THE HISTORY OF POLAND

1
THE HISTORY OF POLAND
2
Polish History is very important to all Poles.
Our culture is based on our history. Therefore It
is necessery to find out anything about most
important historical events to understand Poland
and Poles.
3
WHEN THE GOD WAS A SUN
Biskupin
4
Biskupin - a settlement from the turn of the
Bronze Ageand the Early Iron Age (750 - 600 BC.)
5
THE FORMER SLAVONIC GODS
6
PIAST DYNASTY Mieszko I (ca. 935 - May 25, 992),
son of the semi-legendary Siemomysl, was the
first historically known Piast duke of the
Polans, who gave their name to the country that
would later be called "Poland."
In 965 he married Dobrawa. Mieszko was baptised
in 966, probably under the influence of his
Christian first wife.
7
In A.D. 1000, Holy Roman Emperor Otto III, while
on pilgrimage to the tomb of St. Adalbert at
Gniezno, invested Boleslaw with the title Frater
et Cooperator Imperii ("Brother and Partner in
the Empire"). Some historians state that the
Emperor also pledged a royal crown to Boleslaw.
During that same visit, Otto III accepted
Gniezno's status as an archbishopric
8
Kazimierz is the only Polish king who did receive
and maintain the title of the great in Polish
history. He built many new castles, reformed the
Polish army and Polish civil law and criminal
law. He founded the University of Kraków.
9
The Jagiellon era is usually characterized as the
beginning of Poland's "golden age" and saw the
country become a major European power and extend
her frontiers to the north and east.
With the Union of Krewo in 1385, Jogaila married
Queen Jadwiga of Poland (who was then only 11
years old) and established the Jagiellonian
dynasty, which would rule in Poland and Lithuania
until 1572.
In military terms, his reign is noted for the
crushing defeat inflicted on the Teutonic Knights
in neighbouring Province of Prussia by Polish and
Lithuanian forces under his supreme command at
the Battle of Grunwald 1410.
10
The Battle of Grunwald 1410
11
PRUSSIAN HOMAGE 1525
The situation along Poland's northern borders
normalized in 1466 following another defeat of
the Teutonic Order by king Casimir IV the
Jagiellonian in the Thirteen Years War . In the
outcome, the Eastern Pomerania with the city of
Gdansk were returned to Poland. In 1525, Albrecht
Hohenzollern, the last Grand Master of the
Teutonic Order, converted to Lutheranism and
established a secular duchy in East Prussia. He
journeyed to Cracow to pay homage to the Polish
King, Zygmunt I Stary (the Old), and to swear to
the eternal association of his duchy with Poland.
This moment, which many have seen as the zenith
of Polish power, is immortalized in the famous
painting by Jan Matejko.
12
GOLDEN LIBERTY
Zygmunt I Stary
Bona Sforza
Zygmunt II August
13
Mikolaj Kopernik
COPERNICUS' DE REVOLUTIONIBUS ORBIUM COELESTIUM -
1543
14
JASNA GORA
The Deluge (Polish Potop) is a name commonly
assigned in the history of Poland to a series of
wars in the 17th century which left Poland in
ruins. In a stricter sense Deluge refers only to
the Swedish invasion and occupation of the
country.
15
In 1683, he led the Polish army of 30,000 men to
relieve Vienna besieged by the Turks. The charge
of the huzaria, Polish heavy cavalry, smashed the
Turkish lines and ended once and for all the
centuries old Turkish threat to Central Europe.
16
HUSARIA
The pride and glory of the cavalry, its mailed
first, was the Husaria, the winged cavalry (or
"winged horsemen").  These well trained and elite
units served in the armies of the Polish and
Lithuanian Commonwealth from around the early
16th century to the early 18th century.
17
THE MAY 3rd CONSTITUTION - 1791
18
THE PARTITIONS 1772-1795
The three partitions occurred February 17, 1772
January 21, 1793 October 1795.
19
KOSCIUSZKO INSURRECTION - 1794
The Kosciuszko Uprising was Poland's final
attempt to maintain independence. Tadeusz
Kosciuszko, a Polish hero of the American
Revolution.
20
Thus, the Polish state, as an entity, disappeared
off the map of Europe. It would take 123 years,
until November 11, 1918, before Poland fully
regained its independence. Though dreams of
independence died, Poland's populace had been
liberated from the bonds of serfdom. Poles
outside the nobility were now considered part of
the national fabric and the concept of Polish
nationalism became an enduring 19th century
concept ensuring the nation's survival and
eventual rebirth.
21
Polish Legions in Italy is the name applied to
the several different Polish units serving in the
French army from the 1790s to 1810s. After the
third partition of Poland in 1795 many Poles
believed that the revolutionary France and its
allies would come to aid of Poland, as France
enemies included the partitioners of Poland
Polish Legions in Italy
Those units were commanded, among others, by Jan
Henryk Dabrowski, Karol Kniaziewicz and Józef
Wybicki. Polish Legions serving alongside the
French army during the Napoleonic Wars saw combat
in most of Napoleon's campaigns, from West
Indies, through Italy and Egypt, to Russia.
22
MAZUREK DABROWSKIEGO
Mazurek Dabrowskiego (Dabrowski's Mazurka) is the
Polish national anthem, written by Józef Wybicki
in 1797. Originally called the "Anthem of the
Polish Legions in Italy", it is also informally
known in English as "Poland Is Not Yet Lost" or
"Poland Has Not Yet Perished" from its initial
verse, "Jeszcze Polska nie zginela," which is
sometimes erroneously taken to be the Polish
state motto.
