Poland Hotels Booking

Position - Poland is situated in Central Europe on the Baltic, in between Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and the former Soviet Union. The total area is 3.487 kilometres and borders:

• The Baltic - 528 km;
• The Russian federation - Region Kaliningrad - 210 km;
• Lithuania - 103 km;
• Belarus - 416 km;
• Ukraine - 529 km;
• Slovakia - 539 km;
• The Czech Republic - 795 km;
• Germany - 467 km.

Surface - Poland amounts to 312.685 km², of which 304.465 km² is land and 8.220 km² is territorial sea with 1.200 km² of lagoons, which makes it the ninth largest nation of Europe and the 63rd largest nation in the world.

Climate - Poland has a temperate climate which is influenced by the sea in the north and more continental in the south east and east. Summers are generally warm and sunny, with the occasional rain shower. Poland has, in contrast with other countries, six seasons. There is a pre-spring and an extra autumn, in which the weather can be warm and dry. Especially this golden polish autumn, the so-called indian summer, is quite special.

Sea-level - Poland is a lowland of which 91,3% of the surface lies only 300 metres above the new Amsterdam water-mark.

Average temperature - in the spring and summer months the temperatures are very agreeable, averaging 17ºC in the north and 19ºC in the south. The average temperature in the winter months is between -1ºC and 0ºC in the west and -5ºC and -6ºC in the north-east and in the mountains to the south.

The highest mountain Rysy - is situated in the immense Tatra mountain range with a height of 2.499 metres above sea-level. The name “Rysy” in English means “cracks”, and it received it’s name because when looking at it from a distance it looks like as if there are many cracks running down the side as if drawn with a pencil. Rysy mountain ranks 15th highest of the Tatra mountain range, with the highest mountain being situated on the Slovakian side of the range and reaching a height of 2.655 metres.

Śniardwy - is the largest lake in Poland and is situated in Warmian – Masurian. The lake has a longitude of 22 kilometres and a latitude of more than 13 kilometres, and a total surface of 114 km². The maximum depth is 23 metres and the average depth is 5,8 metres. This lake is characterized by sand banks, flat stones which lie just below the surface of the water and high waves. There are a total of eight islands whose total combined surface amount of 44 hektares. The largest islands into the lake are called Szeroko Ostrów, Czarci Ostrów, Pajęcza and Kaczor. The largest lagoons in the south of the lake are classified as a lake of their own and are called Warnołty i Seksty.

Hańcza - with a depth of 108,5 metres Hancza is the deepest lake in Poland. It is a beautiful lake with pure clear water, and it is used for drinking water. The surface amounts to 305 hektares, the longitude nearly 5 kilometres and the maximum latitude 1 kilometres. The banks of the lake are mostly steep and high with many large stones. Since 1963 the lake has been used as a landscape-water-tank.

Żuławy - the lowlands of Poland are situated along the coastal region of Gdansk, in the river delta from the Wisła. The name Żuławy comes from the term “Żuł”, which means “sediment”. Żuławy lies 30 % below sea-level of which the lowest part lies –1,8 metres below new Amsterdam water mark. This place is marked as the lowest point in Poland and the nearest town is Raczki Elbląskie which is situated near the road Elbląg (Elbing) – Malbork (Marienburg).

The river Wisła - boasting a length of 1.047 kilometers, this is the most important and longest river in Poland and the largest river which flows into the Baltic Sea. The walls of the river are begin in the south of Poland and highly placed at 1.106 metres above new Amsterdam water mark. The average flow near the mouth of the river amounts to 1.054 metres³/second.

The time-zone - Poland shares Central Europe time zone, the 15º East longitude meridian. In the summer it is the Eastern Europe time, the 30º East longitude meridian. The extreme geographical co-ordinates of Poland are:

• 49º00’ geographical the North latitude (N) - the mountaintop Opołonek
• 54º50’ geographical the North latitude (N) - the cape Rozewie
• 14º07’ geographical the East longitude (E) - the winding of the river Oder near Osinów Dolny
• 24º08’ geographical the East longitude (E) - the knee of the river Bug near Zosin.

