric, we still carried that periphery mindset: the grey edge of Europe, finding our rhythm after decades behind the Curtain.
𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐞𝐭… 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐭𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝’𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝟐𝟎 𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲?
To understand that, you have to go back further.
Poland never had colonies – we were one. For nearly 150 years, we were erased from the map, partitioned by Austria, Prussia, and Russia. Our land became a battlefield in countless wars, including both World Wars.
We regained independence in 1918, only to lose it two decades later. After WWII, we were pushed westward, 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝟐𝟓% 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 – including historically Polish cities like Vilnius and Lviv – and fell under Soviet rule for almost 50 years.
The war and its aftermath cost Poland nearly 11.4 million people – 𝐚 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐫 𝐩𝐨𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 – through extermination, displacement, emigration, border shifts, and demographic collapse. To this day we seek repatriations.
I grew up on these stories – war, death, displacement, injustice, loss. And of my parents enduring the harsh realities of communism: queuing for basic goods, having passports confiscated, living with clipped wings… yet never stopping dreaming of freedom.
𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟗. I was only four, but I clearly remember the hope in the air during the first free elections – and the chaos that followed. Early capitalism hit fast. Some thrived. Others struggled after decades of oppression.
But Poland rose.
We rebuilt.
We reformed.
We found our voice.
From having our voices hushed, we now speak loud and clear.
After nearly 200 years of occupation, war, and subjugation, we stand stronger, freer, prouder than ever. 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐮𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐮𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫, 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐫, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭.
We’re no longer Europe’s periphery.
𝐖𝐞’𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐝.
Wherever I go, this identity travels with me – a reminder of strength, perseverance, and the unbreakable spirit of people who endured what no one should.
Proud to be Polish. ✨ Happy Belated Independence Day – Jeszcze Polska nie zginęła! 🇵🇱