More features:
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Czesław Miłosz
Czesław Miłosz (1911-2004) has come to be regarded as the finest Polish writer of the 20th century, his work influencing generations of natives and foreigners alike....
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Superstitions
While it would be inaccurate to claim the Poles as being a deeply superstitious nation visitors will be delighted to know the country has more than its fair share of quirky beliefs and customs....
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Leon Schiller
Born in Kraków in 1887 he graduated from the cities Jagiellonian Univeristy with degrees in philosophy and Polish Literature under his belt, before pursuing further academic titles at the Sorbonne in Paris....
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Max Berg
Born in the coastal town of Szczecin (then known as Stettin) in 1870 Max Berg went on to become one of the most eminent architects of his time, and nowhere will he be remembered more so than in Wrocław....
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Wolf's Lair
To the English it’s Wolf’s Lair, to the Poles Wilczy Szaniec. Adolf Hitler, however, would have used the term Wolfschannze....
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Tadeusz Kościuszko
History produces few men like Tadeusz Kościuszko (1746-1817, commonly anglicised as Thaddeus Kosciusko)....
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National Football
‘Abroad, football has moved on. Here it has stood still’. Those were the words of Leo Beenhakker when he took over the Poland job two years back, and they’re as relevant now as they were then....
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Daniel Libeskind
Warsaw’s changing horizon is set for more dramatic developments with the news that the Orco Property Group in conjunction with acclaimed architect Daniel Liebeskind are to construct a 192 metre residential tower in the heart of Warsaw....
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The Polish Dwarf
Born near the Polish city town of Halicz in 1739, Józef Boruwlaski rates as one of Poland’s most curious natives....
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Polish Name Days (Imieniny)
In Poland, name days (imieniny) are widely celebrated and have traditionally been given a greater importance than birthday celebrations, particularly as one gets on in years....
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Ignacy Jan Paderewski
Born in Kuryłówka in 1860 the man many credit for sparking the Uprising is rightfully regarded as a national icon....
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Wojtek the bear
Fond of a bevvy and a fag Wojtek’s habits weren’t too different from your typical soldier, but typical he most certainly wasn’t....
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Andrzej Wajda
Born in 1926 in the Polish town of Suwałki, Andrzej Wajda is regarded by many as the father of Polish cinema....
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Rubinstein
Born in Łódź in 1887 the dapper Jewish pianist Arthur Rubinstein made his debut in Berlin in 1900 and spent much of his life touring the world and dazzling audiences....
Max Factor
Max Faktor (or Faktorowicz), born in Łódź in 1877, has come to be regarded as the father of modern day cosmetics. As one of ten children he was forced to take an apprenticeship at the age of eight so as to help make ends meet. Working under the stewardship of doctors and pharmacists he soon showed a fascination with mixing various substances and as he grew older he opened his own shop in Moscow selling wigs, creams and fragrances. His cosmetics and techniques, used by Russian ballet groups, so impressed the Russian Royal family that he was appointed their official cosmetic consultant. Seeking to broaden his horizons he emigrated to the United States in 1904 where he adopted the surname Factor. He eventually settled in Los Angeles in 1908, founding the company bearing his name the following year.
Factor began creating cosmetic products for the film industry and developed a new type of greasepaint especially for use on-screen under lights. Within years his products were being used by the Hollywood stars of the day with the likes of Bette Davis and Jean Harlow regular clients at his beauty salon where Factor would create individual looks for each of them using the skills he had learned and the products he had developed. Lauded by the A-list celebs Factor’s cosmetics became known as ‘the make-up used by the make-up artists’. He died in 1938, but the business continued to grow and was passed through 2 generations until the 1970s when it left the control of the family. The brand still lives on today and is owned by the Proctor & Gamble group.