Arts and Culture

Polish Dance, Krakowiak by Władysław T. Benda, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Poland’s cultural output reflects the nation’s rich heritage and complex history. In art, the evolution from folk art to the avant-garde movements of the 20th century showcases a vibrant artistic dialogue. Polish cinema gained international recognition through acclaimed directors such as Andrzej Wajda and Krzysztof Kieślowski, whose films often explore themes of morality, identity, and historical trauma. In music, Poland is celebrated for its classical composers like Fryderyk Chopin, whose emotive piano works continue to inspire, alongside a thriving contemporary scene that includes popular genres and experimental sounds. Polish literature boasts a deep tradition, with Nobel Prize winners like Wisława Szymborska and Olga Tokarczuk offering profound insights into the human condition and societal issues, ensuring that Poland remains a formidable force in the international cultural landscape.

In this section we will cover art and architecture, film and TV, literature, and music and their significance in Polish history and on the global stage.

Learning Activities 

Art and Architecture

Activity #1: Let’s learn how to make some wycinanki! Watch the virtual workshop below to learn how to make wycinanki of your own. This activity would be ideal for art classes for students in grade 6 or higher.

If you would like to see more details behind the process of creating this traditional Polish craft, you can do so by watching the video below.

Literature

Activity #1: One way to get students engaged in Polish literature is by showing them how it connects to and can add depth to other national literatures they may be more familiar with. Teaching students about 19th century Romanticism? Consider, for example, using Adam Mickiewicz’s early poems, such as his Crimean Sonnets, and have students compare it to works by other Romantic poets.  

Activity #2: There is also this animation based on Mickiewicz’s “The Ackerman Steppe,” a poem from his Crimean Sonnets. Students can (1) discuss how the animation captures the mood of the poem and/or (2) compare the translation of the poem in the animation to this one: How are the translations different? Which do they prefer and why? 

Activity #3: One of Henryk Sienkiewicz’s better known short stories is “The Lighthouse Keeper.” It is fairly accessible and also open to various interpretations. Consider having students read the story and discuss. An older, but good translation of the story can be found in Introduction to Modern Polish Literature: An Anthology of Fiction and Poetry, edited by Adam Gillon and Ludwik Krzyzanowski. 

Possible discussion questions: 

1. Describe Skawinski. What details do we learn about him and why might they be important? Make sure to review some facts about 19th century Polish literature and history while you consider this question. 
2. What is the job of the lighthouse keeper like? What is Skawinski’s experience working there? 
3. Do you notice any interesting imagery, metaphors, etc. in the story? What might they suggest about Skawinski, his experiences, and the function of the lighthouse? 
4. The Polish book Skawinski reads in the third part of the story is Mickiewicz’s Pan Tadeusz. What effect does it have on him? Can you connect some of the things that you learned about Polish literature in this module to this part of the story to explain Skawinski’s reaction? 
5. What do you make of the ending? Is it a happy ending or a sad one? Why? 
6. This story has been interpreted as a story about immigration and exile. How might this story be an “immigrant” story? What does it say about the immigrant experience? 
7. The story has three parts. What title would you give each individual part? Why? 
8. What are some lines from the story that you thought were particularly interesting or that you thought were important? 

Activity #4: As noted above, Wisława Szymborska’s poetry is often seemingly simple and therefore fairly approachable. Consider having students read and discuss her poem “Map”: 

Flat as the table
it’s placed on.
Nothing moves beneath it
and it seeks no outlet.
Above—my human breath
creates no stirring air
and leaves its total surface
undisturbed. 

Its plains, valleys are always green,
uplands, mountains are yellow and brown,
while seas, oceans remain a kindly blue
beside the tattered shores. 

Everything here is small, near, accessible.
I can press volcanoes with my fingertip,
stroke the poles without thick mittens,
I can with a single glance
encompass every desert
with the river lying just beside it. 

A few trees stand for ancient forests,
you couldn’t lose your way among them. 

In the east and west,
above and below the equator—
quiet like pins dropping,
and in every black pinprick
people keep on living.
Mass graves and sudden ruins
are out of the picture. 

Nations’ borders are barely visible
as if they wavered—to be or not. 

I like maps, because they lie.
Because they give no access to the vicious truth.
Because great-heartedly, good-naturedly
they spread before me a world
not of this world. 

(Trans. Clare Cavanagh) 

Possible discussion questions: 

1. Szymborska writes that maps “lie.” According to the poem, how do they lie? What does she mean by this statement? Go through the poem stanza by stanza and explain in what ways she shows that maps “lie.” 
2. Review some basic facts about Polish history. In what ways might a map of Poland today “lie”? What does today’s map show? What doesn’t it show? 

Music

Activity #1: After having gone through the music section and the history section on 20th century Poland listen to Jacek Kaczmarski’s “Mury” (“Walls”).  Listen to the song in the original Polish without any lyrics first. As you are listening, consider the following.

• What instruments do you hear?
• Does the song have a dense, heavy sound or a quiet, lighter sound?
• How does the instrumentation or vocals change throughout the song?

When you’re done listening, feel free to listen again while reading translated lyrics or you can choose to read the lyrics without.

• What emotions did this song evoke as you listened to it?
• What do you think Kaczmarski was trying to communicate through this work?
• How do you think this song and its lyrics are reflective of this period in Polish history? Why was it important to those involved in the Solidarity movement?
• Can you think of any other songs that you’ve heard from the U.S. or other countries that are similar in tone and content?

Activity #2: As you may have noticed throughout the music section, folk music has been and still is a core inspiration for many composers and musicians. Why do you think that is? Listen to the following songs on the music playlist for this activity.

• “Krakowiak” by Kapela Brodow
• “Fantasia” by Diomedes Cato
• “Mazurka No. 5 in B Flat, Op. 7 No. 1” by Fryderyk Chopin
• “In the Forest” by Warsaw Village Band

Once you are done listening, consider having students discuss the following questions.

• Can you identify any specific instruments in these pieces?
• Can you pick up on any melodies, tempos, etc. that sound similar? What differences can you hear?
• Folk songs are often passed down through generations. From the songs that you’ve heard, how has Polish folk music or its influence evolved over time?