Poland

In June 1941, Hitler's army invaded Russia and gave Stalin reson to organized Polish armies to defend the Soviet Union. By the summer of 1944, the Soviets had begun to drive the Nazis out of Poland and a provisional government was established in Lublin. In May 1945, both the Polish and Soviet armies entered Berlin and the war was soon over.

The Polish Government of National Unity was established in June 1945. It was officially recognized by the United States and Great Britain after both countries were promised by Stalin at Yalta that he would allow free elections in Poland. Under the terms of the Potsdam conference, Poland acquired former German territories in the west, but lost land in the east to the USSR.

During 1946 to 1947, Communist strength in the Polish government increased. In the parlimentary elections of 1947, the Communists and Socialists won 85% of the vote. The elections were declared not "free and unfettered" by the United States.

In the fall of 1948, the government began purges of officials who approved of Yugoslavis's defience to the oppression of the Soviets. Among those purged was Secretary Gereral of the party and first deputy premier, Wladyslaw Golmulka. The Communists and Socalists then formed the United Workers' Party. Poland would later join the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance and the Warsaw Pact, which were both organizations dominated by the Soviets.

After the death of Stalin in 1953, more demands for reform and freedom were made. In 1956, a demonstration in Poznan resulted in the deaths of 53 people and triggered an uprising in Hungary. In October, Golmulka, who was readmitted to the party, became first secretary.

In 1968, demands from students and intellectuals for liberal reforms similar to those being allowed in Czechoslovakia resulted in severe government repression which led to furthere populare discontent. The Polish government joined other Warsaw Pact members in a condemnation of the Czechoslovakian reforms and participated in the occupation by sending 45,000 troops to Czechoslovakia.

After a crippling eonomic crisis that resulted in riots, arson and looting by workers in six major cities, Golmulka was removed from the Politburo and Edward Gierek became party secretary. Although Ploand improved relations with West, its national political life came to a standstill.

In the summer of 1980, solidarity inspired strikes by workers in Gdansk and other Baltic seaports paralyzed the country and led to the resignation of Gierek, who was succeeded by Stanislaw Kania. The strikes forced Communist leaders to make huge concessions. However, in 1981 General Wojciech Jaruzelski was made premier and then party chief. He imposed martial law in responce to demands from the Solidarity movement for reform. Solidarity's leader, Lech Walesa, was arrested and the movement was suspended by the government and forced underground.

In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev became Kremlin leader and reforms were made possible. Lech Walesa and Solidarity, along with Pope John Paul II, the Church, and ordinary citizens, negotiated and agreement with Jaruzelshi's reformist communists in 1989. Acoalition government was formed in which Tadeasy Mazoweicki, an aid to Walesa, was named premier and the Communists controlled the defense and interior ministries. the communist system was slowly dissolved and a transition to democracy began.

Walesa was elected president in the 1990 election. However, he was unsure of what to make of the role and the office of president. This led to an ambiguous, confusing and unstable political prosess. In the 1993 elections the communist successor parties benefited from the socioeconomic sost of converting a cummunist economy to a capitalist one. In elections in the fall of 1995, Alexander Kwasniewski, a socialist, ran against Walesa and won.

Since its independence, Poland has become one of the most prosperous former Soviet satellites. It has joined the council of Europe and will become a full member of the European Union in 2002. Poland is also amember of NATO's Partnership for Peace (PfP) program and, along with Hungary and the Czech Republic, is expected to recieve an invitation to join NATO.