0:00:23 > 0:00:25Welcome to Poland!
0:00:25 > 0:00:28We are a country located in the centre of Europe.
0:00:28 > 0:00:32Poland's about four times the size of Scotland and has over 300
0:00:32 > 0:00:37miles of coastline, of which over a half are beautiful beaches.
0:00:37 > 0:00:40If only a swim in the Baltic Sea wasn't so refreshing!
0:00:42 > 0:00:44Poland borders with seven different countries,
0:00:44 > 0:00:47including Germany, Ukraine and the Czech Republic.
0:00:50 > 0:00:52In this programme, we ask
0:00:52 > 0:00:55how Poland's turbulent past has shaped the country...
0:00:57 > 0:01:01and consider how Poland - so reliant on coal -
0:01:01 > 0:01:05fits into the European Union's environmental plan.
0:01:05 > 0:01:08Since Poland joined the EU in 2004,
0:01:08 > 0:01:12the UK has seen a huge increase in Polish migrants.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20Poland has a long tradition of Poles leaving to work abroad,
0:01:20 > 0:01:25and currently there are 17 million Poles living outside the country.
0:01:25 > 0:01:32That means that for every ten Polish people, four of them have emigrated.
0:01:36 > 0:01:40Jacek Kunysz is one of the Poles who's made the hard decision
0:01:40 > 0:01:41to leave Poland.
0:01:41 > 0:01:45Together with his wife and son he is about to make the move to Britain.
0:01:47 > 0:01:51The family live in a small flat on the outskirts of Warsaw.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03It's a quarter to five in the morning and Jacek, his wife
0:03:03 > 0:03:06and his son are about to depart for the UK.
0:04:18 > 0:04:22Jacek and his family are joining the 643,000 Poles
0:04:22 > 0:04:24who are currently living in the UK.
0:04:28 > 0:04:32The Wierzbiccy family moved to Scotland in 2011 to start
0:04:32 > 0:04:34a new life.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49The family chose Glasgow as they already had Polish friends
0:04:49 > 0:04:51who had found a job there.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22So how many Poles actually live in Scotland?
0:06:22 > 0:06:26Well, in 2011, there were 67,000 of them.
0:06:26 > 0:06:30That is 1.25% of Scotland's total population.
0:06:33 > 0:06:36The Polish community is now well established in Scotland
0:06:36 > 0:06:40and there are more and more Polish shops opening, catering to
0:06:40 > 0:06:43Polish and Scottish customers.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46I think life is much easier here for us,
0:06:46 > 0:06:49it was very hard in the beginning because of language
0:06:49 > 0:06:54and different culture but everything can be possible...
0:06:54 > 0:06:57And the weather, that is hard for us!
0:06:57 > 0:06:59The weather is horrible!
0:07:04 > 0:07:08The Polish community even has its own radio show in which
0:07:08 > 0:07:11listeners can vote for their favourite Polish band.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17All my life I dreamt about radio and a job as a DJ on the radio
0:07:17 > 0:07:22and I'm glad I do something for Polish culture.
0:07:30 > 0:07:33What has prompted this increase of Poles settling in the Britain?
0:07:33 > 0:07:39With the average Polish salary of £635 a month, compared with
0:07:39 > 0:07:45almost £2,000 in Britain, Poles find the UK an attractive destination.
0:08:17 > 0:08:19When Poland joined the European Union it became
0:08:19 > 0:08:24easier for Poles to move to the UK, and by 2011 the amount
0:08:24 > 0:08:29of Poles here shot up to 643,000 -
0:08:29 > 0:08:33an increase of 850%.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36And it's not just for economic reasons people immigrate to
0:08:36 > 0:08:38Scotland.
0:08:38 > 0:08:41Three years ago, Pawel moved his family to Aberdeen to further
0:08:41 > 0:08:46his career as a ship designer, but they have now returned to Poland.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59We decided to move to Scotland, to Aberdeen, somewhere where is
0:08:59 > 0:09:02the offshore market, where I could learn a lot of... just to
0:09:02 > 0:09:06develop skills, to have more chance to talk with other people
0:09:06 > 0:09:09and companies and to have an international environment.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16Pawel's move to Scotland wasn't simply to get him
0:09:16 > 0:09:21a higher wage - it was more about developing his career.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24He also found he had a better work and life balance in Scotland,
0:09:24 > 0:09:27allowing him to spend more time with his family.
0:09:27 > 0:09:30His working hours in Poland are much longer.
0:09:34 > 0:09:37My life in Scotland was much easier than in Poland,
0:09:37 > 0:09:42you had much more time after work. In Poland, life is completely
0:09:42 > 0:09:45different - sometimes I have to take work home, sometimes
0:09:45 > 0:09:50I have to organise some jobs for me and it's harder.
