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Polish History & Culture
Beginning through the Age of Greatness
Polish history began in the early 9th century when the
Polians (dwellers in the field) obtained hegemony over the
others Slavic tribes that occupied the country. Their
principal dynasty (PIAST) accepted Christianity in 966.
Poznan was the earliest Polish capital and Gniezno the first
Episcopal see. The main line of the Piast dynasty ended in
1370 with Casimir III, and the crown passed to Casimir's
nephew, Louis I of Hungary and to Louis's daughter Jadwiga.
Jadwiga married Ladislaus (Wladyslaw) Jagiello, duke of
Lithuania, who became king of Poland as Ladislaw II
(Wladislaw). The time 1386-1572 under Jagiello's power was
considered the "golden age" of Poland. King Ladislaw III
(Wladislaw) (killed) by the Turks in the battle of Warna
(1444), gave Poland the prestige of championing the
Christian cause against the Moslem tide. In 1569 Poland
absorbed Lithuania by the Union of Lublin. After 1572 no
dynasty maintained itself for long, and the theory that the
entire nobility could take part in the royal elections,
applied in practice, frequently led to contested elections
and civil wars.

There was considerable religious toleration in 16th century
Poland, and the progress of Protestantism was arrested
without coercion by the Jesuits. Much of the reigns of
Stephan Batory (1575-86), and of Sigismund III (Zygmunt)
(1587-1632) were taken up with schemes to conquer Russia.
The great figure of this time was the chancellor Jan Zamojski.

Sigismund III (Zygmunt), a prince of the Swedish ruling
house of Vasa also became the king of Sweden. He was
succeeded by his sons Ladislaus IV (Wladislaw) (1632- 48)
and John II (1648-68).

In 1655 Charles X of Sweden overran the country, while tsar
Alexis of Russia attacked from his side. Only the miracle of
Czestochwa saved Poland from annihilation.

The Peace of Oliva (1660) cost Poland considerable
territory, and by the Treaty of Andrusov (1667) the E
Ukraine passed to Russia.

With John II the Vasa dynasty ended. John III (Jan
Sobieski), the savior of Vienna temporarily restored Polish
greatness, but with his death Poland virtually ceased to be
an independent country.

Division and Regeneration
The three successive partitions (1772, 1793, 1795) resulted
in the disappearance of Poland from European map.
Russification and Germanization processes started. Only in
Galicja could the Poles enjoy a considerable degree of autonomy.
The Restoration
The First World War (1914-18) gave Poland an opportunity to
recover its independence. Poland was declared an independent
republic of 11 November 1918. In 1926 democratic government
was suspended by a military coup d'tat that made Jozef
Pilsudzki virtual dictator. After his death Rydz-Smigly took
over control.
Through the Holocaust
On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland and thus
precipitated the Second World War. On September 17 Soviet
troops invaded Poland from the east. The German occupation
started. German authorities proceeded methodically to
exterminate a large part of the population by massacres and
starvation and in the extermination camps such as Oswiecim.
The worst fate was reserved for the Jews. The Germans,
hunting them down like animals, exterminated all but some
100,000 Jews.

Polish prisoners of war in the USSR were allowed to form a
corps under gen. Wladyslaw Anders and fought with
distinction with the Allies, particularly in Italy; other
Polish units were organized in Great Britain and Canada.

A mass grave of some 10,000 Polish officers were executed by
the Russians in the Katyn forest.

Germany declared war on the USSR in 1941.

Early in 1945 the last German troops were expelled from
Poland by the Soviet army. After the war under the Potsdam
Agreement, the former German territories laying east of the
rivers Oder and Neisse came under Polish sovereignty.
Poland's frontier with the USSR was also shifted westward.
Poland become a "people's democracy" on the Soviet model.

