CultureGramsTM Republic of World Edition 2020 Poland In the late 14th century, Polish life and culture flourished BACKGROUND under King Kazimierz the Great. Poland combined with Lithuania in the late Middle Ages to form a mighty empire, Land and Climate which was a major power in Europe. The name Polska (Poland) means “land of fields.” The name Poland's 1791 constitution, the second in the world, was also refers to a Slavic tribe called the Polans, who inhabited patterned after the U.S. Constitution and gave state protection Poland in the 700s. The northern and central landscape is to the serfs. Political infighting among the ruling nobles and dominated by the North European Plain, a flat expanse that other factors weakened the monarchy, and in 1795, Poland extends from Germany across Poland to Ukraine and Belarus. was invaded and partitioned by Prussia, Austria, and Russia. Impressive mountains run along the southern border: the For the next 125 years of foreign occupation, the Roman Tatry (in the Western Carpathians) and Sudety ranges are Catholic Church and Polish exiles preserved Polish identity home to skiing and resort areas. Forests (both deciduous and and culture. coniferous) cover nearly one-third of the land. Over one-third World War II and the Soviet Era of the total land area is suitable for cultivation. Poland became a nation again in 1918, at the end of World Poland's location and flat terrain have made it vulnerable War I. However, the country had little chance to stabilize, as to territory-seeking armies throughout history, and its borders the German army invaded in 1939. Within days of the have changed several times. Its total land area today is about German invasion to the west, the Soviets invaded from the the size of Côte d'Ivoire or the U.S. state of New Mexico. east, and Poland was again partitioned. More than six million The climate is temperate, with mild summers; however, it Poles died during World War II, including three million is susceptible to extreme temperature variations within short Polish Jews who died in the Holocaust. periods of time. Winters are generally cold, and precipitation When Germany was defeated, the Soviets were given is common throughout the year. The Poles say one must administrative control over the regions liberated from German always carry an umbrella because the weather can change occupation. Questionable elections brought a Soviet-backed instantly. Air and water pollution, as well as deforestation, communist government to power in 1947. The country's threaten the country's natural beauty. political system came to be patterned after that of the Soviet Union, with some exceptions (such as allowing some private History ownership of land and allowing the practice of religion). Slavic Settlements and Foreign Occupation The Solidarity Labor Union The Poles are descendants of a Slavic people who settled In 1981, following a series of crippling strikes and the between the Oder and Vistula rivers before the time of Christ. formation and activity of the Solidarity labor union the King Mieszko I adopted the Roman Catholic faith in AD 966. previous year, General Wojciech Jaruzelski declared martial 1 TM CultureGrams Poland law and jailed many Solidarity leaders. The government taken on greater control of Poland's courts. The ruling outlawed Solidarity. Martial law was lifted in 1983, and Lech government claims they are overhauling a corrupt system, but Wałęsa, the leader of the still-outlawed Solidarity union, critics argue that the right-wing government is becoming received the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of his efforts to authoritarian. Despite widespread protests and EU warnings, win freedom and a better standard of living for the Polish many government changes have taken hold. people. •Assassination: In January 2019, Gdansk mayor Paweł In April 1989, the government legalized Solidarity and Adamowicz was fatally stabbed at a charity event by a man implemented government changes. In June, many Solidarity who shouted slogans against the Civic Platform party, of members won parliamentary seats, and Solidarity official which Adamowicz was once a member. The assassination, Tadeusz Mazowiecki became prime minister. The new which was caught on live television, triggered national democratic government began moving toward a market outrage and prompted discussions about the role of divisive economy. A bold economic program, referred to as “shock rhetoric in the nation's political discourse. In recent years, therapy,” was instituted in 1990. It caused prices to rise Poland has been torn by sharp political divisions between the sharply and led to high unemployment. ruling right-wing Law and Justice party and the opposition Political Transitions and the European Union center-right Civic Platform party. Jaruzelski resigned to speed political reform, and voters elected Wałęsa president in late 1990. After nearly a year in power, Wałęsa came under increasing criticism for THE PEOPLE unemployment and economic recession. He eventually lost parliamentary