History of Poland in Timeline

Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a Central European nation bordering several countries, including Germany, Ukraine, and Lithuania. Its landscape stretches from the Baltic Sea to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains. Poland is divided into sixteen voivodeships and has a population of over 38 million, making it the fifth most populous member of the EU. It is also the fifth-largest EU country by land area. Warsaw is the capital and largest city, with other major cities including Kraków, Wrocław, and Gdańsk.

1905: Nobel Prize in Literature Awarded to Henryk Sienkiewicz

In 1905, Henryk Sienkiewicz won the Nobel Prize in Literature for "Quo Vadis".

November 1918: Regaining Independence

In November 1918, following the armistice with Germany, Poland regained its independence as the Second Polish Republic.

1918: Regaining Independence

In 1918, at the end of World War I, Poland regained its independence with the founding of the Second Polish Republic.

1918: Universal women's suffrage introduced

In 1918, the Second Polish Republic became one of the first countries to introduce universal women's suffrage.

June 1919: Treaty of Versailles

In June 1919, the Allies agreed on the reconstitution of Poland, confirmed through the Treaty of Versailles.

1922: Assassination of Gabriel Narutowicz

In 1922, Gabriel Narutowicz, the inaugural holder of the presidency, was assassinated at the Zachęta Gallery in Warsaw.

1924: Nobel Prize in Literature Awarded to Władysław Reymont

In 1924, Władysław Reymont won the Nobel Prize in Literature for "The Peasants".

1925: Radium Institute establishment

In 1925, Maria Skłodowska-Curie established Poland's Radium Institute.

1926: May Coup

In 1926, the May Coup, led by Józef Piłsudski, turned rule of the Second Polish Republic over to the Sanacja movement.

September 1939: Invasion of Poland

In September 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union invaded Poland, marking the beginning of World War II.

September 1939: German and Soviet Invasion of Poland

In September 1939, Nazi Germany invaded Poland on 1 September, followed by the Soviet invasion on 17 September. Warsaw fell on 28 September, and Poland was split into two zones.

November 1939: German Plans for Complete Destruction of Poles

In November 1939, German planners called for the "the complete destruction of all Poles" and their fate as outlined in the genocidal Generalplan Ost.

1939: Start of Soviet occupation of eastern Poland

Around 150,000 Polish civilians were killed by Soviets between 1939 and 1941 during the Soviet Union's occupation of eastern Poland (Kresy).

1941: Start of Soviet occupation of eastern Poland

Around 150,000 Polish civilians were killed by Soviets between 1939 and 1941 during the Soviet Union's occupation of eastern Poland (Kresy).

1941: Soviet deportations of Poles

In 1939–1941, the Soviets deported hundreds of thousands of Poles. Also, the Soviet NKVD executed thousands of Polish prisoners of war ahead of Operation Barbarossa.

1943: Wołyń Massacres

Around 100,000 Poles were murdered by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) between 1943 and 1944 in what became known as the Wołyń Massacres.

August 1944: Warsaw Uprising

On 1 August 1944, the Warsaw Uprising began as part of Operation Tempest, initiated by the Armia Krajowa (Home Army).

1944: Wołyń Massacres

Around 100,000 Poles were murdered by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) between 1943 and 1944 in what became known as the Wołyń Massacres.

1944: Stalin's guarantees to Churchill and Roosevelt

In 1944, Stalin had made guarantees to Churchill and Roosevelt that he would maintain Poland's sovereignty and allow democratic elections to take place.

1945: Border Shifts and Migration

In 1945, Poland's borders were shifted westwards. Over two million Polish inhabitants of Kresy were expelled, and Poland's territory was reduced by 20%.

1945: Falsification of elections

In 1945, the elections organised by the occupying Soviet authorities were falsified, leading to Soviet hegemony over Polish affairs.

February 1947: Adoption of the Small Constitution

On 19 February 1947, the new communist government took control with the adoption of the Small Constitution.

1952: Proclamation of the Polish People's Republic

In 1952, the Polish People's Republic (Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa) was officially proclaimed.

1953: Contributor to United Nations peacekeeping missions

Since 1953, the country has been a large contributor to various United Nations peacekeeping missions.

1956: Temporary liberalization

In 1956, after the death of Bolesław Bierut, the régime of Władysław Gomułka became temporarily more liberal.

