Polish guards watch over migrants encamped along the country’s border with Belarus in November 2021.
Credit: Ulf Mauder/dpa/Alamy Live News

An immigration crisis in Europe came to a head last month, with thousands of migrants trapped on the border between Belarus and Poland. By Nov. 9, 2021, Polish authorities had announced the death of at least eight migrants due to cold weather and other harsh conditions. The Polish government accused Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus, of creating the crisis and making it worse by shepherding migrants through Belarus to the borders of the European Union (EU).

Lukashenko has been the president of Belarus since 1994. In several Belarusian elections, including one in 2020, Lukashenko suppressed his opposition. Foreign governments and independent observers criticized these elections as undemocratic, and the European Union has imposed sanctions on the country. Lukashenko has threatened to use migrants as a means to force the EU to lift sanctions before. Lukashenko denied worsening the migrant crisis, but his government continually granted visas to travelers booking one-way flights to Minsk, the capital of Belarus.

The migrants traveled through Belarus hoping to make it to wealthier countries in the EU. Many of the migrants are from Afghanistan, Iran, and Syria. Aid groups estimate that there are at least 20,000 migrants in Belarus waiting to go westward. While some of the migrants qualify as refugees, the majority are economic migrants who are moving for a better quality of life. Some have reported that Belarusian officials urged them to cross the border illegally and equipped them with wirecutters to cut through fencing.

On November 12, several airlines limited flights to Belarus to slow the flow of migrants through the country. The Polish government deployed troops to the border, and on November 16, Polish officers fired tear gas and water cannons at the migrants in freezing temperatures. Following pressure from many world leaders, the Belarusian government cleared the migrants from the border. Around 400 migrants flew back to Iraq, and others found shelter in warehouses in Belarus. The restriction of journalists in the area near the border has complicated the situation. The EU has added more sanctions on Belarus and has provided relief for many migrants caught on the border. But, the future of the migrants is still uncertain.

August 30, 2019

This Sunday, September 1, marks 80 years since Nazi Germany invaded Poland in 1939. Fighting in Asia had begun years earlier, but Germany’s invasion of Poland is considered the beginning of World War II, the most destructive war in history. World War II eventually drew in more than 50 nations, and more than 50 million people died before the war ended in September 1945.

German troops attack from a trench early in World War II. Germany started the war in Europe by attacking Poland on Sept. 1, 1939, 80 years ago this Sunday. Credit: AP Photo

Germany’s invasion of Poland came after years of problems and shifting attitudes in Germany. The nation’s defeat in World War I (1914-1918) resulted in dire economic and social problems in the 1920′s. Many people longed for the more prosperous pre-war days of the German Empire. In the early 1930′s, political unrest led to the rise of the Nazis, a fascist (extreme authoritarian) political group. The Nazis opposed democracy, Communism, socialism, feminism, and other political systems and movements that claimed to favor equality. The Nazis promised to make Germany great again by building a harmonious, orderly, and strong society. Instead, they brought terrorism, war, and genocide to Germany and other countries.

Adolf Hitler, far right, reviews German tanks as they parade through the streets of Warsaw, Poland, in 1939. Credit: AP/Wide World

In 1933, Adolf Hitler, the leader of the Nazis, was appointed chancellor of Germany. Hitler rapidly increased his own power, and preached that Germans were a “superior race.” He called Jews, Slavs, and other minority groups inferior. He began a campaign of hatred against Jews and Communists and promised to rid the country of them. In this time of distress and economic depression, Hitler’s version of nationalism (an extreme form of patriotism) appealed to many Germans.

Hitler built up Germany’s armed forces. In March 1938, German soldiers marched into neighboring Austria and united it with Germany. At the end of September, Germany seized part of Czechoslovakia. The Czechs came under complete Nazi control in March 1939. Germany’s September invasion of Poland took place after Hitler agreed to divide the country with the Soviet Union. After quick German advances in western Poland, the Soviets invaded Poland from the east on September 17. Attacked from both sides, Poland fell on October 6. The Germans went on to invade other countries (including the Soviet Union) and took control of much of Europe.

