On December 13th 1981, the communist military junta of General Jaruzelski announced that they had declared a state of martial law in Poland in order to put a stop to the Solidarity movement. 10 million Poles had joined the first free trade union in the Soviet Block and used the movement to pressure the communist regime to start democratizing the country. In response, the regime deployed thousands of soldiers out on the streets on the morning of December 13th 1981, arresting thousands of solidarity activists. Up to 100 political dissidents were killed by the security forces.

Four weeks before Christmas Polish people prepare for the birth of Christ. These weeks are known as Advent. It is a time of fasting, prayer and spiritual preparation for Christmas. It should not just be all about the parties, decorating, and shopping, lest we forget what this time of the year is truly about.

From December 7th until December 21st 2018, for the first in post-war Poland, Stradivarius has come in to the hands of Janusz Wawrowski. A virtuoso, one of the greatest Polish violinist of his generation, Wawrowski has been granted the opportunity to exclusively play these exceptional violins. It is all thanks to the sponsors Roman Ziemian and Stephan Morgenstern, the founders of the FutureNet portal.

The annual UN Climate Change conference is currently taking place in Katowice Poland. Environmental activists are criticizing the Polish government for basing the country's energy production on coal-based power plants. The Polish side argues that there is currently no feasible renewable energy source available as neither solar nor wind power is economically viable in Poland at the moment.

On the 111th anniversary of the death of the eminent Polish painter Stanisław Wyspiański, the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage together with the National Museum in Krakow are showcasing two of is unique paintings. The National Museum in Kraków has gathered the largest and most valuable collection of works by Stanisław Wyspiański, one of the most important, original and respected artists from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The exhibition includes about 900 works. However, from January 15th, 2019 the Museum will display two newly acquired paintings by Wyspiański. It will commemorate the 150th anniversary of his birth.

The Ministry of Culture is implementing a Project to introduce Polish art to the general public. 200 large format reproductions of the best Polish paintings of the most famous Polish artists were displayed during a vernissage for an exhibition called "Polish Family Album" at Chopin airport in Warsaw. The travelers from all over the world will be able to see reproductions works from the collections of the National Museum in Warsaw in atypical spaces.

On December 4th Poland celebrates those who have one of the hardest profession in the world, miners. Being a miner was always considered dangerous but at the same time prestigious. This day is called "Barbórka" and has been celebrated for centuries in a spectacular manner. The name of the holiday originates from St. Barbara, a patron of good death and difficult work. As miners often say, the movement of time and reality changes with life underground. The typical greeting for miners is Szczęsc Boze (God Bless) it is said that a casual 'good day' is good for those working under a beautiful, sunny sky.

Members of the Polish parliamentary committee dealing with World War II reparations from Germany have met at the headquarters of the New Records Archives in Warsaw. For over a year, the archive has been digitalizing its records of German war crimes in Poland. The archive houses a report made by the Polish Government-In-Exile in London in the years following World War 2 on the extent of material and human losses inflicted on Poland by Nazi Germany.

The European Commission has announced that it won’t revoke its complaint to the European Court of Justice nor drop the Article 7 procedure against Poland. The decision comes after the Polish government passed an amendment to the Supreme Court bill, allowing the judges who were recently forced to retire after the age of 65 to come back to their positions. The reinstating of justices was demanded by the European Court of Justice.

A record breaking transaction was made in the Polish contemporary art market, almost 5 million Polish Zlotys, amounting to over 1.2 million Dollars was paid for the purchase of Wojciech Fangor’s masterpiece, “M39”.

On November 29th, during their annual meeting in Port Louis, Mauritius UNESCO Committee decided to register the tradition of creating nativity scenes in Kraków on to Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. It is Poland’s first intangible cultural heritage practice.

Wedel is the oldest and most popular chocolatier in Poland. Its name derives from Karol Wedel who came to Poland from Berlin and set up his own business in Warsaw in 1851. The company’s logo is based on Karol Wedel's signature. The company and its products have become well-known throughout most of Central and Eastern Europe over the past 160 years.

The recent attack on 3 Ukrainian Navy Vessels by Russian Naval Forces in the Kerch Strait has once again destabilized the security situation in Ukraine and Central Eastern Europe. The Ukrainian vessels were both rammed and fired upon before the 23 Ukrainian sailors on board were taken captive by Russian special forces. On Wednesday November 28th, martial law came into force in the regions of Ukraine that border with Russia or the eastern regions which have seen fighting with separatist forces and the regular Russian Army.

For several years Polish reenactment groups became the new educational attraction for both younger and older generations. The reenactments aim to recreate battles scenes, promote history by showcasing live equipment replicas, replica clothing, tactics, commands and even language that was used in the past. The number of events and reconstruction groups have been on the rise in recent years.

Krzysztof Penderecki, Poland's greatest living composer and conductor, celebrated his 85th birthday during the inauguration of the International Festival of Eastern-Central European Music, Eufonie at Teatr Wielki - The Polish National Opera in Warsaw. The festival was organized by the Polish National Centre for Culture. The famous Sinfonia Varsovia was conducted by Krzysztof Tworek, Christoph Eschenbach and Leonard Slatkin. Throughout the concert the audience heard combined choirs from the National Philharmonic and the Grand Theater-National Opera.

Former British Conservative Party MP Ann Widdecombe talks to Wojciech Zdrojkowski about Theresa May's handling of Brexit and why she expects the EU to implode.

The Polish Speaker of the Parliament, Marek Kuchciński, has met with the Speaker of the Hungarian National Assembly, László Kövér, in Krasiczyn, southern Poland. The main points on the agenda included bilateral cooperation within the framework of the Visegrad Group. The two speakers also used the opportunity to meet with the youth attending a new initiative in Polish-Hungarian relations, the Wacław Felczak Institute for Polish-Hungarian Cooperation.

Robert Kubica a Polish racing driver was until this week a test and reserve driver for the Williams F1 team. Kubica will race for Williams - one of the world's leading teams - in the 2019 season. It is a remarkable return to single-seater racing. On February 6th, 2011, Kubica was seriously injured in a crash at the Ronde di Andora rally, in which his car was penetrated by a road-side barrier and his right forearm was partially severed.