Poland
Poland	3772
sides, Poland was partitioned for the fourth
time. Warsaw suffered destruction from Ger-
man artillery and air bombs. The section
awaked the U. S. S. R. was occupied by the
Germans in 1941, after Germany at lacked
Russia, and was retaken by the Russians in
IQ43-
Poland:   Language   and   Literature.—
The Polish language is one of the must widely
spread branches of the Slavonic family, form-
ing, with Bohemian and Sorbfsh or Lusatian
Wendish, the western branch of the Slavic
tongues. Among the very oldest literary
monuments is a hymn to the Virgin Mary,
ascribed to St. Adalbert. The period be-
tween 1541 and 1606 is called by the Poles
the golden age of their literature. The list
ot" poets begins with Nicholas Rej of Nag-
lowice (1505-69). Jan Kochanovvski (1530-
o.|) is called the prince of Polish poets; he
wrote a play entitled The Setting Out of the
Greek Ambassadors, and some other lengthy
works. Especially famous are his Lamenta-
tions (Treny) on the death of his daughter
Ursula. Polish pastorals were written by
Szmonoxvicz (1557-1 ft jo), called in Latin
Simonidcs, and the brothers Zimorowicz,
who were of Armenian descent. Somewhat
later Jan Gawinski successfully cultivated
this field of poetry.
The period from 1606 to 1764 has been
styled by some writer maearomic, owing to
the great number of Latin words introduced.
The poetry certainly lacks originality; but we
must except Wojna Chorimska, or the Wars
of the, Chocim, by Waclaw Potocki (1622-
96). The romantic movement reached Po-
land at the period of its political agonies.
Adam Mickfrwicz (1798-1855), is the great-
est of all Polish poets. He is one of the
glorious trio, of which Slowacki (1809-49)
and Krasinski (1812-59) constitute the other
two. The so-called Ukraine school produced
the poets Zaleski, Malczewski (1793-1826),
and others. The Marya of Malczewski is one
of the most popular poems in the Polish lan-
guage. An extraordinary fertile writer was
Karszewski (1812-87). No Polish writer of
his period can compare with him in vol-
ume of output or breadth of range. The
dominating figure of the last quarter of
the past century is Henry Sienkiewicz (1846-
1916) whose historical romances have a
world wide following and whoso short stories
attracted general attention. His Trilogy,
Ouo Vadis, The Knights of the Cross, Q*i the,
Field of Glory and The Legions mark him
one of Poland's greatest writers. Naturalism
aim ot destroying Poland. In August, jyso,
when but 10 miles from Warsaw the Bol-
shevik armies were crushed, losing almost all
of their ammunition and seveicJ hundred
thousand prisoners. According to U:c peace
treaty Russia recognized the independence of
Poland and an almost straight line going
from Latvia, in the North, to Roumania, in
the South, was recognized as the boundary
between the two countries. Wilno, Grodno,
Pinsk, and Luck remained on (he Polish side,
Minsk on the Russian. Then followed the
controversy between Poland and Lithuania
over possession of Wilno. Its seizure by the
Poles in 1920 was assented to by the Council
of Ambassadors in 1923 but Lithuania re-
mained dissatisfied. In 1926 Poland obtained
a semi-permanent scat in the Council of the
League of Nations; she was a partner in thr
Locarno Agreement and an original signer
of the Kellogg Pact. She signed arbitration
treaties with 23 nations and became a mem-
ber of the World Court. In 1926 Marshal
Pilsudski with army aid overturned the gov-
ernment and thenceforth until his death in
1935, exercised dictatorial powers over the
government, Non-aggression pacts were
made, in 1932 with Russia and in 1934 with
Germany. In 1935 a new Constitution was
adopted, and thereafter the government func-
tioned in parliamentary form. Growing out
of the Munich Pact, Poland received about
400 square miles from Czechoslovakia in
1938. After Hitler's successes in acquiring
for Germany, all of Austria 1938, most of
Czechoslovakia 1938-39 and Mcmcl 1939, he
directed his attention to Poland and the
free city of Danzig, which was included
within the Polish customs jurisdiction. Hit-
ler's agents fomented strife in Danzig and
among German minorities elsewhere under
Polish rule, following which there were ex-
changes leading up to German demands upon
Poland which included relinquishmcnt to
Germany of all Polish rights in Danzig and
certain rights in the Polish Corridor. Aroused
by the continuing spread of German aggres-
sions, Great Britain and France supported
Poland in her refusal of the demands. On
September i, 1939, the German armies ad-
vanced against Poland and met with but
little effective resistance because of Poland's
lack of modern military mechanization.
Great Britain and France promptly declared
war on Germany but could not reach Poland
with military aid. Taking advantage of Po-
land's helplessness, Russia moved her armies
into eastern Poland. Thus beset on both