The Nazis instituted the Holocaust, the systematic, state-sponsored murder of Jews and other people the Nazis judged politically dangerous or racially or mentally inferior. Historians estimate that the Nazis killed as many as 11 million people, including some 6 million Jews.

The war eventually turned against Nazi Germany, and the Nazis lost control of all areas—including Germany, which was badly damaged in the fighting. Around 5 million Germans died during World War II. Hitler committed suicide on April 30, 1945. Germany surrendered on May 8, ending the war in Europe. Despite the death and destruction brought by Hitler and the Nazis, far-right Neo-Nazi (new Nazi) groups formed after the war in Germany and elsewhere. Neo-Nazis continue to threaten and attack Jews and members of other minority groups.

Nazism and fascism (which also thrived in Italy and Spain) were not unique to Europe. In the United States in the 1930′s, the German American Bund and other groups actively supported the Nazis. The Bund gained a large membership, and in February 1939, it held a rally at New York City’s Madison Square Garden. Some 20,000 people attended the radical Bund rally as around 1,500 police officers held back crowds of anti-fascist protesters outside. The Bund collapsed with the U.S. entry into World War II in December 1941—against Nazi Germany (and Japan).

July 23, 2018

Polish is the official language of the central European country of Poland. It is also one of 24 official and working languages of the European Union (EU). Some 40 to 50 million people speak Polish. Most of them live in Poland, but large communities of Polish speakers also live in nearby European countries as well as in Australia and in North and South America.

The flag of Poland flies over nearly 40 million Polish speakers. Credit: © Loveshop/Shutterstock

Polish belongs to the Indo-European language family—that is, a group of languages descended from a common parent language. Within the Indo-European family, Polish is further categorized as a Slavic language. It is a close relative of the Czech and Slovak languages, as well as the Sorbian language spoken by the Wend people of eastern Germany. Belarusian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Macedonian, Russian, Serbian, Slovenian, and Ukrainian are also Slavic languages.

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Poland Credit: WORLD BOOK map

Unlike other Slavic languages written in the Cyrillic script, Polish is written using a modified Latin, or Roman, alphabet. This fact reflects the dominance of the Roman Catholic faith in the region since the A.D. 900’s, around the time the language began to take shape. The Polish alphabet has 32 letters, which includes all the letters of the English alphabet, plus some unique characters. For example, Polish uses the letter ł, which is pronounced like an English w. Polish also uses many clusters of consonants, and diacritical marks—that is, signs used with letters to indicate pronunciation or meaning.

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Polish belongs to the large Indo-European language family. Credit: WORLD BOOK diagram

Polish is considered a difficult language to learn. It has a complicated grammar, including a complex system of gender. There are no articles, such as a or the in English. Polish has seven cases, a feature of nouns and pronouns that helps show their relation to other parts of speech in a sentence. In comparison, English has only two cases: common and possessive.

Besides the homogenized (uniform) Polish that is Poland’s official language, there are a number of Polish dialects with roots in the region’s tribal days, before a unified Polish state existed. These include the Great/Greater Polish, Little/Lesser Polish, Mazovian, Silesian, and Kashubian dialects.

In the 1500′s, the poets Mikolaj Rej and Jan Kochanowski were among the first writers to use the Polish language for their works. Outstanding Polish writers of the 1800′s included the poet Adam Mickiewicz, the playwright Stanislaw Wyspianski, and the novelist Henryk Sienkiewicz. Several Polish writers have won the Nobel Prize for literature: Sienkiewicz, who won the prize in 1905; the novelist Wladyslaw Reymont (1924); and the poets Czeslaw Milosz (1980) and Wislawa Szymborska (1996).

