Fragmentation and Reunion: Poland

Poland at its Greatest Extent (1648) Modern Border in Red	The Elimination of Poland (1772-1795)

At one point, Poland's Jageillon Kings expanded their territory considerably, later, by the power of the combination of Prussia, Austria-Hungary and Russia (twice), and later by the combination of the Third Reich and the Soviet Union, Poland was erased from the map.

Perhaps Poland has a natural identity, harmonious with its people, and the border of that natural existence is the same as the one which neatly contains Polish speaking people. This reality, except under unimaginable horrors, can not now be erased by force, neither is there any great likelihood of large numbers of Poland's neighbors voluntarily adopting their language.

Today Poland exists, and is one of the most linguistically homogeneous of all countries, with 97% of Poles claiming Polish as their mother tongue.

1795 was not the only time Poland dissapeared from the map, for it did so again in the early 1800s.

Prince Czartowski, for a while influential with Czar Alexander I, also saw a linguistic (and culturally) homogenous Poland as a key to a peaceful European state of affairs.1