Originally produced for the Shanghai World Expo in 2010, I just discovered that an HD version of the “Animated History of Poland” was released in 2016. Covering 1,000 years of Polish history in 8 minutes through 140 events and 500 characters, the short film is a masterpiece in visual storytelling and in my judgement captures well the broad strokes of Poland’s long and epic story. Given how quickly the scenes change it would have been impractical to add names or basic captions, but the chronology displays century ranges and specific years associated with important events to at least inform viewers of when the action occurred. Most moving of course are the later scenes from the Polish-Bolshevik War (1919-1920) through World War II and the Solidarity movement, which I studied or my family members were witnesses to or participants in.
Enjoy the show!