A People's Republic was established in February 1947 with
the Polish Worker's Party - PWP (Polska Partia Robotnicza -
PPR) led by Wladislaw Gomulka. In December 1948 the
communist PWP merged with the Polish Socialist Party to form
the Polish Unated Workers' Party - PUWP (Polska Zjednoczona
Partia Robotnicza - PZPR). A new constitution was adopted in
July 1952. The government's strict control eased slightly
with the death in 1953 of Marshal Stalin, the Soviet leader.

In December 1970 an outbreak of strikes and rioting, caused
by a sharp rise in food prices, led to the resignation of
Gomulka as party leader, and the Marshal Marian Spychalski,
who had been Head of State since April 1968. Jozef
Cyrankiewicz, the chairman of the Council of Ministers
(Prime Minister) since 1954, resigned from the post to
become the new Head of State. His former post was taken by
Piotr Jaroszewicz.

In February 1980 Jaroszewicz was replaced as Chairmen of the
Council of Ministers by Edward Babiuch. Gomulka was
succeeded as First Secretary of PUWP by Edward Gierek.

The introduction of higher meat prices led to strikes in
factories near Warsaw. A wave of labor unrest began to
spread through the country, and many industries and services
were disrupted. Workers' demands for higher wages, however,
developed into unprecedented protests against the economic
and political management of the country.

Self-governing unions were formed under the guidance of
Solidarity (Solidarnosc), the organization involved in the
Gdansk strike, led by Lech Walesa.

In September 1980 Gierek was taken ill and was removed from
the PUWP leadership. Stanislaw Kania was promoted to the
post of First Secretary of the Central Committee.

In January 1981 the Central Council of Trade Unions was
formally dissolved. In 1981 the country was paralyzed by a
numbers of national strikes. The former recognition of Rural
Solidarity in May ended the protracted dispute between the
Government and Poland's and private farmers. The worsening
shortages of food and other commodities led to further strikes.

In October 1981 Kania was replaced by Gen. Wojciech
Jaruzelski as First Secretary of the PUWP.

Marital law was imposed on 13 December 1981, and a military
Council of National Salvation, led by Gen. Jaruzelski, was
set up. All trade union activity was suspended, and Lech
Walesa and other Solidarity leaders were detained. Violent
clashes between workers and the security forces followed,
resulting in several deaths and thousands of arrests.
Sporadic disturbances continued through 1982.

Underground Solidarity started organize a massive Strikes in
Gdansk, at the Nowa Huta steelworks. Solidarity rapidly
spread to other sectors leading to the most serious
industrial unrest since 1981.

In September 1988 the Government of Prof. Zbigniew Mesner
resigned. Dr. Mieczyslaw Rakowski was appointed Chairman of
the new Council of Ministers.

In early 1989 the Government offered to negotiate on the
contentious question of the restoration of legal status to
Solidarity and, in February the 'round-table talks' on the
future of Poland finally began.

In December 1989 the country became the Republic of Poland,
when the National Assembly approved the change of name. The
local election of May 1990 were the first full free election
for more than 50 years.

On 9 December 1990 Lech Walesa resigned from the
chairmanship of Solidarity and in late December was sworn in
as the country's President for a five- year term. Elections
to the Sejm and to the Senate took place on 27 October 1991,
with only 43.2% of the electorate participating.

In January 1992 the Government faced a serious challenge
when extensive strike actions, to protest against the
implementation of higher energy prices, was organized by
Solidarity.

In December 1992 an interim Constitution, known as the
'Small Constitution', entered into force.

In May 1993 President Lech Walesa dissolved the Sejm and
called new general elections. The leader of the PSL Waldemar
Pawlak became the Prime Minister of Poland.

Source:
The World Encyclopedia
Poland the Country And Its People
Text prepared and issued for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
in the Republic of Poland


I also have dreams of revenge that entails waging a massive
campaign against both Germany and Russia for there
atrocities they ;have committed on my country. but then I
wake up and realize that I am a nearly a 3rd world country.

polacks all over the world

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