Andrzej Skupień

On 3 April 2004, during the holiday of Ashura, Iraqi rebels loyal to Shiite leader Muktada As-Sadr, launched an insurgency in the Polish zone. The Poles, together with Bulgarian soldiers and Iraqi police, were given the task of defending City Hall, led by Lieutenant colonel Grzegorz Kaliciak. The clash developed into the biggest Polish engagement since World War II. Not a single allied soldier died, although about 80 insurgents were killed in a counter-attack.

Newly appointed parish priest Giemza sets off for a rural parish, but a chance encounter with a young farmer leads to a bizarre case of mistaken identity. Soon, the two men become caught up in a series of increasingly surreal adventures involving villagers, church officials, hunters and a mysterious convent, blurring the line between reality, folklore and dreams.

When a political decision is made as to the location of a new large chemical factory, Stefan Bednarz is put in charge of it. This honest communist party man has to confront the local community opposing the construction.

The life of the great Bolshevik leader before the Russian revolution is chronicled in this bio-pic. Much of the tale centers on his exile in Poland where Lenin becomes friends with two peasants. The little girl has a strong belief in the nationalist cause. Later Lenin hears she was killed for withholding information about him.

The owner of an ice cream parlor in a coastal town is murdered. The investigation is conducted by platoon leader Rogowski, but soon he is joined by Lieutenant Joanna Szczęsna from the voivodeship headquarters.

Three Kościuszko Division soldiers, each of a different background, volunteer to take up the task of cutting German barbed wire before an offensive.

The story stretches from 1863 to 1945. Its main characters are representatives of the Pasternik family, who live in the fictional village of Wielowice near Pszczyna. The protagonist of the first three episodes is Franciszek Pasternik, the following parts tell about the fate of his many children and even more grandchildren. The viewer follows their history against the backdrop of great changes and historical events that influenced the lives of Silesian Poles. So there is the Kulturkampf, Prussian rugi, the revolution of 1905, World War I and the Silesian Uprisings.