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Poland
Poland is a country in Central Europe bordered by Belarus, Lithuania and Ukraine to the east and Germany to the west. It has a total area of 120,696.41 sq mi and an estimated population of 38.19 million as of 2010.
2,510 Questions
When did Poland become communist?
At the end of World War 2, in 1945. In 1944 after Germans killed 250 thousands Varsovians in 63 days of Warsaw Uprising, it was already known that the Soviets will rule. While the Poles were fighting the Germans on one side of Vistula river, the Red Army was sitting and waiting on the other side of the river, waiting for Germans to finish the Poles. When in 1945 the whole Europe was celebrating the liberation, Poles were left alone by the Allies. At Yalta conference, US, Great Britain and Soviet Union decided about Poland's new borders and ...who the ruler will be. There was no celebration, nobody was in a mood, Poles were going from one occupation to another, this one lasted till 1989.In 1945, the Soviets set up the communist government, the country was in civil war. The new government faked elections and provoked pogroms to show the "allies" that Poles can not govern themselves.In the late 40s and 50s, thousands of soldiers of undergroundPolish Home Army (the largest European resistance organization in the whole Nazi occupied Europe)were killed. Read "ISaw Poland Betrayed "by Arthur Bliss, AnAmerican Ambassador to Poland reports to American people (1946), buy used cheap on amazon.com
Why has Poland been invaded so many times?
For one thing, Poland is right in the middle of things, between Germany, Sweden, Russia, Austria, Hungary, and Turkey (which are all countries that have invaded Poland historically). For another, Poland is a Catholic country, but Russia is Orthodox and northern Germany and Sweden are Protestant--this has resulted in invasions, as well.
Also, Poland historically, is an area of conflict because of flat terrain and the lack of natural barriers on the North European Plain.
Last, Poland is prime real estate. It has fertile land for agriculture, good water and mineral sources, timber, etc., and a climate that is not *too* extreme. Basically, Poland has been very desirable on that basis as well.
What types of hobbies do people have in Poland?
In Poland you can go ice fishing, skating, camping, canoeing, walk around the landscape, cycle by the lakeside, watch wild animals, sailing, watch fireworks, learn how to fly a plane, stunt flying, and go horseback riding.
Why did Poland build the most concentration camps?
In 1939 Poland had the largest Jewish population in Europe (about 3.3 million Jews). It also had a good rail network, so it made sense from the Nazis' point of view to have the main killing centres close to the majority of their victims. In addition, Jews from other parts of Europe were transported to Poland by the Nazis for extermination. Moreover most Germans had very little idea what was going on in Poland.
What did Stalin do when hilter invaded Poland?
He used what is called a pincher movement. Along with a spearhead and Blitzkrieg it is very effective. With the spearhead tanks would move in first followed by infantry carriers and resuply trucks. Then, using the pincher movement he encircled troops and slowly drained out their reinforcements.
What was the cause of the polish airplane crash that killed the president of Poland and many others?
it was foggy and they had to pick 1/2 airports to land in when they werwe landing in russia. They picked the closest one to the place they were going to. the one they picked was old and crappy. When they were landing everything was going fine. As they got lower to the ground it got foggier. then the plain bumped into some trees and the wing got scraped and damaged on the ground. Then they all died. :( -Polish News-
Why did Hitler take the Jews to Poland?
Hitler did not take Jews to the ghettos, he took them out of the ghettos and put them into concentration camps to be degraded, abused, tortured, and killed. It was a very ugly chapter of human history, none uglier. Hitler had chosen a strategy of ethnic selfishness. He wanted his own group, which he called the Aryan supermen (Ubermensch in German) to own everything and to enslave or kill the members of other ethnic groups. Jews were a convenient group to victimize because Europe already had a thousand year history of anti-Semitism, and Jews were widely hated for the crime of not being Christians. Hitler blamed Jews for all of Germany's problems, and many Germans were only too happy to agree with him.
Why did Germany attack Poland?
Adolf Hitler and his Nazi regime wanted Lebensraum or "living space". Basically, the Nazi Germans wanted to create a great empire larger than the world had ever seen before. The fact that they had to torture, maim and murder to create their 1000 Year Reich didn't raise an eyebrow among Nazi faithful.
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Hitler justified invasion of Poland by the need to recover lands lost in WWI, and the city of Danzig among others, but the truth was he needed to peruse his goal of his belief in Aryan race expansion, and he started reasonably from the weakest neighboring country, apart from earlier peacefully annexed Austria and Czechoslovakia.
because they had a lack of polls and land! :P lolololol
At the end of WW1 Germany lost territory through war reparations under the treaty of Versailles, including Silesia used to create the modern state of Poland.
