| Oswald Balzer | 1858 1933 | Political Scientist |
| John Baudouin | 1845 1929 | Philologist |
| General Joseph Bem | 1794 1850 | Soldier - Hungarian Hero |
| Joseph Chelmonski | 1849 1914 | Painter |
| Frederic Chopin | 1810 1849 | Composer |
| Thaddeus Czacki | 1765 1813 | Patriot, Historian, Educator |
| Prince Adam Czartoryski | 1770 1861 | Statesman |
| Ian Henryk Dabrowski | 1755 1818 | General, Senator |
| Ignacy Domeyko | 1802 1889 | Engineer, Chemist, Explorer, Geologist |
| Benedict Dybowski | 1833 1930 | Naturalist, Explorer, Zoologist |
| Arthur Grottger | 1837 1867 | Painter |
| Oscar Kolberg | 1814 1890 | Ethnographer, Composer |
| Hugo Kollataj | 1750 1812 | Philosopher, Educator, Statesman |
| Maria Konopnicka | 1842 1910 | Poetess, Novelist, Translator |
| Joseph Konrad–Korzeniowski | 1857 1924 | Novelist in the English language |
| Zygmunt Krasinski | 1812 1859 | Poet,. Dramatist |
| Joseph Ignacy Krasiewski | 1812 1887 | Novelist, Historian |
| Joachim Lelewel | 1786 1861 | Historian, Bibliographer, Patriot |
| Ignacv Lukasiewicz | 1822 1882 | Pharmacist, Chemist , Inventor |
| Jacek (Hyacinth) Malczewski | 1854 1929 | Painter |
| Jan Matejko | 1830 1893 | Painter |
| Adam Mickiewicz | 1798 1855 | National Poet of Poland |
| Helena Modrzejewska | 1840 1909 | Dramatic Artist |
| Stanislaus Moniuszko | 1819 1872 | Composer of National Operas |
| Cyprian Norwid | 1821 1883 | Poet, Dramatist |
| Marceli Nencki | 1847 1901 | Doctor, Chemist, Physiologist |
| Karol Olszewski | 1846 1915 | Chemist, Physicist |
| Ignacy Paderewski | 1860 1941 | Composer, Musician, Statesman |
| Joseph Pilsudski | 1867 1935 | Father of the State, Patriot, Freedom Fighter |
| Boleslaw Prus | 1845 1912 | Writer |
| Prince Joseph Poniatowski | 1762 1813 | Soldier, Hero |
| Ladislaus Reymont | 1868 1925 | Novelist (Nobel Prize - 1924) |
| Henryk Siemiradzki | 1843 1902 | Painter |
| Henryk Sienkiewicz, | 1846 1916 | Novelist (Nobel Prize - 1905) |
| Maria Slodowska Curie | 1867 1934 | Physicist, Chemist (Nobel Prize - 1903 and 1911) |
| Julius Slowacki | 1809 1849 | Poet, Dramatist |
| Marian Smoluchowski | 1872 1917 | Physicist |
| Jan Sniadecki | 1756 1830 | Mathematician, Astronomer, Philosopher |
| Jedrzej Sniadecki | 1768 1838 | Physician, Physiologist, Philosopher |
| Stanisalus Staszic | 1755 1826 | Political Thinker, Reformer, Geologist |
| Karol Szymanowski | 1882 1937 | Composer |
| Zygmunt Wroblewski | 1845 1888 | Scientist |
| Joseph Hoene–Wronski | 1776 1853 | Philosopher, Mathematician, Lawyer |
| Stanislaus Wyspianski | 1869 1907 | Poet, Dramatist, Painter |
| Stefan Zeromski | 1864 1925 | Novelist |
Of those listed here, one name stands out as being particularly associated
with the years of the Partitions. It is the name of Poland’s national poet
Adam Mickiewicz. Through his works, Mickiewicz stood at the pinnacle of Poland’s
Romantic literary movement and also gave Poland a philosophy which kept the
nation alive. Mickiewicz portrayed Poland as a Christ among nations, and the
sufferings of the Polish people during the partitions were shown to be akin
to the sufferings of Christ at His crucifixion. Poland would be used to show
the world the evil of war and the brutality of man to his fellow man. In the
end the Christ-like nation would perish, but a resurrection would follow, for
the Poles were always faithful to their God.
And, indeed,
Poles had the renewed hope during World War I that perhaps one of the partitioning
powers would advance the cause of Polish independence. But, ironically, the
three countries that had divided Poland were now declining. However, one of
President Woodrow Wilson’s "Fourteen Points" called for an independent
Poland which was eventually confirmed by the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. Miraculously,
after 123 years of non-existence, a free Polish state reappeared in Europe.
A scant twenty years later, in September, 1939, World War II began with Hitler’s devastating surprise attack on Poland. In that same month, Soviet troops entered eastern Poland, and, once again, Poland was partitioned, this time between Germany and the Soviet Union. Although Poland ceased to exist as an independent state, her people fought in the underground and in Allied units.
The Polish Committee of National Liberation, organized by the Soviets at Chelm, the first Polish town freed from Nazi occupation, issued the July Manifesto in 1944. This document established Poland as a socialist people’s republic within the Soviet bloc. In 1945, at both the Yalta and Potsdam conferences, Allied leaders decided that Poland’s eastern boundary with the U.S.S.R. would follow the Curzon line, while the western frontier with Germany would be along the Odra-Nysa line.
Early History | Beginnings of Christianity | Early Leadership | First Rulers | The Latin Rite | A New Dynasty | The Queen of Poland
The End of the Monarchy | The Partition | Cultural Leaders | Poland Now