Polish people, or Poles, are a West Slavic ethnic group and nation who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in Central Europe. The preamble to the Constitution of the Republic of Poland defines the Polish nation as comprising all the citizens of Poland, regardless of heritage or ethnicity. The majority of Poles adhere to Roman Catholicism.
According to the 2021 Romanian census, 2,137 Poles live in Romania, mainly in the villages of Suceava County. There are three exclusively Polish villages, as follows: Nowy Sołoniec, Plesza (Pleșa), and Pojana Mikuli, as well a significant Polish presence in Kaczyca (Cacica) and Paltynosa (Păltinoasa). There is also a relatively sizable number of ethnic Poles living in the county seat, Suceava.
Union of Poles in Germany is an organisation of the Polish minority in Germany, founded in 1922. In 1924, the union initiated collaboration between other minorities, including Sorbs, Danes, Frisians and Lithuanians, under the umbrella organization Association of National Minorities in Germany. From 1939 until 1945 the Union was outlawed in Nazi Germany. After 1945 it had lost some of its influence; in 1950 the Union of Poles in Germany split into two organizations: the Union of Poles in Germany, which refused to recognize the communist Polish government of the Polish United Workers' Party, and the Union of Poles "Zgoda" (Unity), which recognized the new communist government in Warsaw and had contacts with it. The split was healed in 1991. The organization is a member of the Federal Union of European Nationalities.
Poland does not use the euro as its currency. However, under the terms of their Treaty of Accession with the European Union, all new Member States "shall participate in the Economic and Monetary Union from the date of accession as a Member State with a derogation", which means that Poland is obliged to eventually replace its currency, the złoty, with the euro.
Henryk Zieliński was a Polish historian and professor at the University of Wrocław.
Stanisław Andrzej Michalkiewicz is a Polish far-right political commentator, lawyer, former politician, opposition activist in the communist Polish People's Republic, and book author.
The Poles in Lithuania, also called Lithuanian Poles, estimated at 183,000 people in the Lithuanian census of 2021 or 6.5% of Lithuania's total population, are the country's largest ethnic minority.
Schutzmannschaft Battalion 202 was a failed collaborationist auxiliary police battalion in the General Government during World War II. It was made up of 360 conscripts with German leadership. The unit was created in Kraków on March 27, 1942 with recruitment beginning in May. Only two Polish men volunteered. As a result, the Germans resorted to conscription from the regular Polish city-police called Einheimische Polizei. Once in Volhynia, the battalion stationed in Łuck originally. Soon later, in around Kostopol, half the members deserted to Polish resistance 27th Home Army Infantry Division, in defence of ethnic Polish population against the UPA massacres, and also committed a number of crimes against the civilian population, participating in the pacification of Ukrainian villages. Additional 60 Poles were rounded up and executed by the Nazis for mutiny.
Andrzej Witold Nowak is a Polish historian and opinion journalist.
Union of Poles in Lithuania is an organization formed in 1989 to bring together members of Polish minority in Lithuania. It numbers between 6,000 to 11,000 members. It defends the civil rights of the Polish minority and engages in educational, cultural and economic activities. It is the largest Polish organization in Lithuania, and was created in 1990.
Adam Ignacy Koc was a Polish politician, MP, soldier, journalist and Freemason. Koc, who had several noms de guerre, fought in Polish units in World War I and in the Polish–Soviet War.
Polish people in Lebanon may refer to people born in or residing in Lebanon of full or partial Polish origin. They are a small group in Lebanon. Almost all of which live in Beirut.
Since the fall of communism in 1989, the nature of migration to and from Poland has been in flux. After Poland's accession to the European Union and accession to the Schengen Area in particular, a significant number of Poles, estimated at over two million, have emigrated, primarily to the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Ireland. The majority of them, according to the Central Statistical Office of Poland, left in search of better work opportunities abroad while retaining permanent resident status in Poland itself.
The 2019 Four Nationals Figure Skating Championships included the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, and Hungary. It took place on December 14–15, 2018 in Budapest, Hungary. The results were split by country; the three highest-placing skaters from each country formed their national podiums in men's singles, ladies' singles, and ice dancing. The results were among the criteria used to determine international assignments.
Jan Krzysztof Żaryn is a Polish historian, professor and politician, who was a Senator in the Senate of Poland from 2015 to 2019.
A Polish withdrawal from the European Union, or Polexit, is the name given to a hypothetical Polish withdrawal from the European Union. The term was coined after Brexit, the process of Britain's withdrawal from the EU which took place between 2016 and 2020. Opinion polls held in the country, between 2016 and 2021, indicated majority support for continued membership of the European Union (EU). A 2022 survey indicated that "[at] least eight-in-ten adults in Poland" believed that the EU "promotes peace, democratic values and prosperity". The 2023 Polish parliamentary election was won by a coalition of predominantly pro-EU parties.
Marian Kałuski - Polish-Australian journalist, writer, historian and traveler.
The Independence March is an annual patriotic and nationalist demonstration in Warsaw held on Poland's Independence Day, November 11. Since 2011, the March has attracted annually up to 10 thousand participants. In 2020, the March was organized similar to one of a car procession. Major participating organizations have included the Confederation, the National Radical Camp, the All-Polish Youth and Law and Justice.
The Malaya Berestavitsa massacre happened in middle of September 1939 in the village of Malaya Byerastavitsa, during the Soviet Invasion of Poland. During that event, between 8 and 50 Polish villagers were murdered by pro-communist militia mainly made up of Jewish Belarusians.