support for his economic reforms. Former Population communists gained control of parliament in 1993 and slowed Urbanization is relatively high in Poland. Over 1.7 million the course of economic reform. people live in Warsaw, the country's capital. The country is In November 1995, former communist official Aleksander homogeneous: almost 97 percent of residents are of Polish Kwaśniewski narrowly defeated Wałęsa in runoff presidential origin. Other minority groups include Silesians, Germans, and elections, promising to work toward European Union (EU) Ukrainians. Until the Holocaust, Jews were a significant and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) minority group in Poland; most large cities had Jewish membership. In March 1999, Poland, Hungary, and the Czech communities. Today, it is not uncommon for Poles to Republic formally joined NATO. An uncompetitive emigrate to other countries in search of better-paying jobs. agricultural system, high unemployment, and corruption were obstacles to EU membership, but the country was Language incorporated in May 2004. Polish is the official language. Smaller ethnic groups may In April 2010, President Lech Kaczyński and 96 others, also speak their own languages. Though a Slavic tongue, including many government and military leaders, were killed Polish uses a modified Latin alphabet; a few unique in a plane crash en route to an event in Russia marking the characters look like Latin letters with accent markings but are anniversary of a World War II massacre. Bronisław distinct letters. Written Polish emerged in the 12th century but Komorowski, speaker of parliament, took over as acting did not flourish until the 16th century, when it began to president. Political controversy continues as many in Poland overtake Latin, used by the ruling class. question what caused the disaster; many believe that the real Although Polish was banned during partition periods, cause of the crash has been covered up. Poles around the world preserved it as a matter of patriotism. In early 2012, a Polish court found the 1981 anti-Solidarity Until 1989, Russian was taught, but it fell out of favor due to martial-law ruling by communist leaders to be a criminal act. anti-Russian sentiment; after briefly gaining traction as a The trial lasted for about four years, and several of the former language of business communication, it became less popular communists on trial were too old to attend court or serve their after Russia’s annexation of Crimea in Ukraine in 2014. sentences. Like several other former Soviet nations, Poland English and German are popular second languages, an did not seek accountability from former communist leaders indication of the influence of Western culture and Germany's for past crimes until over a decade after the fall of the USSR. proximity to many Polish centers of commerce. Recent Events and Trends •Parliamentary elections: In October 2015, the conservative Religion Law and Justice party won more than 37 percent of the vote, The majority of Poles (about 86 percent) belong to the Roman allowing it to take control of the government from the ruling Catholic Church, which has had great influence in the country center-right Civic Platform party. The victory, which came since Poland was Christianized in the 10th century. Most months after Law and Justice candidate Andrzej Duda won Poles consider themselves practicing Catholics, although not the presidency, marked a continued shift to the political right. all Catholics regularly attend Mass or abide by the church's The Law and Justice party campaigned for higher wages and precepts. a return to more traditional values. Catholic ceremonies (baptism, First Communion, •Judicial overhaul: In September 2018, President Duda weddings, and funerals) are marked with elaborate family appointed a new batch of Supreme Court judges after forcing gatherings. Because the Catholic Church is a strong and about a third of the Supreme Court's judges into retirement. unified entity, it has played an important nationalistic and Since coming to power, the ruling Law and Justice party has patriotic role in the past, championing the causes of the 2 TM CultureGrams Poland people. Former Catholic pope John Paul II was a native Pole. shake hands. Close friends greet by kissing the right, left, and Catholicism's influence in Poland is being debated. Some then right cheeks. At social and business gatherings, Poles Poles prefer that laws and social customs remain secular, greet each guest personally, women first. Middle-aged and while others would like them to more fully reflect Catholic older men sometimes greet a woman by kissing her hand. values. When introducing a man, one uses Pan(Mr.) before the Other churches represented in Poland include the last name; for a woman, the term is Pani (Mrs.). One Orthodox faith (mainly the Polish Autocephalous Orthodox addresses a professional person by title and last name. The Church), various Protestant faiths, and the Uniate faith (a title is used alone in formal conversation or in business.