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This article dwells on the connection between the annihilation of the Jews in Poland during the Holocaust (Shoah), the destruction of the hegemonic class of landed gentry during the Stalinist period, and the origins of some characteristics of contemporary Polish society. These characteristics determine major aspects of the current political situation, in particular the symbolic prevalence of rightwing parties and movements. The two major historical events (the Holocaust and the destruction of the nobility) are described as sleepwalking through the revolution. The dark genealogy of the middle class, the modern Polish bourgeoisie, is described; and the consequences of denying it are analyzed. The denial of responsibility but, at the same time, feelings of guilt and shame account for some of the political choices currently made in Polish politics. The case of Poland seems, to a certain extent, typical of the “bloodlands” of Eastern Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The post-socialist transformation has changed forms of poverty in eastern Europe. After defining poverty and examining the instruments used to measure it, a statistical description is proposed of its forms. Although monetary poverty (in absolute and relative terms) has decreased in most countries in this zone since 1998-1999, non-monetary forms of poverty persist. The major causes of these trends are presented and discussed for four groups of countries: the eight CEECs that joined the EU in 2004, the Balkans (including Bulgaria and Romania), and the countries belonging to the CIS (on the one hand, those with middle-level incomes, including Russia, and, on the other hand, those with low incomes). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]