POLAND 



4724 



POLAND 



paganism for Christianity. During the reign of 

 his successor, Boleslaw the Brave (992-1025), 

 Poland became an independent kingdom, and 

 its territory was enlarged. In succeeding reigns 

 the country was involved in numerous wars 

 with surrounding nations, but it continued to 

 prosper until 1240, when it was invaded by the 

 Mongols, who defeated the Poles, Silesians and 

 Teutonic Knights in the Battle of Liegnitz 

 (April 9, 1241). Poland was then divided into 

 a number of independent principalities, and the 

 dissensions among these petty states caused the 

 loss of much territory. During this period Ger- 

 mans began to settle in the country and took 

 a leading part in developing industries and mu- 

 nicipal institutions. The country was restored 

 under Ladislas I (1306-1333). He abolished 

 many abuses and instituted the Diet, or legis- 

 lative assembly. Under his successor, Casimir 

 the Great (1333-1370), Poland increased rapidly 

 in wealth and in power. 



Casimir was succeeded by his nephew Louis, 

 king of Hungary, whose daughter, Hedwig, be- 

 came queen in 1384. Hedwig married Jagello, 

 prince of Lithuania, and thus established the 

 Jagellon dynasty, which continued to 1572. 

 During this period Poland attained its highest 

 point in wealth and influence. The kingdom 

 extended from the Baltic Sea to the Dneister. 



The last of the Jagellons died without an 

 heir, and from that time the kings were elected 

 by the Diet, which consisted of two houses 

 the Senate, composed of the chief nobles, and 

 the Nuncios, or House of Representatives, com- 

 posed of the inferior nobles. Owing to the 

 jealousy of the nobles, the king was usually 

 chosen from the royal family of some other 

 nation, and a foreign king was not always in 

 full sympathy with the people over whom he 

 was placed. A number of Polish kings, how- 

 ever, were elected, and among the most noted 

 of these was General Sobieski, who became 

 king in 1674 under the title of John III. By 

 his ability as a soldier and statesman Sobieski 

 preserved his country for twenty years from 

 being divided among foreign powers. 



Partitioning oj Poland. The seeds of dissen- 

 sion which led to Poland's downfall had been 

 sown long before Sobieski's day. The condition 

 of the country is thus described by Whitcomb 

 in his History oj Modern Europe: 



A weak state, lying between the rising powers 

 of Russia and Prussia, Poland had little chance 

 of preserving her nationality. The arrogance of 

 her nobles and the faults of her constitution pre- 

 vented her accomplishing the transition from a 

 medieval to a modern state. Poland was a mon- 



archy of twelve million people, ruled by a hun- 

 dred thousand nobles, who lived from the labor 

 of a degraded peasantry. There was no middle 

 class, commerce being in the hands of the Jews, 

 who possessed no political rights. The king was 

 elected and a figurehead ; a curious feature of the 

 constitution was the librum veto, which gave the 

 power to any member of the Diet to annul legis- 

 lation. This alone was sufficient to make any 

 government impossible, and the nobles were too 

 selfish and stupid to permit a change. 



A minor partition occurred in 1667, but what 

 is known as the first partition was in 1772 

 and was deliberately planned by Frederick the 

 Great of Prussia and Catharine II of Rus- 

 sia. Through their influence Poniatowski, a 

 Polish nobleman, was elected king. His elec- 

 tion led to anarchy in Poland, as the enemies 

 of that country had foreseen. This disturbed 

 condition gave Frederick and Catharine an ex- 

 cuse for intervention, which resulted in the ap- 

 propriation of a portion of the country by each. 



The second and third partitions took place 

 during the French Revolution. The second 

 partition was the result of an attempt of Po- 

 niatowski to revise the constitution and abolish 

 the veto power. Catharine of Russia, fearing 

 lest Poland should become a strong state, inter- 

 vened in the interest of the nobles. William II 

 of Prussia, while refusing to aid those favoring 

 a new constitution, shared with Russia in again 

 encroaching on Polish territory. 



The third partition occurred in 1795. The 

 Polish patriot Kosciusko refused to submit to 

 the dismemberment of his country, and he led 

 a national revolt. Poniatowski refused to sup- 

 port the movement, and Poland, divided against 

 itself, fell an easy prey to its enemies. This 

 time the armies of Russia, Prussia and Austria 

 entered the country. Warsaw, the capital, was 

 occupied, the king was forced to abdicate, and 

 all Poland was divided among the invading 

 powers, which retained possession of their re- 

 spective territories until 1914. 



Poland and the War of the Nations. In 1914 

 Poland was invaded by German and Austrian 

 forces, but the invasion was checked by Rus- 

 sian arms before Warsaw was reached. In the 

 summer of 1915 a German "drive" under Von 

 Hindenburg captured Warsaw and drove the 

 Russian army out of the country. Since the 

 retreating Russians devastated the country, so 

 that the enemy might derive no subsistence 

 from it, the people were left in a most wretched 

 condition. Their distress increased with every 

 year of the conflict, and thousands perished of 

 ill-treatment and starvation, in spite of heroic 

 efforts in their behalf. 



