| Republic of Poland Rzeczpospolita Polska | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Capital and largest city | Warsaw |
| Official languages | Polish |
| Recognised regional languages | German Belarusian Lithuanian Ukrainian |
| Area | |
• Total | 388,634 km² |
| Population | |
• 1939 estimate | 35,100,000 |
The Second Polish Republic, officially the Republic of Poland, was a country in Eastern Europe.
History
Polish–Soviet War
In 1919, Poland invaded western Belarus and Ukraine, beginning a war against the Red Army. Over 100,000 Soviet soldiers were captured and 60,000 died in prison camps.[1]
Repression of communists
In 1926, First Marshal Józef Piłsudski established a military police system. In 1934, he created a prison camp for the political opposition, which included communists.[1]
Czechoslovakia
Poland signed a non-aggression pact with Germany in 1934 and occupied the Cieszyn region of Czechoslovakia in 1938. However, Poland refused to join the fascist Anti-Comintern Pact.[1]
Second World War
On 1 September 1939, Germany invaded Poland and broke its non-aggression pact. The Polish government quickly collapsed and fled to Romania and then England, where it established a government-in-exile. On 17 September, the Soviet Union crossed the border and took control of western Belarus and Ukraine.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "The Polish Question" (2020-09-01). Politsturm. Archived from the original on 2021-04-14. Retrieved 2022-06-16.