A Bit Of History...
Our Polish Adventure...
As we celebrate 60 years since VE day the Poles are remembering the 60th anniversary of the Postdam conference (July 17th - 2nd August 1945). This was the international conference that met after the end of World War Two to decide upon territorial disputes caused directly by Hitler's ruthless imperial policy, which led him to invade Poland among other mainland European territories. The Postdam conference was called to decide the future of post-war Germany and what to do with their territorial gains following the defeat of Hitler by the allied powers.
Each of the victorious powers had their own program for peace, and their own ideas about how to redistribute the territories formerly occupied by Germany. The main issue relating to Poland was how to determine its western border. After much dispute the western border was fixed at the Oder River and the Lusatian Neisse, the current border of contemporary Poland. This decision shifted Poland's border 300km (180 miles) westward, and they obtained the southern parts of East Prussia. Yet despite the expansion of territory on the west side, Poland still lost over 70,000 square kilometres (43400 square miles) of land, almost twice the land mass of Luxembourg, necessitating the relocation of almost 20 million people. These territorial losses introduced a heavy dependence upon the Soviet Union and helped to facilitate communism in Central and Eastern Europe. Thanks to Stalin's prominent role in the Postdam negotiations and the allies gratitude to the Soviets over their part in securing victory over axis powers the Soviet union managed to gain more than 500,000 square kilometres (310,000 square miles) of land, gains that were not restituted until the fall of communism in 1989, when the central and eastern European countries that had been adversely affected under communism regained sovereignty.
As we celebrate 60 years since VE day the Poles are remembering the 60th anniversary of the Postdam conference (July 17th - 2nd August 1945). This was the international conference that met after the end of World War Two to decide upon territorial disputes caused directly by Hitler's ruthless imperial policy, which led him to invade Poland among other mainland European territories. The Postdam conference was called to decide the future of post-war Germany and what to do with their territorial gains following the defeat of Hitler by the allied powers.
Each of the victorious powers had their own program for peace, and their own ideas about how to redistribute the territories formerly occupied by Germany. The main issue relating to Poland was how to determine its western border. After much dispute the western border was fixed at the Oder River and the Lusatian Neisse, the current border of contemporary Poland. This decision shifted Poland's border 300km (180 miles) westward, and they obtained the southern parts of East Prussia. Yet despite the expansion of territory on the west side, Poland still lost over 70,000 square kilometres (43400 square miles) of land, almost twice the land mass of Luxembourg, necessitating the relocation of almost 20 million people. These territorial losses introduced a heavy dependence upon the Soviet Union and helped to facilitate communism in Central and Eastern Europe. Thanks to Stalin's prominent role in the Postdam negotiations and the allies gratitude to the Soviets over their part in securing victory over axis powers the Soviet union managed to gain more than 500,000 square kilometres (310,000 square miles) of land, gains that were not restituted until the fall of communism in 1989, when the central and eastern European countries that had been adversely affected under communism regained sovereignty.
posted by Polska Adventurer at 11:04 AM
1 Comments:
Great bit of history, but mumsy and I think it needs a photo to liven it up, perhaps one of Beth and Vicki eating lodys. Great to see you have been doing the homework.
Love KaysDadAndMum
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