ÿþ<html> <head> <title> WHKMLA : Historical Dictionaries : Eastern Central Europe </title> <!-- copyright Alexander Ganse, 2005-2007 --> </head> <body bgcolor="lightblue" text="black" link="blue" vlink="red" alink="brown"> <style> <!-- A{ font-weight: bold; font-size: 10pt; font-face: arial; } --> </style> <DIV align ="center"> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD align = "center" valign = "center"> <A HREF = "../../index.html"> <img src = "../../whkmla2.jpg" border = "0"></a></TD></TR></TABLE> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD width = "150" height = "36" align = "center" valign = "center"> <font size = "2" face = "arial"><B> Timeline </b></font></TD> <TD width = "36" height = "36" align = "center" valign = "center"> <A HREF = "../../timelines/nhb/tlpol.html"> <img src = "../../region/arrowleft.gif" width = "36" height = "36" border = "0"> </a></TD> <TD align = "center" valign = "center"> <A HREF = "../../timelines/nhb.html"> <img src = "../banhistdic.jpg" border = "0"> </TD> <TD width = "36" height = "36" align = "center" valign = "center"> <img src = "../../region/arrowright.gif" width = "36" height = "36" border = "0"> </a></TD> <TD width = "100" height = "36" align = "center" valign = "center"> <font size = "2" face = "arial"><B> </b></font></TD></TR></TABLE> <font size = "3" face = "arial"><B><i>First posted on April 25th 2005, last revised on June 22nd 2007 </i></b></font><BR><BR><BR><BR> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD align = "center" valign = "center" width = "900"> <font face = "Times Roman" size = "5"><B> Historical Dictionaries : Eastern Central Europe </B></font> <BR> <font face = "Times Roman" size = "2"><i> http://www.zum.de/whkmla/histdic/nhb/hdeceur.html </i></font> </B></font></TD></TR></TABLE> <BR><BR> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD width="200" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> <B>Baltic Germans</B> </font></TD> <TD width="480" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> Ethnic German population group which lived in <A HREF = "#estonia">Estonia</A> and <A HREF = "#latvia">Latvia</A> from the early 13th century to 1940. Although they made up only about 10 % of the population, they dominated political, economic and social life until into the late 19th/early 20th century. In 1940, according to a Soviet-German agreement, most were 'repatriated' into the <A HREF = "hdgermany.html#3rdreich">Reich</A>. </font></TD> </TR></TABLE> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD width="200" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> <B>Baltic Republics</B> </font></TD> <TD width="480" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> An expression describing the three republics of <A HREF = "hdeceur.html#estonia">Estonia</A>, <A HREF = "hdeceur.html#latvia">Latvia</A> and <A HREF = "hdeceur.html#lithuania">Lithuania</A>, in the Interbellum (1918-1940) and since 1991. The expression is not very popular in the described countries. </font></TD> </TR></TABLE> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD width="200" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> Belarus </font></TD> <TD width="480" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> see under <A HREF = "hdrussia.html#belarus">Russia</A> </font></TD> </TR></TABLE> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD width="200" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> COMECON </font></TD> <TD width="480" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> see under <A HREF = "hdecw.html#comecon">Early Cold War</A> </font></TD> </TR></TABLE> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD width="200" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> <A NAME = "congresspol"><B>Congress Poland</B></A> </font></TD> <TD width="480" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> A territory created by the <A HREF = "hdrest.html#viennacongr">Vienna Congress</A>, consisting of the bulk of the former <A HREF = "#gdwarsaw">Grand Duchy of Warsaw</A>. United in Dynastic Union with <A HREF = "hdrussia.html#russia">Russia</A>; the rule of the Czar was not too popular in <A HREF = "#poland">Poland</A>, the Poles rebelled twice (<A HREF = "#polishreb">1830, 1863</A>). During WW I occupied by German, Austrian troops; after WW I core of the new <A HREF = "#poland">Polish Republic</A>. Capital Warsaw. Click <A HREF = "../../region/eceurope/xcgrpoland.html">here</A> for more information </font></TD> </TR></TABLE> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD width="200" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> <A NAME = "courland"><B>Courland</B></A> </font></TD> <TD width="480" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> Formerly