Archeological evidence supports the theory that Slavic tribes inhabited the Vistula River basin as early as the 2nd millennium BC. The tribes migrated in many directions from the Vistula basin and eventually formed differentiated groups referred to as East, South, and West Slavs. Several West Slavic tribes united to form small states between the years 800 and 960. One of these came to be ruled by the Piast dynasty which united the region commonly known as Greater Poland (Great Poland). The year 966 is accepted as the founding date of Poland, when the Piast ruler Mieszko I converted from paganism to Christianity, and officially submitted to the authority of the Holy See. A few decades later, the tribes of southern Poland united into Lesser Poland (Little Poland). In 1047 both Great Poland and Little Poland recognized the Piast ruler Casimir I the Restore as their duke. The Piast dynasty continued to rule Poland until 1386, at which time Jogaila (Jagiełło) Grand Duke of Lithuania, married Jadwiga, the crown princess of the Piasts, and thus founded the ruling Jagiellon dynasty of Poland and Lithuania. Jagiellon heirs reigned over Poland and Lithuania until 1572. Poland's union with Lithuania enabled it to become the dominant power in east-central Europe during the 15^th and early 16^th centuries. The Jagiellon monarchs ruled Hungary and Bohemia for much of that time and repelled such powerful enemies as the Knights of the Teutonic Order, the Ottoman Turks, and the Grand Principality of Moscow. Poland's kings had to make growing concessions to the kingdom's landed gentry, however, who in turn used their powers to enserf the peasantry.

Following the end of the Jagiellon dynasty in 1572, the Polish nobility elected their kings from various royal houses of Europe, as well as from native Polish aristocratic families. The resulting succession of weak or inattentive rulers let power fall increasingly into the hands of the contentious and self-seeking Polish landed gentry, and thus the strength of the Polish-Lithuanian state was sapped just as powerful neighbours were once again reviving on the nation's borders.

Poland managed to suppress a great rebellion of Tatars and Cossacks on its southeastern frontier in the 1650s, but Sweden invaded Poland in 1655 (the Deluge) and forced the cession of considerable territory in 1660. Poland then became embroiled in continuing conflicts with Russia and Sweden, while internally the Polish state succumbed to economic backwardness.

In 1772 the first of three partitions of Poland occurred, and more than one-quarter of Poland's territory was seized by Russia, Austria and Prussia. The second partition occurred in 1793 as Poland lost additional lands to Russia and Prussia. The third partition of Poland took place in 1795, and Poland was eradicated from the political geography of Europe and replaced by Austrian, Prussian and Russian sectors.

In 1815 the Kingdom of Poland was established, with its own governmental system and army, within the Russian empire. The Polish people unsuccessfully revolted against tsarist oppression in 1830, 1846 and 1863. These revolts led to a policy of Russification in the educational system. Following the Russian example, the German chancellor Otto von Bismarck instituted a strict policy of Germanized education in the Prussian sector: only in the Austrian sector was Polish autonomy somewhat recognized.

Following World War I and the Russian Revolution of 1917, an independent Poland was established by the Allies in 1918 out of territories taken from Germany, Austria and Russia. In 1939 Germany invaded and occupied the western two-thirds of Poland, while the Soviet Union occupied the remainder. When Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, all of Poland came under Nazi rule. Germany's occupation policy in Poland was designed to eradicate Polish culture through mass executions.

In the winter of 1944-45, the Soviet Red Army drove the Germans from Polish soil. Under Red Army protection, a provisional Polish government headed by communists was established. In 1945 Poland's boundaries we redrawn: the revived nation lost large territories in the east to the Soviet Union, but gained significant territories in the west from defeated Germany. Meanwhile, the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin wanted to place Poland firmly into the Soviet orbit. To this end, the Polish communists under their leader, Bolesław Bierut, curtailed free elections, launched mass arrests of anticommunists, collectivized Polish farms, and nationalized the nation's industries. The communist Polish United Workers' Party was officially formed in 1948 to rule the country, and in 1952 a Soviet-style constitution was adopted. Poland was firmly in the grip of Stalinist totalitarianism.

In 1956 Polish workers went on a general strike that was suppressed by force. In August 1980 strikes led by Lech Wałęsa erupted at the Gdańsk shipyards and quickly spread to other cities. The striking workers formed an illegal union - Solidarity - which won concessions from the government. It pressed for more concessions amid continuing strikes, and in response Jaruzelski, the defense minister, declared martial law in December 1981. Solidarity's hard-won legal status was terminated, its leadership was arrested. Martial law was lifted 18 months later, but the government continued to exercise tight control over its domestic opposition.

