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

Polish infantry forces moving for cover on Hill 262

Operation Tractable was the final Canadian–Polish offensive to take place during the Battle of Normandy. Its aim was to capture the strategically important town of Falaise and subsequently the towns of Trun and Chambois. The operation was undertaken against Germany's Army Group B, and was part of the largest encirclement on the Western Front during World War II. Despite a slow start to the offensive, marked by limited gains north of Falaise, innovative tactics by Gen. Stanisław Maczek's Polish First Armoured Division during the drive for Chambois allowed for the Falaise Gap to be partly closed by August 19, 1944, trapping close to 300,000 German soldiers in the Falaise Pocket. Although the gap had been narrowed to a distance of several hundred meters, a protracted series of fierce engagements between two battlegroups of the 1st Armoured Division and the Second SS Panzer Corps on Mont Ormel prevented it from being completely closed. During two days of nearly continuous fighting, Polish forces, using artillery barrages and close-quarter fighting, managed to hold off counterattacks by elements of seven German divisions. On August 21, elements of the First Canadian Army relieved Polish survivors of the battle and were able to finally close the Falaise Pocket, leading to the capture of the remaining soldiers of the German Seventh Army. (Full article...)

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Marie Curie

Marie Curie (1867–1934) was a Polish-French physicist and chemist. Born Maria Skłodowska in Warsaw, she studied at the clandestine Floating University and began her practical scientific training in the same city. In 1891, she followed her older sister to study in Paris, where she earned her higher degrees and conducted her subsequent scientific work, becoming the first female professor at the University of Paris (La Sorbonne). Her achievements included a theory of radioactivity (a term that she coined), techniques for isolating radioactive isotopes, and the discovery of two elements, polonium (which she named for her native country) and radium. Under her direction, the world's first studies were conducted into the treatment of neoplasms, using radioactive isotopes. She founded the Curie Institutes in Paris and in Warsaw, which remain major centres of medical research today. During World War I, she established the first military field radiological centres. She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize (in Physics, shared with her husband, Pierre Curie, and with her doctoral advisor, Henri Becquerel, in 1903), the only woman to win it in two fields (the other being Chemistry, in 1911), and the only person to win in multiple sciences. Curie died in 1934 of aplastic anemia brought on by years of her exposure to radiation. (Full article...)

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Izrael Poznański's Palace in Łódź

Łódź, located in central Poland, is one of the country's largest cities. Although dating back as far as the 14th century, the city's growth began under Russian rule in the 1820s as immigrants were attracted by its booming textile industry. Nicknamed "promised land", its character was shaped by its Polish, Jewish, German and Russian population. During the Nazi German occupation, it was renamed Litzmannstadt and became the site of the second largest Jewish ghetto. After World War II, Łódź became the principal center of Polish filmmaking and home of the National Film School. As textile industry collapsed following the fall of communism, Łódź has attracted investment in the IT sector, from companies including Dell and Infosys. (Full article...)

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Did you know – show different entries

... that the Maurzyce Bridge (pictured), built in 1928 near Łowicz, was the first welded road bridge in the world?
... that the 13 Ramsar sites of Poland help with the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands?
... that the Bródno Jewish Cemetery is one of the largest Jewish cemeteries in Europe?
... that Tadeusz Iwiński called Philippines–Poland relations a relationship "that was broken by mistake"?

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Poland now

Recent events

Poland at the 2024 Summer Paralympics:
- On 1 September, Patryk Chojnowski and Piotr Grudzień won a gold medal in table tennis.
- On 31 August, Kamil Otowski won another gold medal in swimming, while Karolina Pęk, Natalia Partyka and Piotr Grudzień won bronze medals in table tennis.
- On 30 August, Lech Stoltman won a bronze medal in shot put.
- On 29 August, Kamil Otowski won a gold medal in swimming.
On 18 August, Polish cyclist Katarzyna Niewiadoma (pictured) 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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Battle of Berlin

Credit: Cezary p

The Battle of Berlin reënacted in 2008 at the Modlin Fortress north of Warsaw. The historical Battle of Berlin, which took place between 16 April and 2 May 1945, was the final major offensive of the European Theatre of World War II. Polish First Army fought in Berlin as part of the 1st Belorussian Front of the Soviet Army.