Over the centuries the Eastern European country of Poland has faced numerous invasions and occupations by foreign powers. Its borders have shifted repeatedly throughout its history. At times Poland was entirely wiped off the map of Europe, only to reappear after long periods of struggle. During the 1980s Poland showed its strength and determination again by leading the fight against Communism in Eastern Europe. The capital of Poland is Warsaw. GeographyPoland covers an area of 120,728 square miles (312,685 square kilometers) in the heart of Europe. It is bordered to the west by Germany. To the south are the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The Baltic Sea and Russia lie to the north. Lithuania, Belarus, and Ukraine run from north to south along the eastern border. Most of Poland lies within the lowland region called the North European Plain. The Baltic coast has sand dunes and swamps. Farther inland is a rocky area with thousands of small lakes. The landscape then changes to a vast, mostly flat plain that covers most of the country. In the south this plain gives way to hills and mountains. The Sudeten Mountains in the southwest form part of the border with the Czech Republic. Farther east along the border are several ranges of the western Carpathian Mountains. The majestic Tatras in the extreme south are the highest range. They reach a height of 8,199 feet (2,499 meters) at the peak named Rysy. - The Vistula, Poland's longest river, flows past the Old Town section of Warsaw.
The main rivers in Poland are the Vistula and the Oder. Both flow northward and empty into the Baltic Sea. The Oder forms part of the border with Germany. Poland has warm summers and cold, snowy winters. The country does not get much rain or snow except in the mountains. Plants and animalsMany of Poland's original forests have been cut down over the centuries to create farm and grazing land. Today forests cover about one quarter of the country. Larch, beech, oak, birch, pine, and spruce are common trees. The animals of the forest include deer, wild pigs, beavers, and elks. Bears, wildcats, and the goatlike chamois roam the mountains. For years a forest reserve in eastern Poland has been home to the few surviving wisent, or European bison. A breeding program succeeded in increasing the animal's numbers. In the late 20th century some wisent were released into the wild. People and culturePoland was once one of the most ethnically diverse countries in Europe. This changed because of World War II. Six million people were killed in Poland while Nazi Germany occupied the country, including almost the entire Jewish population of about 3 million (see Holocaust). After the war most of the Germans in Poland were forced to leave, and some of the Ukrainians moved to the Soviet Union. Today ethnic Poles make up most of Poland's population. They speak Polish and are mostly Roman Catholic. Small numbers of Ukrainians, Germans, and Belarusians also live in the country. More than 60 percent of the Polish population lives in cities and towns. The largest city is Warsaw, the capital. It lies on the Vistula River in the east-central part of the country. Much of the city was destroyed during World War II and later rebuilt. Warsaw has more than twice as many people as Poland's second-largest city, ?ód?. The country's other major cities include Kraków, Wroc?aw, Pozna┰, and Gda┰sk. Poland has centuries-old traditions in literature and music. In the 20th century the Polish novelists Henryk Sienkiewicz and W?adys?aw Reymont and poets Czes?aw Mi?osz and Wis?awa Szymborska won the Nobel prize for literature. The Poles are famous for their folk music and dances, such as the mazurka and the polonaise. Frédéric Chopin, the most famous of Poland's composers, used folk elements in his music. Poles have also made their mark in the field of science. The 16th-century Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus forever changed the understanding of the solar system by suggesting that the planets revolve around the sun. In 1903 the Polish-born scientist Marie Curie shared the Nobel prize for physics for discovering the radioactive element called radium. Curie also won the 1911 Nobel prize for chemistry. EconomyBefore World War II Poland had a mostly agricultural economy. After the war, however, the Communists who took control of the government turned Poland into a heavily industrialized country. Today the country's leading industries include food processing and the production of machinery and transport equipment, electronics, iron and steel, and fertilizers and other chemicals. Mining accounts for only a small percentage of Poland's economic output, but the country is still a major world producer of coal, sulfur, copper, and silver. Service industries such as finance and trade make up the fastest-growing part of the economy. Although agriculture is not as important in Poland as it once was, millions of Poles still earn their living in the countryside. Many farmers produce enough food only for themselves, but some food and live animals are exported. The leading crops grown in Poland include potatoes, rye, wheat, and sugar beets. Pigs and cattle are the main livestock. Pork and dairy products are produced throughout the country. HistoryThe Poles are a Slavic people who may have arrived in what is now Poland as early as the 2nd millennium BC. The written history of Poland, however, begins in the 10th century AD, when the Piast dynasty rose to power in the region. The Piast ruler Mieszko I expanded the dynasty's lands. He also increased ties with Western Europe by adopting Christianity in 966 AD. This date is accepted as the founding date of Poland. The Piast Dynasty ruled Poland until 1386. In that year Poland's Queen Jadwiga married Wladyslaw II Jagiello, the grand duke of Lithuania. The marriage united Poland and Lithuania and marked the beginning of the Jagiellon Dynasty. The united state of Poland and Lithuania, known as the Commonwealth, was the dominant power in