In the following years Poland's economy did not improve, and renewed labour unrest in 1988 prompted Jaruzelski to undertake a radical change of course and approve negotiations with the outlawed Solidarity movement. In April 1989 negotiations resulted in far-reaching reforms of Poland's political system that allowed a newly legalized Solidarity to participate in free elections to a bicameral National Assembly. After Solidarity's overwhelming victory in these elections Solidarity formed a coalition government with the communists, who later converted to Social Democracy. In subsequent months the new government enacted radical plans to transform Poland's centrally planned economy into a free-enterprise economy.

archeological evidence	dane archeologiczne, dowody a.
Slavic tribes… tribes migrated	plemiona słowiańskie… migrowały
The Piast dynasty	dynastia Piastów
Greater/Great Poland, Lesser/Little Poland	Wielkopolska, Małopolska
the founding date of Poland	data powstania państwa polskiego
Converted from… to…	przeszedł z… na… (o religii)
The Holy See	Stolica Apostolska, Watykan
recognized the Piast ruler …as their duke	uznali piastowskiego władcę (w piastowskim władcy swego..) za swego księcia
Grand Duke of Lithuania	Wielki Książę Litwy
Crown princess Jadwiga	Koronowana na króla księżniczka
heirs reigned over Poland	potomkowie rządzili Polską
the dominant power	dominujące mocarstwo
the Jagiellon monarchs	władcy z dynastii Jagiellonów/ Jagiellonowie
Bohemia	Czechy
repelled powerful enemies	odparli silnych wrogów/wrogie państwa… stawili czoła
Knights of Teutonic Order	Zakon Krzyżacki/ Krzyżacy
The Ottoman Turks	Turcja Otomańska
Grand Principality of Moscow	Wielkie Księstwo Moskiewskie
forced to make growing concessions	zmuszeni do pójścia na coraz większe /do coraz większych ustępstw
landed gentry	szlachta
to enserf the peasantry	zwiększać obciążenie pańszczyźnianych chłopów /obciążyć chłopów pańszczyzną w coraz większym stopniu
the Polish nobility elected their kings	..to okres królów elekcyjnych, których wybierali w głosowaniu magnaci / szlachta i magnaci wybierali króla w wolnym głosowaniu
various royal houses of Europe	różne rody królewskie Europy
succession of weak and inattentive rulers	szereg słabych, nie dbających o polskie sprawy władców
let power fall into the hands of..	władza wymykała się i przechodziła w ręce.. [okres panowania j.w.] sprawił, ze władza przeszła w ręce..
contentious, self-seeking landed gentry	skłócona, dbająca o własne interesy szlachta
the strength of… state was sapped	… co osłabiło państwo polskie /siła państwa została osłabiona, nadwyrężona / państwo polskie zostało osłabione
to suppress a great rebellion of Tatars and Cossacks	stłumić/zdusić wielkie powstanie/(rebelię) tatarskie
Sweden invaded Poland	Szwecja dokonała inwazji/najazdu na Polskę
The Deluge	Potop szwedzki
forced the cession of considerable territory	wymusiła cesję/przyłączenie znacznej części ziem polskich/terytorium
embroiled in continuing conflicts	borykała się z ciągłymi konfliktami/była uwikłana w ciągłe konflikty…
succumbed to economic backwardness	…stawała się coraz bardziej zacofana gospodarczo/ekonomicznie; popadała w coraz większe zacofanie
three partitions of Poland	trzy rozbiory Polski
Poland was eradicated from the political geography of Europe	Polska została wymazana (zniknęła) z politycznej mapy Europy
the Kingdom of Poland	Polskie Królestwo Kongresowe
the Russian empire	Rosja Carska / Mocarstwo Rosyjskie
people revolted against tsarist oppression	ludność burzyła sie/buntowała się przeciw carskiej opresji/
instituted a strict policy of Germanized education	wprowadził/zainicjował surową politykę germanizacji w szkołach/edukacji
Polish autonomy was …recognized	uznawano autonomię Polski
Poland came under Nazi rule	Polska dostała się pod okupację nazistowskich Niemiec
mass executions	masowe egzekucje
the Soviet Red Army drove Germans from Polish soil	sowiecka Armia Czerwona wyparła Niemcy /siły, wojska niemieckie z ziem polskich
provisional Polish government headed by communists	tymczasowy rząd polski, na którego czele stali komuniści
curtailed free elections	ograniczyli wolne wybory
launched mass arrests of..	dokonali /przeprowadzali masowe aresztowania
collectivized Polish farms	dokonali kolektywizacji / skolektywizowali polskie gospodarstwa rolnych
nationalized the nation's industries	... i nacjonalizacji przemysłu
Constitution was adopted	przyjęto/uchwalono konstytucję
in the grip of Stalinist totalitarianism	w “szponach”, pod silnym wpływem stalinowskiego totalitaryzmu
went on a general strike that was suppressed by force	zorganizowali, rozpoczęli strajk generalny, który został stłumiony siłą
strikes… erupted at the Gdańsk shipyard	strajki wybuchły w Stoczni Gdańskiej
won concessions	uzyskali/wywalczyli od rządu ustępstwa
pressed for more concessions	walczyli o kolejne ustępstwa
declared martial law	wprowadzić stan wojenny
martial law was lifted	znieść stan wojenny
renewed labour unrest	kolejna fala strajków pracowniczych
prompted J. to take a radical change of course	skłoniło Jaruzelskiego do radykalnej zmiany kursu
far-reaching reforms	dalekosiężne reformy
Solidarity's overwhelming victory	przytłaczające zwycięstwo Solidarności
formed a coalition government	stworzyć rząd koalicyjny
enacted radical plans	wprowadzić w życie radykalne plany
transform Poland's centrally planned economy into a free-enterprise economy	zmienić polską gospodarkę planową na gosp. wolnorynkową

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