Following the Invasion of Poland at the beginning of World War II, nearly a quarter of the entire territory of the Second Polish Republic was annexed by Nazi Germany and placed directly under the German civil administration. The rest of Nazi-occupied Poland was renamed as the General Government district. The annexation was part of the "fourth partition of Poland" by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, outlined months before the invasion, in the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact.
Pruszków is a city in east-central Poland, situated in the Masovian Voivodeship since 1999. It was previously in Warszawa Voivodeship (1975–1998). Pruszków is the capital of Pruszków County, located along the western edge of the Warsaw urban area.
Western Belorussia or Western Belarus is a historical region of modern-day Belarus which belonged to the Second Polish Republic during the interwar period. For twenty years before the 1939 invasion of Poland, it was the northern part of the Polish Kresy macroregion. Following the end of World War II in Europe, most of Western Belorussia was ceded to the Soviet Union by the Allies, while some of it, including Białystok, was given to the Polish People's Republic. Until the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Western Belorussia formed the western part of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR). Today, it constitutes the west of modern Belarus.
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 Greeks in Kazakhstan are mainly the descendants of Pontic Greeks who were deported there by Joseph Stalin, from southern Russia and the Caucasus region, at first the Crimean Greeks on 1944, under the resolution 5984 of June 2, 1944. then the Caucasus Greeks in June 1949, Feb 1950, Aug 1950. The total number of deported persons was about 60,000 people.
Poles in Kazakhstan form one portion of the Polish diaspora in the former Soviet Union. Slightly less than half of Kazakhstan's Poles live in the Karaganda region, with another 2,500 in Astana, 1,200 in Almaty, and the rest scattered throughout rural regions.
There is a long history of Poles in Azerbaijan. Although the current Polish population of the Republic of Azerbaijan is lower than in former times, the number of people with Polish descent in the capital city Baku is around 2,000 and several thousand self-identified Poles live in Azerbaijan. Poles as an ethnic group have lived in Azerbaijan for centuries. The Russian Empire included Azerbaijan and parts of Poland, thus it could deport members of opposition of Polish nationality there, which explains the presence of Poles in Azerbaijan.
Around 6 million Polish citizens perished during World War II: about one fifth of the pre-war population. Most were civilian victims of the war crimes and crimes against humanity during the occupation by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. Approximately half were Polish Jews killed in The Holocaust. Statistics for Polish World War II casualties are divergent and contradictory. This article provides a summarization of these estimates of Poland's human losses in the war and their causes.
The Monument to the Fallen and Murdered in the East is a monument in Warsaw, Poland which commemorates the victims of the Soviet invasion of Poland during World War II and subsequent repressions. It was unveiled on 17 September 1995, on the 56th anniversary of the Soviet invasion of 1939.
Kazakhstan–Poland relations refer to bilateral relations between Kazakhstan and Poland. Relations focus on growing trade and politicial cooperation. Both countries are members of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, World Trade Organization and United Nations.
Kyrgyzstan–Poland relations are bilateral relations between Kyrgyzstan and Poland. Both nations are full members of the OSCE, World Trade Organization and United Nations.
Poland–Tajikistan relations are bilateral relations between Poland and Tajikistan. Both nations are full members of the OSCE, World Trade Organization and United Nations.
Poland–Turkmenistan relations are bilateral relations between Poland and Turkmenistan. Both nations are full members of the OSCE and United Nations.
Poland–Uzbekistan relations are bilateral relations between Poland and Uzbekistan. The countries enjoy good relations, based on growing trade, and political and educational cooperation. Both nations are full members of the OSCE and United Nations.
Poles in Armenia form a small population of a few hundred, and are part of the Polish diaspora of the Caucasus region, with first Poles coming to Armenia in the 16th century.
Poles in Georgia form a population estimated at 6,000, and are part of the Polish diaspora of the Caucasus region. Polish presence in Georgia dates back to the 18th century.
Poles in Uzbekistan form a small population, although historically the second most numerous Polish diaspora of Central Asia. Polish presence in Uzbekistan dates back to the 19th century.
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.
Poles in Kyrgyzstan form a small population, part of the Polish diaspora in Central Asia. Polish presence in Kyrgyzstan dates back to the 19th century.
Poles in Buryatia form part of the Polish diaspora in Siberia. Polish presence in Buryatia dates back over 300 years.