part of <A HREF = "hdeceur.html#livonia">Livonia</A>, established as a Duchy vassall to <A HREF = "#poland">Poland</A> in 1561. Lutheran; in the early 17th century acquired colonies in Africa (Gambia) and the West Indies (Tobago). Later it suffered from Swedish invasions and internal strife; in 1795 annexed by <A HREF = "hdrussia.html#russia">Russia</A>; in 1918/1920 it became part of the <A HREF = "hdeceur.html#latvia">Republic of Latvia</A>. In German called Kurland (outdated spelling Churland), in Latvian Kurzeme, in Latin Curonia. Capital Mitau (Jelgava). Click <A HREF = "../../eceurope/xcourland.html">here</A> for more information. </font></TD> </TR></TABLE> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD width="200" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> <A NAME = "cracow"><B>Cracow</B></A> </font></TD> <TD width="480" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> City in <A HREF = "#poland">Poland</A>, capital of <A HREF = "#poland">Poland</A> from 1038 to 1596. from 1815 to 1846 independent as a Free Republic (the remainder of <A HREF = "#poland">Poland</A> was ruled by <A HREF = "hdrussia.html#russia">Russia</A>, <A HREF = "hdgermany.html#austria">Austria</A> or <A HREF = "hdgermany.html#prussia">Prussia</A>); in 1846 annexed by <A HREF = "hdgermany.html#austria">Austria</A>. During WW II occupied by the Germans, which created the Warsaw Ghetto for the Jewish population of the city and her surrounding area; the Ghetto inhabitants later were deported to Auschwitz, where most of them were gassed. Polish spelling Krakow. </font></TD> </TR></TABLE> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD width="200" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> Danzig </font></TD> <TD width="480" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> see under <A HREF = "hdgermany.html#danzig">Germany</A> </font></TD> </TR></TABLE> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD width="200" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> <B>Deluge</B> </font></TD> <TD width="480" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> Polish name for the Swedish occupation of much of <A HREF = "#poland">Poland</A> early in the First Northern War (1655-1660). Seemingly invincible, the Swedish tide was turned at the monastery of Czestochowa. </font></TD> </TR></TABLE> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD width="200" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> <A NAME = "estonia"><B>Estonia</B></A> </font></TD> <TD width="480" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> Republic located on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, capital Tallinn (historic Reval). The Estonian language is related to Finnish. Conquered by the Danes in 1218 and converted to christianity; acquired by the Livonian Knights in 1346. When the state of the Livonian Order disintegrated in 156, core Estonia recognized sovereignty of <A HREF = "hdscandinavia.html#sweden">Sweden</A>. The Swedes ceded Estonia to Russia in 1721. In 1918/1920, Estonia gained independence; was annexed into the <A HREF = "hdrussia.html#estonia">USSR</A> in 1940, regained independence in 1991. Lutheran. Click <A HREF = "../../region/eceurope/xestonia.html">here</A> for more information </font></TD> </TR></TABLE> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD width="200" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> <A NAME = "galicia"><B>Galicia</B></A> </font></TD> <TD width="480" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> Region in southern <A HREF = "#poland">Poland</A>, from 1772 to 1918 under Austrian rule. Not to be confused with a region by the same name in western Spain. Full name under Habsburg rule : Galicia and Lodomeria. Western Galicia had a Polish population majority, Eastern Galicia a Ruthenian (Ukrainian) popultion majority; today, most of Eastern Galicia belongs to <A HREF = "hdrussia.html#ukraine">Ukraine</A>. The word Galicia a Latinization of Halicz. Click <A HREF = "../../region/eceurope/xgalicia.html">here</A> for more information. </font></TD> </TR></TABLE> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD width="200" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> <B>Generalgouvernement</B> </font></TD> <TD width="480" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> Official German name for the bulk of occupied <A HREF = "#poland">Poland</A> during WW II. As <A HREF = "hdgermany.html#germany">Germany</A> intended to annex the region and to resettle the Poles in the east, a name not containing any reference to <A HREF = "#poland">Poland</A> was chosen. Governor was Hans Franck, later tried in Nuremberg. The most