It was a breakthrough for the whole of Central and Eastern Europe. On 10 November 1980, Polish Supreme Court approved the legalization of the Independent Self-Governing Trade Union ‘Solidarity’. It was the first truly independent labor union in a Soviet bloc country. by Tomasz Kozłowski In the summer of 1980, the greatest wave of…
The end of Auschwitz came on 27 January 1945. That day, soldiers of the 60th Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front of the Red Army took control of the vast camp area. About seven thousand prisoners, including several hundred children, lived to see liberation in Auschwitz, Birkenau and Monowitz. The majority of the nearly 60,000…
Of all the Polish insurrections in the 19th century, the January Uprising is still an emotional topic. There are many reasons for this – not only was it the largest of the Polish uprisings, but also the most significant in terms of its long-term results. On the one hand, the January Uprising is very symbolic…
The Paderewski government included a number of politicians and experts whose reputation and skills were now crucial to continuing Józef Piłsudski’s strategy. The government was established on 16 January 1919 and quickly gained the support of the countries of the victorious Entente. by Wojciech Roszkowski Instead of cracking down on rightist opposition, Piłsudski began…
While writing biographies of great writers, we, often unconsciously, look for something unique, or characteristic about the individual path they pursued in their lives. This is probably due to a legacy of romanticism that we are not aware of. Thus we are facing some troubles looking at Jan Kochanowski in a different way. by Wojciech…
The Reformation proved that religion could divide not only nations but also families. The Łaski family offers a notable example with the story of its two most prominent members, who shared the same name. The elder Jan Łaski was born in 1456 and served as archbishop of Gniezno, primate of Poland, and chancellor. He was…