As Germany began to default on war reparations payments to Poland during the 1930s Poland began to demand annexation of increasing portions of Silesia creating animosity with Germany.
In addition Germany had territory known as Pomerania in what today is known roughly as Lithuania. The city now known as Gydansk was then called Danzig.
Hitler's counter demand to Poland was for a land corridor for trade between Germany and Pomerania.
Britain and France had contributed to the formation of the modern state of Poland in 1922 through the treaty of Brest Litvosk and hence when Poland was invaded they were bound by treaty to protect the territorial integrity of Poland.
It is doubtful that Hitler wanted so much of Polish territory, but he did want to reclaim portions of Silesia and the Danzig Corridor and by retaking those portions without an understanding with Russia he risked war with Russia, so Hitler concluded a secret pact with Stalin so the Soviets would support his actions.
Germany created a false pretext by attacking a German radio station near the border with Polish speaking German soldiers in Polish uniform and leaving the bodies of political prisoners there dressed in Polish uniform to be found after the attack.
Hitler believed that Germany was too small of a country and the invasion of Poland was his attempt to make Germany a larger country.
you coudnt be further from the truth. Infact he believed that it German people living in Poland had a right to be there and not the Jewish poles. the hatred of Jews was not just thought of Hitler at the time of just after ww1 the hatred of the Jews were thought of by most people. they had all the money, the business' and jobs when Germany were in an economic crisis. he was taking back what he believed was rightfully germanys! he didnt believe the aryan race was superior in the world- just Germany. he wanted his country to be pure and German.
Hitler wanted to regain lost ground and conquer Europe then the World
It was a key stage in Hitler's quest for a vast empire in Eastern Europe.
Background reasons included these:
At the end of World War 1 (1918) Poland was recreated: it had been divided up between Russia, Austria and Prussia in stages in 1772-95.
1. In 1918-19, after World War 1, a large part of Germany was transferred to Poland. In most of these regions the population was ethnically mixed and some of the area was largely German. Hitler wanted the territory returned to Germany.
2. As a result of #1, East Prussia was cut off from Germany, which, in the eyes of German nationalists, created an unacceptable Polish corridor running through Germany.
3. The overwhelmingly German city of Danzig had been detached from Germany and turned into a Free City in order to guarantee the Poles access to the sea.
One of Adolf Hitler's first major foreign policy initiatives after coming to power was to sign a nonaggression pact with Poland in January 1934. This move was not popular with many Germans who supported Hitler but resented the fact that Poland had received the former German provinces of West Prussia, Poznan, and Upper Silesia under the Treaty of Versailles after World War I. However, Hitler sought the nonaggression pact in order to neutralize the possibility of a French-Polish military alliance against Germany before Germany had a chance to rearm.
In the mid and late 1930s, France and especially Britain followed a foreign policy of appeasement. The objective of this policy was to maintain peace in Europe by making limited concessions to German demands. In Britain, public opinion tended to favor some revision of the territorial and military provision of the Versailles treaty. Moreover, neither Britain nor France in 1938 was militarily prepared to fight a war against Nazi Germany.
German invasion of Poland, September 1939
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Britain and France essentially acquiesced to Germany's rearmament (1935-1937), remilitarization of the Rhineland (1936), and annexation of Austria (March 1938). In September 1938, after signing away the Czech border regions, known as the Sudetenland, to Germany at the Munich conference, British and French leaders pressured France's ally, Czechoslovakia, to yield to Germany's demand for the incorporation of those regions. Despite Anglo-French guarantees of the integrity of rump Czechoslovakia, the Germans dismembered the Czechoslovak state in March 1939 in violation of the Munich agreement. Britain and France responded by guaranteeing the integrity of the Polish state. Hitler responded by negotiating a nonaggression pact with the Soviet Union in the summer of 1939. The German-Soviet Pact of August 1939, which stated that Poland was to be partitioned between the two powers, enabled Germany to attack Poland without the fear of Soviet intervention.