The population - the census at the end of 2005 was 38,64 million inhabitants.

Revival - in recent years, tourism in Poland has enjoyed a substantial boost thanks to an increasing number of budget airlines, more airports within Poland and improved roadways. Additionally, accommodation in Poland has improved in quality and remained low in price.

The coastal region to the North boasts magnificent sand beaches and a variety of water sports, geared toward all ages. The hilly landscape within the mountainous region to the South of the country offers many possibilities, among them are cycling, walking, hiking, mountaineering, skiing, tobogganing, biathalon and sledding. Above all, Poland has pure untouched nature just waiting to be appreciated.

Poland’s rich historical culture and various festivals has made Poland more and more interesting for tourists. The former capital city Krakaw is often seen as the most beautiful city in Poland, and receives annually approximately 1 million visitors. One of the main attractions in Krakaw is the Jagiellonen university, founded into 1364. The hotels, restaurants, pubs and the night-life are to be found in the larger cities of Krakaw, Warsaw, Breslaw and Poznan, which draw a young and metropolitan crowd.

There are in Poland 23 national parks and numerous nature reserves. For example, the Karkonosze national park is to be found close to the German border and it is magnificent to visit in the summer where you will find beautiful vegetation and foliage, as well as in the winter when the park is visited by many skiers. Szklarska Poręba and Karpacz are the most popular areas, with the salt-mines of Wielinczka and Bochnia enjoying as of late an increase in tourism mostly due to the various spas and resorts housed there.

Typically, Polish festivities have a connection with Christian traditions and/or various heathen ceremonies, resulting in a unique mixture of heathen and Christina traditions.

Advent - is the time of the fasting, prayer and focus on divine service, and lasts four weeks. This is the period which leads up to Christmas and during this time there are no parties or festivities. It is a a time of devotion and prayers for those who have died, as it is believed that those who have died can also harass the living. In the time of Advent there are treats early in the morning in all churches (the so called Rotary or Jutrznie) along with prayer to celebrate the Advent of Christ.

Holy Evening (24th December) - is the most festive evening of the year and the beginning of Christmas, which belongs to the family feasts of the year which is full of traditions, atmosphere and excitement!

The Holy Evening typically includes dishes which are prepared from the ingredients of the field, the orchard, the garden, the forest and the water. A festive menu must contain: soup from red beets, mushrooms or from fish. A central dish would be herring or carp which could be prepared in several ways. On the table it is not be permitted to miss cabbage-dishes, compote from dried fruit, noodles with poppy seed, sweets, poppy seed cakes or poppy seed with dried semi-tropical fruit - the so called “Kutia” -. Various Christmas cakes can be served including honey-cakes, biscuits and curd cheese cakes. And no Holy Evening table would be complete without nuts, fruit and various assorted sweets.

The birth of J.C. - Christmas (25th of December) - in the colloquial language “Christmas Day”, formerly called Godami, Godnimi or Godnymi (dignity-festivity-day). Christmas Day commences with the participation in an early mass. On this day no one works and in earlier days, it was a day of rest without social gatherings or guests with the exception of family. Nowadays people have moved away from this attitude and do socialize however it is low-key and spent with immediate family.

Holy Szczepan (26th of December) - The day after Christmas Day. The patron saint of the day is the “Holy Szczepan”, the first Christian martyr. Traditionally, mainly in the villages, people consecrated oats, or other corn-sorts, during the divine service in memory of the first Christian martyr, who was stoned to death. At home the whole family, neighbors and acquaintances enjoy the various corn-sorts. The Holy Szczepan also signals the beginning of carnival, ad time of festivities and the tours of the balled-singers.

Christmas - keeps man from the IV century and during the centuries formed the premise of the majority of folk-customs and religious ceremonies themselves. Some of these rituals are slowly disappearing, while others maintain a rich and meaningful form.

