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(PIQ) Polonia CercaDefinizione
Location: Central Europe, bordered in 1939 by the USSR, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Romania.
Capital city: Warsaw
History:
Under the Treaty of Versailles, Polish independence was declared on November 3, 1918. Marshal Józef Pilsudski took control of the new government on November 10, 1918. His term lasted until 1922. Pilsudski later staged a military coup and ruled Poland as a dictator (1926-1935). In 1939, Germany invaded and occupied the western two-thirds and the USSR invaded and occupied the eastern third of Poland. This hostile takeover provoked the official beginning of World War II. A Polish government-in-exile was formed in France and moved to England after the fall of France (June 1940). All of Poland was subject to German rule after Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941. Poland's Jewish population was estimated to have been about 3.3 Million in 1939. By the end of the war, over 2.7 Million were killed in the Holocaust. The Soviet army defeated the Germans in Poland during the winter of 1944-1945 and a communist provisional Polish government was established. Poland's boundaries were redrawn in 1945. The Soviets succeeded in ensuring postwar control over Poland. In April 1989, Poland's political system experienced drastic reforms, including free elections, and a legalized party system. (en-US)
Fonte
Golczewski, Frank. "Polen." In Dimension des Völkermords: Die Zahl der jüdischen Opfer des Nationalsozialismus. Edited by Wolfgang Benz. Pp. 411-498. München: R. Oldenbourg Verlag, 1991. pp. 415, 417, 494