notorious concentration camps (Auschwitz, Treblinka, Majdanek, Sobibor) were located within the GG. Click <A HREF = "../../region/eceurope/poland193945.html">here</A> for more information </font></TD> </TR></TABLE> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD width="200" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> <A NAME = "jagpol"><B>Jagiellonian Poland</B></A> </font></TD> <TD width="480" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> Polish nationalism emerged in the late 18th century and grew in the 19th century - for most of that time, Poland did not exist as a state. Polish patriots had different ideas of a future Polish state. The supporters of a Jagiellonian Poland wanted to include the areas of <A HREF = "hdrusia.html#belarus">Belarus</A> and <A HREF = "hdrussia.html#ukraine">Ukraine</A>, which had been part of the Polish-Lithuanian state from the 16th to the 18th century; the opposing concept was <A HREF = "#piastpol">Piast Poland</A>. The Polish Republic established in 1918 strove to reestablish a Jagiellonian Poland, only to find out that the concept was not too popular among the ethnic Lithuanians, Belorussians and Ukrainians. </font></TD> </TR></TABLE> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD width="200" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> <A NAME = "katyn"><B>Katyn Massacre</B></A> </font></TD> <TD width="480" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> The German-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact and subsequent invasions had, again, <A HREF = "#polpart">partitioned Poland</A> (1939). In 1940 Stalin had the officers among the Polish P.O.W.s massacred, the largs mass grave at Katyn. The Germans in 1943 exhumed the dead and blamed the Soviets. The matter strained Soviet-Polish relations throughout the Cold War; only in 1989 did Michail Gorbachev concede Soviet responsibility (until then the Soviets denied the massacre ever happened). </font></TD> </TR></TABLE> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD width="200" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> <A NAME = "latvia"><B>Latvia</B></A> </font></TD> <TD width="480" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> State constituted in 1918/1920 by merging <A HREF = "hdeceur.html#courland">Courland</A>, <A HREF = "hdeceur.html#riga">Riga</A>, southern <A HREF = "hdeceur.html#livonia">Livonia</A> and Latgale (former Polish Livonia). Independent Republic 1920-1940, then annexed by the <A HREF = "hdrussia.html#ussr">USSR</A>. Deportations and resettlement had a great impact on the composition of the population, as did German occupation during WW II (<A HREF = "hdibger.html#holocaust">Holocaust</A>). Independent again since 1991. Click <A HREF = "../../region/eceurope/xlatvia.html">here</A> for more information </font></TD> </TR></TABLE> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD width="200" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> Liberum Veto </font></TD> <TD width="480" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> see under <A HREF = "hdabs.html#liberumveto">Absolutism</A> </font></TD> </TR></TABLE> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD width="200" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> <A NAME = "gdlithuania"><B>Lithuania, Grand Duchy</B></A> </font></TD> <TD width="480" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> A feudal state which emerged in the 13th century in defense against the Teutonic Knights, converted to Catholicism in 1386, entered into a loose Dynastic Union with <A HREF = "#poland">Poland</A>. The Parliaments of <A HREF = "hdeceur.html#gdlithuania">Lithuania</A> and <A HREF = "#poland">Poland</A> merged (<A HREF = "hdeceur.html#ulublin">Union of Lublin</A> 1569), was annexed by <A HREF = "hdrussia.html#russia">Russia</A> step by step in the 18th century. The core of the Grand Duchy consisted of modern <A HREF = "hdeceur.html#lithuania">Lithuania</A> and <A HREF = "hdrussia.html#belarus">Belarus</A>. </font></TD> </TR></TABLE> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD width="200" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> <A NAME = "lithuania"><B>Lithuania, Republic</B></A> </font></TD> <TD width="480" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> Established in 1918, lost her chosen capital of Vilnius to <A HREF = "#poland">Poland</A> in 1920/1922, dictatorship since 1926, annexed by <A HREF = "hdrussia.html#ussr">USSR</A> in 1940, independent since 1991. Click <A HREF = "../../region/eceurope/xlithuania.html">here</A> for more information </font></TD> </TR></TABLE> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD width="200" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> <A