On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. The Polish army was defeated within weeks of the invasion. From East Prussia and Germany in the north and Silesia and Slovakia in the south, German units, with more than 2,000 tanks and over 1,000 planes, broke through Polish defenses along the border and advanced on Warsaw in a massive encirclement attack. After heavy shelling and bombing, Warsaw surrendered to the Germans on September 28, 1939. Britain and France, standing by their guarantee of Poland's border, had declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939. The Soviet Union invaded eastern Poland on September 17, 1939. The demarcation line for the partition of German- and Soviet-occupied Poland was along the Bug River.
puppy
The countries that did not actively assist Germany in the rounding up and deportation of their Jewish Citizens is shorter and easier to list. Japan and Italy simply ignored the Nazi requets. Denmark stood alone in the process of active resistance to turning over their Jews. The Jewish population in Denmark was very small to begin with and thousands were smuggeled out by the Danes to freedom in Sweden. Among those that were the most active in pursuing and deporting their Jewish populations "to the East for resettlement" were Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and the Ukranians. 1. These allies of Nazi Germany did not hand Jews over to the Germans: * Japan * Italy (before part of it was occupied by Germany in 1943) * Finland * Bulgaria did not hand over Bulgarian Jews, but did hand over Jews from territory that it occupied in Yugoslavia and Greece * Hungary (till it was occupied by Germany in 1944) 2. These allies carried out their own holocausts: * Croatia (puppet state) * Romania These two holocausts were among the most savage, with many of the victims being killed with blunt instruments and so on. 3. The only occupied country that prevented (most of) its Jews falling into German hands was, as stated above, was Denmark. 4. In all other occupied countries there were collaborators. The level of collaboration varied considerably.
What are the main imports and exports of Poland?
Poland
Exports - commodities: machinery and transport equipment 37.8%, intermediate manufactured goods 23.7%, miscellaneous manufactured goods 17.1%, food and live animals 7.6% (2003)
Imports - commodities: machinery and transport equipment 38%, intermediate manufactured goods 21%, chemicals 14.8%, minerals, fuels, lubricants, and related materials 9.1% (2003)
What are Poland's major ethnic groups?
Poland is not very diverse when it comes to nationalities. With Poles being majority [over 99%], other nationalities include: Germans [ca. 190k], Belarusians [ca. 50k] and Ukrainians [ca. 30k]. Other include Tatars, Lithuanians, Roma, Lemkas, Russians, Slovaks, Czechs and Armenians. Those are accounted citizens. There is unaccounted number of Asians, most prominently Vietnamese [those numbers can go up to 50 or 70k].
Recognized ethnic minorities (but not nationalities) include Kashubians (current Polish Prime Minister is Kashubian) and Silesians.
How long did it take for the Nazis to conquer Poland?
Hitler attempted to conquer Europe by sneaky invasions, but he never really conquered Europe. He invaded Poland and several other places by deceit and stealth but the European countries fought back much to Hitlers dismay.
Which country is nearest to Poland?
Poland is bordered by Germany, the Czech Rebublic, Slovakia, the Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania and Russia.
Poland has a coast on the Baltic Sea, which is itself bordered by Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Russia
What is the physical geography does Poland have?
Baltic Sea, Gulf of Gdansk, Masurian Lake, Carpathian Mountains, Sudetic Mountains
I know that the Tatry Mountains (Tatra), Wieliczka Salt Mine, Carpaty Mountains (Carpathian), and the Baltic Sea are all very popular and important physical features of Poland. This coming from a true Polish person. :)
Who was the leader of Poland when Germany took over?
After Pilsudski's refusal do become a President of Poland Ignacy Moscicki is sworn in as President of the Republic on 4 June 1926 before the National Assembly at the Royal Castle in the presence of the government, the diplomatic corps, the press and the family. Sworn in before the National Assembly for the second term on 9 May 1933 also at the Royal Castle, which he made his residence. His term of office expired in September 1939 upon his internment in Romania. From there he moved to Switzerland. He passed his office to Wladyslaw Raczkiewicz. Died in Versoix near Geneva on 2 October 1946.
Distance between the UK to Poland?
There are 902.7 miles between London, England and Warsaw, Poland. A nonstop flight would take roughly 2 hours, 30 minutes.
How do you say Santa Claus in polish at Poland?
In Poland, Santa is called Gwiazdor ("Star´s Man") or Święty Mikołaj ("Saint Nicolas").
How did Poland change during world war 2?
Poland was between Germany and the Soviet Union at the outbreak of the war, Germany attacked from the West while the Russians attacked from the East - This lead to the quick downfall of Poland in 1939.
In 1980, Stanisław Kania replaced Edward Gierek at the position of the First Secretart of the Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR).
Officially, at that time Piotr Jaroszewicz was the Prime Minister of the People's Republic of Poland, replaced then by Edward Babiuch, and soon the same year, by Józef Pińkowski.
What is Polands national sport?
A lof of people like to watch/play soccer although there is not a really good team. But Poland is known for one of the best volleyball teams in the world (both male and female). There is also one of the best ski jumpers Adam Malysz who is Polish, and a Polish cross country skier Justyna Kowalczyk (the best in the world). Polish are also good in swimming (check Otylia Jedrzejczak), and racewalking (Robert Korzeniowski).
