Poland: A history

A very interesting book

Would I have read this if Noel, my son, had not married Gosia and into a Polish family? No. Would I have read it if three visits to Bydgoszcz and one to Turan and Gdansk had not mesmerised me with the depth of Polish culture and history? Probably not. Was it an easy read? Definitely not. Was it humbling at my ignorance of the Poland: the Polish influence on the development of European democracy, and of the integration of Lithuanian, Jewish, Ukrainian, Russian, Prussian and Polish peoples in an extended empire and of the struggle between the Roman Vatican with the Lutherans? Yes it was. Does the strength of the Catholic Church, which has remained strong among Polish speaking Poles, but not German speaking, throughout Polish history, live on? It seems so despite 40 years of communist rule., Was it worth the read? Absolutely definitely irrespective whether your son has married a Polish girl or you have been to Poland three times this year or you are as ignorant as I was about the march of history in Europe. By the 15th century Poland was a Christian state with developed institutions and strong constitutional instincts. The power of the English or French lord which was derived from the crown and fitted into a system of vasselage was never adopted in Poland. The highest estates were the szlachta who inherited both status and land. They were independent magistrates over their own lands. They upheld customary laws of the country, the Ius Polonicum, based entirely on precedent and resisted attempts at the imposition of foreign legal practices. Beneath the szlatcha there were a class with noble status, the wlodyki, and a yeoman class, the panoze, and then peasants. But the peasants were free and able to move to higher classes. By the end of the 15th century the Polish Jagielkans ruled over one third of the entire European mainland. Whilst this empire disintegrated in subsequent centuries, the szlatcha assumed a greater share in the running of their lands. The principle of government by consensus was enshrined in practice. The szlatcha included Lithuanian nobles, Ruthen boyars, Prussian and Baltic gentry of German origin, as well as Tartars, Moldavians, Italians, Magyars and Bohemians. They extended from the top to the bottom of the economic scale and they represented a wider cross section than any enfranchised class in any European country. To be a member of the szlatcha was like being a Roman citizen. The king was, in effect a functionary, his power was not arbitrary and he was not above the law. Up to the nineteenth century the Polish Commonwealth had sheltered four-fifths of the world’s Jews who coexisted alongside the Szlatcha although without the rights. Napoleon’s fateful invasion of Russia had a catastrophic effect on Poland as the Poles sided with Napoleon. By 1813 and the defeat of Napoleon, Poland had been removed from the map divided between the Russians, the Prussians and the Austrian Empire. All this ancient history was interesting so long as you were wide awake. When it came to the 20th century the book became morbidly fascinating. In 1918 Poland was resurrected as a nation state based on linguistic, cultural and religious traditions. But only 69% were Poles. Ukrainians, Jews and Germans were heavily represented. On the 1st September 1939 Germany invaded and, with the Soviet Union, split Poland along the Ribbentrop- Molotov line. Full blown military operations would end in 1945, but it was not until 1989 that modern Poland gained its independence. The forced migrations and ethnic cleansing of millions of Poles and Jews during the war were on an unimaginable scale. That was followed by the joys of Stalin’s Soviet rule after the war. A glint of light appeared on 14th August 1980 when a dismissed electrical fitter climbed into the Lenin shipyards in Gdansk to lead a strike over the dismissal of a fellow worker, Anna Walentynowicz. His name was Lech Walensa. His immense popularity and charisma together with the high profile of Pope John Paul on the international scene and the determined attitude of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan prevented a potentially catastrophic invasion by the Soviet Union. President Jaruzelski was desparate to prevent such an invasion so he declared martial law and arrested over 5,000 of his opposition and removed the jobs of many others. By 1989 Jaruzelski was gone and modern Poland established. Modern Poland is the product of its history. The Mum and Dad of my daughter in law, Gosia, remained nostalgic about the security of jobs and healthcare provided under communist times, but the Poles remain fearful of Russia. NATO, not the European Union, is their most important connection with the west. Poland now seems an ethnically homogenous Polish society, proud of its culture and heritage with no sympathy for refugees and migrants. Educated hardworking youngsters leave for the bright lights and money to be earned in Britain, but remain responsible for remitting some of their newfound wealth to their relatives in Poland. A monumental book