east-central Europe during the 15th and early 16th centuries. For much of that time the Jagiellon monarchs ruled Hungary and Bohemia (now part of the Czech Republic). They also fought off powerful enemies. In 1410 Poland and Lithuania together defeated the Teutonic Knights, a group that had been conquering nearby lands with the goal of converting them to Christianity. Decline of PolandFollowing the end of the Jagiellon Dynasty in 1572, the Commonwealth was ruled by a series of weak kings. In the 17th century the Commonwealth became involved in wars with Sweden, Russia, and Turkey. Swedish and Russian invasions of Poland in 1655 threatened its very existence. The Commonwealth survived the conflicts but was much weakened. Its population dropped from about 11 to 7 million, and its economy was ruined. The power of the Commonwealth continued to decline throughout the 18th century. In 1772 neighboring Russia, Prussia (part of Germany), and Austria took part of the Commonwealth's territory and divided it among themselves. The three powers further divided the land in 1793. After a third division in 1795, most of Lithuania was controlled by Russia, and Poland no longer existed as an independent state. It was replaced on the map of Europe by Austrian, Prussian, and Russian sectors. Rebirth of PolandThe Poles were determined to regain their state. A Polish kingdom was formed in 1815, but it was controlled by the Russians. Throughout the 19th century foreign rule grew more harsh. The Poles unsuccessfully revolted against Russian rule several times. Russia responded to the uprisings by taking steps to stamp out Polish culture. For example, they ordered that the Russian language be used instead of Polish in Polish schools. The Germans followed similar policies in the Prussian part of Poland. World War I (1914–18) led to the rebirth of Poland. The war weakened or destroyed the three powers that had ruled Polish lands for more than 100 years—Russia, Austria, and Germany. An independent Poland was formed in 1918. Józef Pi?sudski served as its first president, from 1918 to 1922. The new Poland faced a number of problems. The parts of the country that had been under foreign rule had different legal, economic and political systems, which needed to be unified. The economy was underdeveloped and heavily agricultural. About one third of Poland's population consisted of ethnic minorities who were unhappy under Polish rule. In response to political instability, Pilsudski took control of the country in 1926. He ruled Poland as a dictator until his death in 1935. World War IIDuring the 1930s Poland found itself in a difficult position between the Soviet Union (including Russia) to the east and Nazi Germany to the west. Both countries wanted to regain Polish territories lost at the end of the World War I. In August 1939 the German and Soviet leaders, Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin, signed a secret treaty to divide Poland. Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, beginning World War II. Two weeks later the Soviet Union attacked from the east according to its agreement with Germany. Germany occupied the western two thirds of Poland, while the Soviet Union occupied the rest. In 1941 Germany turned against and invaded the Soviet Union. All of Poland then came under Nazi rule. Germany wanted to wipe out Polish culture and to eliminate the country's large Jewish minority. The Nazis killed about 3 million Polish Jews and many Christian Poles in their death camps. Many thousand more Polish Jews died fighting the Nazis. A famous but unsuccessful Jewish uprising against the Nazis occurred in a ghetto in Warsaw in 1943. Still more Poles were sent to Germany to work as laborers. CommunismThe Soviet Union drove the German army out of Poland in 1945. After the war Poland's borders underwent a major shift. Poland lost its eastern territories to the Soviet Union but received large tracts of German territory in the west. Meanwhile, the Soviet Union established a Communist government in Poland. Secret police arrested, imprisoned, and sometimes killed opponents of the government. The Communist government also made major changes to the Polish economy. It took over most businesses, allowing little private ownership. Economic hardships suffered by Polish workers led to political unrest. In 1956, 1970, and 1976 workers protested over issues such as high prices and shortages of food and housing. SolidarityNew increases in food prices led to strikes at a shipyard in the Polish city of Gda┰sk in 1980. The leader of the strikes was an electrician named Lech Wa??sa. He helped bring together almost 10 million Polish workers into an organization called Solidarity. Solidarity began as a trade union representing workers, but it soon turned into a political movement representing the people against the Communist government. For a time the government negotiated with Solidarity. In 1981, however, the government declared martial law and banned Solidarity. Lech Wa??sa and many other members of the group were arrested while others went into hiding. Martial law ended in 1983, but the government continued to keep tight control over its opponents. Continued economic problems led to more protests in the late 1980s. In response to this pressure, the Polish government agreed in 1989 to legalize Solidarity and hold elections. A year later Wa??sa was elected president. His Solidarity government reversed the economic policies of the former Communist leaders by reducing the government's role in the economy. Moving closer to the WestThe economic changes begun in the early 1990s continued under later governments. Within a few years the economy began to show great improvement. As a result of Poland's economic and political progress, it was made a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1999. In the early 21st century the Polish government focused its efforts on earning the country membership in the European Union. Population (2001 estimate), 38,647,000. |