With many people today criticizing capitalism, I decided to travel to Warsaw, Poland, to get a historical perspective of what life was really like behind the Iron Curtain before the 1989 collapse of Soviet hegemony in Eastern Europe.
The Iron Curtain was pulled down in 1945, dividing Europe into two regions: Soviet-aligned Eastern Europe that promoted communism and Western Europe that promoted capitalism. Communism centers on state control of property and markets. Capitalism centers on private property ownership and free markets.
I signed up for the enlightening Communist Warsaw Tour in Retro Minibus with Tomasz Sobczak. Generations of Sobczak’s family are from Poland, and he spent his early childhood behind the Iron Curtain.
Outside of the Palace of Culture and Science located in the heart of downtown Warsaw, Sobczak had his historic green FS Lublin waiting for us. It is a van produced by Polish automaker FSC, and it symbolizes the final years of communist-era engineering. Although production of the van started in 1993, its design and development began in the early 1980s.
The van’s passenger window didn’t roll down. I had to unscrew it and slide it back. It didn’t come with seat belts; Sobczak installed them. There was no power steering. It was a bumpy ride around Warsaw, and I doubt the van had shock absorbers. Sobczak said there was a lot of cutting corners when this van was designed.
Sobczak noted that customer satisfaction and product quality standards are not important in communism. After all, Sobczak asks, who would you complain to?
Communism had lots of problems. Car ownership for example. Sobczak said most cars were owned through jobs. People could only use them for work. People could own cars, but their names had to be placed on a state-controlled waiting list. The state selected the car’s make and model.
Sobczak noted that used cars were worth more than new cars. People could, without being on a waiting list, buy used cars from car owners. Sobczak said that unfortunately this encouraged theft because cars could be stolen and quickly sold.
Used property was very valuable. Sobczak noted there was a permanent shortage of everything new, so people would look at what’s currently available.
There were problems with the labor market. Sobczak said farms were owned by the state. People that worked on farms were paid a rate based on the state’s fluctuating salary scales, rather than market wages. If the state was running low on money, wages were reduced without notice to workers. Often workers wouldn’t show up for work. The pay was terrible and people would steal food from farms.
Sobczak said that there were “milk bars,” state-subsidized cafeterias where people could get meals. But the milk bars’ daily operating hours weren’t consistent – if there was no food, they were not open. Milk bars still exist but are privately owned cafeteria-style eateries that offer traditional Polish food.
Sobczak noted that some people were successful under communism. If you were a member of the state police or communist elite class, you were treated better. You were given priority to live in state-owned apartments. If your name was on a state-controlled list, it would be moved to the top.
I walked away from the tour thinking not everyone does well under the same economic systems. Some may do better under communism. But most do better under capitalism. People tend to like opportunities and choices, which capitalism provides.
After my tour on communism, I wanted to explore the city a little more. I signed up for the flavorful Coffee Walking Tour of Warsaw.
Tour guide Tomasz Obinski took me to four unique coffee shops that were tucked away in Warsaw’s historic district.
Our first stop was Fat White Coffee Bar, which has a connected barbershop. It’s a cozy spot with Hollywood action figure decorations. I had a Brazilian roast espresso that had a fruity taste.
As we walked, there were visible small cracks in some of older buildings caused by uneven settling. Obinski said that after World War II, there was so much debris from the war that people buried debris and built on top of it. It would have taken too long and been too expensive to remove the debris.
Our next stop was Namo, a vegan bakery. It’s famous for its vegan brioche roll, a plant-based version of the traditional French butter-and-egg roll. We then went to Teklq, a cozy café that plays music from vinyl records. The barista flips vinyl records on a turntable while making coffee. Our final stop was the charming Kawiarnia Dobra Materia coffee shop; it focuses on specialty coffees. I had a raspberry and strawberry flavored espresso.
After the coffee tour, my energy levels were through the roof even though I was still struggling with jet lag.
David Placher is a photographer and world traveler with ties to Fort Wayne. When Placher isn’t traveling, he is drafting and reviewing technology and information security contracts for a living. His travel stories appear on occasion in The Journal Gazette.