Countries of The World: Poland

by Zilah Deckker

Published 18 February 2008

Visit Poland. Ancestral homeland of millions of Americans.

Follow the ever-changing fate of the Polish state: from inception in 966, through kingdom and commonwealth status, through occupation and communism, to today's "Third Polish Republic." Learn of Poland's newest role as a full member of the European Union. Meet Nobel Prize winner Lech Walesa, the Solidarity Union leader who challenged the communist authorities in the 1980s and became president in 1990.