Excellent book, very well written, detailed and a bit of an eye-opener. My only gripe is that chronologically it can be a bit staggered in places. The book is arranged by topic rather than a straight chronological account which does make it more interesting to read but in a few places the reader can be a little taken aback when you're reading about developments in the early 20th C. and then suddenly within the same topic you're suddenly back at 1849, but it doesn't hinder it as a piece overall. Would thoroughly recommend it to anyone interested in European history. As it turns out Poland had, at times, a very pivotal, progressive piece to play in affairs on the continent as a whole and for anyone who regards Poland as a 'new' country or somewhere any less civilised than the more well-known powers (including England). Even when this was not the case, the reader will be surprised to learn how much culture was absorbed by Poland as well as how much it reciprocated, often being way ahead of its time. in matters social, political and cultural.

Polands complete history from Middle Ages to Present time . As mentioned it is a must for anyone interested in Polish, Baltics and Central European history. Gathered nicely by the writer with adding personal consultations and understandings on factual events. Well written and broken into chapters, which can be read separately. If you’re planning a trip to Baltic’s or Poland it self than this is must read. I’ve recently learned a lot and I’d thought I knew European history and that of Poland well.

This book was very well written and covered an awful lot of ground in a readable, engaging way. I had no idea Polish history was so rich and interesting. The characters come alive, and I always looked forward to picking up this book when I had some free time. Wish every history book was so engaging. If I could change one thing: I felt like it spent too much time, as a proportion of the book, covering the most recent history.. I would have preferred a little less time on post WWII/ Communism, and a little more on some of the other fascinating eras which I am sure could always have more space. But this is a minor complaint. Its a great book overall. Highly recommend to any history buff. I even gave my copy to a Polish friend, because I felt better informed than him afterwards.

Gute Aufarbeitung der Geschichte

ミシェコ１世から始まる、非常に真っ当なポーランド史です。 Wikipediaで見ればたった１行しか無いような内容でも、どれだけの歴史がそこに含まれていたかって ことですね.... なかなか普段使わない単語が多いので、Kindleの辞書機能をふんだんに使いまくっています。 iPadAirのKindleではマーカーを４色使えますから、 固有名詞 ：赤 形容詞、名詞：青 動詞 ：黄 重要文章 ：橙 と使い分ける事で普段洋書を読んでいますが、この本の場合は兎に角も単語が難しいので、４色マーカー が入り乱れてしまいます...（通常の本では、殆ど黄色しか使わないで済むのですが...） 歴代の王様の家系図とかもあるのですが、文中では「◎１世」という正式な言い方をしてくれないので、 今のこの説明はミシェコ１世のことなのかミシェコ２世のことなのかどっちなんだ？と迷う事が多々あります。

Very insightful book. Thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

Esta es mas una critica a Amazon que al libro editado en papel. El texto es claro, bien expuesto y altamente informativo. Como suele ser la norma en toda la historiografía actual escrita por polacos, se presenta siempre al país como una esencia eterna, victima siempre de malvados enemigos, inocente absoluto y precursor de todos los progresos democráticos. Falta bastante crítica a todos los aspectos negros de dicha historia. Lo que hace al libro, en su versión Kindle, absolutamente inservible para entender los múltiples cambios en el territorio y las relaciones dinásticas es que, tanto los mapas como los cuadros genealógicos.son absolutamente ilegibles, tanto en el propio dispositivo Kindle como en el ordenador. Amazon, dadas las limitaciones de su sistema Kindle para presentar imágenes, debía tener la honradez de no editar en dicho formato libros en los que las imágenes son esenciales; o al menos advertir de ello.

Reads more like a novel than a nonfiction summary history. Highly recommend if you are looking for a surface level thousand year history of Poland. Especially for travel or simply expanding general knowledge. Gives equal overview for historical periods without focusing too much on World War II and the communist era.