NAME = "livonia"><B>Livonia</B></A> </font></TD> <TD width="480" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> The state of the Livonian Knights was established by ethnic German knights in the 13th century; they forced the local population to convert to Christianity and introduced the feudal system - Livonians, Curonians and Estonians were reduced to the status of serfs. When the state of the Livionian Knights diintegrated, the Estates of Livonia asked for the protection of <A HREF = "#poland">Poland</A> (1561). In 1621 Livonia, except for Polish Livonia, came under <A HREF = "hdscandinavia.html#sweden">Sweden</A>; in 1721 it came under <A HREF = "hdrussia.html#russia">Russia</A>. Polish Livonia in 1795). Southern Livonia in 1918 became part of <A HREF = "#latvia">Latvia</A>, northern Livonia of <A HREF = "#estonia">Estonia</A>. Most of Livonia Lutheran, Polish Livonia Catholic. Click <A HREF = "../../region/eceurope/xlivonia.html">here</A> for more information </font></TD> </TR></TABLE> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD width="200" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> <A NAME = "nobrep"><B>Nobles' Republic</B></A> </font></TD> <TD width="480" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> <A HREF = "#poland">Poland</A>, in fact, was ruled by her nobility; the nobility elected the kings. While a monarchy, the country, for the 16th to 18th century, was/is often referred to as a Nobles' Republic. </font></TD> </TR></TABLE> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD width="200" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> <A NAME = "piastpol"><B>Piast Poland</B></A> </font></TD> <TD width="480" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> In the 19th and early 20th century the concept of a reestablished Polish states in the borders of the 12th to 14th centuries (when <A HREF = "#poland">Poland</A> was ruled by the Piast Dynasty). Without <A HREF = "hdrussia.html#belarus">Belarus</A>, <A HREF = "hdrussia.html#ukraine">Ukraine</A>, with a western border to be defined, potentially including provinces then inhabited by ethnic Germans. Competing model to <A HREF = "#jagpol">Jagiellonian Poland</A>. </font></TD> </TR></TABLE> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD width="200" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> <A NAME = "poland"><B>Poland</B></A> </font></TD> <TD width="480" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> Nation which first appeared in history when converting to Christianity in the 10th century. Broke up into duchies in the 12th century, reunited in the 14th century (Piast Poland). By the end of the 14th century the Jagiellonian Dynasty took over; in the 15th century Dynastic Union of the Kingdom of Poland and the <A HREF = "#gdlithuania">Grand Duchy of Lithuania</A> (<A HREF = "#pollit">Poland-Lithuania</A>, <A HREF = "#jagpol">Jagiellonian Poland</A>) was created. Following the Jagiellonian Dynasty it turned into an elective kingdom (<A HREF = "#nobrep"> Noble's Republic</A>). Erased from the map by the <A HREF = "#polpart">Polish Partitions</A> 1772-1795. Napoleon briefly recreated a Polish state, the <A HREF = "#gdwarsaw">Grand Duchy of Warsaw</A>; the <A HREF = "hdrest.html#viennacongr">Vienna Congress</A> 1815 again <A HREF = "#polpart">partitioned Poland</A>. In the 19th century, Polish patriots dreamt of the resurrection of a Polish state, torn between the concepts of a <A HREF = "#piastpol">Piast Poland</A> and a <A HREF = "#jagpol">Jagiellonian Poland</A>. In 1918, the First Polish Republic was created; <A HREF = "#polpart">partitioned</A> in 1939, reestablished in 1945; People's Republic 1948-1990. Click <A HREF = "../../region/eceurope/xpoland.html">here</A> for more information </font></TD> </TR></TABLE> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD width="200" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> <A NAME = "pollit"><B>Poland-Lithuania</B></A> </font></TD> <TD width="480" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> Created by the Union of Lublin in 1569, terminated by the <A HREF = "#polpart">Polish Partitions</A> of 1772-1795. The Lithuanian nobles voted for the Union of Lublin, because that way the privileges the Polish nobility enjoyed were extended to them. Within <A HREF = "#pollit">Poland-Lithuania</A>, <A HREF = "#poland">Poland</A> dominated, the capital being located at Cracow, later Warsaw. </font></TD> </TR></TABLE> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD width="200" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> <B>Polish Govt.