A lot has has happened in Poland during the last 100 years. We regained our Independence in 1918, after the end of The Great War. Our country was reborn as The Second Polish Republic. At first, this country was democratic, but then power was seized by Józef Piłsudski in 1926. Soon after regaining inependence, we were attacked by Soviet Russia. We were overwhelmed at first, but we turned the tide by winning in the Battle of Warsaw in 1920. The Bolsheviks soon retreated. Poland was then a rapidly growing nation and many engineers were needed.  Due to problems with Gdańsk, which was autonomous, a new port was built. It was named Gdynia. Another project was The Coal Trunk-Line. It was a railway that connect Silesia and  Gdynia. It was built to export coal by sea from Poland to other European countries. However, the most ambitous enterprise in The Second Polish Republic was The Central Industrial Region. It's goal was to create an industrial center in the middle of Poland in order strengthen the economy and to recover after the Great Depression, an economic crisis that hit a few years prior. New power plants, mines and factories were built all over the area. This project also improved the quality of the Polish army. Nonetheless, it wasn't able to stop what was coming. A war greater the Great War. The Second World War.

	On the 1st of September 1939 Germany, which was ruled by a nationalist dictator, Adolf Hitler, invaded poland from the west. Sixteen days later, we were attacked by The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, a country formed from Soviet Russia and led by Joseph Stalin. We weren't able to stop oncoming armies and soon our country was under occupation. The leaders of The German Reich beleived that jews, slavs and roma were inferior to Germans, and built death camps in order to kill people of other nationalities. A lot of people tried to fight back against Hitler. In 1944, The Polish Underground State organised an uprising in Warsaw. Many heroes sacrifised their lives, but ultimatelly It failed and our capital was pulled down. Some people also joined foreign armies to fight the German Nazis. In 1945 The USSR allied with The United Kingdom and The United States and won the war against Germany, and their allies - Italy and Japan.

	Poland soon became The People's Republic of Poland - a state politically dependent on The Soviet Union. We lost eastern lands and cities, such as Lviv or Vilnus, but we gained lands on the west. Warsaw was rebuilt and new buildings were constructed. The symbol of this period was the Palace of Culture and Science. It was a gift from our Eastern neighbours. Life on the countrydside was improved and the literacy rate was raised significantly. There were problems, though. Individual freedom was restricted and our country wasn't exactly independent. This, coupled with economic problems of the system, made many people protest. Soon, an independent labour union was formed, called Solidarność. At first, the governement violently supressed the opposition, but the weakening of the Soviet Union caused Poland to regain independence from the Soviets, and become a western democracy around 1989. By 1991, the Soviet Union had collapsed.
	Now, Poland is a member of many western organisations, such as NATO or The European Union. It is a prosperous and independent country. Our country is now now home to 37 million Poles. Polish citizens  have a right to free speech and to vote. They are allowed to travel all over Europe. Our fatherland went through a lot, but now we're free!