POLAND : HISTORY
The Polish state formed over a 1,000 years
ago under the Piast dynasty. The name Polska (Poland), applied in the
early 11th century, comes from an ancient Slavic tribe known as the
Polanie (field or plains dwellers), who settled in the lowlands between
the Odra (Oder) and Wisla (Vistula) rivers sometime after the fall of
the Roman Empire in the 5th century . Poland reached its Golden Age near
the end of the 16th century under the Jagiellonian dynasty, when Poland
was one of the richest and most powerful countries in Europe. During the
following century, the strengthening of the gentry and internal
disorders weakened the nation. In a series of agreements between 1772
and 1795, Russia, Prussia, and Austria partitioned Poland amongst
themselves. The country ceased to exist soon afterwards for 123 years,
after partitions by its neighbours Russia, Austria and Prussia.
Poland regained its independence in 1918 only to be overrun by Germany
and the Soviet Union in World War II. It became a Soviet satellite state
following the war, known as the People's Republic of Poland, but its
government was comparatively tolerant and progressive. After World War
II Polish territory suffered a substantial net loss, as the land ceded
to the USSR in the east was nearly double that acquired from Germany in
the west.
Labor turmoil in 1980 led to the formation of the independent trade
union "Solidarity" that over time became a political force and by 1990
had swept parliamentary elections and the presidency. In 1989 the first
free elections in Poland's post-World War II history concluded the
Solidarity movement's struggle for freedom and resulted in the defeat of
Poland's communist rulers.
A "shock therapy" program during the early 1990s enabled the country to
transform its economy into one of the most robust in Central Europe, but
Poland currently suffers low GDP growth and high unemployment.
