 Saint Henry's church in Luxembourg City, which hosts Polish-language church masses [1] | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 4,844 [2] (2020) |
Poles in Luxembourg form a population 4,844 (as of 2020), consisting mostly of migrant workers. They are the country's ninth largest group of foreign immigrants, and the second largest from Central Europe (after Germans). [2] Polish presence in Luxembourg dates back to the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1939 | 3,750 | — |
| 2011 | 2,709 | −27.8% |
| 2020 | 4,844 | +78.8% |
| Sources: [3] [2] | ||
The first Poles migrated to Luxembourg, mostly from the Prussian and Austrian partitions of Poland, at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. [4] In the interwar period, immigration of Poles to Luxembourg increased, mainly those forced to leave Westphalia and Rhineland, while some came from Belgium, France and Poland. [4] In the mid-1920s, there were 5,000 Poles in Luxembourg, however, by 1939 the number dropped to 3,750. [5]
During World War II, many Poles from Luxembourg joined the Polish Armed Forces in the West to fight against Nazi Germany, whereas some attempted to return to Poland, but many of them were captured by the Germans and sent to forced labour. [3] According to German data from December 1940, there were 1,158 Poles (including 135 Polish Jews) in German-occupied Luxembourg. [3] The Germans also brought Poles from German-occupied Poland to forced labour in Luxembourg. [3] In 1942, Polish Jews from Luxembourg were deported to extermination camps. [3] After the Liberation of Luxembourg, there were some 2,000 Poles in Luxembourg, including 600 displaced persons (excluding the military). [6]
After the war, in September 1945, an agreement was signed to repatriate Poles from Luxembourg to Poland, and Luxembourgers from Poland to Luxembourg. [7] Repatriation took place in the following years.
Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately 40,000 km2 (15,400 sq mi), and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split into two main subregions, Lower Silesia in the west and Upper Silesia in the east. Silesia has a diverse culture, including architecture, costumes, cuisine, traditions, and the Silesian language. The largest city of the region is Wrocław.
Bytom is a city in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland. Located in the Silesian Voivodeship of Poland, the city is 7 km northwest of Katowice, the regional capital.
Płock is a city in central Poland, on the Vistula river, in the Masovian Voivodeship. According to the data provided by GUS on 31 December 2021, there were 116,962 inhabitants in the city. Its full ceremonial name, according to the preamble to the City Statute, is Stołeczne Książęce Miasto Płock. It is used in ceremonial documents as well as for preserving an old tradition.
Ostróda is a town in northern Poland, in the historic region of Masuria. It is the seat of the Ostróda County within the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship and has approximately 33,191 inhabitants (2009).
Zgierz is a city in central Poland, located just to the north of Łódź, and part of the metropolitan area centered on that city. As of 2021, it had a population of 54,974. Located within the historic Łęczyca Land, it is the capital of Zgierz County in the Łódź Voivodeship.
Grajewo is a town in north-eastern Poland with 21,499 inhabitants (2016). It is the capital of Grajewo County within the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is located within the historic region of Masovia, near the border with Podlachia and Masuria.
The Polish diaspora comprises Poles and people of Polish heritage or origin who live outside Poland. The Polish diaspora is also known in modern Polish as Polonia, the name for Poland in Latin and many Romance languages.
Kępno is a town in south-central Poland. It lies on the outskirts of the Greater Poland Voivodeship, bordering the historical region of Silesia and the Łódź Voivodeship. As of December 31, 2009 Kępno had a population of 14,760. One popular attraction in Kępno is the Rynek.
Bełżec is a village in Tomaszów Lubelski County, Lublin Voivodeship, in eastern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina of Gmina Bełżec. It lies approximately 8 kilometres (5 mi) south of Tomaszów Lubelski and 114 km (71 mi) south-east of the regional capital Lublin. It is located in the Roztocze region.
The Holocaust in Poland was the ghettoization, robbery, deportation, and murder of Jews in occupied Poland, organized by Nazi Germany. Three million Polish Jews were murdered, primarily at the Chelmno, Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka, and Auschwitz II–Birkenau extermination camps, representing half of all Jews murdered during the Europe-wide Holocaust.
Szadek is a town in Zduńska Wola County, Łódź Voivodeship, Poland, with 1,898 inhabitants (2020). It is located in the Sieradz Land.
Tuliszkówpronounced[tuˈliʂkuf] is a town in Turek County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, in central Poland, with 3,373 inhabitants (2010).
Lubiąż is a village on the east bank of the Odra (Oder) River, in the administrative district of Gmina Wołów, within Wołów County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It lies approximately 14 kilometres (9 mi) south-west of Wołów, and 42 kilometres (26 mi) west of the regional capital Wrocław.
The Polish population transfers in 1944–1946 from the eastern half of prewar Poland, were the forced migrations of Poles toward the end and in the aftermath of World War II. These were the result of a Soviet Union policy that had been ratified by the main Allies of World War II. Similarly, the Soviet Union had enforced policies between 1939 and 1941 which targeted and expelled ethnic Poles residing in the Soviet zone of occupation following the Nazi-Soviet invasion of Poland. The second wave of expulsions resulted from the retaking of Poland from the Wehrmacht by the Red Army. The USSR took over territory for its western republics.
The Expulsion of Poles by Nazi Germany during World War II was a massive operation consisting of the forced resettlement of over 1.7 million Poles from the territories of German-occupied Poland, with the aim of their Germanization between 1939 and 1944.
The occupation of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union during World War II (1939–1945) began with the German-Soviet invasion of Poland in September 1939, and it was formally concluded with the defeat of Germany by the Allies in May 1945. Throughout the entire course of the occupation, the territory of Poland was divided between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union (USSR), both of which intended to eradicate Poland's culture and subjugate its people. In the summer-autumn of 1941, the lands which were annexed by the Soviets were overrun by Germany in the course of the initially successful German attack on the USSR. After a few years of fighting, the Red Army drove the German forces out of the USSR and crossed into Poland from the rest of Central and Eastern Europe.
Greater Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska, is a Polish historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief and largest city is Poznań followed by Kalisz, the oldest city in Poland.
Poland–Yugoslavia relations were historical foreign relations between Poland and now broken up Yugoslavia.
Luxembourg–Poland relations are bilateral relations between Luxembourg and Poland. Relations focus on trade and cultural and scientific cooperation. Both nations are full members of the European Union, NATO, OECD, OSCE, Council of Europe, World Trade Organization and United Nations.
Poles in Turkmenistan form a small population of 501, according to the 1995 census, and Polish presence in Turkmenistan dates back to the 19th century.
