Poland

Bernadotte E. Schmitt

• Publisher: University of California Press
• Year: 2023
• Print ISBN: 9780520368330
• eBook ISBN: 9780520326972
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Literature General
• Index: Literature

Poland: The United Nations Series offers a profound exploration of Poland’s history, culture, and political trajectory, particularly through the lens of the challenges and transformations it faced in the interwar period (1919-1939). Part of a larger initiative aimed at fostering mutual understanding among the Allied nations during World War II, this volume provides a detailed account of Poland’s struggle to emerge as a cohesive and independent nation after over a century of partition and foreign rule. It examines the monumental task Poland faced in uniting a populace shaped by disparate political, economic, and social systems, highlighting both its achievements and its setbacks during this critical period.

Under the editorial guidance of Bernadotte E. Schmitt and Professor Robert J. Kerner, the book candidly evaluates the factors that hindered Poland’s aspirations, including fraught relations with powerful neighbors, unresolved minority tensions, and a shift from democracy to authoritarianism after Marshal Piłsudski’s death. Despite these challenges, the volume remains hopeful about Poland’s future, envisioning a postwar nation that is smaller but more ethnically unified, politically stable, and aligned with democratic ideals. It is a poignant tribute to Poland’s resilience and its enduring hope, encapsulated in the rallying cry of its national anthem: "Poland is not lost forever!"

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1945.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• The United Nations Series
• Editor’s Preface
• Contents
• List of Illustrations
• CHAPTER I Poland and Europe:
• CHAPTER II Anthropology of Poland:
• CHAPTER III The Formation of the
• CHAPTER IV Poland as a European Power
• CHAPTER V Partitioned Poland, 1795-1914
• CHAPTER VI Rebirth of Poland, 1914-1923
• CHAPTER VII Constitutional Development of Poland
• CHAPTER VIII Polish Political Parties
• CHAPTER IX Polish Politics, 1918-1939
• CHAPTER X Minorities
• CHAPTER XI Poland’s Economy between
• CHAPTER XII Industry, Foreign Trade, and
• CHAPTER XIII Poland’s Monetary and
• CHAPTER XIV Agricultural Reconstruction in Poland
• CHAPTER XV Social Progress in Poland,
• CHAPTER XVI Religious Life
• CHAPTER XVII Education
• CHAPTER XVIII Science and Scientific Institutions
• CHAPTER XIX Polish Literature
• CHAPTER XX The Fine Arts
• CHAPTER XXI Music
• CHAPTER XXII The Polish National Spirit
• CHAPTER XXIII Polish-American Cultural Relationships
• CHAPTER XXIV Polish-American Political and
• CHAPTER XXV Foreign Relations
• CHAPTER XXVI Poland and the War
• Epilogue
• A Selected Bibliography
• INDEX
• Index