Portal:Poland

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Welcome to the Poland Portal — Witaj w Portalu o Polsce

Cityscape of Kraków, Poland's former capital

Poland is a country in Central Europe, bordered by Germany to the west, the Czech Republic to the southwest, Slovakia to the south, Ukraine and Belarus to the east, Lithuania to the northeast, and the Baltic Sea and Russia's Kaliningrad Oblast to the north. It is an ancient nation whose history as a state began near the middle of the 10th century. Its golden age occurred in the 16th century when it united with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania to form the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. During the following century, the strengthening of the gentry and internal disorders weakened the nation. In a series of agreements in the late 18th century, Russia, Prussia and Austria partitioned Poland amongst themselves. It regained independence as the Second Polish Republic in the aftermath of World War I only to lose it again when it was occupied by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union in World War II. The nation lost over six million citizens in the war, following which it emerged as the communist Polish People's Republic under strong Soviet influence within the Eastern Bloc. A westward border shift followed by forced population transfers after the war turned a once multiethnic country into a mostly homogeneous nation state. Labor turmoil in 1980 led to the formation of the independent trade union called Solidarity (Solidarność) that over time became a political force which by 1990 had swept parliamentary elections and the presidency. A shock therapy program during the early 1990s enabled the country to transform its economy into one of the most robust in Central Europe. With its transformation to a democratic, market-oriented country completed, Poland joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004, but has experienced a constitutional crisis and democratic backsliding since 2015.

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From Polish history – show another

German soldiers dismantling a Polish border checkpoint

The Polish September Campaign was the conquest of Poland by the armies of Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union and a small contingent of Slovak forces during World War II. The campaign began on 1 September 1939 following a German-staged attack in Gleiwitz (Gliwice). This military operation, which saw the first use of Blitzkrieg tactics, marked the start of World War II in Europe as the invasion led Poland's allies, including the United Kingdom and France, to declare war on Germany on 3 September. On 17 September, the Soviet Red Army invaded the eastern regions of Poland. The Soviets were acting in coöperation with Germany, realizing the secret protocol of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact which envisaged division of Central Europe into Nazi and Soviet spheres of influence. The campaign ended on 6 October 1939 with Germany and the Soviet Union occupying the entirety of Poland. (Full article...)

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Józef Piłsudski

Józef Piłsudski (1867–1935) was a Polish military and political leader who was largely responsible for Poland's reëmergence as an independent nation in 1918 and later exercised dictatorial powers during much of the existence of the Second Polish Republic. He was a leader of the Polish Socialist Party early in his political career and later created the Polish Legions which fought alongside the Austro-Hungarian and German Empires against Russia during World War I. In 1917, with Russia faring badly in the war, he withdrew his support from the Central Powers. Piłsudski was named renascent Poland's chief of state in 1918 and marshal of Poland in 1920. In 1919–1921, he led Polish forces to victory in the Polish–Soviet War. He withdrew from political life in 1923, but came back three years later in the coup d'état of May 1926, becoming a virtual dictator of Poland with a firm grip on military and foreign affairs until his death. Though a number of his political acts remain controversial, Piłsudski is held in high esteem by his compatriots. (Full article...)

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Swoboda Lock on the Augustów Canal

The Augustów Canal is a summit-level canal which links the Biebrza River in northeastern Poland with the Neman River in Belarus. At over 100 km long, it comprises 18 locks (example pictured) and 22 sluice gates. Ever since the canal was built in 1823−1839 to provide a navigable waterway from the "Congress" Kingdom of Poland to the Baltic Sea bypassing Prussia, it has been described by experts as a technological marvel. It uses a post-glacial channel depression, forming the chain of Augustów Lakes, and the river valleys of the Biebrza, Netta, Czarna Hańcza, and Neman, which made it possible to perfectly integrate the canal with the surrounding elements of the natural environment. Although the project was never finalized, the completed part of the Augustów Canal remained an inland waterway of local significance used for commercial shipping to and from the Vistula and Neman Rivers until rendered obsolete by the regional railway network. (Full article...)

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Did you know – show different entries

... that Zakopane Style architecture (example pictured) became so popular that designs it inspired were built in Warsaw, Łódź, and even in Saldutiškis, Lithuania?
... that the Darżlubie Forest is the second largest site of Nazi mass killings of Poles and Jews in Pomerania?
... that deputy minister Roman Romkowski, charged along with Director-general Anatol Fejgin and Col. Józef Różański of the Polish Ministry of Public Security, was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 1957?
... that the Hel Fortified Area was the last place in Poland to surrender to the invading Wehrmacht in 1939, and during World War II it was used as a Kriegsmarine base?

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Poland now

Recent events

Poland won 23 medals, including eight gold, at the 2024 Summer Paralympics, ranking 16th in the medal table.
- On 7 September, Karolina Pęk won a gold medal in table tennis, while Renata Śliwińska won a silver medal in shot put.
- On 6 September, Barbara Bieganowska-Zając (pictured) and Karolina Kucharczyk won gold medals in 1500-metre run and long jump, respectively, while Maciej Lepiato and Michał Dąbrowski won bronze medals in high jump and wheelchair fencing.
- On 5 September, Rafał Czuper and Dorota Bucław won gold and bronze medals, respectively, in table tennis, while Rafał Wilk won a bronze medal in cycling.
On 18 August, Polish cyclist Katarzyna Niewiadoma won the 2024 Tour de France Femmes.
Poland won 10 medals, including one gold, at the 2024 Summer Olympics, ranking 42nd in the medal table.

Ongoing
Constitutional crisis • Belarus–EU border crisis • Ukrainian refugee crisis

Holidays and observances in September 2024
(statutory public holidays in bold)

Harvest festivals (wreath pictured)
Polish Underground State Day, 27 September

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Selected image – show another

A Negress

Credit: Anna Bilińska-Bohdanowicz

A Negress is an 1884 oil-on-canvas painting by the Polish artist Anna Bilińska-Bohdanowicz, depicting an unknown model. The subject is portrayed from the waist up and dressed in a white robe, but is part naked, with one breast exposed. The Japanese hand fan and the source of light that illuminates the figure and is reflected by highlights in the gold bijoux, create a warm and chamber-like atmosphere. Painted in Paris, the painting was looted during World War II. It was returned to the collection of the National Museum in Warsaw in 2012.