POLAND

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Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a unitary sovereign state in Central Europe. With a population of over 38 million people, Poland is the sixth most populous member state of the European Union. Poland's capital and largest city is Warsaw. Other major cities include Kraków, Łódź, Wrocław, Poznań, Gdańsk, and Szczecin.

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The establishment of the Polish state can be traced back to 966 A.D., when Mieszko I, ruler of the territory coextensive with that of present-day Poland, converted to Christianity. The Kingdom of Poland was founded in 1025, and in 1569 it cemented a longstanding political association with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania by signing the Union of Lublin. This union formed the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, one of the largest (about 400,000 square miles = 1000,000 square km) and most populous countries of 16th and 17th century Europe, with a uniquely liberal political system which adopted Europe's first written national constitution, the Constitution of 3 May 1791. 

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At the end of the 18th century, there were three partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1772, 1793, 1795). The partitions ended the existence of the state, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland and Lithuania for 123 years. The partitions were conducted by Habsburg Austria, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Russian Empire, which divided up the Commonwealth lands among themselves progressively in the process of territorial seizures and annexations.

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After 123 years of partitions, Poland regained its independence on November 11, 1918, by virtue of the Treaty of Versailles. In September 1939, World War II started with the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, followed by the Soviet Union invading Poland in accordance with the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. The pact represented the so called "fourth partition of Poland" between Germany and the Soviet Union. More than six million Poles died in the war. After World War II, the Polish People's Republic was established as a satellite state under Soviet influence. In the aftermath of the Revolutions of 1989, most notably through the emergence of the Solidarity movement, Poland reestablished itself as a democratic republic.

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Poland is a developed market and regional power as well as a possible emerging world power. It is a developed and democratic country, which maintains a high-income economy along with very high standards of living, life quality, safety, education and economic freedom. According to the World Bank, Poland has a leading school educational system in Europe. The country provides free university education, state-funded social securityand a universal health care system for all citizens.​ Poland has developed a rich cultural heritage, including numerous historical monuments. It has 15 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, 14 of which are cultural. Poland is a member state of the European Union, the Schengen Area, the United Nations, NATO, the OECD, the Three Seas Initiative, and the Visegrád Group.

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During his visit to Poland on 6 July 2017, Donald J. Trump, President of the United States, in his speech to Poles in Krasiński Square in Warsaw, said, “As I stand here today before this incredible crowd, this faithful nation, we can still hear those voices that echo through history. Their message is as true today as ever.  The people of Poland, the people of America, and the people of Europe still cry out “We want God.” It is worth noting that The President of the United States, in the first place, sets the Polish Nation as an eminent example of faith in God.

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