February 16, 2018

Today, the northeastern European country of Lithuania celebrates the centennial of its declaration of independence on Feb. 16, 1918. Lithuania lies on the Baltic Sea, south of Latvia and Estonia. Lithuania shares parts of its borders with Poland and Russia—neighbors who have dominated much of Lithuania’s history. Centuries ago (from the late 1100′s until 1386), Lithuania was an independent nation, so the 1918 event was actually a restoration of Lithuanian independence. The restoration was brief and precarious, however, and the independent nation disappeared from world maps in 1940. Lithuania regained its independence in 1991.

Credit: Office of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania

Today at 12:30 p.m. Lithuanian time, the nationwide ringing of bells officially begins centennial events that include art and food festivals, history-themed marches, a special Mass at Vilnius Cathedral, and grand concerts at Vilnius’s Cathedral Square and the National Opera and Ballet Theatre. In the evening, 100 bonfires will light the way along the city’s main street, Gediminas Avenue. Vilnius is Lithuania’s capital and largest city, and many buildings and streets are decorated to appear as they did 100 years ago in 1918.

Lithuanian flag Credit: © Photo Roman/Shutterstock

Centennial celebrations will take place throughout the country, and other events will take place throughout the year. This summer’s highlight is a centenary edition of Lithuania’s famous Song Festival, a cultural and musical celebration recognized by UNESCO on the Intangible Cultural Heritage List. UNESCO is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN). Its full name is the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

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Lithuania. Credit: WORLD BOOK map

The Lithuanian peoples first united into a single nation in the late 1100′s. From the late 1300′s until the 1700′s, Lithuania was united with Poland. Russia ruled the country from the late 1700′s until 1918, when Lithuania declared independence. Immediately, the fledgling republic had to fight Russians and then Poles (who were also fighting each other) for control of the country. Lithuania remained independent, but Poland controlled Vilnius from 1920 until 1939. That year, Nazi Germany seized part of Lithuania. Later in 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union signed a secret pact that divided parts of Europe between them. In 1940, the Soviet Union forced Lithuania to become a Soviet republic. Lithuania was fought over again during World War II (1939-1945), after which it remained a part of the Soviet Union for nearly 50 years. Many Lithuanians resisted Soviet rule, however, and on March 11, 1990, the small nation declared independence once again. That act was part of a series of events that resulted in the Soviet Union’s dissolution—and a free Lithuania—in 1991.

Since then, Lithuania has grown culturally and economically while forging close ties with western Europe. In 2004, Lithuania joined both the European Union (EU), which promotes economic and political cooperation, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a defense alliance.

June 4, 2014

Speaking in Warsaw at an event celebrating the 25th anniversary of Poland’s democratic government, President Barack Obama sought to reassure Poland and Eastern European nations that have grown anxious about their national security since Russia’s annexation of the Crimean Peninsula. The event, Freedom Day, celebrated Poland’s first Western-style elections—held on June 4, 1989—in which the Solidarity movement defeated the Communist government that had formed in Poland in the late 1940′s. After the 1989 elections, Poland went on to become an economic and political success story, joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1999 and the European Union (EU) in 2004.

A political rally held in Poland during the 1989 elections showed support for the Solidarity movement (© Filip Horvat, SABA).

Russia’s takeover of the Crimean Peninsula in April 2014 created anxiety throughout central and eastern Europe. Some former Soviet nations worried that Russian President Vladimir Putin was trying to re-create the Soviet empire. Yesterday, President Obama announced a $1-billion program to bolster the presence of the U.S. military in Poland and its neighbors. The program includes providing military aid to such non-NATO nations as Georgia and Ukraine.

Speaking in Castle Square, President Obama gave a strong promise of military support, saying, “I know that throughout history, the Polish people were abandoned by friends when you needed them most.  So I’ve come to Warsaw today—on behalf of the United States, on behalf of the NATO Alliance—to reaffirm our unwavering commitment to Poland’s security . . . . We stand together—now and forever—for your freedom is ours.”