Polish History

 

This is the story of a country located on the crossroads of the European continent.  The proximity to powerful, aggressive neighbors and the lack of natural barriers on the western and eastern frontiers have always been major threats to the survival of this country.  Yet, in spite of the threats to lose its identity and existence, Poland seems to have always triumphed even in the face of the greatest struggles.  From the Osman empire to the world wars to communism, Poland has demonstrated its resilience by overcoming even the most despairing and hopeless of circumstances.  Now with the promise of joining the European Union, Poles have every reason to look ahead to the bright future awaiting them.

 

Beginnings:

 

The story begins over a thousand years ago.  As the Roman Empire expanded, it encountered the state of Polanie, which had been developing a Slavic culture for about 200 years. In a marriage of state to the Bohemian princess Dobrawa in 966, Prince Mieszko accepted Christianity for his state and brought it into the sphere of Western civilization.  Missionaries codified the Polish language into a written form.  In 1025 Boleslaw the Brave, son of Mieszko, was crowned king of Poland by the Pope, and the country had achieved official status among the Medieval European states.

 

A huge economic boom took place in the mid 1300s under the rule of King Kazimierz Wielki (Casimir the Great, 1333 - 1370).  There is a Polish saying that, "he found Poland in wood and he left it in stone."  During his reign more than 30 cities and 50 castles were built.  He also founded the University of Cracow in 1364.  Moreover, he fortified the country, codified the laws, and stimulated trade.  He even opened the country to settlement by Jews who were then being persecuted in virtually all the European states.  In 1385 a union with the Lithuanian duchy was created. One big state was created, called the "Republic of Both Nations".

 

Prosperity of The Middle Ages:

 

The Jagiellonian Dynasty began as Jagiello, the archduke of Lithuania, married the Polish ruler Jadwiga (her father didn't have any male heirs) in order to cement an alliance between the two countries and consolidate their forces against the Teutonic Order that was becoming a threatening presence in the area.  Soon the united forces of Poland and Lithuania faced the power of the Teutonic Order at Grunwald in the largest battle of medieval times.  Though King Jagiello triumphed, he could not exploit his victory since the Teutonic forces retreated to the protection of their great fortress at Malbork in Poland. Fighting continued over the following thirteen years when finally the land along the Vistula River up to Gdansk was reunited to the Polish Kingdom. The land under the control of the Order, later known as East Prussia, became a vassal state of Poland.

 

The late 15th and early 16th centuries marked the height of the Jagiellonian Dynasty. It was a Golden Age for Poland. The alliance of Poland and Lithuania secured the eastern borders against the power of the Muscovy tsars and brought prosperity. The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was also being influenced by the ideas of the Renaissance in science, literature, and artisanship.  This time saw the publication of Nicholaus Copernicus' revolutionary thesis which stated that the earth and nearby planets revolved about the sun. Polish literature was coming into its own with the poetry of Jan Kochanowski while Jan Zamoyski was creating a unique style of Polish Renaissance architecture through the reconstruction of the town of Zamosc

 

In 1573 the first national election took place as the Polish nobility elected a king in the first "common" election. Following this, Poland became known as a nobles' republic.  This republic consisted of  a nobles' democracy with a parliament, a national government, and a king as the head of state.

 

Contributions of Jan Sobieski:

 

The 17th century was a century of great wars in Poland against the Osman Empire, the Moscow kingdom, and several internal rebellions.  During this time, the famous Jan Sobieski was the king. He was a great strategist and politician. Due to his military talents, the Osman invasion in Europe was repulsed.  Sobieski's determination can be summed up in his response to the commander of the Osman army, who wrote, "My army is like a handful poppy seeds. You cannot count or straighten it". His answer to this was: "Our army is like handful of peppers. You can easily count it but try to bite it". In a great battle over Vienna, the 27 thousand-strong Polish army defeated the ten-times-stronger Muslim army and Vienna was saved.  The contributions of Jan Sobieski to Poland and Europe cannot be emphasized enough.  If he had lost this crucial battle against the Osman Empire, Europe would be predominantly Muslim today.

 

However, ultimately as a result of all the wars, in 1795 the Polish state disappeared completely from Europe's map. Poland was partitioned among Russia, Austria, and Prussia.  Poland again became independent after more than 100 years in 1918.

 

The World at War:

 

The next major event was World War II which ripped Poland apart.  There were several concentration camps throughout Poland for the extermination of Jews, Gypsies, Poles, and many other people.  Moreover, during the war many Polish cities were completely leveled and destroyed.  They have been rebuilt, but hundreds of years of history were lost due to the vaporization of the original architecture, monuments, and artwork among other things.

 

Chains of Communism:

 

Following the world war, Poland became a communist country due to political annexation by the Soviet Union.  Between 1945 and 1989, Poland had a central government and there was only one political party, the United Party of Polish Workers. All branches of the economy were controlled entirely by the state except agriculture.  A major revolt by workers at a shipyard in Gdansk (called the Solidarity movement, led by Lech Walesa) set the precedent for the upheaval of communism from Poland and eventually other countries in Europe.

 

In 1989 a "Velvet Revolution" in Poland took place as a non-communist government was installed. In the first democratic election in 1991, Lech Walesa was elected president of the Republic of Poland.  The first government inherited an economy crippled by hyper-inflation (more than 600% per year), major shortages, large trade deficits, and heavy international debts. In 1991 the Warsaw Stock Exchange was officially reopened, 52 years after it was closed down in 1939.

 

The Recent, Present, and Future:

 

In 1995 Alexander Kwasniewski, from the Democratic Left Alliance, was elected president, demonstrating the triumph of democratic process in Poland. In 1997 a new constitution was ratified.  In 1999 Poland joined NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. 

 

Presently, inflation has been reduced to less than 1-2% per year. Poland's political system is now a multi-party democracy, with 4 or 5 leading parties.  However, unemployment is high at about 18%.  The move to join the European Union is underway, although the more traditional people of the land, such as farmers, have doubts about being absorbed into a bigger state that may rob Poland of its identity.  Nevertheless, most people seem to embrace the idea of joining the Union in hopes of a better economy and greater opportunities.  Much remains to be done, according to Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek:  reform of government structures, improvement of living standards, increasing national security, and reinforcing moral values in society.