0:09:51 > 0:09:55When Pawel's children reached school age the family had a big
0:09:55 > 0:09:59decision to make - whether to stay in Scotland permanently, or to
0:09:59 > 0:10:01move back to Poland.
0:10:01 > 0:10:05Our children needed to start school and then we had a choice -
0:10:05 > 0:10:07our children start school in Scotland
0:10:07 > 0:10:10and then we would be there for another ten years or something.
0:10:10 > 0:10:13We spoke with our family and we all decided
0:10:13 > 0:10:16it was the time to move back.
0:10:16 > 0:10:20But the family don't regret the time they spent in Scotland as it
0:10:20 > 0:10:22has improved Pawel's career prospects.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31Poland is a very proud nation.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34Us Poles are convinced that most Polish things
0:10:34 > 0:10:36are the best in the world.
0:10:38 > 0:10:41In a recent survey, Polish people were rated as the most attractive
0:10:41 > 0:10:44compared to other Europeans.
0:10:45 > 0:10:49Curiously, Poles were also found to be one of the most
0:10:49 > 0:10:53unhappy people within Europe.
0:10:53 > 0:10:56One of the reasons for that could lie in Poland's troubled past.
0:11:03 > 0:11:07The Second World War started in Poland.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10In September 1939, the Nazis invaded the country.
0:11:14 > 0:11:16Adolf Hitler was obsessed with creating
0:11:16 > 0:11:18a greater Germany for pure Germans only.
0:11:20 > 0:11:26He aggressively pursued anyone who didn't fit into his plan -
0:11:26 > 0:11:29he wanted to create an Aryan master race.
0:11:31 > 0:11:35In order to achieve that, he specifically targeted
0:11:35 > 0:11:37the Jewish population.
0:11:37 > 0:11:42Most Jews were taken away from their homes and made to wear yellow stars.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45They were sent to ghettos to separate them
0:11:45 > 0:11:47and make them easier to control.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52Rutka Laskier lived in one of these ghettos
0:11:52 > 0:11:55and is often called the Polish Anne Frank.
0:11:55 > 0:11:59She too wrote a diary about what it was like being a Jewish girl
0:11:59 > 0:12:00under German occupation.
0:12:33 > 0:12:37The ghettos were only a temporary solution - eventually most
0:12:37 > 0:12:41Jewish people ended up in one of the infamous concentration camps.
0:12:41 > 0:12:45The most well-known camp was Auschwitz, which is the German
0:12:45 > 0:12:49name for Oswiecim, a little town in the south of Poland.
0:12:54 > 0:12:58Malgorzata Jakubas is a 29-year-old political science student.
0:13:02 > 0:13:07Her college building was originally part of the concentration camp.
0:14:27 > 0:14:31Hitler vilified the Jews and blamed them for everything -
0:14:31 > 0:14:34from the defeat of World War I to the Great Depression.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37Many Jews were successful,
0:14:37 > 0:14:41and people were looking for someone to blame for their troubles.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44Hitler capitalised on this and the hatred
0:14:44 > 0:14:49he directed at the Jews grew into what we now know as the Holocaust.
0:14:49 > 0:14:53Malgorzata has chosen to specialise in the memory of the Holocaust
0:14:53 > 0:14:55and human rights.
0:15:08 > 0:15:12The extermination wasn't only limited to Jews.
0:15:12 > 0:15:18Hitler and his Nazi party also targeted the mentally ill and the disabled.
0:15:18 > 0:15:21Hitler thought of them as "unworthy of life."
0:15:31 > 0:15:36Poland was under Nazi occupation for six years and during this time
0:15:36 > 0:15:39nearly a quarter of the Polish population where killed.
0:15:44 > 0:15:47Three million of them were Jewish.
0:16:22 > 0:16:27This is where most Jews brought to Auschwitz ended up -
0:16:27 > 0:16:29the gas chambers.
0:16:30 > 0:16:34After they were made to strip off their clothes
0:16:34 > 0:16:38they were gassed in their thousands and their bodies were burned.
0:16:40 > 0:16:45Possibly the most harrowing display at Auschwitz is the hair which
0:16:45 > 0:16:51was harvested from the dead bodies to be used to stuff mattresses.
0:17:43 > 0:17:46A few months after Rutka wrote these lines
0:17:46 > 0:17:50she was taken to Auschwitz and was tragically killed there.
0:18:10 > 0:18:14The majority of Jews transported to Auschwitz-Birkenau
0:18:14 > 0:18:16died in the gas chambers.
0:18:16 > 0:18:18Most of them were killed within the hour
0:18:18 > 0:18:20of arriving in this death factory.
0:18:28 > 0:18:34For this group of Israeli Jews, visiting this place is a particularly
0:18:34 > 0:18:36emotional experience.