1972: Summer Olympics Gold Medal

The Polish national football team won a gold medal in football at the 1972 Summer Olympics.

1974: FIVB World Championship Gold Medal

The Polish men's national volleyball team won a gold medal at the FIVB World Championship in 1974.

1974: FIFA World Cup Third Place

The Polish national football team finished in third place at the 1974 FIFA World Cup.

1976: Summer Olympics Gold Medal

The Polish men's national volleyball team won a gold medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics.

1978: Nobel Prize in Literature Awarded to Isaac Bashevis Singer

In 1978, Isaac Bashevis Singer won the Nobel Prize in Literature.

1980: Nobel Prize in Literature Awarded to Czesław Miłosz

In 1980, Czesław Miłosz won the Nobel Prize in Literature.

1980: Formation of Solidarity

In 1980, Labour turmoil led to the formation of the independent trade union "Solidarity" ("Solidarność").

1980: Emergence of the Solidarity movement

In 1980, the Solidarity movement emerged, initiating the fall of the Iron Curtain.

1980: Vodka Popularity

In Poland, vodka was more popular than beer and wine in the years 1980–1998.

1981: Imposition of martial law

In 1981, martial law was imposed by General Wojciech Jaruzelski.

1982: FIFA World Cup Third Place

The Polish national football team finished in third place at the 1982 FIFA World Cup.

1989: Start of Economic Transformation

In 1989, Poland began to transform its Soviet-style planned economy into a market economy.

1989: Democratic Parliamentary Elections

In 1989, Solidarity triumphed in Poland's first partially free and democratic parliamentary elections since the end of the Second World War.

1989: Re-establishment as a liberal democracy

In 1989, the communist government was dissolved and Poland re-established itself as a liberal democracy.

1990: Lech Wałęsa wins the presidency

In 1990, Lech Wałęsa, a Solidarity candidate, won the presidency.

1991: Visegrád Group Membership

In 1991, Poland became a member of the Visegrád Group.

1992: Summer Olympics Silver Medal

The Polish national football team won a silver medal in football at the 1992 Summer Olympics.

1995: GDP levels reached pre-1989

By 1995, Poland became the first post-communist country to reach its pre-1989 GDP levels.

1996: Nobel Prize in Literature Awarded to Wisława Szymborska

In 1996, Wisława Szymborska won the Nobel Prize in Literature.

April 1997: Adoption of the Constitution of Poland

On 2 April 1997, the current democratic constitution was adopted by the National Assembly of Poland.

1998: Vodka Popularity

In Poland, vodka was more popular than beer and wine in the years 1980–1998.

1999: Joining NATO

In 1999, Poland joined NATO.

2000: Higher Church Attendance

Around half of Catholics in Poland attended mass weekly in 2000. This is in contrast to the lower attendance of 28% in 2021.

2001: Start of period for measuring average annual air temperature

Between 2001–2010, the average annual air temperature was 1.11 °C lower than the 2011-2020 period.

2002: The Pianist wins Academy Award

In 2002, "The Pianist" by Roman Polański won an Academy Award.

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June 2003: Referendum to Join European Union

In June 2003, Poles voted to join the European Union in a referendum.

May 2004: Poland Becomes EU Member

On 1 May 2004, Poland became a full member of the European Union.

2007: Joining the Schengen Area

In 2007, Poland joined the Schengen Area, leading to the dismantling of borders with other EU member states.

2007: Day of Polish-Hungarian Friendship

In 2007, the parliaments of Poland and Hungary jointly declared March 23 as "The Day of Polish-Hungarian Friendship".

2008: Pudzianowski's Fifth World's Strongest Man Title

In 2008, Mariusz Pudzianowski won his fifth World's Strongest Man title.

2008: Compulsory military service discontinued

In 2008, compulsory military service for men, who previously had to serve for nine months, was discontinued.

2008: Avoided recession

Poland was the only European economy to have avoided the recession of 2008.

April 2010: Presidential Plane Crash

On 10 April 2010, the President of Poland Lech Kaczyński, along with 89 other high-ranking Polish officials, died in a plane crash near Smolensk, Russia.

2010: End of period for measuring average annual air temperature

Between 2001–2010, the average annual air temperature was 1.11 °C lower than the 2011-2020 period.

2010: Central European floods

In 2010, Poland experienced floods in low-lying areas during periods of extreme rainfall, as part of the Central European floods.