-in-Exile</B> </font></TD> <TD width="480" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> Established in London in 1939, following the German & Soviet occupation of <A HREF = "#poland">Poland</A>. When the UK and the <A HREF = "hdrussia.html#ussr">USSR</A>, following the German invasion of the latter in June 1941, became allies, the situation of the exile govt. became precarious. <A HREF = "#poland">Poland</A> was liberated by Soviet forces; representatives of the exile govt. were included in a provisional govt., but the Communists took over in 1948; the exile govt. in London continued to exist through the years of Communist rule. </font></TD> </TR></TABLE> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD width="200" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> <A NAME = polpart"><B>Polish Partitions</B></A> </font></TD> <TD width="480" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> First Polish Partition in 1772; participants <A HREF = "hdrussia.html#russia">Russia</A>, <A HREF = "hdgermany.html#prussia">Prussia</A>, <A HREF = "hdgermany.html#austria">Austria</A>. Second Polish Partition in 1793, participants <A HREF = "hdrussia.html#russia">Russia</A>, <A HREF = "hdgermany.html#prussia">Prussia</A>; Third Polish Partition 1795, participants <A HREF = "hdrussia.html#russia">Russia</A>, <A HREF = "hdgermany.html#prussia">Prussia</A>, <A HREF = "hdgermany.html#austria">Austria</A>; no more <A HREF = "#poland">Poland</A>. Often overlooked : 4th Polish Partition 1815, at Vienna Congress, participants <A HREF = "hdrussia.html#russia">Russia</A>, <A HREF = "hdgermany.html#prussia">Prussia</A>, <A HREF = "hdgermany.html#austria">Austria</A>; <A HREF = "#cracow">Republic of Cracow</A> left; 5th Polish Partition 1939, participants <A HREF = "hdrussia.html#ussr">USSR</A>, <A HREF = "hdgermany.html#germany">Germany</A>. </font></TD> </TR></TABLE> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD width="200" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> <A NAME = "polishreb"><B>Polish Rebellions</B></A> </font></TD> <TD width="480" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> Against Russian rule, in 1830 and in 1863; both suppressed by armed force. Resulted in less autonomy, the closure of the univesity of <A HREF = "#warsaw">Warsaw</A>, an increasingly oppressive Russian administration. </font></TD> </TR></TABLE> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD width="200" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> <B>Posen</B> </font></TD> <TD width="480" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> In Polish : Poznan. City in western <A HREF = "#poland">Poland</A>, capital of a province of Polish territory <A HREF = "hdgermany.html#prussia">Prussia</A> gained in 1815; reintegrated into <A HREF = "#poland">Poland</A> in 1918. Click <A HREF = "../../region/eceurope/xposen.html">here</A> for more information. </font></TD> </TR></TABLE> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD width="200" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> <A NAME = "riga"><B>Riga</B></A> </font></TD> <TD width="480" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> City founded in the course of the Livonian Knights' conquest of Livonia in the early 13th century; granted city rights in 1225. A city German in character in the following centuries (city council, guilds etc.); rather autonomous until it recognized sovereignty of <A HREF = "#poland">Poland</A> in 1581. To <A HREF = "hdscandinavia.html#sweden">Sweden</A> in 1621, to <A HREF = "hdrussia.html#russia">Russian Empire</A> in 1721. In the course of the 19th century, the city's population expanded, the ethnic Russian and Latvian elements grew in size and importance, changing the character of the city. Riga became capital of newly indepandent <A HREF = "#latvia">Latvia</A> in 1918/1920. Annexed into <A HREF = "hdrussia.html#ussr">USSR</A> in 1939; Riga's ethnic German population was repatriated to <A HREF = "hdgermany.html#germany">Germany</A> in 1940. Since 1991, Riga is capital of independent <A HREF = "#latvia">Latvia</A>. </font></TD> </TR></TABLE> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD width="200" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> <A NAME = "rtt"><B>Round Table Talks</B></A> </font></TD> <TD width="480" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> In 1989, when the failure of communist governments was obvious, the latter attempted to maintain a share in power and the maintenance of law and order by inviting political opposition to round table talks. Political opposition hitherto being illegal, it meant that any newly established organization regarding herself political was invited. Such round table talks were held in the <A HREF = "hdgermany.html#gdr">GDR</A> and in <A HREF = "#poland">Poland</A>, in <A HREF = "#poland">Poland</A> the issue rather being that <A HREF = "#solidarnosz">Solidarity</A> long declined the invitation because her conditions were not met. </font></TD> </TR></TABLE> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD width="200" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> <A NAME = "sejm"><B>Sejm</B></A> </font></TD> <TD width="480" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> name of <A HREF = "#poland">Poland</A>'s parliament. <BR> </font></TD> </TR></TABLE> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD width="200" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> <A NAME = "solidarnosz"><B>Solidarnosc</B></A> </font></TD> <TD width="480" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> In English sometimes called <i>Solidarity</i>, the name of a Free Trade Union (as opposed to official trade unions which did not confront the government and political system) established in <A HREF = "#poland">Poland</A> in 1980, leading figure <A HREF = "hdgermany.html#danzig">Gdansk</A> shipyard electrician Lech Walesa (Nobel Peace Prize 1985). Solidarnosc organized strikes; following a military coup d'etat (1981), <A HREF = "#poland">Poland</A> declared martial law and banned Solidarnosc; it turned into an underground organization and, when Communism collapsed in 1989, was the strongest political organization in <A HREF = "#poland">Poland</A>. </font></TD> </TR></TABLE> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD width="200" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> <B>Teutonic Order</B> </font></TD> <TD width="480" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> Militant Order, established in 1191, in 1230 it began to conquer the land of the pagan Prussians. Campaigns againt the Prussians and Lithuanians were recognized as crusades and attracted knights from as far as <A HREF = "hdfrance.html#france">France</A>. Capital at the Marienburg (never conquered). The Order lost its raison d'etre when the Lithuanians converted to Catholicism in 1386. The Prussian Civil War 1453-1466 split the country in two - Royal Prussia (under Polish sovereignty; with the cities of <A HREF = "hdgermany.html#danzig">Danzig</A>, Thorn and the Marienburg) and the territory of the Order, with the new capital at K&ouml;nigsberg. When the Lutheran Reformation was introduced, the territory of the Order was transferred into the Duchy in Prussia, then a vassall of <A HREF = "#poland">Poland</A>. Click <A HREF = "../../region/eceurope/xteutorder.html">here</A> for more information. Marienburg in Polish Malbork, Thorn Torun. </font></TD> </TR></TABLE> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD width="200" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> <A NAME = "ubrest"><B>Union of Brest</B></A> </font></TD> <TD width="480" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> Union of the Orthodox dioceses of Ruthenia (<A HREF = "hdrussia.html#ukraine">Ukraine</A> and <A HREF = "hdrussia.html#belarus">Belarus</A>) with Rome (i.e. the Catholic Church), concluded in 1595. The Ruthenian Church was granted privileges, such as the maintenance of Eastern Rite, and the right of Ruthenian priests to marry. The <A HREF = "hdrussia.html#rusorthodox">Russian Orthodox Church</A> never recognized the Union of Brest, and with the territory, piece by piece, being annexed by <A HREF = "hdrussia.html#rusia">Russia</A>, pressured the dioceses to return to the <A HREF = "hdrussia.html#rusorthodox">Russian Orthodox Church</A>. </font></TD> </TR></TABLE> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD width="200" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> <A NAME = "ulublin"><B>Union of Lublin</B></A> </font></TD> <TD width="480" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> 1569, the decision by the Lithuanian <A HREF = "#sejm">Sejm</A> to join the Polish <A HREF = "#sejm">Sejm</A>. The main intention of the Lithuanian Boyars was to acquire the same privileges the Polish nobles enjoyed. The Union of Lublin considerably affected <A HREF = "#gdlithuania"> Grand Duchy of Lithuania</A>, as the country lost autonomy; <A HREF = "#pollit">Poland-Lithuania</A> often neglected <A HREF = "#gdlithuania">Lithuania</A>, allowing the <A HREF = "hdrussia.html#muscovy">Grand Duchy of Muscovy</A> to expand into the latter. </font></TD> </TR></TABLE> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD width="200" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> <A NAME = "warsaw"><B>Warsaw</B></A> </font></TD> <TD width="480" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> Since 1596 capital of <A HREF = "#poland">Poland</A>, 1807-1813 capital of the <A HREF = "#gdwarsaw">Grand