Poland, as it is known today, was founded towards the end of the 10th century. In earlier times, permanent agriculture and trading activity developed in the area between 4000 and 2000BC. During this time territory was contested by Celts, Goths, Huns, and other Germanic and European race groups.
In the 10th century a tribe called the Polanie established a power base along the Baltic coast and its leader, Piast, took control of the surrounding tribes and territory. He named the territory he annexed Polska (Poland), in honor of the tribe. The country was formally named Wielkopolska (Great Poland) in 966 by the first official ruler and supposed descendent of Piast, Mieszko I.
Mieszko I was a strategic whizz. He quickly dealt with any opposition he encountered and expanded Poland's borders to approximately where they are today. Of course, Poland's subsequent rulers had to secure a country sharing borders with the rest of Europe. Its central position was a strategic weakness. Incursions from what is today Germany, in particular, took their toll, and the administrative capital was consequently moved from Gniezno to Krakow half way through the 11th century.
Towards the middle of the 12th century, Boleslaw the Wry-Mouthed divided Poland between his sons, in a naive attempt to achieve a fair succession. The result was predictable: the sons quarrelled, grew suspicious of one another, and internal stability collapsed. Poland suffered onslaught after onslaught: Prussians, the Teutonic Knights of Germany, even the Mongols stampeded through the country's forests and fields. Only in 1320 was Poland reunified and autonomy restored.
Under the leadership of Casimir (III) the Great, also known as Kazimierz Wielki, much of the original Polish territory was retaken. Casimir also instituted sweeping social and political reforms. He established one of Europe's first universities in Krakow in 1364, and strengthened Poland's military capabilities. His social laws meant that Poland become a haven for the free practice of religion, leading to an influx of Jewish settlers seeking to escape persecution in other Europen countries.
In 1385, Duke Jagiello of Lithuania married into Poland's throne, becoming Wladyslaw II Jagiello. Although Poland's borders exploded outwards as a result of the political marriage, Jagiello also initiated an expansion programme and defeated the Teutonic Knights at the Battle of Grunwald in 1410. Much territory was subsumed under the Polish crown until Poland was the largest European power.
Poland did not enjoy a peaceful existence, and was constantly harassed by the Crimeans, Russians and Ottomans. Despite this, culture flourished within the country, especially under the patronage of Sigismund I the Old and Sigismund II Augustus. Indeed, Poland was one of the most active countries in the Renaissance, with some religious and social laws many countries today do still not enjoy. The department of astronomy at the University of Krakow achieved renown through Nicolaus Copernicus.
After the death of Sigismund II Augustus in 1572, monarchs were voted into power by a voting body called the Sejm. This was an important step for political progress in Europe. However only four Poles enjoyed the throne in this Royal Republic which lasted until 1795. The rest were foreigners. During this time, the capital was moved from Krakow to Warsaw.
Poland lost much of its territory in the Ukraine as a result of a rebellion there in 1648. In 1655, Sweden won control over most of Poland's Baltic provinces. Poland's decline continued into the 18th century. In 1791 the hereditary monarchy was restored. However in 1795, Austria, Prussia and Russia divided Poland between themselves.
On 3 May 1791 Poland adopted Europe's first democratic constitution (the world's second after the American Constitution). This event is celebrated every year, and in fact has even been commemorated with a large parade in downtown Chicago every year since 1891.
In 1812 Napoleon Bonaparte established the Duchy of Warsaw giving the Poles some control over their land again. However, Napoleon pursued the retreating Russians into their own country, got caught in the winter there, and lost his campaign. Poland was quickly re-subjugated and Tsar Alexander took the reigns of power. There were several attempted rebellions, but the might of the Russian Empire was too much for the ill-equipped Poles.
World War I brought with it misery and triumph for Poland. Poles were conscripted into the armies of its three controlling powers. After the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, Russia was unable to maintain control over its lands in Poland, and so was driven out by Polish nationals. Austria collapsed the next year, which freed another portion of Poland, and Germany finally withdrew from Warsaw soon afterwards, paving the way for a new autonomous Poland. Jósef Pilsudski established the Second Republic on 11 November 1918.
Poland then engaged in a re-expansion program in an attempt to reclaim its old borders. Tempers flared between Poland and Russia, resulting in the Polish-Soviet War of 1919-1920. Polish forces defeated Russia and Pilsudski became a national hero. Pilsudski stepped down from the political arena in 1922, but took power again only four years later in 1926, ruling as a dictator.
Jinxed by its physical location, Poland has always been threatened by its neighbours. With the military expansion of Russia and Germany, things got a lot more threatening. In a desperate bid to maintain peace, Poland entered into non-aggression treaties with both of these states. This amounted to little, however, as Germany and Russia signed their own treaty in 1939, just before the outbreak of World War II. With this signed, Germany was free to invade Poland without worrying about being attacked by Russia. The first cities to be attacked were Danzig (Gdansk) and Warsaw. In just over a month Western Poland was overrun by German forces. Despite a mutual-aid agreement with France and Britain, Poland was left to its fate by its allies, still a vivid memory today. Western Poland was integrated into Germany, and shortly afterwards, Eastern Poland was invaded by Russia.