2011: Start of period for measuring average annual air temperature

Between 2011 and 2020, the average annual air temperature was 9.33 °C.

2011: Civic Platform Wins Elections

In 2011, the ruling Civic Platform won parliamentary elections.

2011: Polish census

In the 2011 Polish census, 37,310,341 people reported Polish identity, 846,719 Silesian, 232,547 Kashubian and 147,814 German.

2012: UEFA European Football Championship Co-hosting

In 2012, Poland co-hosted the UEFA European Football Championship.

2013: Ida wins Academy Award

In 2013, "Ida" by Paweł Pawlikowski won an Academy Award.

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2014: Donald Tusk Becomes President of the European Council

In 2014, the Prime Minister of Poland, Donald Tusk, was chosen to be President of the European Council.

2014: Polish corporations with interests in foreign entities

The Central Statistical Office estimated that in 2014 there were 1,437 Polish corporations with interests in 3,194 foreign entities.

2014: FIVB World Championship Gold Medal

The Polish men's national volleyball team won a gold medal at the FIVB World Championship in 2014.

2015: English language knowledge

According to the Centre for Public Opinion Research, around 32% of Polish citizens declared knowledge of the English language in 2015.

2015: Television Viewership

According to the Eurobarometer Report in 2015, 78 percent of Poles watch television daily.

2015: Importance of Religion

In 2015, 61.6% of respondents in Poland outlined that religion is of high or very high importance to them.

2015: Hopman Cup Win

Poland won the 2015 Hopman Cup with Agnieszka Radwańska and Jerzy Janowicz representing the country.

2015: Law and Justice Party Wins Elections

The 2015 elections were won by the national-conservative Law and Justice Party (PiS).

December 2017: Mateusz Morawiecki Becomes Prime Minister

In December 2017, Mateusz Morawiecki was sworn in as the Prime Minister, succeeding Beata Szydlo.

2017: Energy Policy

According to the new Energy Policy of Poland, from 2017 to 2030 coal and lignite in electricity generation would reduce by 25%.

2018: Secularization Study

According to The Wall Street Journal, a Pew Research Center study in 2018 found that Poland was secularizing the fastest among more than 100 countries studied, based on the difference in religiosity between young people and their elders.

2018: Homicide Rate

As of 2018, Poland has a low homicide rate at 0.7 murders per 100,000 people.

2018: Nobel Prize in Literature Awarded to Olga Tokarczuk

In 2018, Olga Tokarczuk won the Nobel Prize in Literature.

2018: International Student Assessment Ranking

In 2018, the Programme for International Student Assessment placed Poland's educational output as one of the highest in the OECD, ranking 5th by student attainment.

2018: Developed Market Status

Poland reached a developed market status in 2018.

2018: FIVB World Championship Gold Medal

The Polish men's national volleyball team won a gold medal at the FIVB World Championship in 2018.

2019: Speedway Grand Prix World Championship

In 2019, Bartosz Zmarzlik won the Speedway Grand Prix World Championship.

2019: Principal Causes of Death

In 2019, ischemic heart disease was the principal cause of death in Poland, with diseases of the circulatory system accounting for 45% of all deaths. In the same year, Poland was the 15th-largest importer of medications and pharmaceutical products.

2019: Income tax exemption for young workers

Since 2019, workers under the age of 26 are exempt from paying the income tax.

2019: Law and Justice Party Wins Elections

The 2019 elections were won by the national-conservative Law and Justice Party (PiS).

2020: Arms Exports

According to SIPRI, in 2020 the country exported €487 million worth of arms and armaments to foreign countries.

2020: Human Development Report

According to the 2020 Human Development Report, the average life expectancy at birth in Poland is 79 years, with a low infant mortality rate of 4 per 1,000 births.

2020: Cosmetic Market Size

As of 2020, Poland possesses the sixth-largest cosmetic market in Europe. Also the retail store Reserved is the country's most successful clothing store chain.

2020: End of period for measuring average annual air temperature

Between 2011 and 2020, the average annual air temperature was 9.33 °C.

2020: Housing Statistics

In 2020, 50.2% of Poles resided in detached dwellings and 44.3% in apartments.

2020: News Consumption

In 2020, 79 percent of the population in Poland read the news more than once a day, placing it second behind Sweden.

2020: Speedway Grand Prix World Championship

In 2020, Bartosz Zmarzlik won the Speedway Grand Prix World Championship.