Also attached man Christmas with many traditions. For example the next one, which means that there must always be an even number of people at the table, otherwise it is believed that a family member or a person close to the family would go away for ever. Each person must taste every dish. In former days people enjoyed the Christmas dinner in silence, and no one was allowed to leave the table early or put their spoon on the table, before everyone was finished. If it was necessary, people would hold the spoons between their teeth. After dinner, it was not allowed to clear the table and everything would stand there until the next morning. It was also tradition to place a bottle of vodka on the table for the souls of the dead. After dinner, Christmas carols would be sung and afterwards off to church to celebrate Christmas mass.

While the traditions have changed, many disappeared altogether with only a small few remaining. Nowadays people will share wafers before dinner and make a wish out loud before eating them. All dishes must be tasted and there must not be more than one empty spot at the table – the logic behind this being that no one must be alone on this day. Ceremonies such as singing Christmas carols and attending mass at the church have always been observed. On Holy Evening presents are also given, and in former times only the children received presents and even then this was mostly practices among the wealthier city dwellers who could afford to do so. In several parts of Poland the houses are visited by people who are called “little stars” or simply put: Christmas carolers.

New Year’s Eve (31st of December) / New Year (1st of January) - still in the XIX century the New Year’s Eves were almost exclusively celebrated in affluent families. Nowadays the dancing, festivities and parties are considered a time-honored tradition. New Year’s Eve- and New Year’s festivities are spent mostly among family or with close friends at a private party, disco, in a restaurant or some other location where people reserve their place far ahead of time. However, it is not compulsory to celebrate this as big as possible. Many people prefer to spend the evening sitting snugly in front of the television or at home, but the fact remains that no one is supposed to be alone on this day. On this day it is appropriate to wish someone, in the old Polish language, “do siego roku” which means “I wish you well” but the most fun is had drinking champagne and at midnight ringing in the New Year with fireworks in the European way.

Carnival - after an old Polish habit called “zapusty”, is the time from New Years up to Ash Wednesday. This is a time of pleasure, feasts and dancing which takes place right before the long fasting period.

All Saint’s Day and All Soul’s Day (1st and 2nd of November) - are days sacred to the memory of all deceased people. The first of November was considered “All Saint’s Day”, and was a cheerful and festive day which was reflected in the liturgical dress that was worn by the clergy on that day during mass. The second of November “All Soul’s Day”, was a day for memorial feasts honoring the deceased. The festival started with the church-liturgy in the X century and at that time there was a memorial service for the souls of the deceased. The former traditions have now evolved and are replaced by placing flowers and candles on the graves of the deceased. Burning candles are a symbol of memorializing those who have passed on, and are also symbol of Christ and the eternal light.

Andrzejki (30th of November) - is the time of predictions for young ladies throughout Poland, regarding love and marriage. Although this ritual is widely known and practiced, there is uncertainty as to how this particular tradition came about. Regardless of it’s true origin, people agree that the signs have developed a Christian connotation. According to the Catholic calendar, the day of the holy Andrzejki ends the church-year, after which Advent begins.

In Poland the tradition of Andrzejki has survived ages, and throughout it’s practice it’s never been allowed that older or married woman, nor boys are invited to participate. The most well-known and frequently used form of obtaining a prediction makes use of pouring heated wax or lead onto water through the opening of a key, and watching the thus formed silhouettes on the wall, you could see ghostly images of what the future would bring. A prediction of the same form was to burn paper and to observe the movable shadows on the wall. These and many other forms of making predictions were locally developed and depended on the needs and imaginations of the young ladies. The traditions have sustained until now and are still popular, although nowadays they are used primarily as a form of entertainment.

Polish culture has a rich thousand-year history influenced by both West and East. Today, these influences are evident in Polish architecture, folklore, and art. Poland is the birthplace of many world famous people, including Pope John Paul II (Polish: Papież Jan Paweł II), Marie Skłodowska Curie (Polish: Maria Skłodowska-Curie), Kazimierz Pułaski (Polish: Kazimierz Pułaski), Tadeusz Kościuszko, Nicolaus Copernicus (Polish: Mikołaj Kopernik), Frederic Chopin (Polish: Fryderyk Chopin), and others.

