Poland (Deutschland Siegt)

Poland, officially the Republic of Poland (Rzeczpospolita Polska or Republika Polska) was a sovereign state in Central Europe that existed between November 11, 1918 and the Second World War. This part of Poland's history is commonly known as the Second Polish Republic.

When the borders of the state were fixed in 1922 after several wars, the republic had borders with Czechoslovakia, Nazi Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, and the Soviet Union. It it had an area of 388.6 thousand km² (sixth largest in Europe), and 27.2 million inhabitants according to the census of that year. In 1939, just before the outbreak of World War II, it had an estimated 35.1 million inhabitants. A third of these were minorities (17% Ukrainians and Belarusians, 10% Jews, 5% Germans, and 1% percent Lithuanians, Russians and Czechs).

The Second Republic is often associated with times of great adversity, of troubles and of triumph. Having to deal with the economic difficulties and destruction of World War I, followed by the Soviet invasion during the Polish Soviet War, and then increasingly hostile neighbors such as Nazi Germany, the Republic managed not only to endure, but to expand. Lacking an overseas empire, Poland nevertheless maintained a level of economic development and prosperity comparable to that of the West. The cultural hubs of Warsaw, Kraków, Wilno and Lwów raised themselves to the level of major European cities. They were also the sites of internationally renowned universities and places of higher learning. By 1939 the Republic was becoming a major world player in politics and economics.

In 1938, it took advantage of the German invasion of Czechoslovakia by recapturing the Zaolzie territory. Following the annexation of the territory into Poland, the Polish goverment allowed Czech troops to withdraw into Poland following Czechoslovakia's defeat in March 1939.

Following the defeat of Czechoslovakia on March 15, 1939, Poland shared borders with Nazi Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, and the Soviet Union.

on September 1st 1939, poland was invaded by German forces, and after a three week Blitzkrieg Campaign, surrenedered. Poland was divided between the Soviets and the Germans. following Operation Barbarossa, the Russian half of Poland was annexed by Germany.

Formative years (1918-1921)
Occupied by German and Austro-Hungarian armies in the summer of 1915, the formerly Russian-ruled part of what was considered Poland was proclaimed an independent kingdom by the occupying powers on November 5, 1916, with a governing Council of State and (from October 15, 1917) a Regency Council (Rada Regencyjna Królestwa Polskiego) to administer the country under German auspices pending the election of a king.