23
Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin
is one of the most famous, influential and
admired composers for the piano, and Poland's
most significant composer. He was born, of French
and Polish parentage in the village of Zelazowa
Wola, Poland.
24
Jan Matejko
Jan Matejko he was born in Free City of Kraków,
June 24, 1838 November 1, 1893, Kraków, was a
Polish artist famous for paintings of notable
Polish political and military events. These
include a Battle of Grunwald, numerous court
scenes, and a gallery of Polish kings. He is also
known for his portrayals of the famous Polish
court jester Stanczyk.
25
NAPOLEON I BONAPARTE
By 1812, advisors to Alexander suggested the
possibility of an invasion of the French Empire
(and the recapture of Poland). Napoleon, in an
attempt to gain increased support from Polish
nationalists and patriots, termed the war the
"Second Polish War" (the first Polish war being
the liberation of Poland from Russia, Prussia and
Austria). Polish patriots wanted the Russian part
of partitioned Poland to be incorporated into the
Grand Duchy of Warsaw
26
NOVEMBER UPRISING - 1830
The November Uprising (18301831)also known as
the Cadet Revolutionwas an armed rebellion
against Russia's rule in Poland. It was started
on November 29, 1830 in Warsaw by a group of
young conspirators from the army's officer school
in Warsaw and was soon joined by large part of
the Polish society.
JANUARY UPRISING - 1863
The January Uprising was the longest Polish
uprising against Tsarist Russia it began January
22, 1863, and the last insurgents were not
captured until 1865. It started as a spontaneous
protest by young Poles against conscription into
the Russian Army.
27
WORLD WAR I 1914-1918
28
(No Transcript)
29
(No Transcript)
30
Ignacy Jan Paderewski (November 6, 1860 June
29, 1941) was a Polish pianist, composer,
diplomat and politician, the third Prime Minister
of Poland.
Famous Poles
Józef Pilsudski-was a Polish revolutionary and
statesman, field marshal, first chief of state
(1918-1922) and dictator (1926-1935) of renascent
Poland, and founder of her armed forces. He is
generally regarded by much of modern Poland as a
national hero.
31
INDEPENDENT POLAND - 1918 - 1939
32
WORLD WAR II - 1939-1945 Under the leadership of
Adolph Hitler, Nazi Germany invaded Poland on
September 1, 1939. Hitler's excuse for the
invasion was the need to secure "that intolerable
Polish corridor." In response to the invasion of
Poland, France and Britain declared war on
Germany. World War II had begun.
World War II, also, The Second World War, was the
global military conflict that took place between
1939 and 1945. WWII was the largest and deadliest
war in history.
At last the Germans were on the defensive. With
the Soviets advancing from the east and the
allies from the west, Hitler's Third Reich
collapsed into disarray and, following the
Fuhrer's suicide, surrendered on May 8, 1945.
33
(No Transcript)
34
WESTERPLATTE
War broke out in Europe on 1 September 1939, with
the German invasion of Poland.
Schleswig-Holstein
35
HOLOCAUST
36
AUSCHWITZ concentration camp
The Holocaust is the name applied to the
systematic state-sponsored persecution and
genocide of the Jews of Europe and North Africa
along with other groups during World War II by
Nazi Germany and collaborators.
Auschwitz is the name loosely used to identify
the largest Nazi extermination camp along with
two main German concentration camps and 45-50
sub-camps. The name is derived from the German
name for the nearby Polish town of Oswiecim
37
Tragic Warsaw uprising of 1944
As the war progressed, a ferocious resistance to
the Nazi occupation smoldered, then burst into
flame, culminating in the tragic Warsaw uprising
of 1944. The Polish underground State had one of
the largest and best organized army in
Nazi-occupied Europe. From city basements to
guerilla camps hidden deep in primeval forests,
members of the resistance struck back at the
Germans whenever and wherever they could.
38
SOLIDARITY - 1980 ROUND TABLE AGREEMENTS - 1989
The disillusioned Polish people demanded full
political and cultural freedom. Polish workers
understood how their economic relations with the
Soviet Union had been rigged to the detriment of
the Polish economy and in 1980 the Solidarity
Movement exploded with a series of strikes on the
Baltic Coast and in the industrial region of
Upper Silesia. The situation was volatile but the
new labor union was joined by a social movement,
coalescing into an effective social force that
managed to effect change with a minimum of
violence. In August 1980, the Polish government
recognized Solidarity and made significant
concessions to the workers' demands. . Finally,
as the spirit of "glasnost" engulfed the entire
Soviet Bloc, the government recognized Solidarity
again and, in the "Roundtable Agreements" of
1989, agreed to the sharing of power.
39
POLAND IN NATO - 1999 On 12 of March 1999 -
Prof. Bronislaw Geremek, Minister of Foreign
Affairs of the Republic of Poland, transferred in
the US Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright's
hands the Instruments of Accession. From this
very moment the Republic of Poland has been the
legal party of the Washington Treaty - the member
of NATO.
40
Poland in European Union
Polish voters then said yes to the EU in a
referendum in June 2003. Poland joined the
European Union on 1 May 2004.
41
NOBEL PRIZE
Maria Sklodowska-Curie
Wladyslaw Reymont
Henryk Sienkiewicz
Czeslaw Milosz
Lech Walesa
Wislawa Szymborska
42
THE GREATEST POLE- JAN PAWEL II (JOHN PAUL II)
Pope John Paul II, born Karol Józef Wojtyla 1
(May 18, 1920 April 2, 2005) reigned as pope of
the Roman Catholic Church for almost 27 years
43
THE END