Poland

Poland, former communist state in central Europe.

Land and climate

Poland is situated on the Baltic Sea and borders Russia, Lithuania, Byelorussia, Ukraine, Slovakia, Czech Republic and Germany. The land is generally low, with about 90% of it less than 1,000 ft/305 m above sea level, but in the south are the peaks of the Sudeten and Carpathian mountains, forming a natural border with Czech Republic. Poland's climate is moderate, with cool summers and cold winters.

People

World War II saw the destruction of Poland's ethnic minorities; the country is now almost entirely Polish. The official language is Polish and the people are overwhelmingly Roman Catholic.

Economy

Until World War II, Poland was an agricultural country; since then it has been rapidly industrialized. The former communist regime attempted to impose collectivized farms, but was effectively resisted by the peasantry. The chief agricultural products are wheat, rye, barley, oats, potatoes, and sugar beets. Poland's industries produce coal, zinc, steel, petroleum, and sulfur. Its manufactures include machinery, textiles, cement, and chemicals with a sizeable shipbuilding industry at Gdansk. The country's principal exports have been coal, textiles, metal products, and processed meat. With the end of communist control of the economy, Poland faces the massive task of shifting to privately owned enterprises and must simultaneously cope with sudden and acute shortages of essential goods, a weak currency, and a critical need for investment capital.

History

Poland's recorded history dates back to the 10th century when local Slavic tribes first united. Later, Germans settled in Poland, particularly on the Baltic coast. From the 14th through the 16th centuries Poland was governed by the Jagiello dynasty and flourished in its most sustained period of freedom and independence. But the country was invaded by both Swedes and Russians in the 17th century, and then divided among Austria, Prussia, and Russia in 1772, 1793, and again in 1795. In 1919 the Treaty of Versailles established a new Poland that survived barely twenty years before it was invaded by Nazi Germany in 1939. The USSR occupied the eastern part of the country until 1941 when Germany invaded the USSR and took control of all of Poland. As a result of the German invasions and occupation, the population was decimated by massacres, starvation, and imprisonment in death camps like Auschwitz.

After the last Germans were expelled early in 1945, a provisional government was set up under Soviet auspices. The communists dominated the 1947 elections, gained control of the government and, in 1952, declared the country a people's republic modeled on Soviet lines. With the death of Stalin, opposition to Soviet control led to widespread rioting in 1956, and Wxadys-Xaw Gomutka became leader of the anti-Soviet revolt. But by the early 1960s, Gomutka was following Russian policies. In 1970 Edward Gierek replaced Gomutka, instituted many reforms, and sought to control inflation.

In the late 1970s, a new wave of unrest swept the country, stimulated primarily by the higher food prices. Polish workers formed the independent trade union Solidarnosé (Solidarity) in 1980, headed by Lech Walesa, and sought a greater measure of worker control in industry. Gierek fell from power that same year and Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski took the reins of government. In 1981 Gen. Jaruzelski imposed martial law, arrested Solidarity's leaders, and banned the trade union in 1982. Within a year of the ban, martial law gradually came to an end. By 1984, martial law had ended and by 1986 the imprisoned members of Solidarity had been released. As a result of the liberalization of domestic politics within the Soviet Union and its decision to relinquish much of its former empire, Poland found itself free to chart its own course. In 1989, the ban on Solidarity was lifted and free elections were held. Lech Walesa, the Solidarity leader, was elected president in 1990. It is expected that Poland will join NATO (1999) and the EU.