Hitler then decided to ignore the Soviet-German non-aggression treaty and attacked Soviet troops stationed in Eastern Poland in June 1941. Hitler chased the Soviet Union right out of Poland and pursued its forces into Russia itself. In the meantime, huge concentration camps were established where millions of prisoners worked until they were too weak to continue. Then they were executed. Gas chambers were set up and Jews, Russians, homosexuals, and gypsies, among others, were gassed. At the infamous camp of Birkenau approximately 20,000 people were executed and cremated each day. In what became known as the Holocaust, an estimated 2 to 4 million people were executed in the Nazi concentration camps. This included at least a third of the 5 or 6 million Jews who were killed throughout Europe by the Nazis.
Throughout the war, Poles were incorporated into the allied forces. Stalin helped establish two different Polish forces, although they were intended to promote Soviet interests in Poland and spread the doctrine of communism. In August 1944 Polish dissidents rebelled against the Germans in Warsaw. In the battle which ensued, over 200,000 Poles died, before the rebellion was finally quashed. Hitler then systematically destroyed the entire city. Stalin played his cards well, and refused to intervene on behalf of the Poles in what became known as the Warsaw Uprising. The next year Soviet troops entered Warsaw and established a power base. With Poland severely weakened by the war and economically devastated, Stalin had no trouble taking control, and once again, Poland was controlled by a foreign power.
Poland was formally handed over to the Soviet Union during the Yalta Conference of 1945. Immediately Stalin introduced widespread communism and ruthlessly disposed of any potential Polish heroes who might challenge Soviet authority. Stalin set up a puppet state under the control of Boleslaw Bierut.
The Soviet occupation was never economically successful and was plagued by petty dictators and rebellions from discontented workers. Polish workers earned the right to strike, and the movement known as Solidarity was formed. Solidarity was as much a political movement or ideology as a trade union. An army general, Jaruzelski, declared a state of martial law on 13 December 1981. All human rights were suspended, a curfew was initiated, freedom of expression banned and Solidarity outlawed with its leaders imprisoned.
Solidarity went underground while Poland's economy continued to suffer. Slowly Jaruzelski lost control of the situation and the Polish people slowly began to win back social rights. By 1986 Solidarity's leaders were released from jail, and by 1989 Jaruzelski had entered into negotiations with Solidarity regarding social reforms along democratic lines. Jaruzelski was made president by the Soviet Union, but the Polish people elected Tadeusz Mazowiecki as prime minister. This partially democratic government was of great interest to Soviet premier Gorbachev, who wished to see whether the Soviet Bloc could successfully redistribute power to its 'colonies'. Poland was a success, and analysts believe this success was largely responsible for the USSR relaxing is control over Eastern Europe.
In 1990, a free market was introduced into Poland as democracy gained momentum. In November of that year, after a rift had appeared in the Solidarity movement between prime minister Mazowiecki and traditional Solidarity leader Lech Walesa, Walesa was elected president in Poland's first genuine free and fair elections. The next few years were characterised by internal political instability. The economy continued to founder and Walesa's popularity diminished. In 1995 he was replaced by Kwasniewski, an ex-communist.
Economically Poland is still in the doldrums. Industry has failed to provide the returns hoped for, and political in-fighting has not helped to create a coherent economic policy. Luckily there has been an explosion of private companies and businesses, which are the main contributors to the country's earnings. The emergence of this private sector does hold some hope for Poland's economic future.
Having suffered greatly since 1795, Poland has experienced many economic problems. World War II, especially, was devastating to the economy. However, an entrepreneurial private sector specialising in small businesses is taking off, and is already responsible for more than 50% of the country's GDP. Many analysts agree that it is this sector that is likely to pull the economy out of its rut.
Inflation is still amongst the highest in the world. In 1994 it was 32%, but is decreasing slowly. It was 8.6 % in 1998. During the same year unemployment stood at 17%, but has followed the slow downward trend of inflation. Unemployment rate rose to 10.4% in December from 9.9% in November 1998 and 10.3% in December 1997. Rising unemployment is a sign of falling industrial output and also of the result of restructuring in some industries.
Poland's population has altered greatly this century. There was a massive migration after the turn of the century and another during World War II. Not only this, but about 3 million Polish Jews were killed in Hitler's death camps during the 1939-45 period. Today there are some 38.5 million people living in Poland. Roughly 98% of them are indigenous Poles. An estimated 60% of the population is urbanised.
Poland's parliament is divided into two houses: the Sejm and the senate. The former has 460 seats and the latter a mere 100. The senate can veto the Sejm unless the Sejm can muster a two-thirds majority. The president is voted in for five years.
Since the collapse of communism and the Polish United Workers' Party, literally hundreds of political parties have emerged.
President Aleksander Kwasniewski was elected for a five-year term by popular vote in December 1995.
Not much English is spoken in Poland. The national language, Polish, has a Slavic heritage.
Religion has always played an important role in Polish history and identity. Since Mieszko I, became Roman Catholic in 966, the Roman Catholic Church has dominated any religious activity. Even the powerful Solidarity movement was closely allied to the Roman Catholic Church. Nearly 75% of Poland's population are practicing Catholics and the church's influence is very noticeable.
The democratic constitution of 1791 stated that Poland's official state religion of Poland would be Roman Catholicism. In addition, it stated clearly that the practise of other religions would be allowed, and even encouraged in keeping with the terms of a free and democratic state.
