“UNTIL the Treaty of Versailles the Polish nation was without a country. For more than a century the buffer-state of Central Europe had no representation on the map. Today when the area, population and resources must be recognized and her strategic position taken into account, Poland remains to many people of the Western world merely the name of a country. That is the reason for this book. It is not intended as a history of Poland nor yet is it an exhaustive treatise on the cultural or economic conditions of the country. It is written rather to bring before the reader data and facts about Poland, interesting facts about a country that is both ancient and new; facts about a people whose history goes back to the twilight of fable; facts about a people who left an indelible mark on the pages of European history. “From her earliest days Poland possessed a world of folklore and legends which with her growth as a nation closely united with her history, have become a part of the everyday life of her people. These legends, to some extent, explain the patriotism and love of their country which is one of the chief characteristics of the Poles. “It is the hope of the author that this book will prove as interesting and entertaining to the reader as was his contact with this fascinating country and its people.”

A chronicle of battle and bravery in the Civil War, as Polish officers who had lost their own country remained determined to fight for their new one, and for the ideals they had always upheld, whether freedom or independence, or whether North or South . . .

Studying the German-Polish ethnic relations, this book analyses the people and region through their respective borderlands, migration, official cooperation and unofficial suspicions across the border. The main conclusion is that, while officialdom is generally keen to develop cross-border ties, which ordinary people do take advantage of, these tend to be much more sceptical of the potential impact to their lives in what remains an economically depressed area despite cross-border cooperation having been possible for several decades.

‘The White Eagle’ is a work of historical fiction in the backdrop of wartime Poland, specifically the ghettos of World War II. As a work of historical fiction, there is serious historical research involved on matters such as the genesis of Soviet-Polish antagonism and the events that led to the invasion of Poland in 1939. But ultimately, this is a story of ultimate human courage and sacrifice. The protagonist, Irena Sendler, was a hero of the Polish Resistance. She was a Polish Catholic social worker who along with nine of her associates smuggled Jewish children out of the ghetto and placed them with convents and foster families. She risked her life and saved the lives of more than 2,500 children from imminent death and gave them a new life. The children saved by her are known as “Irena Sendler’s Children”. Using the known historical facts about her life as a scaffolding, the author fills in the blanks. The result is a gripping story – an adventure story of magnificent, operatic proportions.

In 1944, the Nazis razed Warsaw’s historic Cathedral of St. John the Baptist. “They knew that the strength of the Polish nation was rooted in the Cross, Christ’s Passion, the spirit of the Gospels, and the invincible Church,” argued Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński in a letter celebrating the building’s subsequent reconstruction. “To weaken and destroy the nation, they knew they must first deprive it of its Christian spirit.” Wyszynski insisted that Catholicism was an integral component of Polish history, culture, and national identity. The faithfulness of the Polish people fortified them during times of trial and inspired much that was noble and good in their endeavors. Filling a sizable gap in the literature, White Eagle, Black Madonna is a systematic study of the Catholic Church in Poland and among the Polish diaspora. Polish Catholicism has not been particularly well understood outside of Poland, and certainly not in the Anglophone world, until now. Demonstrating an unparalleled mastery of the topic, Robert E. Alvis offers an illuminating vantage point on the dynamic tension between centralization and diversity that long has characterized the Catholic Church’s history. Written in clear, concise, accessible language, the book sheds light on the relevance of the Polish Catholic tradition for the global Catholic Church, a phenomenon that has been greatly enhanced by Pope John Paul II, whose theology, ecclesiology, and piety were shaped profoundly by his experiences in Poland, and those experiences in turn shaped the course of his long and influential pontificate. Offering a new resource for understanding the historical development of Polish Catholicism, White Eagle, Black Madonna emphasizes the people, places, events, and ritual actions that have animated the tradition and that still resonate among Polish Catholics today. From the baptism of Duke Mieszko in 966 to the controversial burial of President Lech Kaczyński in 2010, the Church has accompanied the Polish people during their long and often tumultuous history. While often controversial, Catholicism’s influence over Poland’s political, social, and cultural life has been indisputably profound.

Surprisingly little known, the Polish-Soviet War of 1919-20 was to change the course of twentieth-century history. In White Eagle, Red Star, Norman Davies gives a full account of the War, with its dramatic climax in August 1920 when the Red Army - sure of victory and pledged to carry the Revolution across Europe to 'water our horses on the Rhine' - was crushed by a devastating Polish attack. Since known as the 'miracle on the Vistula', it remains one of the most decisive battles of the Western world. Drawing on both Polish and Russian sources, Norman Davies illustrates the narrative with documentary material which hitherto has not been readily available and shows how the War was far more an 'episode' in East European affairs, but largely determined the course of European history for the next twenty years or more.