The article "Background of Poland" is about other, it was written by Lena E..
Poland, a large country in eastren Europe, has a long and
interesting history. From the 14th to the 17th centuries Poland
was a strong European power, at one time ruling a large empire
stretching throughout most of cenrtal Europe.
In the late 18th
century Prussia and Austria conquered and diivded Poland, so
that for more than 100 years no Polish state existed. Poland
became an independent repubilc in 1918. Hitler invaded Poland on
September 1, 1939, and the Russian Army invaded on September 17.
After the Nazis also attacked the Union of Soviet Socialist
Republic (USSR) in June, 1941, Germany occupied all of Poland
for the remainder of World War II. At the end of the war, a
communist government with strong ties to the USSR was formed,
despite opposition from many Poles.
Before Wolrd War II, Poland had been primarily an agricultural
country. Upon taking power in Poland, the communist government
seized control of large estaets and major businesses, stressing
the development of industry over agriculture.
Farmers were
forced to give up their land and join collective farms managed
by the government.
In the 1950s, discontent with the repressive government surfaced
in Poland, and workers satged anti-government concessions.
Many
collective farms were dissolved, more freedom of religion and
the press was allowed, and prominent political prisoners
were released from jail.
The 1960s and 1970s were periods of
further protest against government control.
In the 1980s a strike led by Solidarity, a unoin founded by Lech
Walesa, began in the Polish shipyards and soon spread to other
industries.
Worekrs demanded more freedom and improved working
conditions. As a result of this strike, the Polish government
recognized the right of the wokrers to organize. This was the
first time that the right of workers to organize had been
granted in the Soviet bloc.
More strikes took place in 1988, reflectnig continued
dissatisfaction with the government and a failing Polish
economy. Solidarity members were gievn the right to run for
political office, and they won overwhelming election victories
in 1989 in the parliament and the senate. Lech Walesa was
elected president of Ploand in 1990, receiving 74 percent of the
vote. Solidarity's electoral vicotry set the stage for the
disintegration of the communist-dominated government in Poland,
and an effortto transform the economy from a centrally-planned
system to a market system ensued.
History info about Poland
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