The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established in 1918, in the aftermath of World War I. The Second Republic ceased to exist in 1939, when Poland was invaded by Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union and the Slovak Republic, marking the beginning of the European theatre of World War II.
Radom is a city in east-central Poland, located approximately 100 kilometres south of the capital, Warsaw. It is situated on the Mleczna River in the Masovian Voivodeship, having previously been the seat of a separate Radom Voivodeship (1975–1998). Radom is the fourteenth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest in its province with a population of 209,296 as of 2020.
Gliwice is a city in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland. The city is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Kłodnica river. It lies approximately 25 km west from Katowice, the regional capital of the Silesian Voivodeship.
Rzeszów is the largest city in southeastern Poland. It is located on both sides of the Wisłok River in the heartland of the Sandomierz Basin. Rzeszów has been the capital of the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (province) since 1 January 1999, and is also the seat of Rzeszów County.
Tarnów is a city in southeastern Poland with 107,498 inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of 269,000 inhabitants. The city is situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship since 1999. From 1975 to 1998, it was the capital of the Tarnów Voivodeship. It is a major rail junction, located on the strategic east–west connection from Lviv to Kraków, and two additional lines, one of which links the city with the Slovak border. Tarnów is known for its traditional Polish architecture, which was strongly influenced by foreign cultures and foreigners that once lived in the area, most notably Jews, Germans and Austrians. The entire Old Town, featuring 16th century tenements, houses and defensive walls, has been fully preserved. Tarnów is also the warmest city of Poland, with the highest long-term mean annual temperature in the whole country.
Ustka is a town in the Middle Pomerania region of northwestern Poland with 17,100 inhabitants (2001). It is also part of Słupsk County in Pomeranian Voivodeship since 1999, and was previously in Słupsk Voivodeship (1975–1998).
Opoczno(listen)) is a town in south-central Poland, in eastern part of Łódź Voivodeship, previously in Piotrków Trybunalski Voivodeship (1975–1998). It has a long and rich history, and in the past it used to be one of the most important urban centers of northwestern Lesser Poland. Currently, Opoczno is an important road and rail junction; its patron saint is Saint Cecilia, and the town is famous across Poland for its folklore.
Świdnik is a town in southeastern Poland with 40,186 inhabitants (2012), situated in the Lublin Voivodeship, 10 kilometres southeast of the city of Lublin. It is the capital of Świdnik County. Świdnik belongs to the historic province of Lesser Poland, and was first mentioned in historical records in the year 1392. It remained a village until the end of the 19th century when it began to develop as a spa, due to its location and climate.
Puławy is a city in eastern Poland, in Lesser Poland's Lublin Voivodeship, at the confluence of the Vistula and Kurówka Rivers. Puławy is the capital of Puławy County. The city's 2019 population was estimated at 47,417. From 1846 to 1918, during the partitions of Poland, it was known as Nowa Aleksandria, or Nowo Aleksandria. Its coat of arms is the Pahonia.
Stalowa Wola is the largest city and capital of Stalowa Wola County with a population of 60,179 inhabitants, as of 30 VI 2020. It is located in southeastern Poland in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship. The city lies in historic Lesser Poland, near the confluence of the Vistula and San rivers and covers an area of 82.5 km2 (31.9 sq mi). Stalowa Wola is one of the youngest cities of Poland. It was built from scratch in the late 1930s, in the forests surrounding the village of Pławo. The city was designed to be a settlement for workers of Huta Stalowa Wola, a plant built as part of the Central Industrial Region. Stalowa Wola is home to the sports club Stal Stalowa Wola.
Suwałki(listen) is a city in northeastern Poland with a population of 69,210 (2011). It is the capital of Suwałki County and one of the most important centers of commerce in the Podlaskie Voivodeship. Suwałki is the largest city and the capital of the historical Suwałki Region. Until 1999 it was the capital of Suwałki Voivodeship. Suwałki is located about 30 kilometres from the southwestern Lithuanian border and gives its name to the Polish protected area known as Suwałki Landscape Park. The Czarna Hańcza river flows through the city.
Lutsk is a city on the Styr River in northwestern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Volyn Oblast (province) and the administrative center of the surrounding Lutsk Raion (district) within the oblast, though it is not a part of the raion. Lutsk has the status of a city of oblast significance, equivalent to that of a raion, and a population of 217,197 .
Baranavichy is a city in the Brest Region of western Belarus, with a population of 179,000. It is notable for an important railway junction and is home to Baranavichy State University. Baranavichy is a large railway junction in the Brest Region.
Polskie Radio Spółka Akcyjna is Poland's national public-service radio broadcasting organization owned by the State Treasury of Poland.
In the summer of 1939, weeks ahead of the Nazi German and Soviet invasion of Poland the map of both Europe and Poland looked very different from today. The railway network of interwar Poland had little in common with the postwar reality of dramatically changing borders and political domination of the Soviet-style communism, as well as the pre-independence German, Austrian and Russian networks which the Second Polish Republic had partially inherited in 1918 after the end of World War I. The most important junctions in the Polish territory in summer of 1939 were:
The pioneers of radio in Poland were army officers. These were Poles who served in the German, Austrian and Russian armies in the World War I. In the fall of 1918, shortly after the war, these experts started organizing Polish radio. On November 4, 1918, in Kraków, a field station, previously used by the Austrian army, sent the first Polish radio signals. Soon, more field stations – this time German — were captured by the Poles in Warsaw and Poznań. Obviously, at first radio was used for military purposes only. Knowledge of Polish experts in this field was used to a great effect during the 1920 Polish-Soviet War.
Nowogródek Voivodeship was a unit of administrative division of the Second Polish Republic between 1919 and 1939, with the capital in Nowogródek. Following German and Soviet Invasion of Poland of September 1939, Poland's borders were redrawn in accordance with the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. The Nowogródek Voivodeship was incorporated into the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic in an atmosphere of terror, following staged elections. With the end of World War II, at the insistence of Joseph Stalin at the Tehran Conference of 1943, the area remained in Soviet hands, and the Polish population was soon forcibly resettled. Since 1991, most part of it belongs to the sovereign Republic of Belarus.
Wołyń Voivodeship or Volhynian Voivodeship was an administrative region of interwar Poland (1918–1939) with an area of 35,754 km², 22 cities, and provincial capital in Łuck. The voivodeship was divided into 11 districts (powiaty). The area comprised part of the historical region of Volhynia. At the end of World War II, at the insistence of Joseph Stalin and the Soviet Union during the Tehran Conference of 1943, Poland's borders were redrawn by the Allies. The Polish population was forcibly resettled westward; and the Voivodeship territory was incorporated into the Ukrainian SSR of the Soviet Union. Since 1991 it has been divided between the Rivne and Volyn Oblasts of sovereign Ukraine.
Polish Radio Lwów was a station of the Polish Radio, located in the city of Lwów, which in the interbellum period belonged to the Second Polish Republic. It was regarded as the second most popular station of the Polish Radio, behind Radio Warsaw.
The city of Białystok has existed for over five centuries, during which time the fate of the city has passed between various political and economic forces.