2020: Tourism Industry Value

In 2020, the total value of the tourism industry in Poland was 104.3 billion PLN, then equivalent to 4.5% of the Polish GDP. Nearly 200,000 people were employed in the accommodation and catering (hospitality) sector in 2020.

2020: President Andrzej Duda Re-elected

President Andrzej Duda, supported by Law and Justice party, was re-elected in the 2020 presidential election.

2021: 2021 Census Results

According to the 2021 census, 71.3% of Polish citizens adhere to the Catholic Church, 6.9% identify as having no religion, and 20.6% refused to answer.

2021: Ethnic Composition

According to the 2021 census, ethnic Poles comprise 98.84% of the population.

2021: Population Statistics

As of 2021, Poland has a population of approximately 38.2 million.

2021: Speedway of Nations Runners-Up

In 2021, Poland finished as runners-up in the Speedway of Nations world championship final, held in Manchester, England.

2021: International Arrivals

In 2021, Poland ranked 12th most visited country in the world by international arrivals.

2021: Church Attendance Decline

In 2021, only 28% of Catholics in Poland attended mass weekly, a significant decrease from around half in 2000.

2021: Work permits

In 2021, the country approved 504,172 work permits for foreigners.

2022: Subdivision of voivodeships

As of 2022, the voivodeships are subdivided into 380 counties (powiats), which are further fragmented into 2,477 municipalities (gminas).

2022: Mass Modernisation of Armed Forces initiated

From 2022, Poland initiated a programme of mass modernisation of its armed forces, in close cooperation with American, South Korean and local Polish defence manufacturers.

2022: Speedway Grand Prix World Championship

In 2022, Bartosz Zmarzlik won the Speedway Grand Prix World Championship.

2022: International Student Performance Ranking

In 2022, the Programme for International Student Assessment placed Poland's educational output as one of the highest in the OECD, ranking 6th by student performance.

2022: Railway track length

In 2022, the nation had 19,393 kilometres of railway track, the third longest in the European Union after Germany and France.

August 2023: Road Network Size

As of August 2023, Poland has the world's 21st-largest road network, maintaining over 5,000 km of highways in use.

October 2023: Law and Justice Party Wins Largest Share of Vote

In October 2023, the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party won the largest share of the vote in the election, but lost its majority in parliament.

November 2023: Ukrainian Refugees Crossing Border to Poland

As of November 2023, the Russian invasion of Ukraine had led to 1.7 million Ukrainian refugees crossing the border to Poland.

December 2023: Donald Tusk Becomes New Prime Minister

In December 2023, Donald Tusk became the new Prime Minister leading a coalition.

2023: Exports

As of 2023, Exports of goods and services are valued at approximately 58% of GDP. In 2023, the country produced 1300 tonnes of silver and was the 5th largest silver producer globally.

2023: Speedway Grand Prix World Championship

In 2023, Bartosz Zmarzlik won the Speedway Grand Prix World Championship.

July 2024: Polish Armed Forces Strength

In July 2024, the Polish Armed Forces had a combined strength of 216,100 active soldiers, making it the largest standing army in the European Union and the third largest in NATO.

September 2024: Volleyball Team Ranking

As of September 2024, the Polish men's national volleyball team is ranked as first in the world.

2024: Representatives in the European Parliament

As of 2024, Poland has a total of 53 representatives in the European Parliament.

2024: Firearms training in schools

From 2024, Poland also provides mandatory firearms training for pupils in primary and secondary schools.

2024: Speedway Grand Prix World Championship

In 2024, Bartosz Zmarzlik won the Speedway Grand Prix World Championship.

2024: Military Expenditure

In 2024, Poland allocated 4.12% of its total GDP on military spending, equivalent to approximately US$35 billion.

2024: Global Innovation Index Rank

In 2024, Poland was ranked 40th in the Global Innovation Index.

2025: Gold reserve

As of 2025, Poland holds the world's 12th largest gold reserve, estimated at 509 tonnes.

2030: Energy Policy

According to the new Energy Policy of Poland, by 2030 Poland plans to deploy new nuclear plants, increase energy efficiency, and decarbonise the Polish transport system in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prioritise long-term energy security.

2040: Energy Policy

According to the new Energy Policy of Poland, by 2040 Poland plans to deploy new nuclear plants, increase energy efficiency, and decarbonise the Polish transport system in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prioritise long-term energy security.