Duchy of Warsaw</A>, 1815-1918 of <A HREF = "#congresspol">Congress Poland</A>, 1918-1939 and since 1945 capital of <A HREF = "#poland">Poland</A>. Under German occupation (1939-1944) the site of a <A HREF = "#warsawuprising">Jewish</A> (1943) and a <A HREF = "#warsawuprising">Polish Uprising</A> (1944), both crushed by the Germans, the latter while the Soviet army was waiting outside of the city. In the course of these events the city was largely destroyed; the Polish communist government is to be credited with having the historic city reconstructed. In Polish : Warszawa </font></TD> </TR></TABLE> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD width="200" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> <A NAME = "warsawghetto"><B>Warsaw Ghetto</B></A> </font></TD> <TD width="480" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> Created by the Nazi occupants, surrounded by a wall, inhabited by c. 350,000 Jews, then deported to Treblinka, where they were gassed. In Feb. 1943 the remaining Jews rebelled, holding out until late May. In the process, the ghetto was reduced to rubble. </font></TD> </TR></TABLE> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD width="200" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> <A NAME = "#gdwarsaw"><B>Warsaw, Grand Duchy of</B></A> </font></TD> <TD width="480" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> As a state, <A HREF = "#poland">Poland</A> had been erased from the map by the <A HREF = "#polpart">Third Polish Partition</A> of 1795. Many Polish patriots hoped in <A HREF = "#poland">Poland</A>'s traditional ally, <A HREF = "hdfrance.html#france">France</A>, to restore Polish independence. Napoleon, after defeating <A HREF = "hdgermany.html#prussia">Prussia</A> in 1807, recreated a Polish state called the Grand Duchy of Warsaw (King of <A HREF = "hdgermany.html#saxony">Saxony</A> as Grand Duke) in 1807, from territory <A HREF = "hdgermany.html#prussia">Prussia</A> had gained in the <A HREF = "#polpart">Polish Partitions</A>. Following the defeat of <A HREF = "hdgermany#austria">Austria</A> at the hands of the French, territory <A HREF = "hdgermany.html#austria">Austria</A> had gained in the <A HREF = "#polpart"> Third Polish Partition</A> was annexed into the Grand Duchy. In 1813 the Grand Duchy was occupied by Russian troops, and partitioned by <A HREF = "hdrussia.html#russia">Russia</A> and <A HREF = "hdgermany.html#prussia">Prussia</A> at the <A HREF = "hdrest.html#viennacongr">Vienna Congress</A> in 1815. Click <A HREF = "../../region/eceurope/duchywar.html">here</A> for more information </font></TD> </TR></TABLE> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD width="200" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> Warsaw Pact </font></TD> <TD width="480" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> see under <A HREF = "hdecw.html#warsawpact">Early Cold War</A> </font></TD> </TR></TABLE> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD width="200" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> <A NAME = "warsawuprising"><B>Warsaw Uprising</B></A> </font></TD> <TD width="480" valign="top" align="left"> <font size = "2"> (1) Rising of <A HREF = "#warsaw">Warsaw</A> Jews 1943, crushed by the Germans <BR> (2) With the Soviet forces in striking distance, Poles in occupied <A HREF = "#warsaw">Warsaw</A> rose in rebellion August 1st 1944. The Red Army waited until the Germans had crushed the rebellion (by early Oct.), reducing the city to rubble in the process. </font></TD> </TR></TABLE> <BR><BR> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD align = "left" valign = "center" width = "700"> <font face = "Times Roman" size = "2"> PRINTED REFERENCE : <BR> George Sanford, Adriana Gozdecka-Sanford, <B>Historical Dictionary of Poland</B>, Scarecrow 1994, KMLA Lib.Sign. <B>R 943.6 S224h</B> <BR> Jan Zaprudnik, <B>Historical Dictionary of Belarus</B>, Lanham Md. : Scarecrow 1998, KMLA Lib.Sign. <B>R 947.8 Z35h</B> <BR> Kohut, Zenon E., <B>Historical Dictionary of Ukraine</B>, Rowman & Littlefield 2005, KMLA Lib.Sign. <B>R 947.7 K79h</B> <BR> </font></TD></TR></TABLE> <BR><BR> </DIV> </DIV> <DIV align="center"> <A href="mailto:aganse@hotmail.com"> <IMG src="../../email.gif" border="0"></a><BR> <BR><BR><BR><BR><BR> <!-- Start of CH Counter --> <script type="text/javascript"> //<!-- // chCounter v2.0.0 // settings: cstatus = "active"; visible = "0"; path_to_counterfile = "http://www.zum.de/whkmla/counter/counter.php"; urlhp = "http://www.zum.de"; //////////////// url = unescape(location.href); file = url.substring(url.lastIndexOf(urlhp) + urlhp.length, url.length); file = (file.charAt(0) != "/") ? 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