Transcript Poland Year of EU entry

POLAND
POLAND :)
The Polish Flag
Poland
•Year of EU entry: 2004
•Political system: Republic
•Capital city: Warsaw
•Total area: 312 679 km²
•Population: 38.1 million
•Currency: Zloty
•Listen to the EU official language:
Polish
White Stork the National Bird Of Poland
Frederick Chopin, A Composer
Nicolaus Copernicus, An Astronomer
The History of Poland
• Great (north) Poland was founded in 1966 by
Mieszko I, who belonged to the Piast dynasty. The
tribes of southern Poland then formed Little
Poland. In 1047, both Great Poland and Little
Poland united under the rule of Casimir I the
Restorer. Poland merged with Lithuania by royal
marriage in 1386. The Polish-Lithuanian state
reached the peak of its power between the 14th
and 16th centuries, scoring military successes
against the (Germanic) Knights of the Teutonic
Order, the Russians, and the Ottoman Turks.
The History of Poland cont.
• Lack of a strong monarchy enabled Russia, Prussia, and
Austria to carry out a first partition of the country in 1772,
a second in 1792, and a third in 1795. For more than a
century thereafter, there was no Polish state, just Austrian,
Prussian, and Russian sectors, but the Poles never ceased
their efforts to regain their independence. The Polish
people revolted against foreign dominance throughout the
19th century. Poland was formally reconstituted in Nov.
1918, with Marshal Josef Pilsudski as chief of state. In 1919,
Ignace Paderewski, the famous pianist and patriot, became
the first prime minister. In 1926, Pilsudski seized complete
power in a coup and ruled dictatorially until his death on
May 12, 1935.
The History of Poland cont.
• Despite a ten-year nonaggression pact signed in 1934,
Hitler attacked Poland on Sept. 1, 1939. Soviet troops
invaded from the east on Sept. 17, and on Sept. 28, a
German-Soviet agreement divided Poland between the
USSR and Germany. Wladyslaw Raczkiewicz formed a
government-in-exile in France, which moved to London
after France's defeat in 1940. All of Poland was
occupied by Germany after the Nazi attack on the USSR
in June 1941. Nazi Germany's occupation policy in
Poland was designed to eradicate Polish culture
through mass executions and to exterminate the
country's large Jewish minority.
The History of Poland cont.
• The Polish government-in-exile was replaced with the Communistdominated Polish Committee of National Liberation by the Soviet
Union in 1944. Moving to Lublin after that city's liberation, it
proclaimed itself the Provisional Government of Poland. Some
former members of the Polish government in London joined with
the Lublin government to form the Polish Government of National
Unity, which Britain and the U.S. recognized. On Aug. 2, 1945, in
Berlin, President Harry S. Truman, Joseph Stalin, and Prime Minister
Clement Attlee of Britain established a new de facto western
frontier for Poland along the Oder and Neisse rivers. (The border
was finally agreed to by West Germany in a nonaggression pact
signed on Dec. 7, 1970.) On Aug. 16, 1945, the USSR and Poland
signed a treaty delimiting the Soviet-Polish border. Under these
agreements, Poland was shifted westward. In the east, it lost
69,860 sq mi (180,934 sq km); in the west, it gained (subject to final
peace conference approval) 38,986 sq mi (100,973 sq km)
Economy
GDP (2008): $530 billion.
Real GDP growth (2008): 4.9%.
Per capita GDP (2008): $13,900.
Rate of inflation (2008, average): 4.2%.
Natural resources: Coal, copper, sulfur, natural gas, silver, lead, salt.
Agriculture: Products--grains, hogs, dairy, potatoes, horticulture,
sugar beets, oilseed.
Industry: Types--machine building, iron and steel, mining,
shipbuilding, automobiles, furniture, textiles and apparel,
chemicals, food processing, glass, beverages.
Trade (2008): Exports--$169.5 billion: furniture, cars, ships, coal,
apparel. Imports--$206.1 billion: crude oil, passenger cars,
pharmaceuticals, car parts, computers.
Geography
• Location: Central Europe, East of Germany
• Climate: temperate with cold, cloudy, moderately
severe winters with frequent precipitation; mild
summers with frequent showers and
thundershowers
• Terrain: mostly flat plain; mountains along
southern border
• Natural Resources: coal, sulfur, copper, natural
gas, silver, lead, salt, amber, arable land
• Natural Hazards: Flooding
People
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Population: 38,635,144 as of July 2005
Population Growth Rate: 0.03%
Nationality: Polish
Ethnic Groups: Polish 96.7%, German 0.4%, Belarusian
0.1%, Ukrainian 0.1%, other and unspecified 2.7%
• Religions: Roman Catholic 89.8% (about 75%
practicing), Eastern Orthodox 1.3%, Protestant 0.3%,
other 0.3%, unspecified 8.3%
• Languages: Polish 97.8%, other and unspecified 2.2%
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Government
• Government type: Republic
The President of Poland
• Capital: Warsaw
• Independence: 11 November 1918 (independent
republic proclaimed)
• National Holiday: Constitution Day, 3 May (1791)
• Constitution: Adopted by the National Assembly
2 April 1997, passed by national referendum 25
May 1997, effective 17 October 1997
Desserts :]
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POLISH PECAN COOKIES
1 cup butter
3 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 tbsp. water
2 1/2 cup flour
2 cups pecan halves
Powdered sugar for rolling
Cream together butter with sugar, gradually beating until fluffy. Stir together water
and vanilla; beat in. Add flour in fourths, mixing until blended after each addition.
Dough may be refrigerated for easier handling.
Shape a tablespoon of dough around each pecan half, covering the pecan
completely with the dough.
Bake for 10 minutes in a 400°F oven.
Roll while still warm from the oven in powdered sugar.
Some Polish Words Translated
• Dzien dobry : good day
Dobry wieczor : good evening
Dobranoc : good night
Czesc : hi / hello
Do widzenia : good bye
Prosze : please
Dziekuje : thank you
Dzieki : thanks (less formal)
Przepraszam : I'm sorry / excuse me
Tak : yes
Nie : no