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Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine and Belarus to the east; and the Baltic Sea, Lithuania and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north. It also shares a maritime border with Denmark and Sweden. The total area of Poland is 312,683 sq km[1] (120,728 sq mi), making it the 69th largest country in the world. Poland's population is over 38.5 million people, concentrated mainly in large cities such as the historical capital Kraków and the present capital Warsaw. The first Polish state was created in 966, within territory very similar to the present boundaries of Poland. Poland became a kingdom in 1025, and in 1569 it cemented a long association with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania by uniting to form the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Commonwealth collapsed in 1795. Poland regained its independence in 1918 after World War I but lost it again in World War II, occupied by Nazi Germany and Soviet Union, emerging several years later as a communist country within the Eastern Bloc under control of the former Soviet Union. In 1989, communist rule was overthrown and Poland became what is informally known as the "Third Polish Republic". Today, as the 6th most populated member state of the European Union, Poland is a liberal democracy made up of sixteen voivodeships. Poland is also a member of European Union, NATO, the United Nations, OECD and the World Trade Organization.
How places in Poland are organizedPoland has a complicated history. From 1569-1795 it was part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. We call the subdivisions during that time commonwealth voivodships. From 1815-1914 it was known as Congress Poland. We call the subdivisions during that time congress governorates. From 1918-1939 it was known as the Second Polish Republic. We call the subdivisions during that time second republic voivodships. From 1945-1989 it was known as the People's Republic of Poland. We call the subdivisions from 1945-1975 People's republic voivodships. The subdivisions of Poland from 1975-1998, and the ones that replaced them in 1999 are both called "modern voivodships". The Family History Library Catalog lists some places in Poland according to their second republic voivodships and others according to their people's republic voivodships. We follow their lead and title Polish place pages according to their second republic voivodship (preferred) or people's republic voivodship if known, with also-located-in links to the voivodships for other time periods if known. All places in PolandFurther information on historical place organization in PolandHistory
PrehistoryThroughout Late Antiquity, the lands of present day Poland were populated by many different cultures, known from archeological research, but many still of uncertain ethnicity or linguistic affiliation. Slavic, Celtic, Germanic and Baltic peoples were among the prominent groups. The most famous archeological finding from Poland's prehistory is the Biskupin fortified settlement, dating from the Lusatian culture of the early Iron Age. Piast dynastyPoland began to form into a recognizable unitary and territorial entity around the middle of the tenth century under the Piast dynasty. Poland's first historically documented ruler, Mieszko I, was baptized in 966, adopting Catholic Christianity as the nation's new official religion, to which the bulk of the population converted in the course of the next centuries. In the twelfth century, Poland fragmented into several smaller states, which were later ravaged by the Mongol armies of the Golden Horde in 1241, 1259 and 1287. In 1320, Władysław I became the King of a reunified Poland. His son, Casimir III, is remembered as one of the greatest Polish kings. Poland was also a centre of migration of peoples and the Jewish community began to settle and flourish in Poland during this era (see History of the Jews in Poland). The Black Death which affected most parts of Europe from 1347 to 1351 did not reach Poland. Jagiellon dynastyUnder the Jagiellon dynasty, Poland forged an alliance with its neighbour, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. A golden age ensued during the sixteenth century after the Union of Lublin which gave birth to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The szlachta (nobility) of Poland, far more numerous than in Western European countries, took pride in their freedoms and parliamentary system.
End of the golden age and partition of PolandIn the mid-seventeenth century, a Swedish invasion ("The Deluge") and Cossack's Chmielnicki Uprising which ravaged the country marked the end of the golden age. Numerous wars against Russia coupled government inefficiency caused by the Liberum Veto, a right which had allowed any member of the parliament to dissolve it and to veto any legislation it had passed, marked the steady deterioration of the Commonwealth from a European power into a near-anarchy controlled by its neighbours. The reforms, particularly those of the Great Sejm, which passing of the Constitution of May 3, 1791, second modern constitution of the world, were thwarted with the three partitions of Poland (1772, 1793, and 1795) which ended with Poland's being erased from the map and its territories being divided between Russia, Prussia, and Austria. Poles would resent their fate and would several times rebell against the partitioners, particularly in the eighteenth century. In 1807 Napoleon recreated a Polish state, the Duchy of Warsaw, but after the Napoleonic wars, Poland was again divided in 1815 by the victorious Allies at the Congress of Vienna. The eastern portion was ruled by the Russian Czar as a Congress Kingdom, and possessed a liberal constitution. However, the Czars soon reduced Polish freedoms and Russia eventually de facto annexed the country. Later in the nineteenth century, Austrian-ruled Galicia, particularly the Free City of Kraków, became a center of Polish cultural life. Reconstitution of PolandDuring World War I, all the Allies agreed on the reconstitution of Poland that United States President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed in Point 13 of his Fourteen Points. Shortly after the surrender of Germany in November 1918, Poland regained its independence as the Second Polish Republic (II Rzeczpospolita Polska). It reaffirmed its independence after a series of military conflicts, the most notable being the Polish-Soviet War (1919-1921) when Poland inflicted a crushing deafeat on the Red Army.
World War IIThe Sanacja movement controlled Poland until the start of World War II in 1939, when Nazi Germany invaded on September 1 and the Soviet Union followed on September 17. Warsaw capitulated on September 28 1939. As agreed in the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact, Poland was split into two zones, one occupied by Germany while the eastern provinces fell under the control of the Soviet Union. Of all the countries involved in the war, Poland lost the highest percentage of its citizens: over six million perished, half of them Polish Jews. Poland made the fourth-largest troop contribution to the Allied war effort, after the Americans, the British and the Soviets. At the war's conclusion, Poland's borders were shifted westwards, pushing the eastern border to the Curzon line. Meanwhile, the western border was moved to the Oder-Neisse line. The new Poland emerged 20% smaller by 77,500 square kilometres (29,900 sq mi). The shift forced the migration of millions of people, most of whom were Poles, Germans, Ukrainians, and Jews. Postwar Communist PolandThe Soviet Union instituted a new Communist government in Poland, analogous to much of the rest of the Eastern Bloc. Military alignment within the Warsaw Pact throughout the Cold War was also part of this change. In 1948, a turn towards Stalinism signalled the beginning of a new period of totalitarian rule. The People's Republic of Poland (Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa) was officially proclaimed in 1952. In 1956, the régime of Władysław Gomułka became temporarily more liberal, freeing many people from prison and expanding some personal freedoms. Similar situation repeated itself in the 1970s under Edward Gierek, but most of the time persecution of communist opposition persisted. Solidarity and the fall of communismLabour turmoil in 1980 led to the formation of the independent trade union "Solidarity" ("Solidarność"), which over time became a political force. It eroded the dominance of the Communist Party and by 1989 had triumphed in parliamentary elections. Lech Wałęsa, a Solidarity candidate, eventually won the presidency in 1990. The Solidarity movement heralded the collapse of communism across Eastern Europe. Economic growthA shock therapy programme of Leszek Balcerowicz during the early 1990s enabled the country to transform its economy into a robust market economy. Despite temporary slumps in social and economic standards, Poland was the first post-communist country to reach its pre-1989 GDP levels. Most visibly, there were numerous improvements in other human rights, such as free speech. In 1991, Poland became a member of the Visegrad Group and joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) alliance in 1999 along with the Czech Republic and Hungary. Poles then voted to join the European Union in a referendum in June 2003, with Poland becoming a full member on May 1, 2004. Research Tips
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