| abstract
| - Poland, officially the Republic of Poland (Rzeczpospolita Polska or Republika Polska) was a sovereign state in central Europe that existed between the two World Wars; from the creation of an independent Polish state in the aftermath of World War I, to the invasion of Poland in 1939 by Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, and the Republic of Lithuania, which marked the beginning of the Second World War. When the borders of the state were fixed in 1922 after several regional conflicts, the republic bordered Czechoslovakia, Germany, Free City of Danzig, Lithuania, Latvia, Romania, and the Soviet Union, plus a tiny strip of the coastline of the Baltic Sea, around the city of Gdynia. Furthermore, in the period March 1939 - August 1939, Poland bordered then-Hungarian Carpathian Ruthenia. It had an area of 388 634 km² (sixth largest in Europe, in the fall of 1938, after the annexation of Zaolzie, the area grew to 389,720 km².), and 27.2 million inhabitants according to the 1921 census. In 1939, just before the outbreak of World War II, it had an estimated 35.1 million inhabitants. Almost third of these were minorities (13.9% Ukrainians, 3.1% Belarusians, 8.6% Jews, 2.3% Germans, and 3.4% percent Czechs, Lithuanians and Russians). The Second Polish Republic is often associated with times of great adversity, of troubles and of triumph. Having to deal with the economic difficulties and destruction of World War I, followed by the Soviet invasion during the Polish Soviet War, and then increasingly hostile neighbors such as Nazi Germany, the Republic managed not only to endure, but to expand. Lacking an overseas empire, Poland nevertheless maintained a level of economic development and prosperity comparable to that of the West. The cultural hubs of Warsaw, Kraków, Poznań, Wilno and Lwów raised themselves to the level of major European cities. They were also the sites of internationally renowned universities and places of higher learning. By 1939 the Republic was becoming a major world player in politics and economics. In terms of foreign policy, Poland focused on remaining neutral with both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. In 1938, it took advantage of the German invasion of Czechoslovakia by recapturing the Zaolzie territory. Following the annexation of the territory into Poland, the Polish government allowed Czech troops to withdraw into Poland following Czechoslovakia's defeat in March 1939. Following the defeat of Czechoslovakia on March 15, 1939, Poland shared borders with Nazi Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, and the Soviet Union. On September 1, 1939, one week after the signing of the secret Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, Poland was invaded by Nazi Germany. The campaign ended on September 23, 1939, with Germany, Lithuania and the Soviet Union occupying the entirety of Poland. While Poland did not surrender and continued as Polish Government in Exile and the Polish Underground State, the Polish territories were annexed by Nazi Germany. Following Operation Barbarossa, the Soviet-occupied territories of Poland were annexed by Germany.
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