In the article I would like to recommend to you, I am trying to do the impossible. I am trying to outline Poland’s history on just one page. On one hand, it is difficult to treat such an attempt seriously, but, on the other hand, such a frivolous text may arouse in the reader genuine interest in the topic which has just been touched upon, which I quietly hope for.

The year 966, when Poland accepted Christianity and became a fully-recognised European country, is considered to be the beginning of the Polish state. Historians are unanimous that the main factor which influenced Poland’s history from that time on as well as the way in which its identity was shaped was its geographical location. Poland is situated in the very centre of Europe - between the West and the East. The significance of this location has been interpreted in numerous ways. On some occasions, Poland was treated as the bulwark of the West, on others, as the bridge between the West and the East. Although, since the very beginning, Poland’s statehood developed under the influence of Latin, i.e. western culture, it has to be emphasised that eastern influences were equally strong. Over the years, Poland looked towards the East more and more. This tendency culminated in the 16th century, when Poland formed a union with Lithuania, its eastern neighbour, as a result of which a vast multinational country was created. On one hand, that moment became the manifestation of the Polish state’s power: At that time, the Jagiellonian dynasty was one of the most important royal families in Europe, since 1364 a university had been operating in Kraków, Poland maintained active scientific and cultural contacts with the leading Renaissance centres in Europe, enjoyed military successes and had a really sound economy based on farming. On the other hand, however, during the time of prosperity the balance was upset. Poland gradually began to turn its back on the West. What constituted its strength for the whole centuries started to be the burden, and the modernisation tendencies significantly weakened. Dynamic development of cities, increase in the importance of the bourgeoisie, reformation, gradual decrease in the importance of farming, that is the changes which have contributed to the shaping of the modern identity of the Western Europe, ceased to reach Poland. Although Polish gentry enjoyed a specific form of democracy and numerous privileges itself, it did not even consider giving up its feudal privileges. It believed that the old order will remain the guarantor of prosperity and safety forever. The bourgeois and farmers, that is the vast majority of society, were effectively marginalised by the gentry. Additionally, the political situation in Europe had changed. New superpowers were being born. In the east, Russia was slowly becoming powerful. In the west and north, Prussia was stronger and stronger, whereas in the south, Austria. The absence of reforms, as well as the economic, military and social collapse of Poland enabled the neighbouring superpowers to easily conquer it, as a result of which in the second half of the 18th century Poland lost independence, and its land was partitioned among three completely different countries. The differences were so significant that they influence individual regions of Poland even today. Poles’ national identity underwent a difficult test. Thanks to great intellectual and spiritual effort, Polish culture managed to develop a new type of national identity, which was not connected with territorial and politically independent sovereign state. At that time, Poland did not exist as a state, but Polish culture, which became an alternative for political sovereignty, flourished. Poles learnt to live against the existing order. Since then, being a Pole was tantamount to being against and being outside the official order. The cultural development, which took place mainly among émigrés, was accompanied by military uprisings in Poland. All of them failed and became the symbol of national sacrifice, but enfeebled society. Poland regained independence as late as after the WW I, thanks to pragmatic politics which was, this time, supported by effective military operations. Poland started reforms. They were not easy – they were accompanied by political turbulence, e.g. coup d'etat and the Polish-Bolshevik war won by the Poles. Nevertheless, the country’s situation was gradually improving. Unfortunately, Poles could not continue the reforms. In 1939, Poland was attacked first from the west by Germany, and then from the east by the Soviet Union. Due to the passivity of the western allies, the Polish army was defeated, and the country lost independence again. Despite the fact that Poland contributed to the allies’ military victory, it did not mean independence for the Poles. Under the new political arrangements, Poland became part of the Soviet sphere of influence. The communist era started in Poland. The system gradually evolved. Initially, it was extremely brutal, but after Stalin’s death there was a thaw and the situation in Poland started slowly to change - the regime became less brutal, but people were still killed, and the independent thought was consistently suppressed. The political changes were forced by social discontent caused by economic reasons. In fact, workers protested against poverty, not against communism. Not many people understood that the poverty did not result from mistakes of concrete individuals but from the communist system as such. The protests were gradually joined by intellectuals. Over time, the cooperation between workers and intellectuals became closer and led to the establishment of Solidarity. Solidarity is still a trade union, but in the communist system it was primarily the first organisation which was independent of the communist authorities. The movement was supported by people who had radically different visions of Poland’s future development. This was due to the fact that Solidarity was the protest movement and did not have positive, constructive agenda – which was proved after the first democratic elections, when former friends who fought the common enemy turned out to be opponents in the political debate of the already independent Poland. Toppling communism in Poland was bloodless. There were no riots – the wave of strikes and the economic collapse which was irreparable in the command economy forced the communists to negotiate. During the conference called the Round Table, the communists worked out with the opposition the conditions for handing over power. The compromise was, undoubtedly, a success. It, to some extent, eliminated the ill fate that always dogged Poland - the need to be against. Unfortunately, there was a price to be paid for the compromise. People who, over the years, profited from communism, which was, undoubtedly, a criminal system in Poland, gained access to political and economic life in democratic Poland. Communism’s victims have found it very difficult to accept. Therefore, communism still hangs over the social and political life in Poland, but it cannot obscure the fact that the last 20 years have been the period of great prosperity for the country and society. Poles’ standard of living is improving fast, and they have to define their place in Europe again. Nevertheless, Poland will always remain a country between the West and the East. The question as to whether it will be able to skilfully benefit from this location is still open.

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