A Concise History of PolandPoland is a tenacious survivor-state: it was wiped off the map in 1795, resurrected after the First World War, apparently annihilated again in the Second World War, and reduced to satellite status of the Soviet Union after 1945. Yet it emerged in the vanguard of resistance to the USSR in the 1980s, albeit as a much more homogeneous entity than it had been in its multi-ethnic past. This book outlines Poland's turbulent and complex history, from its medieval Christian origins to the reassertion of that Christian and European heritage after forty-five years of communism. It describes Poland's transformation since 1989, and explains how Poland navigated its way into a new Commonwealth of Nations in the European Union. Recent years have witnessed significant changes within Poland, Eastern Europe and the wider world. This new edition reflects on these changes, and examines the current issues facing a Poland which some would accuse of being out of touch with 'European values'. |
Contents
Piast Poland ?1385 | 3 |
Jagiellonian Poland 13861572 | 49 |
The Commonwealth of the Two Nations | 161 |
Challenging the Partitions 17951864 | 173 |
An Era of Transformation 18641914 | 234 |
Independence Regained and Lost 19141945 | 279 |
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August Austrian Belarus Bolesław border Casimir Catholic Catholicism cent century Church Commonwealth communist Congress Kingdom country’s Crown cultural Czartoryski December democratic duchy of Warsaw duke east eastern economic elections elite Europe European exiles favour forces France Galicia Gdańsk German Gomułka Grand Duchy Habsburg Hungary independence insurrection Jagiellonian Jewish Jews Józef June Kaczyński king of Poland Kraków Lithuania Łódź Łokietek Lwów March Mieszko military minister Moscow Nazi nobility nobles November October Orthodox patriotic Piast Piłsudski Poles Polish army Polish lands Polish national Polish–Lithuanian Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth political population pospolite ruszenie Poznań Poznania PZPR reform remained Republic restored royal Royal Prussia rulers Russian Empire Russian Poland Sanacja Sejm September Sigismund Silesia social socialist Solidarity Soviet St Petersburg Stalin Stanisław Stanisław August Poniatowski szlachta Tatars territories Teutonic Knights tion treaty troops Tsar tsarist Ukraine Ukrainian Union USSR Vilnius Wałęsa Warsaw western gubernii Wilno Władysław