Not Nothing

Poland, a country in Eastern Europe, regained independence in 1918 at the end of World War I and became the Second Polish Republic. It grew into a multiethnic state of over 27 million people by 1939, when World War II broke out. Like other countries around the world, Poland went through an economic depression in the 1930s. During this time, modernization was the main goal, and democracy was emphasized. Even before Germany invaded Poland, minority groups such as Jews, Ukrainians, Germans, and Belarusians faced discrimination.

On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland from the west. The Soviet Union invaded from the east on September 17 under the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, leading to Poland’s partition and defeat by early October. For years afterward, Poland was divided between brutal Nazi and Soviet occupation, and its citizens were torn between leaving their home country or putting their trust in one of these two extreme political movements. Nazi authorities implemented a systematic campaign to destroy Polish culture and intellectuals such as teachers and lawyers. Universities, libraries, museums, monuments, and schools were closed. The Nazis promoted ethnic division using policies that encouraged violence between Poles, Ukrainians, and Jews. In school, children were taught to obey the German occupation, and the Polish language was banned in public.

During World War II, death was rampant across Poland. Around 2 million non‑Jewish Polish civilians died of preventable disease or starvation, and almost 3 million Jewish citizens were killed in the Holocaust, including at Auschwitz. Millions more were displaced. Poland also lost much of its infrastructure, including historical and religious monuments. During the war, resistance movements such as Zegota and the Home Army worked to protect their people and share information. After the war, Poland was still unable to experience peace, as it was occupied by the Soviet Union until 1991. Poland has been independent ever since.