The unique character of Polish art always reflected world trends. Famous Polish painter, Jan Matejko, included many significant historical events in his paintings. Polish literature dates back to 1100s^[6] and includes many famous poets and writers such as Jan Kochanowski, Adam Mickiewicz, Henryk Sienkiewicz (1905 Nobel Prize winner), Bolesław Prus, Władysław Reymont (1924 Nobel Prize winner), Juliusz Słowacki, Witold Gombrowicz, Czesław Miłosz (1980 Nobel Prize winner), Wisława Szymborska (1996 Nobel Prize winner), Stanisław Lem, Ryszard Kapuściński. Many world renowned Polish movie directors include Academy Awards winners Roman Polański, Andrzej Wajda, Zbigniew Rybczyński, Janusz Kamiński, Krzysztof Kieślowski. The traditional Polish music composers include world famous pianist Frederic Chopin (Polish: Fryderyk Chopin)^[7] as well as Krzysztof Penderecki, Karol Szymanowski, and others.

Polish art: Stańczyk, by Jan Matejko.

Many popular styles of modern music in Poland include pop music, rock music, pop-rock music, punk, hardcore, Extreme Metal, disco music, house music, R&B, hip-hop, rap, jazz, to name a few. Famous modern singers, musicians and bands from Poland include Behemoth, Vader, Decapitated, SBB, Riverside, Edyta Górniak, Anita Lipnicka and Ich Troje.

Known meals from Polish cuisine include Polish sausage (Polish: kiełbasa), red beet soup (Polish: barszcz), duck blood soup (Polish: czernina), Polish dumplings (Polish: pierogi), cabbage rolls (Polish: gołąbki), Polish pork chops (Polish: kotlety schabowe), Polish traditional stew (Polish: bigos), various potato dishes, a fast food sandwich zapiekanka, and many more. Traditional Polish desserts include Polish doughnuts (Polish: pączki), Polish gingerbread (Polish: pierniki) and others.

The largest metropolitan areas in Poland are the Upper Silesian Coal Basin centred on Katowice (3.5 million inhabitants); the capital, Warsaw (3 million); Łódź (1.3 million); Kraków (1.3 million); the “Tricity” of Gdańsk-Sopot-Gdynia in the Vistula delta (1.1 million); Poznań (0.9 million); Wrocław (0.9 million); and Szczecin (0.9 million).

Poland formerly played host to many languages, cultures, and religions. There was a particularly significant Jewish life in Poland prior to the Nazi Holocaust when Poland’s Jewish population, estimated at 3 million, was reduced to about 300,000 survivors. The outcomes of World War II, particularly the westwards shift of Poland’s borders to the area between the Curzon line and the Oder-Neisse line coupled with World War II evacuation and expulsion gave Poland an appearance of homogeneity.

Today 36,983,700 people, or 96.74% of the population considers itself Polish (Census 2002), 471,500 (1.23%) declared another nationality. 774,900 people (2.03%) didn’t declare any nationality. The officially recognized ethnic minorities include: Germans (most in the former Opole Voivodeship), Ukrainians, Lithuanians, Jews and Belarusians. The Polish language, a member of the West Slavic branch of the Slavic languages, functions as the official language of Poland. English and German are the most common second languages studied and spoken.

In recent years Poland’s population has decreased because of an increase in emigration and a sharp drop in the birth rate. In 2006 the census office estimated the total population of Poland at 38,536,869, a slight rise on the 2002 figure of 38,230,080. Since Poland’s accession to the European Union, a significant number of Polish people have moved to work in Western European countries like the United Kingdom and Ireland. Some organisations state people have left primarily due to high unemployment (14.7%) and better opportunities for work abroad. In April 2007 the Polish population of the United Kingdom had risen to approximately 2 million, and estimates predict more than 500,000 Polish people living in Ireland.

A Polish minority is still present in neighbouring countries of Ukraine, Belarus, and Lithuania, as well as in other countries (see Poles for population numbers). The largest number of ethnic Poles outside of the country can be found in the United States.

The share of the telecom sector in the GDP is 4.4% (end of 2000 figure), compared to 2.5% in 1996. Nevertheless, despite high expenditures for telecom infrastructure (the coverage increased from 78 users per 1000 inhabitants in 1989 to 282 in 2000) the coverage mobile cellular is 850 users per 1000 people (2006)

• Telephones—mobile cellular: 32.5 million (Raport Telecom Team 2006)
• Telephones—main lines in use: 12.5 million (Raport Telecom Team 2005)

Today, Poland has more than a hundred tertiary education institutions; traditional universities to be found in its major cities of Białystok, Bydgoszcz, Gdańsk, Katowice, Kraków, Lublin, Łódź, Olsztyn, Opole, Poznań, Rzeszów, Szczecin, Toruń, Warsaw, Wrocław and Zielona Góra as well as technical, medical, economic institutions elsewhere, employing around 61,000 workers. There are also around 300 research and development institutes, with about 10,000 more researchers. In total, there are around 91,000 scientists in Poland today.

According to a recent report by the European Commission, Poland ranks 21st on the list of EU states in the area of innovation. Conditions for knowledge creation are worsening, particularly because of a decline in business research and development, from 0.28% of GDP in 1998 to 0.16% in 2003. Public R&D expenditures were 0.43% of GDP in 2003. The share of university R&D funded by the business sector has also declined, indicating that firms have not turned to outsourcing research to make up for declining R&D expenditures. Because of the very low levels of R&D, the process of transition of Poland to a knowledge economy is slow.

The education of Polish society was a goal of rulers as early as the 12th century, and Poland soon came to the foremost of Europes most educated countries. The library catalogue of the Cathedral Chapter of Kraków dating back to 1110 shows that already in the early 12th century Polish intellectuals had access to the European literature. In 1364, in Kraków, the Jagiellonian University, founded by King Casimir III, became one of Europe’s great early universities. In 1773 King Stanisław August Poniatowski established his Commission on National Education (Komisja Edukacji Narodowej), the world’s first state ministry of education.

Since the fall of communism, Poland has steadfastly pursued a policy of liberalising the economy and today stands out as a successful example of the transition from a state-directed economy to a primarily privately owned market economy.

The privatisation of small and medium state-owned companies and a liberal law on establishing new firms have allowed the development of an aggressive private sector. As a consequence, consumer rights organisations have also appeared. Restructuring and privatisation of “sensitive sectors” such as coal, steel, railways, and energy has been continuing since 1990. Between 2007 and 2010, the government plans to float twenty public companies on the Polish stock market, including parts of the coal industry. To date (2007), the biggest privatisations have been the sale of the national telecoms firm Telekomunikacja Polska to France Telecom in 2000, and an issue of 30% of the shares in Poland’s largest bank, PKO Bank Polski, on the Polish stockmarket in 2004.

Poland has a large number of private farms in its agricultural sector, with the potential to become a leading producer of food in the European Union. However, problems remain, especially under-investment. Structural reforms in health care, education, the pension system, and state administration have resulted in larger-than-expected fiscal pressures. Warsaw leads Central Europe in foreign investment^{[citation needed]} and needs a continued large inflow. GDP growth had been strong and steady from 1993 to 2000 with only a short slowdown from 2001 to 2002. The prospect of closer integration with the European Union has put the economy back on track, with growth of 3.7% annually in 2003, a rise from 1.4% annually in 2002. In 2004, GDP growth equaled 5.4%, in 2005 3.3% and in 2006 6.1%. For 2007, the government has set a target for GDP growth at 6.5 to 7.0%.

The long standing head of the National Bank of Poland, Leszek Balcerowicz, was replaced by Sławomir Skrzypek in January 2007. At first the markets reacted sceptically and fell, but since then have stabilized and then risen sharply.

Although the Polish economy is currently undergoing economic development, there are many challenges ahead. The most notable task on the horizon is the preparation of the economy (through continuing deep structural reforms) to allow Poland to meet the strict economic criteria for entry into the European Single Currency (Euro). There is much speculation as to just when Poland might be allowed to join the Eurozone, although the best guess estimates put the entry date somewhere between 2009 and 2013^{[citation needed]}. For now, Poland is preparing to make the Euro its official currency (though it has not joined the ERM yet), and the Złoty may eventually be replaced by Euro in the Polish economy.

Since joining the European Union, many Polish people have left their country to work in other EU countries (particularly Ireland and the UK) because of high unemployment, which is currently the second-highest in the EU with 10.5% in May 2007 (was 14.2% in May 2006).^[5]

Products Poland produces include clothes, glass, china (Mikasa, Waterford), electronics, cars (such as luxury Leopard car), buses (Autosan, Jelcz SA, Solaris, Solbus), helicopters (PZL Świdnik), transport equipment, locomotives, planes (PZL Mielec), ships, military engineering (including tanks, SPAAG systems), medicines (Polpharma, Polfa), food, chemical products and others.

Poland’s provinces (”voivodeships”) are largely based on the country’s historic regions, whereas those of the past two decades (till 1998) had been centered on and named for individual cities. The new units range in area from under 10,000 km² (Opole Voivodeship) to over 35,000 km² (Masovian Voivodeship). Voivodeships are governed by voivod governments, and their legislatures are called voivodeship sejmiks.

Poland is a liberal democracy, with a President as a Head of State, whose current constitution dates from 1997. The government structure centres on the Council of Ministers, led by a prime minister. The current prime minister is Jarosław Kaczyński. The president appoints the cabinet according to the proposals of the prime minister, typically from the majority coalition in the bicameral judicial lower house (the Sejm). The president is elected by popular vote every five years. The current president is Lech Kaczyński, the prime minister Jarosław Kaczyński’s identical twin brother.

Polish voters elect a bicameral parliament consisting of a 460-member lower house Sejm and a 100-member Senate (Senat). The Sejm is elected under proportional representation according to the d’Hondt method, a method similar to that used in many parliamentary political systems. The Senate, on the other hand, is elected under a rare plurality bloc voting method where several candidates with the highest support are elected from each constituency. With the exception of ethnic minority parties, only candidates of political parties receiving at least 5% of the total national vote can enter the Sejm. When sitting in joint session, members of the Sejm and Senate form the National Assembly (the Zgromadzenie Narodowe). The National Assembly is formed on three occasions: when a new President takes the oath of office; when an indictment against the President of the Republic is brought to the State Tribunal (Trybunał Stanu); and when a President’s permanent incapacity to exercise his duties due to the state of his health is declared. To date, only the first instance has occurred.

The judicial branch plays an important role in decision-making. Its major institutions include the Supreme Court of Poland (Sąd Najwyższy); the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland (Naczelny Sąd Administracyjny); the Constitutional Tribunal of Poland (Trybunał Konstytucyjny); and the State Tribunal of Poland (Trybunał Stanu). On the approval of the Senate, the Sejm also appoints the Ombudsman or the Commissioner for Civil Rights Protection (Rzecznik Praw Obywatelskich) for a five-year term. The Ombudsman has the duty of guarding the observance and implementation of the rights and liberties of Polish citizens and residents, of the law and of principles of community life and social justice.

A shock therapy programme of Leszek Balcerowicz during the early 1990s enabled the country to transform its economy into a robust market economy. Despite temporary slumps in social and economic standards, Poland was the first post-communist country to reach its pre-1989 GDP levels. Most visibly, there were numerous improvements in other human rights, such as free speech. In 1991, Poland became a member of the Visegrad Group and joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) alliance in 1999 along with the Czech Republic and Hungary. Poles then voted to join the European Union in a referendum in June 2003, with Poland becoming a full member on May 1, 2004.

Labour turmoil in 1980 led to the formation of the independent trade union “Solidarity” (”Solidarność“), which over time became a political force. It eroded the dominance of the Communist Party and by 1989 had triumphed in parliamentary elections. Lech Wałęsa, a Solidarity candidate, eventually won the presidency in 1990. The Solidarity movement heralded the collapse of communism across Eastern Europe.

The Soviet Union instituted a new Communist government in Poland, analogous to much of the rest of the Eastern Bloc. Military alignment within the Warsaw Pact throughout the Cold War was also part of this change. In 1948, a turn towards Stalinism signaled the beginning of a new period of totalitarian rule. The People’s Republic of Poland (Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa) was officially proclaimed in 1952. In 1956, the régime of Władysław Gomułka became temporarily more liberal, freeing many people from prison and expanding some personal freedoms. Similar situation repeated itself in the 1970s under Edward Gierek, but most of the time persecution of communist opposition persisted.

The Sanacja movement controlled Poland until the start of World War II in 1939, when Nazi Germany invaded on September 1 and the Soviet Union followed on September 17. Warsaw capitulated on September 28, 1939. As agreed in the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact, Poland was split into two zones, one occupied by Germany while the eastern provinces fell under the control of the Soviet Union.

Of all the countries involved in the war, Poland lost the highest percentage of its citizens: over six million perished, half of them Polish Jews. Poland made the fourth-largest troop contribution to the Allied war effort, after the Soviets, the British and the Americans. At the war’s conclusion, Poland’s borders were shifted westwards, pushing the eastern border to the Curzon line. Meanwhile, the western border was moved to the Oder-Neisse line. The new Poland emerged 20% smaller by 77,500 square kilometres (29,900 sq mi). The shift forced the migration of millions of people, most of whom were Poles, Germans, Ukrainians, and Jews. Poland was where the main Nazi death camp was. During the Holocaust 3,000,000 out of 3,300,000 Jews were killed.

During World War I, all the Allies agreed on the reconstitution of Poland that United States President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed in Point 13 of his Fourteen Points. Shortly after the surrender of Germany in November 1918, Poland regained its independence as the Second Polish Republic (II Rzeczpospolita Polska). It reaffirmed its independence after a series of military conflicts, the most notable being the Polish-Soviet War (1919–1921) when Poland inflicted a crushing defeat on the Red Army.

The 1926 May Coup of Józef Piłsudski turned the reins of the Second Polish Republic over to the Sanacja movement.

In the mid-seventeenth century, a Swedish invasion (”The Deluge”) and Cossack’s Chmielnicki Uprising which ravaged the country marked the end of the golden age. Numerous wars against Russia coupled with government inefficiency caused by the Liberum Veto, a right which had allowed any member of the parliament to dissolve it and to veto any legislation it had passed, marked the steady deterioration of the Commonwealth from a European power into a near-anarchy controlled by its neighbours. The reforms, particularly those of the Great Sejm, which passing of the Constitution of May 3, 1791, second modern constitution of the world, were thwarted with the three partitions of Poland (1772, 1793, and 1795) which ended with Poland’s being erased from the map and its territories being divided between Russia, Prussia, and Austria.

Poles would resent their fate and would several times rebel against the partitioners, particularly in the nineteenth century. In 1807 Napoleon recreated a Polish state, the Duchy of Warsaw, but after the Napoleonic wars, Poland was again divided in 1815 by the victorious Allies at the Congress of Vienna. The eastern portion was ruled by the Russian Czar as a Congress Kingdom, and possessed a liberal constitution. However, the Czars soon reduced Polish freedoms and Russia eventually de facto annexed the country. Later in the nineteenth century, Austrian-ruled Galicia, particularly the Free City of Kraków, became a center of Polish cultural life.