0:18:36 > 0:18:42I think every person should know it can happen everywhere,
0:18:42 > 0:18:47all the time if people don't pay attention onto each other,
0:18:47 > 0:18:53if people don't take care, if people don't see behind their shoulders
0:18:53 > 0:18:58and just think for themselves - it can happen everywhere.
0:19:41 > 0:19:46The end of the war in 1945 didn't mean
0:19:46 > 0:19:49the end of occupation for Poland, though.
0:19:49 > 0:19:54Russia imposed Communist rule and it remained like that until 1989 when
0:19:54 > 0:20:00the Solidarity movement, led by Lech Walesa, forced democratic elections.
0:20:00 > 0:20:04When Poland joined the European Union in 2004, it had
0:20:04 > 0:20:09a lot of catching up to do. The economy needed to be rebuilt,
0:20:09 > 0:20:14its education system and infrastructure needed major investment.
0:20:14 > 0:20:18And as for the environment, Poland still has a way to go.
0:20:28 > 0:20:33Poland produces 82% of its electricity from coal.
0:20:38 > 0:20:40Much of that power -
0:20:40 > 0:20:43around one-fifth of the country's electricity - is produced
0:20:43 > 0:20:48from just one plant, Elektrownia Belchatow, in central Poland.
0:20:55 > 0:20:58This huge power plant produces enough electricity to power
0:20:58 > 0:21:00the whole of Scotland!
0:21:00 > 0:21:03It is Europe's largest thermal power plant
0:21:03 > 0:21:04and its biggest polluter.
0:21:04 > 0:21:07According to the European Commission,
0:21:07 > 0:21:10it emitted close to 32 million tonnes of CO2 in 2010.
0:21:15 > 0:21:19Belchatow power station produces its electricity from coal
0:21:19 > 0:21:21dug out from this huge open cast mine.
0:21:24 > 0:21:28Piotr Dominiak is a journalist and passionate environmental campaigner.
0:22:22 > 0:22:24Belchatow open cast mine
0:22:24 > 0:22:27produces low quality brown coal for its power plant.
0:22:28 > 0:22:32And this is Pniowek coal mine - a deep cast mine.
0:22:34 > 0:22:38Its black, high quality coal is used for providing electricity,
0:22:38 > 0:22:40heating homes and for heavy industry.
0:22:42 > 0:22:45Slawek Polak is a foreman in this mine.
0:23:29 > 0:23:31Poland is highly dependent on coal.
0:23:31 > 0:23:35It not only provides most of its electricity
0:23:35 > 0:23:38but is a major exporter and is a big employer -
0:23:38 > 0:23:44over 100,000 people are working in the Polish coal industry.
0:23:44 > 0:23:47Any reduction in coal production will have a mayor
0:23:47 > 0:23:49effect on employment.
0:24:57 > 0:25:02Apart from coal, Poland does potentially have another very
0:25:02 > 0:25:04lucrative power source.
0:25:21 > 0:25:28In 2010, Poland didn't generate much renewable energy - only 9%.
0:25:28 > 0:25:33And, by 2020, they are hoping to raise this to 15% to meet EU targets.
0:25:33 > 0:25:36In Scotland we are aiming to generate the equivalent
0:25:36 > 0:25:41of 100% of our electricity from renewables by 2020.
0:26:06 > 0:26:10To meet EU expectations, Poland needs to make a huge investment -
0:26:10 > 0:26:12the equivalent of 50 billion pounds.
0:26:12 > 0:26:19So far, Scotland has invested 3.3 billion pounds to achieve its targets.
0:26:19 > 0:26:23Poland also needs to improve its recycling -
0:26:23 > 0:26:26in 2010, less than 15% of municipal waste
0:26:26 > 0:26:30was recycled in Poland, well below the UK at 25%.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57Improving recycling will help the environment
0:26:57 > 0:27:01and create employment, as well, but there is no getting away from it.
0:27:03 > 0:27:07As a member of the European Union, Poland will be expected to
0:27:07 > 0:27:11eventually switch from using coal to using cleaner power sources.
0:27:11 > 0:27:15But the end of mining will have a huge impact on the people who
0:27:15 > 0:27:16work there.
0:27:42 > 0:27:46Like all EU countries, finding the balance between economic
0:27:46 > 0:27:51and environmental concerns is a complex issue for Poland.
0:27:54 > 0:27:59Since the end of World War II, and especially since the fall
0:27:59 > 0:28:03of Communist rule, Poland has changed beyond recognition.
0:28:08 > 0:28:12Generally, Poles do not feel they have merely joined the European Union,
0:28:12 > 0:28:16they feel they have fulfilled a destiny disrupted by war.
0:28:20 > 0:28:24It is now a vibrant member of the EU and the impact of Polish
0:28:24 > 0:28:28migration can be felt not just in Europe, but worldwide.
0:28:38 > 0:28:43Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd