Editing Poland (section)

== History ==
{{Main|History of Poland}}

=== Prehistory and protohistory ===
{{Main|Stone Age Poland|Bronze and Iron Age Poland|Poland in antiquity|Early Slavs|West Slavs|Lechites|Poland in the Early Middle Ages}}
[[File:Biskupin brama od zewnatrz.jpg|thumb|right|A reconstruction of a [[Bronze Age]] [[Lusatian culture]] settlement in [[Biskupin]], 8th century BC]]

The first [[Stone Age]] archaic humans and ''[[Homo erectus]]'' species settled what was to become Poland approximately 500,000 years ago, though the ensuing hostile climate prevented early humans from founding more permanent encampments.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fabisiak |first=Wojciech |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g_8jAQAAIAAJ&q=500%2520000%2520lat%2520temu%2520polska%2520homo%2520erectus |title=Dzieje powiatu wrocławskiego |date=2002 |publisher=Starostwo Powiatowe |isbn=978-83-913985-3-1 |location=Wrocław |page=9 |language=pl |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=24 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230724235907/https://books.google.com/books?id=g_8jAQAAIAAJ&q=500%2520000%2520lat%2520temu%2520polska%2520homo%2520erectus |url-status=live }}</ref> The arrival of ''[[Homo sapiens]]'' and [[Early European modern humans|anatomically modern humans]] coincided with the climatic discontinuity at the end of the [[Last Glacial Period]] ([[Weichselian glaciation|Northern Polish glaciation]] 10,000 BC), when Poland became habitable.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jurek |first=Krzysztof |title=Poznać przeszłość 1. Karty pracy ucznia. Poziom podstawowy |date=2019 |publisher=Nowa Era |isbn=978-83-267-3653-7 |location=Warszawa (Warsaw) |page=93 |language=pl}}</ref> [[Neolithic]] excavations indicated broad-ranging development in that era; the earliest evidence of European cheesemaking (5500 BC) was discovered in Polish [[Kuyavia]],<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Subbaraman |first=Nidhi |date=12 December 2012 |title=Art of cheese-making is 7,500 years old |url=http://www.nature.com/news/art-of-cheese-making-is-7-500-years-old-1.12020 |journal=Nature News |doi=10.1038/nature.2012.12020 |s2cid=180646880 |access-date=7 August 2021 |archive-date=8 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508085311/https://www.nature.com/news/art-of-cheese-making-is-7-500-years-old-1.12020 |url-status=live | issn=0028-0836}}</ref> and the [[Bronocice pot]] is incised with the earliest known depiction of what may be a wheeled vehicle (3400 BC).<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Attema |first1=P. A. J. |last2=Los-Weijns |first2=Ma |last3=Pers |first3=N. D. Maring-Van der |date=December 2006 |title=Bronocice, Flintbek, Uruk, Jebel Aruda and Arslantepe: The Earliest Evidence Of Wheeled Vehicles In Europe And The Near East |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qqEqjtKJQ3YC&dq=%22Bronocice,+Flintbek,+Uruk,+Jebel+Aruda+and+Arslantepe:+The+Earliest+Evidence+Of+Wheeled+Vehicles+In+Europe+And+The+Near+East%22&pg=PA10 |journal=Palaeohistoria |publisher=[[University of Groningen]] |volume=47 |pages=10–28 (11) |isbn=9789077922187}}</ref>

The period spanning the [[Bronze Age]] and the [[Early Iron Age]] (1300 BC–500 BC) was marked by an increase in population density, establishment of [[palisade]]d settlements ([[Gord (archaeology)|gords]]) and the expansion of [[Lusatian culture]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Harding |first=Anthony |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XoxoAgAAQBAJ&dq=%22bronze%2Bage%2Bpoland%2Blusatian%22&pg=PA772 |title=The Oxford Handbook of the European Bronze Age |date=2020 |publisher=University Press |isbn=978-0-19-885507-1 |location=Oxford |pages=766–783 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002180454/https://books.google.com/books?id=XoxoAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA772&dq=%22bronze+age+poland+lusatian%22 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Price |first=T. Douglas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IZ_KBwAAQBAJ&dq=%22lusatian%2Bculture%2B1300%2BBC%2B%25E2%2580%2593%2B500%2BBC%22&pg=PA212 |title=Ancient Scandinavia: an archaeological history from the first humans to the Vikings |date=2015 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-023198-9 |location=New York |page=212 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002180455/https://books.google.com/books?id=IZ_KBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA212&dq=%22lusatian+culture+1300+BC+%E2%80%93+500+BC%22 |url-status=live }}</ref> A significant archaeological find from [[Prehistory and protohistory of Poland|the protohistory of Poland]] is a fortified settlement at [[Biskupin]], attributed to the Lusatian culture of the [[Late Bronze Age]] (mid-8th century BC).<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Ring |first1=Trudy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yfPYAQAAQBAJ&q=biskupin&pg=PA96 |title=Northern Europe: International Dictionary of Historic Places |last2=Watson |first2=Noelle |last3=Schellinger |first3=Paul |date=28 October 2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-63944-9 |language=en |access-date=31 March 2019 |archive-date=24 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210824094046/https://books.google.com/books?id=yfPYAQAAQBAJ&q=biskupin&pg=PA96 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Throughout [[Classical antiquity|antiquity]] (400 BC–500 AD), many distinct ancient populations inhabited the territory of present-day Poland, notably [[Celts|Celtic]], [[Scythia]]n, [[Germanic peoples|Germanic]], [[Sarmatians|Sarmatian]], [[Balts|Baltic]] and [[Early Slavs|Slavic]] tribes.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Davies |first=Norman |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mkcSDAAAQBAJ |title=Heart of Europe. The Past in Poland's Present |date=2001 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-280126-5 |location=Oxford |page=247 |language=en |author-link=Norman Davies |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=18 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230518111254/https://books.google.com/books?id=mkcSDAAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> Furthermore, archaeological findings confirmed the presence of [[Roman Legions]] sent to protect the [[Amber Road|amber trade]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Zdziebłowski |first=Szymon |date=9 May 2018 |title=Archaeologist: We have evidence of the presence of Roman legionaries in Poland |url=https://scienceinpoland.pap.pl/en/news/news%2C29414%2Carchaeologist-we-have-evidence-presence-roman-legionaries-poland.html |access-date=8 August 2021 |website=Science in Poland |publisher=Polish Ministry of Education and Science |archive-date=15 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215225927/https://scienceinpoland.pap.pl/en/news/news,29414,archaeologist-we-have-evidence-presence-roman-legionaries-poland.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Polish tribes]] emerged following the [[Migration Period#Second wave|second wave of the Migration Period]] around the 6th century AD;<ref name="Buko 2014" /> they were [[Slavs|Slavic]] and may have included assimilated remnants of peoples that earlier dwelled in the area.<ref>{{Citation |last=Mielnik-Sikorska |first=Marta |title=The History of Slavs Inferred from Complete Mitochondrial Genome Sequences |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=e54360 |year=2013 |bibcode=2013PLoSO...854360M |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0054360 |pmc=3544712 |pmid=23342138 |display-authors=etal |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Brather |first=Sebastian |year=2004 |title=The Archaeology of the Northwestern Slavs (Seventh To Ninth Centuries) |journal=East Central Europe |volume=31 |issue=1 |pages=78–81 |doi=10.1163/187633004x00116}}</ref> Beginning in the early 10th century, the [[Polans (western)|Polans]] would come to dominate other [[Lechites|Lechitic]] tribes in the region, initially forming a tribal federation and later a centralised monarchical state.<ref>{{Cite book |last=McKenna |first=Amy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ef2cAAAAQBAJ&dq=%22polanie%2Btribal%2Bmonarchy%22&pg=PA132 |title=Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland |date=2013 |publisher=Britannica Educational Publishing |isbn=978-1-61530-991-7 |page=132 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002180456/https://books.google.com/books?id=Ef2cAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA132&dq=%22polanie+tribal+monarchy%22 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Kingdom of Poland ===
{{Main|History of Poland during the Piast dynasty|Baptism of Poland|Kingdom of Poland}}
[[File:Poland960.png|thumb|left|Poland under the rule of [[Mieszko I]], whose acceptance of Christianity under the auspices of the [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Church]] and the [[Baptism of Poland]] marked the beginning of statehood in 966]]

Poland began to form into a recognisable unitary and territorial entity around the middle of the 10th century under the [[Piast dynasty]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dabrowski |first=Patrice |title=Poland: The First Thousand Years |date=2014 |publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=978-1-5017-5740-2 |location=Ithaca |pages=21–22}}</ref> In 966, the ruler of the Polans, [[Mieszko I of Poland|Mieszko I]], accepted Christianity under the auspices of the [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Church]] with the [[Baptism of Poland]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ramet |first=Sabrina |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D2gpDwAAQBAJ |title=The Catholic Church in Polish History. From 966 to the Present |date=2017 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan US |isbn=978-1-137-40281-3 |location=New York |page=15 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=14 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230414113421/https://books.google.com/books?id=D2gpDwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 968, a missionary [[bishopric]] was established in [[Poznań]]. An [[incipit]] titled [[Dagome iudex]] first defined Poland's geographical boundaries with its capital in [[Gniezno]] and affirmed that its monarchy was under the protection of the [[Apostolic See]].<ref name="Curta 2016">{{Cite book |last1=Curta |first1=Florin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dgF9DQAAQBAJ&dq=%22dagome%2Biudex%2Bgniezno%2Bpoland%22&pg=PA468 |title=Great Events in Religion |last2=Holt |first2=Andrew |date=2016 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-61069-566-4 |location=Santa Barbara |pages=468, 480–481 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002180512/https://books.google.com/books?id=dgF9DQAAQBAJ&pg=PA468&dq=%22dagome+iudex+gniezno+poland%22 |url-status=live }}</ref> The country's early origins were described by [[Gallus Anonymus]] in {{Lang|la|[[Gesta principum Polonorum]]}}, the oldest Polish chronicle.<ref>{{Citation |title=Gesta Principum Polonorum / The Deeds of the Princes of the Poles |volume=3 |pages=87–211 |year=2003 |editor-last=Knoll |editor-first=Paul W. |series=Central European Medieval Texts, General Editors János M. Bak, Urszula Borkowska, Giles Constable & Gábor Klaniczay |place=Budapest/ New York |publisher=Central European University Press |isbn=978-963-9241-40-4 |editor2-last=Schaer |editor2-first=Frank}}</ref> An important national event of the period was the [[martyrdom]] of [[Adalbert of Prague|Saint Adalbert]], who was killed by [[Old Prussians|Prussian]] pagans in 997 and whose remains were reputedly bought back for their weight in gold by Mieszko's successor, [[Bolesław I the Brave]].<ref name="Curta 2016" />

In 1000, at the [[Congress of Gniezno]], Bolesław obtained the right of [[investiture]] from [[Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor]], who assented to the creation of additional bishoprics and an archdioceses in Gniezno.<ref name="Curta 2016" /> Three new dioceses were subsequently established in [[Kraków]], [[Kołobrzeg]], and [[Wrocław]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ożóg |first=Krzysztof |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VbouAQAAIAAJ&q=gniezno%2520krakow%2520wroclaw%2520ko%25C5%2582obrzeg |title=The Role of Poland in the Intellectual Development of Europe in the Middle Ages |date=2009 |publisher=Societas Vistulana |isbn=978-83-61033-36-3 |location=Kraków |page=7 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=24 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230724235925/https://books.google.com/books?id=VbouAQAAIAAJ&q=gniezno%2520krakow%2520wroclaw%2520ko%25C5%2582obrzeg |url-status=live }}</ref> Also, Otto bestowed upon Bolesław royal [[regalia]] and a replica of the [[Holy Lance]], which were later used at his coronation as the first [[List of Polish monarchs|King of Poland]] {{Circa|1025}}, when Bolesław received permission for his coronation from [[Pope John XIX]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Urbańczyk |first=Przemysław |title=Bolesław Chrobry – lew ryczący |date=2017 |publisher=Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu Mikołaja Kopernika |isbn=978-8-323-13886-0 |location=Toruń |pages=309–310 |language=pl}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Davies |first=Norman |title=God's Playground: A History of Poland |title-link=God's Playground |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2005a |isbn=978-0-231-12817-9 |edition=2nd |volume=I |location=Oxford |pages=27–28 |author-link=Norman Davies}}</ref> Bolesław also expanded the realm considerably by seizing parts of German [[Lusatia]], Czech [[Moravia]], [[Upper Hungary]], and southwestern regions of the [[Kievan Rus']].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Kumor |first1=Bolesław |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3LrYAAAAMAAJ&q=boles%25C5%2582aw%2520morawy%2520%25C5%2582u%25C5%25BCyce%2520w%25C4%2599gry |title=Historia Kościoła w Polsce |last2=Obertyński |first2=Zdzisław |date=1974 |publisher=Pallottinum |location=Poznań |page=12 |oclc=174416485 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=24 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230724235917/https://books.google.com/books?id=3LrYAAAAMAAJ&q=boles%25C5%2582aw%2520morawy%2520%25C5%2582u%25C5%25BCyce%2520w%25C4%2599gry |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Casimir the Great by Leopold Löffler.PNG|thumb|upright|right|[[Casimir III the Great]] is the only Polish king to receive the title of ''Great''. He built extensively during his reign, and reformed the Polish army along with the country's legal code, 1333–1370.]]

The transition from [[Slavic paganism|paganism]] in Poland was not instantaneous and resulted in the [[Pagan reaction in Poland|pagan reaction of the 1030s]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gerard Labuda |url={{GBurl|id=Gb8gAAAAIAAJ|q=1032}} |title=Mieszko II król Polski: 1025–1034: czasy przełomu w dziejach państwa polskiego |publisher=Secesja |year=1992 |isbn=978-83-85483-46-5 |page=112 |quote=... w wersji Anonima Minoryty mówi się znowu, iż w Polsce "paliły się kościoły i klasztory", co koresponduje w przekazaną przez Anonima Galla wiadomością o zniszczeniu kościołów katedralnych w Gnieźnie... |access-date=26 October 2014}}</ref> In 1031, [[Mieszko II Lambert]] lost the title of king and fled amidst the violence.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Krajewska |first=Monika |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BnlGAQAAIAAJ&q=mieszko%2520II%2520w%25201031%2520utraci%25C5%2582%25201032%2520ksi%25C4%2585%25C5%25BC%25C4%2599 |title=Integracja i dezintegracja państwa Piastów w kronikach polskich Marcina Kromera oraz Marcina i Joachima Bielskich9 |date=2010 |publisher=W. Neriton |isbn=978-83-909852-1-3 |location=Warszawa (Warsaw) |page=82 |language=pl |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=25 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230725000011/https://books.google.com/books?id=BnlGAQAAIAAJ&q=mieszko%2520II%2520w%25201031%2520utraci%25C5%2582%25201032%2520ksi%25C4%2585%25C5%25BC%25C4%2599 |url-status=live }}</ref> The unrest led to the transfer of the capital to Kraków in 1038 by [[Casimir I the Restorer]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Anita J. Prazmowska |url={{GBurl|id=r_0-BjHIkh4C|pg=PT28}} |title=A History of Poland |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-230-34537-9 |pages=34–35 |access-date=26 October 2014}}{{Dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> In 1076, [[Bolesław II the Generous|Bolesław II]] re-instituted the office of king, but was banished in 1079 for murdering his opponent, [[Stanislaus of Szczepanów|Bishop Stanislaus]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Melton |first=J. Gordon |url={{GBurl|id=lD_2J7W_2hQC}} |title=Religious Celebrations. An Encyclopedia of Holidays, Festivals, Solemn Observances, and Spiritual Commemorations |date=2011 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-59884-206-7 |location=Santa Barbara |page=834}}</ref> In 1138, the country [[Testament of Bolesław III Wrymouth|fragmented]] into five principalities when [[Bolesław III Wrymouth]] divided his lands among his sons.<ref name="Dabrowski 2014" /> These were [[Lesser Poland]], Greater Poland, [[Silesia]], [[Masovia]], and [[Sandomierz]], with intermittent hold over [[Pomerania]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hourihane |first=Colum |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FtlMAgAAQBAJ&dq=%221138%2B%2522five%2522%2Bsilesia%2Bmazovia%2Bsandomierz%2Bpomerania%22&pg=RA4-PA14 |title=The Grove encyclopedia of medieval art and architecture |date=2012 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-539536-5 |volume=2 |location=New York |page=14 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002180502/https://books.google.com/books?id=FtlMAgAAQBAJ&pg=RA4-PA14&dq=%221138+%22five%22+silesia+mazovia+sandomierz+pomerania%22 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1226, [[Konrad I of Masovia]] invited the [[Teutonic Knights]] to aid in combating the [[Balts|Baltic]] Prussians; a decision that later led to centuries of warfare with the Knights.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Biber |first1=Tomasz |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AbYjAQAAIAAJ&q=konrad%2520mazowiecki%2520krzy%25C5%25BCacy%2520sprowadzi%25C5%2582 |title=Encyklopedia Polska 2000. Poczet władców |last2=Leszczyński |first2=Maciej |date=2000 |publisher=Podsiedlik-Raniowski |isbn=978-83-7212-307-7 |location=Poznań |page=47 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=24 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230724235942/https://books.google.com/books?id=AbYjAQAAIAAJ&q=konrad%2520mazowiecki%2520krzy%25C5%25BCacy%2520sprowadzi%25C5%2582 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In the first half of the 13th century, [[Henry I the Bearded]] and [[Henry II the Pious]] aimed to unite the fragmented dukedoms, but the [[First Mongol invasion of Poland|Mongol invasion]] and the death of Henry II in [[Battle of Legnica|battle]] hindered the unification.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Krasuski |first=Jerzy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vBcsAQAAMAAJ&q=henryk%2520pobo%25C5%25BCny%2520zjednoczenie |title=Polska-Niemcy. Stosunki polityczne od zarania po czasy najnowsze |date=2009 |publisher=Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich |isbn=978-83-04-04985-7 |location=Wrocław |page=53 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=24 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230724235916/https://books.google.com/books?id=vBcsAQAAMAAJ&q=henryk%2520pobo%25C5%25BCny%2520zjednoczenie |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Maroń |first=Jerzy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CASkn7zoJj8C |title=Legnica 1241 |date=1996 |publisher=Bellona |isbn=978-83-11-11171-4 |location=Warszawa (Warsaw) |language=pl |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=20 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230420034201/https://books.google.com/books?id=CASkn7zoJj8C |url-status=live }}</ref> As a result of the devastation which followed, depopulation and the demand for craft labour spurred a migration of [[History of Germans in Poland|German and Flemish settlers]] into Poland, which was encouraged by the Polish dukes.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Davies |first=Norman |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vD7SWb5lXBAC&dq=%22germans%2Bflemish%2Binto%2Bpoland%2Bmongol%2Binvasion%22&pg=PA366 |title=Europe: A History |date=2010 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-820171-7 |location=New York |page=366 |orig-date=1996 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002180457/https://books.google.com/books?id=vD7SWb5lXBAC&pg=PA366&dq=%22germans+flemish+into+poland+mongol+invasion%22 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1264, the [[Statute of Kalisz]] introduced unprecedented autonomy for the [[History of the Jews in Poland|Polish Jews]], who came to Poland fleeing persecution elsewhere in Europe.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dembkowski |first=Harry E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=svAaAAAAMAAJ&q=poland%2Blithuania%2B1588%2Bslavery |title=The union of Lublin, Polish federalism in the golden age |publisher=East European Monographs |year=1982 |isbn=978-0-88033-009-1 |page=271 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=24 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230724235935/https://books.google.com/books?id=svAaAAAAMAAJ&q=poland%2Blithuania%2B1588%2Bslavery |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1320, [[Władysław I the Elbow-high|Władysław I the Short]] became the first king of [[Kingdom of Poland (1025–1385)|a reunified Poland]] since [[Przemysł II]] in 1296,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kula |first=Marcin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VBa1AAAAIAAJ&q=%25C5%2582okietek%25201320%2520zjednoczenie |title=Zupełnie normalna historia, czyli, Dzieje Polski zanalizowane przez Marcina Kulę w krótkich słowach, subiektywnie, ku pożytkowi miejscowych i cudzoziemców |date=2000 |publisher=Więzi |isbn=978-83-88032-27-1 |location=Warszawa (Warsaw) |pages=58–59 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=24 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230724235910/https://books.google.com/books?id=VBa1AAAAIAAJ&q=%25C5%2582okietek%25201320%2520zjednoczenie |url-status=live }}</ref> and the first to be crowned at [[Wawel Cathedral]] in Kraków.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wróblewski |first=Bohdan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=unEWAQAAIAAJ&q=%25C5%2582okietek%25201320%2520szczerbiec |title=Jaki znak twój? Orzeł Biały |date=2006 |publisher=ZP Grupa |isbn=978-83-922944-3-6 |location=Piekary Śląskie |page=28 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=24 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230724235959/https://books.google.com/books?id=unEWAQAAIAAJ&q=%25C5%2582okietek%25201320%2520szczerbiec |url-status=live }}</ref> Beginning in 1333, the reign of [[Casimir III the Great]] was marked by developments in [[Trail of the Eagle's Nests|castle infrastructure]], army, judiciary and [[Congress of Kraków|diplomacy]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Stanley S. Sokol |url=https://archive.org/details/polishbiographic00soko |title=The Polish Biographical Dictionary: Profiles of Nearly 900 Poles who Have Made Lasting Contributions to World Civilization |publisher=Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers |year=1992 |isbn=978-0-86516-245-7 |page=[https://archive.org/details/polishbiographic00soko/page/60 60] |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Britannica Educational Publishing |url={{GBurl|id=Ef2cAAAAQBAJ|p=139}} |title=Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland |publisher=Britannica Educational Publishing |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-61530-991-7 |page=139}}</ref> Under his authority, Poland transformed into a major European power; he instituted Polish rule over [[Kingdom of Ruthenia|Ruthenia]] in 1340 and imposed quarantine that prevented the spread of [[Black Death]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wróbel |first=Piotr |url=https://archive.org/details/easterneuropeint0000unse/page/10 |title=Eastern Europe: An Introduction to the People, Lands, and Culture |date=2004 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-57607-800-6 |editor-last=Frucht |editor-first=Richard C. |volume=1 |page=[https://archive.org/details/easterneuropeint0000unse/page/10 10] |chapter=Poland |quote=At the same time, when most of Europe was decimated by the Black Death, Poland developed quickly and reached the levels of the wealthiest countries of the West in its economy and culture. |access-date=8 April 2013 |chapter-url={{GBurl|id=lVBB1a0rC70C}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Magill |first=Frank N. |url={{GBurl|id=aBHSc2hTfeUC}} |title=The Middle Ages. Dictionary of World Biography |date=2012 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-136-59313-0 |volume=2 |location=Hoboken |page=210}}</ref> In 1364, Casimir inaugurated the [[Jagiellonian University|University of Kraków]], one of the oldest institutions of higher learning in Europe.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Watson |first=Noelle |url={{GBurl|id=yfPYAQAAQBAJ}} |title=Northern Europe. International Dictionary of Historic Places |date=2013 |publisher=Routledge, Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-136-63944-9 |location=New York |page=388}}</ref> Upon his death in 1370, the Piast dynasty came to an end.<ref>{{Harvnb|Magill|2012|p=64}}</ref> He was succeeded by his closest male relative, [[Louis I of Hungary|Louis of Anjou]], who ruled Poland, [[Kingdom of Hungary|Hungary]], and [[Croatia in personal union with Hungary|Croatia]] in a [[personal union]].<ref name="Davies 2001">{{Harvnb|Davies|2001|p=256}}</ref> Louis' younger daughter [[Jadwiga of Poland|Jadwiga]] became Poland's first female monarch in 1384.<ref name="Davies 2001" />

=== The Golden Age ===
{{Main|History of Poland during the Jagiellonian dynasty|Polish Golden Age}}
[[File:Battle of Tannenberg.jpg|thumb|left|upright|The [[Battle of Grunwald]] was fought against the [[Teutonic Knights|German Order of Teutonic Knights]], and resulted in a decisive victory for the [[Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569)|Kingdom of Poland]], 15 July 1410.]]

In 1386, Jadwiga of Poland entered a marriage of convenience with [[Władysław II Jagiełło]], the [[Grand Duke of Lithuania]], thus forming the [[Jagiellonian dynasty]] and the [[Polish–Lithuanian union]] which spanned the late [[Middle Ages]] and early [[Modern history|Modern Era]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Halecki |first=Oscar |title=Jadwiga of Anjou and the Rise of East-Central Europe |publisher=Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences of America |year=1991 |isbn=978-0-88033-206-4 |pages=116–117, 152 |author-link=Oscar Halecki}}</ref> The partnership between Poles and Lithuanians brought the vast multi-ethnic [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania|Lithuanian]] territories into Poland's sphere of influence and proved beneficial for its inhabitants, who coexisted in one of the largest European [[personal union|political entities]] of the time.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Griessler |first=Christina |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=inb4DwAAQBAJ |title=The Visegrad Four and the Western Balkans |date=2020 |publisher=Nomos |isbn=978-3-7489-0113-6 |location=Baden-Baden |page=173 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=4 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404210019/https://books.google.com/books?id=inb4DwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In the Baltic Sea region, the struggle of Poland and Lithuania with the [[Teutonic Knights]] continued and culminated at the [[Battle of Grunwald]] in 1410, where a combined Polish-Lithuanian army inflicted a decisive victory against them.<ref name="Wyrozumski 1986" /> In 1466, after the [[Thirteen Years' War (1454–66)|Thirteen Years' War]], king [[Casimir IV Jagiellon]] gave royal consent to the [[Second Peace of Thorn (1466)|Peace of Thorn]], which created the future [[Duchy of Prussia]] under Polish suzerainty and forced the Prussian rulers to pay [[Homage (feudal)|tributes]].<ref name="Dabrowski 2014" /> The Jagiellonian dynasty also established dynastic control over the kingdoms of [[Kingdom of Bohemia|Bohemia]] (1471 onwards) and Hungary.<ref name="Norman Davies 1996" /> In the south, Poland confronted the [[Ottoman Empire]] (at the [[Battle of Varna|Varna Crusade]]) and the [[Crimean Khanate|Crimean Tatars]], and in the east helped Lithuania to combat [[Grand Duchy of Moscow|Russia]].<ref name="Dabrowski 2014" />

Poland was developing as a [[feudalism|feudal]] state, with a predominantly agricultural economy and an increasingly powerful [[landed nobility]] that confined the population to private manorial farmstead known as [[folwark|''folwarks'']].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Frost |first=Robert I. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=245lDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22poland%2Bfeudal%2Bagricultural%2Bfolwark%2Bnobility%22&pg=PA242 |title=The Making of the Polish-Lithuanian Union 1385–1569 |date=2018 |publisher=University Press |isbn=978-0-19-880020-0 |volume=1 |location=Oxford |page=242 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002180501/https://books.google.com/books?id=245lDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA242&dq=%22poland+feudal+agricultural+folwark+nobility%22 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1493, [[John I Albert]] sanctioned the creation of a [[bicameral parliament]] (the Sejm) composed of a lower house, the chamber of deputies, and an upper house, the chamber of senators.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Graves |first=M. A. R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R2rJAwAAQBAJ |title=The Parliaments of Early Modern Europe |date=2014 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-317-88433-0 |location=Hoboken |page=101 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=5 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405192005/https://books.google.com/books?id=R2rJAwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> The ''[[Nihil novi]]'' act adopted by the Polish [[General Sejm]] in 1505, transferred most of the [[legislature|legislative power]] from the monarch to the parliament, an event which marked the beginning of the period known as [[Golden Liberty]], when the state was ruled by the seemingly free and equal [[szlachta|Polish nobles]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Graves|2014|pp=101, 197}}</ref>

[[File:Wawel (4).jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|[[Wawel Castle]] in [[Kraków]], seat of [[List of Polish monarchs|Polish kings]] from 1038 until the capital was moved to [[Warsaw]] in 1596]]

The 16th century saw [[Protestant Reformation]] movements making deep inroads into Polish Christianity, which resulted in the establishment of policies promoting religious tolerance, unique in Europe at that time.<ref name="Knoll 2011" /> This tolerance allowed the country to avoid the religious turmoil and [[European wars of religion|wars of religion]] that beset Europe.<ref name="Knoll 2011">{{Cite book |last=Paul W. Knoll |title=Diversity and Dissent: Negotiating Religious Difference in Central Europe, 1500–1800 |publisher=Berghahn Books |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-85745-109-5 |editor-last=Howard Louthan |pages=30–45 |chapter=Religious Toleration in Sixteenth-Century Poland. Political Realities and Social Constrains. |editor-last2=Gary B. Cohen |editor-last3=Franz A.J. Szabo |chapter-url={{GBurl|id=KuzLNXpa-hYC|p=30}}}}</ref> In Poland, [[Nontrinitarianism|Nontrinitarian Christianity]] became the doctrine of the so-called [[Polish Brethren]], who separated from their [[Calvinism|Calvinist]] denomination and became the co-founders of global [[Unitarianism]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Houlden |first=J. L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mf7WCQAAQBAJ |title=Jesus in History, Legend, Scripture, and Tradition: A World Encyclopedia |date=2015 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-61069-804-7 |location=Denver, Colorado |pages=577–578 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=24 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230524182450/https://books.google.com/books?id=mf7WCQAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The European [[Renaissance]] evoked under [[Sigismund I the Old]] and [[Sigismund II Augustus]] a sense of urgency in the need to promote a [[Renaissance in Poland|cultural awakening]].<ref name="Dabrowski 2014" /> During the [[Polish Golden Age]], the nation's economy and culture flourished.<ref name="Dabrowski 2014" /> The Italian-born [[Bona Sforza]], daughter of the [[Gian Galeazzo Sforza|Duke of Milan]] and queen consort to Sigismund I, made considerable contributions to [[Architecture of Poland|architecture]], [[Polish cuisine|cuisine]], language and court customs at [[Wawel Castle]].<ref name="Dabrowski 2014" />

=== Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth ===
{{Main|History of Poland in the Early Modern era (1569–1795)|Crown of the Kingdom of Poland|Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth}}
[[File:Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1619.PNG|thumb|upright=1.2|The [[Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth]] at its greatest extent in 1619. At that time it was the largest country in Europe]]

The [[Union of Lublin]] of 1569 established the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]], a unified federal state with an [[elective monarchy]] that was largely governed by the nobility.<ref name="Butterwick 2021">{{Cite book |last=Butterwick |first=Richard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g2cOEAAAQBAJ |title=The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, 1733–1795 |date=2021 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-25220-0 |pages=21, 14 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=4 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404210123/https://books.google.com/books?id=g2cOEAAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> The latter coincided with a period of prosperity. The Polish-dominated union thereafter became a leading power and a major cultural entity, exercising political control over parts of Central, [[Eastern Europe|Eastern]], [[Southeastern Europe|Southeastern]] and Northern Europe. The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth occupied approximately {{convert|1|e6km2|sqmi|abbr=unit}} [[Truce of Deulino|at its peak]] and was the largest state in Europe.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Parker |first=Geoffrey |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1GMlDwAAQBAJ |title=Global Crisis. War, Climate Change and Catastrophe in the Seventeenth Century |date=2017 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-21936-4 |location=New Haven |page=122 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=5 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405150949/https://books.google.com/books?id=1GMlDwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Parker|2017|p=122}}</ref> Simultaneously, Poland imposed [[Polonisation]] policies in newly acquired territories which were met with resistance from ethnic and religious minorities.<ref name="Butterwick 2021" />

In 1573, [[Henry III of France|Henry de Valois of France]], the first elected king, approbated the [[Henrician Articles]] which obliged future monarchs to respect the rights of nobles.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Ward |first1=Adolphus |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nrJ4DwAAQBAJ |title=The Wars of Religion in Europe |last2=Hume |first2=Martin |date=2018 |publisher=Perennial Press |isbn=978-1-5312-6318-8 |location=Vachendorf |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=9 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230709175950/https://books.google.com/books?id=nrJ4DwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> When he left Poland to become [[List of French monarchs|King of France]], his successor, [[Stephen Báthory]], led a successful [[Livonian campaign of Stephen Báthory|campaign]] in the [[Livonian War]], granting Poland more [[Livonia|lands across the eastern shores]] of the Baltic Sea.<ref>{{Cite book |last=O'Connor |first=Kevin |url={{GBurl|id=OOdjCAAAQBAJ}} |title=The History of the Baltic States – 2nd Edition |date=2015 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-61069-916-7 |location=Westport |pages=37–38}}</ref> State affairs were then headed by [[Jan Zamoyski]], the [[Chancellor (Poland)|Crown Chancellor]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Halina Lerski |url={{GBurl|id=luRry4Y5NIYC|p=678}} |title=Historical Dictionary of Poland, 966–1945 |date=30 January 1996 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-0-313-03456-5 |page=678 |access-date=2 July 2012}}</ref> Stephen's successor, [[Sigismund III Vasa|Sigismund III]], defeated a rival [[House of Habsburg|Habsburg]] electoral candidate, [[Maximilian III, Archduke of Austria|Archduke Maximilian III]], in the [[War of the Polish Succession (1587–1588)]]. In 1592, Sigismund succeeded his father [[John III of Sweden|John Vasa]], in [[Kingdom of Sweden|Sweden]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Szujski |first=Józef |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JlAFSS-12xwC |title=Dzieła Józefa Szujskiego. Dzieje Polski |date=1894 |publisher=Szujski-Kluczycki |volume=3 |location=Kraków |pages=162–163 |language=Polish |oclc=717123162 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=4 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404210017/https://books.google.com/books?id=JlAFSS-12xwC |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Polish-Swedish union]] endured until 1599, when he was [[War against Sigismund|deposed]] by the Swedes.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Peterson |first=Gary Dean |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FtFDthqmB2wC |title=Warrior Kings of Sweden. The Rise of an Empire in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries |date=2014 |publisher=McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers |isbn=978-1-4766-0411-4 |page=107 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=27 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230727002356/https://books.google.com/books?id=FtFDthqmB2wC |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Daniel Schultz, Portret Jana III Sobieskiego, króla Polski.jpg|thumb|upright|left|King [[John III Sobieski]] defeated the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman Turks]] at the [[Battle of Vienna]] on 12 September 1683.]]

In 1609, Sigismund [[Polish–Muscovite War (1605–1618)|invaded]] [[Tsardom of Russia|Russia]] which was engulfed in a [[Time of Troubles|civil war]],<ref name="Dabrowski 2014" /> and a year later the Polish [[Polish hussars|winged hussar]] units under [[Stanisław Żółkiewski]] [[Polish–Lithuanian occupation of Moscow|occupied]] Moscow for two years after defeating the Russians at [[Battle of Klushino|Klushino]].<ref name="Dabrowski 2014" /> Sigismund also countered the [[Ottoman Empire]] in the southeast; at [[Battle of Khotyn (1621)|Khotyn]] in 1621 [[Jan Karol Chodkiewicz]] achieved a decisive victory against the Turks, which ushered the downfall of Sultan [[Osman II]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dyer |first=Thomas Henry |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kQZOAAAAcAAJ |title=The History of Modern Europe – From the Fall of Constantinople, in 1453, to the War in the Crimea, in 1857 |date=1861 |publisher=J. Murray |isbn=978-3-337-75029-9 |volume=2 |location=London |page=504 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=5 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405060718/https://books.google.com/books?id=kQZOAAAAcAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Dzięgielewski |first=Jan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qRAsAQAAMAAJ&q=Bitwa%2520pod%2520Chocimiem%252050%2520tysi%25C4%2599cy%25201621 |title=Encyklopedia historii Polski: A-M |date=1994 |publisher=Morex |isbn=978-83-902522-1-6 |location=Polska |page=101 |language=Polish |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=24 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230724235956/https://books.google.com/books?id=qRAsAQAAMAAJ&q=Bitwa%2520pod%2520Chocimiem%252050%2520tysi%25C4%2599cy%25201621 |url-status=live }}</ref> Sigismund's long reign in Poland coincided with the [[Sigismund III Vasa#Legacy|Silver Age]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kizwalter |first=Tomasz |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p7JFAAAAIAAJ&q=srebrn%2520wiek%2520%2520z%25C5%2582oty%2520waz%25C3%25B3w |title=Kryzys Oświecenia a początki konserwatyzmu polskiego |date=1987 |publisher=Uniwersytet Warszawski |location=Warszawa (Warsaw) |page=21 |language=Polish |oclc=23942204 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=24 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230724235936/https://books.google.com/books?id=p7JFAAAAIAAJ&q=srebrn%2520wiek%2520%2520z%25C5%2582oty%2520waz%25C3%25B3w |url-status=live }}</ref> The liberal [[Władysław IV Vasa|Władysław IV]] effectively defended Poland's territorial possessions but after his death the vast Commonwealth began declining from internal disorder and constant warfare.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Scott |first=H. M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jb4DCgAAQBAJ |title=The Oxford Handbook of Early Modern European History, 1350–1750 |date=2015 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-102000-1 |volume=2 |location=Oxford |pages=409–413 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=6 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406180731/https://books.google.com/books?id=Jb4DCgAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Czapliński |first=Władysław |title=Władysław IV i jego czasy |publisher=PW "Wiedza Poweszechna" |year=1976 |location=Warsaw |pages=170, 217–218 |language=pl |trans-title=Władysław IV and His Times |author-link=Władysław Czapliński}}</ref>

In 1648, the Polish hegemony over Ukraine sparked the [[Khmelnytsky Uprising]],<ref>{{Harvnb|Scott|2015|p=409}}</ref> followed by the decimating [[Deluge (history)|Swedish Deluge]] during the [[Second Northern War]],<ref name="Scott 2015">{{Harvnb|Scott|2015|pp=409–413}}</ref> and Prussia's [[Treaty of Bromberg|independence]] in 1657.<ref name="Scott 2015" /> In 1683, [[John III Sobieski]] re-established military prowess when he halted the advance of an [[Ottoman Army (15th-19th centuries)|Ottoman Army]] into Europe at the [[Battle of Vienna]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Scott|2015|p=411}}</ref> The [[House of Wettin|Saxon]] era, under [[Augustus II the Strong|Augustus II]] and [[Augustus III of Poland|Augustus III]], saw neighboring powers grow in strength at the expense of Poland. Both Saxon kings faced opposition from [[Stanisław Leszczyński]] during the [[Great Northern War]] (1700) and the [[War of the Polish Succession]] (1733).<ref>{{Harvnb|Scott|2015|pp=409–412, 666}}</ref>

=== Partitions ===
{{Main|History of Poland (1795–1918)|Partitions of Poland}}
[[File:Stanisław II August Poniatowski in coronation clothes.PNG|thumb|upright|right|[[Stanisław II Augustus]], the last [[King of Poland]], reigned from 1764 until his abdication on 25 November 1795.]]

The [[Royal elections in Poland|royal election]] of 1764 resulted in the elevation of [[Stanisław August Poniatowski|Stanisław II Augustus Poniatowski]] to the monarchy.<ref>{{Harvnb|Butterwick|2021|p=88}}</ref> His candidacy was extensively funded by his sponsor and former lover, Empress [[Catherine II of Russia]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Butterwick|2021|pp=83–88}}</ref> The new king maneuvered between his desire to implement necessary modernising reforms, and the necessity to remain at peace with surrounding states.<ref>{{Harvnb|Butterwick|2021|pp=89–91}}</ref> His ideals led to the formation of the 1768 [[Bar Confederation]], a rebellion directed against the Poniatowski and all external influence, which ineptly aimed to preserve Poland's sovereignty and privileges held by the nobility.<ref>{{Harvnb|Butterwick|2021|pp=108–109}}</ref> The failed attempts at government restructuring as well as the domestic turmoil provoked its neighbours to invade.<ref>{{Harvnb|Butterwick|2021|pp=108–116}}</ref>

In 1772, the [[First Partition of Poland|First Partition of the Commonwealth]] by Prussia, Russia and Austria took place, an act which the [[Partition Sejm]], under considerable duress, eventually ratified as a [[List of French words and phrases used by English speakers#F|fait accompli]].<ref name="Gierowski 1986" /> Disregarding the territorial losses, in 1773 a plan of critical reforms was established, in which the [[Commission of National Education]], the first government education authority in Europe, was inaugurated.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Ted Tapper |url={{GBurl|id=riv0UCM90AMC|pg=RA2-PA140}} |title=Understanding Mass Higher Education: Comparative Perspectives On Access |last2=David Palfreyman |publisher=RoutledgeFalmer |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-415-35491-2 |page=140 |access-date=17 March 2013}}</ref> Corporal punishment of schoolchildren was officially prohibited in 1783. Poniatowski was the head figure of the [[Polish Enlightenment|Enlightenment]], encouraged the development of industries, and embraced republican [[Neoclassical architecture|neoclassicism]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Butterwick|2021|p=176}}</ref> For his contributions to the arts and sciences he was awarded a [[Fellowship of the Royal Society]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Polska Akademia Nauk |url={{GBurl|id=Bfs5AQAAIAAJ}} |title=Nauka polska |publisher=Polska Akademia Nauk |year=1973 |page=151 |access-date=30 August 2021}}</ref>

In 1791, [[Great Sejm|Great Sejm parliament]] adopted the [[Constitution of May 3, 1791|3 May Constitution]], the first set of supreme national laws, and introduced a [[constitutional monarchy]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Butterwick|2021|p=260}}</ref> The [[Targowica Confederation]], an organisation of nobles and deputies opposing the act, appealed to Catherine and caused the [[Polish–Russian War of 1792|1792 Polish–Russian War]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Butterwick|2021|p=310}}</ref> Fearing the reemergence of Polish hegemony, Russia and Prussia arranged and in 1793 executed, the [[Second Partition of Poland|Second Partition]], which left the country deprived of territory and incapable of independent existence. On 24 October 1795, the Commonwealth was [[Third Partition of Poland|partitioned for the third time]] and ceased to exist as a territorial entity.<ref name="Gierowski" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bertholet |first=Auguste |date=2021 |title=Constant, Sismondi et la Pologne |url=https://www.slatkine.com/fr/editions-slatkine/75250-book-05077807-3600120175625.html |journal=Annales Benjamin Constant |volume=46 |pages=65–85 |access-date=20 January 2022 |archive-date=12 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512143530/https://www.slatkine.com/fr/editions-slatkine/75250-book-05077807-3600120175625.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Stanisław Augustus, the last King of Poland, abdicated the throne on 25 November 1795.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Schulz-Forberg |first=Hagen |title=Unravelling Civilisation: European Travel and Travel Writing |publisher=Peter Lang |year=2005 |isbn=90-5201-235-0 |page=162}}</ref>

=== Era of insurrections ===
{{Main|Austrian Partition|Prussian Partition|Russian Partition}}
[[File:Rzeczpospolita Rozbiory 3.png|thumb|right|upright=1.3|The [[partitions of Poland]], carried out by the [[Kingdom of Prussia]] (''blue''), the [[Russian Empire]] (''brown''), and the [[Habsburg monarchy|Austrian Habsburg Monarchy]] (''green'') in [[First Partition of Poland|1772]], [[Second Partition of Poland|1793]] and [[Third Partition of Poland|1795]]]]

The Polish people [[List of wars involving Poland|rose several times against the partitioners]] and occupying armies. An unsuccessful attempt at defending Poland's sovereignty took place in the 1794 [[Kościuszko Uprising]], where a popular and distinguished general [[Tadeusz Kościuszko]], who had several years earlier served under [[George Washington]] in the [[American Revolutionary War]], led Polish insurgents.<ref name="Storozynski 2009">{{Cite book |last=Storozynski |first=Alex |url={{GBurl|id=wVqnlTbsdXcC}} |title=The Peasant Prince: Thaddeus Kosciuszko and the Age of Revolution |publisher=St. Martin's Press, 352 pages |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-4299-6607-8 |location=New York |via=Google Books}}</ref> Despite the victory at the [[Battle of Racławice]], his ultimate defeat ended Poland's independent existence [[Third Partition of Poland|for 123 years]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gardner |first=Monica Mary |title=Kościuszko: A Biography |publisher=G. Allen & Unwin., ltd, 136 pages |year=1942 |chapter=The Rising of Kościuszko (Chapter VII) |chapter-url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/27882/27882-h/27882-h.htm#CHAPTER_VII |via=Project Gutenberg |access-date=29 October 2014 |archive-date=19 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319203228/https://www.gutenberg.org/files/27882/27882-h/27882-h.htm#CHAPTER_VII |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1806, an [[Greater Poland uprising (1806)|insurrection]] organised by [[Jan Henryk Dąbrowski]] liberated western Poland ahead of [[Napoleon I of France|Napoleon]]'s advance into Prussia during the [[War of the Fourth Coalition]]. In accordance with the 1807 [[Treaty of Tilsit]], Napoleon proclaimed the [[Duchy of Warsaw]], a [[client state]] ruled by his ally [[Frederick Augustus I of Saxony]]. The Poles actively aided French troops in the [[Napoleonic Wars]], particularly those under [[Józef Poniatowski]] who became [[Marshal of the Empire|Marshal of France]] shortly before his death at [[Battle of Leipzig|Leipzig]] in 1813.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nicholls |first=David |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PmCdv91zPS0C |title=Napoleon |date=1999 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-0-87436-957-1 |location=Oxford |page=204 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=18 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230418035320/https://books.google.com/books?id=PmCdv91zPS0C |url-status=live }}</ref> In the aftermath of Napoleon's exile, the Duchy of Warsaw was abolished at the [[Congress of Vienna]] in 1815 and its territory was divided into Russian [[Congress Kingdom of Poland]], the Prussian [[Grand Duchy of Posen]], and [[Austrian Poland|Austrian Galicia]] with the [[Free City of Kraków]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Lukowski |first1=Jerzy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NpMxTvBuWHYC&q=1807&pg=PA115 |title=A Concise History of Poland |last2=Zawadzki |first2=W.H. |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-521-55917-1 |location=Cambridge |page=313 |ref=Lukowski2001 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=24 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230724235918/https://books.google.com/books?id=NpMxTvBuWHYC&pg=PA115&q=1807 |url-status=live }}</ref>

{{Annotated image |float=left |width=150 |height=160 |image=Karl G Schweikart - Tadeusz Kościuszko (ÖaL).jpg|caption=[[Tadeusz Kościuszko]] was a veteran and hero of both the [[Polish–Russian War of 1792|Polish]] and [[American Revolutionary War|American]] wars of independence.<ref name="Storozynski 2009" />|annotations=<!--none--> |image-top=-25 |image-left=-25 |image-width=200}}

In 1830, [[non-commissioned officer]]s at Warsaw's [[Corps of Cadets (Warsaw)|Officer Cadet School]] rebelled in what was the [[November Uprising]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Carolina Armenteros |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A4hJDAAAQBAJ |title=Historicising the French Revolution |last2=Dawn Dodds |last3=Isabel Divanna |last4=Tim Blanning |date=2008 |publisher=Cambridge Scholars |isbn=978-1-4438-1157-6 |location=Newcastle |page=247 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=9 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230709185017/https://books.google.com/books?id=A4hJDAAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> After its collapse, Congress Poland lost its [[Constitution of Congress Poland|constitutional autonomy]], [[Army of Congress Poland|army]] and legislative assembly.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kappeler |first=Andreas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JZ9eBAAAQBAJ&q=congress%2Bpoland%2Bintegration%2Bpaskevich&pg=PA249 |title=The Russian Empire: A Multi-ethnic History |date=27 August 2014 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-56810-0 |via=Google Books |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=24 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230724235904/https://books.google.com/books?id=JZ9eBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA249&q=congress%2Bpoland%2Bintegration%2Bpaskevich |url-status=live }}</ref> During the [[Spring of Nations|European Spring of Nations]], Poles took up arms in the [[Greater Poland Uprising (1848)|Greater Poland Uprising of 1848]] to resist [[Germanisation]], but its failure saw duchy's status reduced to a mere [[Province of Posen|province]]; and subsequent integration into the [[German Empire]] in 1871.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Lucassen |first1=Leo |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8YUuGSKXsFUC&q=1848%2Bprussia%2Buprising%2Bposen&pg=PA140 |title=Paths of Integration: Migrants in Western Europe (1880–2004) |last2=Feldman |first2=David |last3=Oltmer |first3=Jochen |date=6 September 2006 |publisher=Amsterdam University Press |isbn=978-90-5356-883-5 |via=Google Books |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=24 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230724235933/https://books.google.com/books?id=8YUuGSKXsFUC&pg=PA140&q=1848%2Bprussia%2Buprising%2Bposen |url-status=live }}</ref> In Russia, the fall of the [[January Uprising]] (1863–1864) prompted severe [[January Uprising#The decades of reprisals|political, social and cultural reprisals]], followed by deportations and [[pogroms]] of the Polish-Jewish population. Towards the end of the 19th century, Congress Poland became heavily industrialised; its primary exports being coal, [[zinc]], iron and textiles.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Restivo |first=Sal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4_tQEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22economy%2Bof%2BRussian%2Bpoland%2Bzinc%2Btextiles%22&pg=PA613 |title=Science, Technology, and Society: An Encyclopedia |date=2005 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=1-280-83513-3 |location=New York |page=613 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002173910/https://books.google.com/books?id=4_tQEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA613&dq=%22economy+of+Russian+poland+zinc+textiles%22 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Koryś |first=Piotr |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kKR8DwAAQBAJ&q=january%2Buprising%2Beconomic&pg=PA181 |title=Poland From Partitions to EU Accession: A Modern Economic History, 1772–2004 |date=2018 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-319-97126-1 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=25 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230725000016/https://books.google.com/books?id=kKR8DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA181&q=january%2Buprising%2Beconomic |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Second Polish Republic ===
{{Main|History of Poland (1918–1939)|Battle of Warsaw (1920)|Second Polish Republic}}
[[File:Józef Piłsudski (-1930).jpg|thumb|upright|right|[[Naczelnik państwa|Chief of State]] Marshal [[Józef Piłsudski]] was a hero of the Polish independence campaign and the nation's premiere statesman from 1918 until his death on 12 May 1935.]]
In the aftermath of [[World War I]], the [[Allies of World War I|Allies]] agreed on the reconstitution of Poland, confirmed through the [[Treaty of Versailles]] of June 1919.<ref>According to [[Margaret MacMillan]], "The rebirth of Poland was one of the great stories of the [[Paris Peace Conference, 1919|Paris Peace Conference]]." Margaret MacMillan, ''Paris 1919: Six Months that Changed the World'' (2001), p. 208.</ref> A total of 2 million Polish troops fought with the armies of the three occupying powers, and over 450,000 died.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Glenn E. Curtis |title=Poland: A Country Study |date=1994 |publisher=Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress |isbn=978-0-8444-0827-9 |edition=3 |volume=550 |page=29 |issue=162–994}}</ref> Following the [[Armistice with Germany (Compiègne)|armistice with Germany]] in November 1918, Poland regained its independence as the [[Second Polish Republic]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Piotr S. Wandycz |date=2009 |title=The Second Republic, 1921–1939 |journal=The Polish Review |publisher=University of Illinois Press |volume=54 |pages=159–171 |jstor=25779809 |number=2}}</ref>

The Second Polish Republic reaffirmed its sovereignty after [[List of wars involving Poland|a series of military conflicts]], most notably the [[Polish–Soviet War]], when Poland inflicted a crushing defeat on the [[Red Army]] at the [[Battle of Warsaw (1920)|Battle of Warsaw]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Marjan Kukiel |year=1929 |title=The Polish-Soviet Campaign of 1920 |journal=The Slavonic and East European Review |publisher=Modern Humanities Research Association |volume=8 |pages=48–65 |jstor=4202361 |number=22}}</ref>

The inter-war period heralded a new era of Polish politics. Whilst Polish political activists had faced heavy censorship in the decades up until [[World War I]], a new political tradition was established in the country. Many exiled Polish activists, such as [[Ignacy Jan Paderewski]], who would later become prime minister, returned home. A significant number of them then went on to take key positions in the newly formed political and governmental structures. Tragedy struck in 1922 when [[Gabriel Narutowicz]], inaugural holder of the presidency, was assassinated at the [[Zachęta]] Gallery in Warsaw by a painter and right-wing nationalist [[Eligiusz Niewiadomski]].<ref name="Bitter glory" />

In 1926, the [[May Coup (Poland)|May Coup]], led by the hero of the Polish independence campaign Marshal [[Józef Piłsudski]], turned rule of the Second Polish Republic over to the nonpartisan [[Sanacja]] (''Healing'') movement to prevent radical political organisations on both the left and the right from destabilising the country.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Robert Machray |date=November 1930 |title=Pilsudski, the Strong Man of Poland |journal=Current History |publisher=University of California Press |volume=33 |pages=195–199 |doi=10.1525/curh.1930.33.2.195 |jstor=45333442 |number=2}}</ref> By the late 1930s, due to increased threats posed by political extremism inside the country, the Polish government became increasingly heavy-handed, banning a number of radical organisations, including communist and ultra-nationalist political parties, which threatened the stability of the country.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Brian Porter-Szücs |title=Poland in the Modern World: Beyond Martyrdom |date=6 January 2014 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-118-59808-5}}</ref>

=== World War II ===
{{Main|History of Poland (1939–1945)|Invasion of Poland|Military history of Poland during World War II|War crimes in occupied Poland during World War II}}
[[File:7TP Polish Tank.png|thumb|left|[[Polish Armed Forces (Second Polish Republic)|Polish Army]] [[7TP]] tanks on military manoeuvres shortly before the [[invasion of Poland]] in 1939]]

World War II began with the [[Nazi German]] [[invasion of Poland]] on 1 September 1939, followed by the [[Soviet invasion of Poland]] on 17 September. On 28 September 1939, [[Siege of Warsaw (1939)|Warsaw fell]]. As agreed in the [[Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact]], Poland was split into two zones, [[Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany|one occupied by Nazi Germany]], the other by [[territories of Poland annexed by the Soviet Union|the Soviet Union]]. In 1939–1941, the Soviets deported hundreds of thousands of Poles. The Soviet [[NKVD]] executed thousands of Polish prisoners of war (among other incidents in the [[Katyn massacre]]) ahead of [[Operation Barbarossa]].<ref name="BBC 2010" /> German planners had in November 1939 called for "the complete destruction of all Poles" and their fate as outlined in the genocidal ''[[Generalplan Ost]]''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Michael Geyer |url={{GBurl|id=IcB3oASHnkAC|p=152}} |title=Beyond Totalitarianism: Stalinism and Nazism Compared |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-521-89796-9 |pages=152–153}}</ref>

Poland made the fourth-largest troop contribution in Europe,<ref name="Zaloga 1982" /><ref name="Lerski 1996a" /><ref name="Walters 1988" /> and its troops served both the [[Polish Government in Exile]] in the [[Polish Armed Forces in the West|west]] and Soviet leadership in the [[Polish Armed Forces in the East|east]]. Polish troops played an important role in the [[Operation Overlord|Normandy]], [[Italian Campaign (World War II)|Italian]], [[North African Campaign]]s and [[Operation Pheasant|Netherlands]] and are particularly remembered for the [[Battle of Britain]] and [[Battle of Monte Cassino]].<ref name="tobruk" /><ref name="including" /> Polish intelligence operatives proved extremely valuable to the Allies, providing much of the intelligence from Europe and beyond,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kochanski |first=Halik |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EJ5vIyDBpLcC&q=22%252C047%2BPolish&pg=PA234 |title=The Eagle Unbowed: Poland and the Poles in the Second World War |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-674-06814-8 |access-date=24 July 2023 |archive-date=25 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230725000018/https://books.google.com/books?id=EJ5vIyDBpLcC&pg=PA234&q=22%252C047%2BPolish |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Polish Cipher Bureau|Polish code breakers]] were responsible for [[cryptanalysis of the Enigma|cracking the Enigma cipher]] and Polish scientists participating in the [[Manhattan Project]] were co-creators of the American [[atomic bomb]]. In the east, the Soviet-backed [[First Polish Army (1944–1945)|Polish 1st Army]] distinguished itself in the battles for [[Warsaw Uprising|Warsaw]] and [[Battle of Berlin|Berlin]].<ref name="Lerski 1996b" />

The [[Polish resistance movement in World War II|wartime resistance movement]], and the [[Armia Krajowa]] (''Home Army''), fought against German occupation. It was one of the three largest resistance movements of the entire war, and encompassed a range of clandestine activities, which functioned as an [[Polish Underground State|underground state]] complete with [[Education in Poland during World War II|degree-awarding universities]] and [[Underground court|a court system]].<ref name="Stanislaw Salmonowicz 1994" /> The resistance was loyal to the exiled government and generally resented the idea of a communist Poland; for this reason, in the summer of 1944 it initiated [[Operation Tempest]], of which the [[Warsaw Uprising]] that began on 1 August 1944 is the best-known operation.<ref name="Lerski 1996b" /><ref name="polandinexile" />

[[File:WW2-Holocaust-Poland.PNG|thumb|Map of [[the Holocaust in occupied Poland|the Holocaust in German-occupied Poland]] with deportation routes and massacre sites. Major [[Jewish ghettos in German-occupied Poland|ghettos]] are marked with yellow stars. Nazi [[extermination camps]] are marked with white skulls in black squares. The border in 1941 between [[Nazi Germany]] and the [[Soviet Union]] is marked in red.]]

Nazi German forces under orders from [[Adolf Hitler]] set up six German [[extermination camp]]s in occupied Poland, including [[Treblinka extermination camp|Treblinka]], [[Majdanek concentration camp|Majdanek]] and [[Auschwitz concentration camp|Auschwitz]]. The Germans [[Holocaust train|transported millions of Jews]] from across occupied Europe to be murdered in those camps.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Browning |first1=Christopher R. |title=The origins of the Final Solution: the evolution of Nazi Jewish policy, September 1939 – March 1942 |last2=Matthäus |first2=Jürgen |date=2004 |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |isbn=978-0-8032-1327-2 |series=Comprehensive history of the Holocaust |location=Lincoln}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Snyder |first=Timothy |title=Black earth: the Holocaust as history and warning |date=2015 |publisher=Tim Duggan Books |isbn=978-1-101-90345-2 |edition=First |location=New York}}</ref> Altogether, 3 million Polish Jews<ref>{{harvp|Materski|Szarota|2009}} ''Quote:'' Liczba Żydów i Polaków żydowskiego pochodzenia, obywateli II Rzeczypospolitej, zamordowanych przez Niemców sięga 2,7- 2,9 mln osób. ''Translation:'' The number of Jewish victims is estimated at 2,9 million. This was about 90% of the 3.3 million Jews living in prewar Poland. ''Source:'' IPN.</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.yadvashem.org/righteous/stories/poland-historical-background.html | title=Poland: Historical Background during the Holocaust | access-date=18 August 2019 | archive-date=12 November 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191112052517/https://www.yadvashem.org/righteous/stories/poland-historical-background.html | url-status=live }}</ref> – approximately 90% of Poland's pre-war Jewry – and between 1.8 and 2.8 million ethnic Poles<ref>{{Cite web |title=Polish Victims |url=https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/polish-victims |publisher=United States Holocaust Memorial Museum |access-date=4 January 2020 |archive-date=24 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190824050551/https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/polish-victims |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Piotrowski |first=Tadeusz |title=Poland World War II casualties (in thousands) |url=http://projectinposterum.org/docs/poland_WWII_casualties.htm |access-date=4 January 2020 |archive-date=18 April 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070418175341/http://projectinposterum.org/docs/poland_WWII_casualties.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Materski|Szarota|2009}} ''Quote:'' Łączne straty śmiertelne ludności polskiej pod okupacją niemiecką oblicza się obecnie na ok. 2 770 000. ''Translation:'' Current estimate is roughly 2,770,000 victims of German occupation. This was 11.3% of the 24.4 million ethnic Poles in prewar Poland.</ref> were killed during the German [[Occupation of Poland (1939–1945)|occupation of Poland]], including between 50,000 and 100,000 members of the Polish [[intelligentsia]] – academics, doctors, lawyers, nobility and priesthood. During the Warsaw Uprising alone, over 150,000 Polish civilians were killed, most were murdered by the Germans during the [[Wola massacre|Wola]] and [[Ochota massacre|Ochota]] massacres.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Documenting Numbers of Victims of the Holocaust and Nazi Persecution |url=https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/documenting-numbers-of-victims-of-the-holocaust-and-nazi-persecution |publisher=United States Holocaust Memorial Museum |access-date=4 January 2020 |archive-date=3 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191103120011/https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/documenting-numbers-of-victims-of-the-holocaust-and-nazi-persecution |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Wardzyńska |first=Maria |url=http://pamiec.pl/download/49/34737/BYLROK1939.pdf |title=Był rok 1939. Operacja niemieckiej policji bezpieczeństwa w Polsce. Intelligenzaktion |publisher=[[Institute of National Remembrance]] |year=2009 |isbn=978-83-7629-063-8 |language=pl |trans-title=The Year was 1939: Operation of German Security Police in Poland. Intelligenzaktion |quote=Oblicza się, że akcja "Inteligencja" pochłonęła ponad 100 tys. ofiar. ''Translation:'' It is estimated that ''Intelligenzaktion'' took the lives of 100,000 Poles. |access-date=4 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129035451/http://pamiec.pl/download/49/34737/BYLROK1939.pdf |archive-date=29 November 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Around 150,000 Polish civilians were killed by Soviets between 1939 and 1941 during the Soviet Union's occupation of eastern Poland ([[Kresy]]), and another estimated 100,000 Poles were murdered by the [[Ukrainian Insurgent Army]] (UPA) between 1943 and 1944 in what became known as the [[Massacres of Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia|Wołyń Massacres]].<ref>Grzegorz Motyka, Od rzezi wołyńskiej do akcji "Wisła". Konflikt polsko-ukraiński 1943–1947. Kraków 2011, p. 447. See also: Book review by Tomasz Stańczyk: "Grzegorz Motyka oblicza, że w latach 1943–1947 z polskich rąk zginęło 11–15 tys. Ukraińców. Polskie straty to 76–106 tys. zamordowanych, w znakomitej większości podczas rzezi wołyńskiej i galicyjskiej."</ref><ref>{{Cite web |year=2013 |title=What were the Volhynian Massacres? |url=http://www.volhyniamassacre.eu/ |website=1943 Wołyń Massacres Truth and Remembrance |publisher=Institute of National Remembrance |access-date=17 July 2016 |archive-date=13 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130813063016/http://www.volhyniamassacre.eu/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[World War II casualties|Of all the countries]] in the war, Poland lost the highest percentage of its citizens: around 6 million perished – more than one-sixth of Poland's pre-war population – [[Holocaust in Poland|half of them]] Polish Jews.<ref>{{harvp|Materski|Szarota|2009}}</ref><ref>[http://www.remember.org/forgotten/ Holocaust: Five Million Forgotten: Non-Jewish Victims of the Shoah.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125075356/http://remember.org/forgotten |date=25 January 2018 }} Remember.org.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Polish experts lower nation's WWII death toll |url=https://www.expatica.com/de/polish-experts-lower-nations-wwii-death-toll/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190818035613/https://www.expatica.com/de/polish-experts-lower-nations-wwii-death-toll/ |archive-date=18 August 2019}}</ref> About 90% of deaths were non-military in nature.<ref>Bureau odszkodowan wojennych (BOW), Statement on war losses and damages of Poland in 1939–1945. Warsaw 1947</ref>

In 1945, Poland's borders [[Territorial changes of Poland immediately after World War II|were shifted westwards]]. Over two million Polish inhabitants of [[Kresy]] [[Polish population transfers (1944–1946)|were expelled]] along the [[Curzon Line]] by [[Joseph Stalin|Stalin]].<ref>[[Bogumiła Lisocka-Jaegermann]] (2006). "Post-War Migrations in Poland". In: Mirosława Czerny. ''Poland in the geographical centre of Europe.'' Hauppauge, New York: Nova Science Publishers. pp. 71–87. {{ISBN|978-1-59454-603-7}}. [{{GBurl|id=KGYrq9qAeskC|q=%22so+called+Curzon+Line%22}} Google Books preview.]</ref> The western border became the [[Oder-Neisse line]]. As a result, Poland's territory was reduced by 20%, or {{convert|77500|km2|sqmi}}. The shift forced the migration of [[World War II evacuation and expulsion|millions of other people]], most of whom were Poles, Germans, Ukrainians, and Jews.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Eberhardt |first=Piotr |url=http://www.igipz.pan.pl/en/zpz/Political_migrations.pdf |title=Political Migrations in Poland 1939–1948 |publisher=Didactica |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-5361-1035-7 |location=Warsaw |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626151411/http://www.igipz.pan.pl/en/zpz/Political_migrations.pdf |archive-date=26 June 2015 |accessdate=3 May 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Eberhardt |first=Piotr |url=http://rcin.org.pl/Content/15652/WA51_13607_r2011-nr12_Monografie.pdf |title=Political Migrations On Polish Territories (1939–1950) |publisher=Polish Academy of Sciences |year=2011 |isbn=978-83-61590-46-0 |location=Warsaw |access-date=3 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140520220409/http://rcin.org.pl/Content/15652/WA51_13607_r2011-nr12_Monografie.pdf |archive-date=20 May 2014}}</ref><ref name="BBC 2011" />

=== Post-war communism ===
{{Main|History of Poland (1945–1989)|Polish People's Republic|History of Solidarity|Polish Round Table Agreement}}
[[File:Solidarity poster 1989.jpg|thumb|upright|left|''At [[High Noon]], 4 June 1989''—political poster featuring [[Gary Cooper]] to encourage votes for the [[Solidarity (Polish trade union)|Solidarity]] party in the [[Contract Sejm|1989 elections]]]]
At the insistence of [[Joseph Stalin]], the [[Yalta Conference]] sanctioned the formation of a new provisional pro-Communist coalition government in Moscow, which ignored the [[Polish government-in-exile]] based in London. This action angered many Poles who considered it a [[Yalta betrayal|betrayal]] by the Allies.<ref>The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Yalta Conference". Encyclopedia Britannica, 20 Mar. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/event/Yalta-Conference. Accessed 21 April 2025</ref> In 1944, Stalin had made guarantees to [[Winston Churchill|Churchill]] and [[Franklin D. Roosevelt|Roosevelt]] that he would maintain Poland's sovereignty and allow democratic elections to take place. However, upon achieving victory in 1945, the elections organised by the occupying Soviet authorities were falsified and were used to provide a veneer of legitimacy for Soviet hegemony over Polish affairs.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Institute of National Remembrance |url=https://eng.ipn.gov.pl/en/digital-resources/articles/7193%2CRigged-elections-19-January-1947.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Staar |first=Richard F. |date=1958 |title=Elections in Communist Poland |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2108857 |journal=Midwest Journal of Political Science |volume=2 |issue=2 |pages=200–218 |doi=10.2307/2108857 |issn=0026-3397}}</ref><ref>[[Dieter Nohlen]] & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1491 {{ISBN|978-3-8329-5609-7}}</ref> The Soviet Union instituted a new [[communist state|communist]] government in Poland, analogous to much of the rest of the [[Eastern Bloc]]. [[Anti-Communism in the Communist Bloc|As elsewhere in Communist Europe]], the Soviet influence over Poland was met with [[Cursed soldiers|armed resistance]] from the outset which continued into the 1950s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ARTICLE by Karol Nawrocki, Ph.D.: The soldiers of Polish freedom |url=https://ipn.gov.pl/en/news/9332,ARTICLE-by-Karol-Nawrocki-PhD-The-soldiers-of-Polish-freedom.html |access-date=6 March 2022 |archive-date=12 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512143630/https://ipn.gov.pl/en/news/9332,ARTICLE-by-Karol-Nawrocki-PhD-The-soldiers-of-Polish-freedom.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Despite widespread objections, the new Polish government accepted the Soviet annexation of the pre-war eastern regions of Poland<ref name="Lane 1948" /> (in particular the cities of [[Wilno]] and [[Lwów]]) and agreed to the permanent garrisoning of [[Red Army]] units on Poland's territory. Military alignment within the [[Warsaw Pact]] throughout the [[Cold War]] came about as a direct result of this change in Poland's political culture. In the European scene, it came to characterise the full-fledged integration of Poland into the brotherhood of communist nations.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Warsaw Pact: Definition, History, and Significance |url=https://www.thoughtco.com/warsaw-pact-4178983 |access-date=6 March 2022 |archive-date=31 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531072214/https://www.thoughtco.com/warsaw-pact-4178983 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The new communist government took control with the adoption of the [[Small Constitution of 1947|Small Constitution]] on 19 February 1947. The [[Polish People's Republic]] (''Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa'') [[Constitution of the People's Republic of Poland|was officially proclaimed in 1952]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Constitutional history of Poland |url=https://constitutionnet.org/country/poland |access-date=2025-04-21 |website=ConstitutionNet |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Lasok |first=Dominik |title=The Polish Constitutions of 1947 and 1952: a historical study in constitutional law |date=1954 |degree=phd |publisher=London School of Economics and Political Science |url=https://etheses.lse.ac.uk/112/ |language=en}}</ref> In 1956, after the death of [[Bolesław Bierut]], the régime of [[Władysław Gomułka]] became temporarily more liberal, freeing many people from prison and expanding some personal freedoms. [[Collectivization in the Polish People's Republic|Collectivisation in the Polish People's Republic]] failed. A similar situation repeated itself in the 1970s under [[Edward Gierek]], but most of the time persecution of [[Anti-communist resistance in Poland (1944–1989)|anti-communist opposition]] groups persisted. Despite this, Poland was at the time considered to be one of the least oppressive states of the Eastern Bloc.<ref name="PWN" />

Labour turmoil in 1980 led to the formation of the independent trade union "[[Solidarity (Polish trade union)|Solidarity]]" ("''Solidarność''"), which over time became a political force.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Staff |first=TIME |date=2020-03-05 |title=Anna Walentynowicz: 100 Women of the Year |url=https://time.com/5793658/anna-walentynowicz-100-women-of-the-year/ |access-date=2025-04-21 |website=TIME |language=en}}</ref> Despite persecution and imposition of [[Martial law in Poland|martial law in 1981]] by General [[Wojciech Jaruzelski]], it eroded the dominance of the [[Polish United Workers' Party]] and by 1989 had triumphed in Poland's first [[Contract Sejm|partially free and democratic parliamentary elections]] since the end of the Second World War. [[Lech Wałęsa]], a Solidarity candidate, eventually [[1990 Polish presidential election|won the presidency in 1990]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lech Walesa Is Elected President of Poland {{!}} EBSCO Research Starters |url=https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/lech-walesa-elected-president-poland |access-date=2025-04-21 |website=www.ebsco.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2010-02-09 |title=Lech Walesa elected president of Poland {{!}} December 9, 1990 |url=https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/december-9/walesa-elected-president-of-poland |access-date=2025-04-21 |website=HISTORY |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Lech Wałęsa – Biographical |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1983/walesa/biographical/ |access-date=2025-04-21 |website=NobelPrize.org |language=en-US}}</ref> The Solidarity movement heralded the [[Revolutions of 1989|collapse of communist regimes and parties across Europe]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 2020 |title=Solidarity Movement– or the Beginning of the End of Communism |url=https://argumentum.al/lajmi/2020/09/solidarity-movement-or-the-beginning-of-the-end-of-communism/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220328012855/https://argumentum.al/lajmi/2020/09/solidarity-movement-or-the-beginning-of-the-end-of-communism/ |archive-date=28 March 2022 |access-date=6 March 2022 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

=== Third Polish Republic ===
{{Main|History of Poland (1989–present)}}
[[File:Flowers in front of the Presidential Palace in Warsaw.jpg|upright=0.8|thumb|Flowers in front of the [[Presidential Palace, Warsaw|Presidential Palace]] following the [[2010 Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash|death of Poland's top government officials]] in a plane crash on 10 April 2010]]
A [[shock therapy (economics)|shock therapy]] programme, initiated by [[Leszek Balcerowicz]] in the early 1990s, enabled the country to transform its [[Soviet-style socialism|Soviet-style]] [[planned economy]] into a [[market economy]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hunter |first1=Richard J. Jr. |last2=Ryan |first2=Leo V. |date=2006 |title=A RETROSPECTIVE ANALYSIS AND FUTURE PERSPECTIVE: "Why Was Poland's Transition So Difficult?" |journal=[[The Polish Review]] |publisher=[[University of Illinois Press]] |volume=51 |pages=147–171 |jstor=25779611 |number=2}}</ref> As with other [[post-communism|post-communist countries]], Poland suffered temporary declines in social, economic, and living standards,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kowalik |first=Tadeusz |title=From Solidarity to Sell-Out: The Restoration of Capitalism in Poland |publisher=Monthly Review Press |year=2011 |location=New York, NY}}</ref> but it became the first post-communist country to reach its pre-1989 [[Gross domestic product|GDP levels]] as early as 1995, although the unemployment rate increased.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Spieser |first=Catherine |date=April 2007 |title=Labour Market Policies in Post-communist Poland: Explaining the Peaceful Institutionalisation of Unemployment |journal=Politique européenne |volume=21 |pages=97–132 |doi=10.3917/poeu.021.0097 |number=1}}</ref> Poland became a member of the [[Visegrád Group]] in 1991,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Poláčková |first=Hana |date=1994 |title=Regional Cooperation in Central Europe: Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia: from Visegrad to CEFTA |journal=Perspectives |publisher=[[SAGE Publishers]] |pages=117–129 |jstor=23615759 |number=3}}</ref> and joined [[NATO]] in 1999.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sieradzka |first=Monika |date=3 November 2019 |title=After 20 years in NATO, Poland still eager to please |url=https://www.dw.com/en/after-20-years-in-nato-poland-still-eager-to-please/a-47862839 |access-date=26 March 2022 |website=[[DW News]] |publisher=[[Deutsche Welle]] |quote=Poland's NATO accession in 1999 was meant to provide protection from Russia. |archive-date=31 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531214850/https://www.dw.com/en/after-20-years-in-nato-poland-still-eager-to-please/a-47862839 |url-status=live }}</ref> Poles then voted to join the [[European Union]] in [[2003 Polish European Union membership referendum|a referendum]] in June 2003,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Szczerbiak |first=Aleks |date=September 2004 |title=History Trumps Government Unpopularity: The June 2003 Polish EU Accession Referendum |journal=West European Politics |volume=27 |pages=671–690 |doi=10.1080/0140238042000249876 |s2cid=153998856 |number=4}}</ref> with [[Poland in the European Union|Poland becoming a full member]] on 1 May 2004, following the [[2004 enlargement of the European Union|consequent enlargement of the union]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kundera |first=Jaroslaw |date=September 2014 |title=Poland in the European Union. The economic effects of ten years of membership |journal=Rivista di Studi Politici Internazionali |volume=81 |pages=377–396 |jstor=43580712 |number=3}}</ref>

Poland has joined the [[Schengen Area]] in 2007, as a result of which, [[Borders of Poland|the country's borders]] with other member states of the European Union were dismantled, allowing for [[Freedom of movement#European Union|full freedom of movement]] within most of the European Union.<ref name="BBC News 2007" /> On 10 April 2010, the [[President of Poland]] [[Lech Kaczyński]], along with 89 other high-ranking Polish officials [[2010 Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash|died in a plane crash]] near [[Smolensk]], Russia.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Alex Duval |date=7 February 2016 |title=Will Poland ever uncover the truth about the plane crash that killed its president? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/07/smolensk-plane-crash-lech-kaczynski-poland-russia |access-date=26 March 2022 |website=[[The Guardian]] |location=[[Warsaw]] |archive-date=30 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220530164613/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/07/smolensk-plane-crash-lech-kaczynski-poland-russia |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2011, the ruling [[Civic Platform]] won [[2011 Polish parliamentary election|parliamentary elections]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Turkowski |first=Andrzej |title=Ruling Civic Platform Wins Parliamentary Elections in Poland |url=https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2011/10/ruling-civic-platform-wins-parliamentary-elections-in-poland?lang=en |website=Carnegie Endowment for International Peace |access-date=11 April 2021 |archive-date=30 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220530233038/https://carnegieendowment.org/2011/10/10/ruling-civic-platform-wins-parliamentary-elections-in-poland-pub-45703 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2014, the [[Prime Minister of Poland]], [[Donald Tusk]], was chosen to be [[President of the European Council]], and resigned as prime minister.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lynch |first=Suzanne |title=Donald Tusk named next president of European Council |newspaper=The Irish Times |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/donald-tusk-named-next-president-of-european-council-1.1913164 |access-date=11 April 2021 |archive-date=31 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531053534/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/donald-tusk-named-next-president-of-european-council-1.1913164 |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[2015 Polish parliamentary election|2015]] and [[2019 Polish parliamentary election|2019 elections]] were won by the national-conservative [[Law and Justice]] Party (PiS) led by [[Jarosław Kaczyński]],<ref>{{Cite news |date=25 October 2015 |title=Poland elections: Conservatives secure decisive win |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34631826 |access-date=20 June 2018 |archive-date=25 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151025224207/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34631826 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=14 October 2019 |title=Poland's populist Law and Justice party win second term in power |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/14/poland-populist-law-and-justice-party-increases-majority |access-date=8 October 2020 |archive-date=31 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531141516/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/14/poland-populist-law-and-justice-party-increases-majority |url-status=live }}</ref> resulting in increased [[Euroscepticism]] and [[Polish constitutional crisis|increased friction]] with the European Union.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rule of Law: European Commission acts to defend judicial independence in Poland |url=https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_17_5367 |access-date=15 November 2020 |website=European Commission |language=en |archive-date=28 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210328122853/https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_17_5367 |url-status=live }}</ref> In December 2017, [[Mateusz Morawiecki]] was sworn in as the Prime Minister, succeeding [[Beata Szydło|Beata Szydlo]], in office since 2015. President [[Andrzej Duda]], supported by Law and Justice party, was re-elected in the 2020 presidential [[2020 Polish presidential election|election]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=13 July 2020 |title=Poland's Duda narrowly beats Trzaskowski in presidential vote |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53385021 |access-date=10 March 2021 |archive-date=13 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200713013502/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53385021 |url-status=live }}</ref>

{{As of|November 2023}}, the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine]] had led to 17 million [[Ukrainian refugee crisis|Ukrainian refugees]] crossing the border to Poland.<ref name="UNHRC Ukraine">{{Cite web |title=Situation Ukraine Refugee Situation |url=https://data.unhcr.org/en/situations/ukraine |website=data.unhcr.org |access-date=14 December 2023 |archive-date=27 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220627032436/https://data.unhcr.org/en/situations/ukraine |url-status=live }}</ref> {{As of|November 2023}}, 0.9 million of those had stayed in Poland.<ref name="UNHRC Ukraine" /> In October 2023, the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party won the largest share of the vote in the [[2023 Polish parliamentary election|election]], but lost its majority in parliament. In December 2023, Donald Tusk became the new Prime Minister leading a coalition made up of [[Civic Coalition (Poland)|Civic Coalition]], [[Third Way (Poland)|Third Way]], and [[The Left (Poland)|The Left]]. Law and Justice became the leading opposition party.<ref>{{Cite news |date=11 December 2023 |title=Donald Tusk elected as Polish prime minister |language=en-GB |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67681940 |access-date=12 December 2023 |archive-date=13 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231213060521/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67681940 |url-status=live }}</ref>