Regained Territories

The areas of contemporary Poland, including the Recovered Territories were first described by Tacitus in 98 AD in his book Germania. He described many tribes living there, including Baltic, Germanic, Finnish and Celtic nations. With the Volkerwanderung, with the take-overs of the Roman empire and with ongoing invasions from Asia over the centuries many inhabitants from eastern Germania, particularly around the Baltic Sea, were forced westwards and southwards. The Slavs also spread from the Pripjet marshes and the first group are the Moravians under the Frankish leader Samo. The related Czech took on christianity and were subject to Mainz and Regensburg dioceses for 100 years.

The brothers Czech and Lech are the semi-legendary Slav brothers, from which the Czechs and Lechiten or Poles derived their nations. The Polans received land in lien from the empire, when the first ruler of the Polans, Mieszko I pledged allegiance to German margrave Gero, married margraves daughters and Mieszko and sons continued pledging allegiances to the German emperors.

The lands , which Oda von Haldensleben and her husband managed, were described in the document Dagome Iudex and came under protection of the Pope. The first Polish King, Boleslaus I of Poland got a recognition from the Holy Roman Empire at the Meeting in Gniezno in 1000, where he was named as a friend and ally of the empire, that represented the Christian Europe.

Later on, the parts of Poland, were conquered by substates of Holy Roman Empire. Under feudal governments and royal houses connected to the empire various different ruling houses held souverainties, such as Bohemia, Austria, Sweden, Prussia and then Imperial Germany.

In 1939 the population consisted from the mixture of Germanised Slavs, successors of German immigrants and some 1 million Poles left on the German side, ouside of Poland. When Germany started the World War II in September 1939, the shift of Polish borders to the west was made one of the main goals of the allies (initially Poland, United Kingdom and France, later also other countries).

Initially Poland was promised East Prussia, Upper Silesia and the eastern part of Western Pomerania up to Kolberg. At the Potsdam conference, Poland's exact western borders were drawn on Oder-Neisse line. The German inhabitants of these areas who fled westwards or were forcefully expelled by the Soviets are known as Heimatvertriebene (literally: "the ones driven from their homeland"), and today the area is predominantly Polish.

Today there is no question internationally about Poland's right to control these territories and many Poles believe passionately in Poland's ancestral rights to the areas.

Arguments for the Polish Position

This position is defended by facts such as that the Holy Roman Empire at the meeting at the tomb of Saint Adalbert in 1000, Silesia and Lubus were already part of Poland, Pomerania a Polish fief. This area of the country was made into a separate Polish province of the church, which included Silesia until 1850 and Lubus, Pomerania until the Reformation. Also the fact that Poland bordered the Holy Roman Empire was possible only because the Slavic people that lived between Oder and Elbe rivers were already the subject of conquest from the side of Saxonian vassals of the Holy Roman Empire. During the partial division of Poland period (1138-1320), Poland lost Lubus and sovereignty over the western part of Pomerania, which became a separate state, Silesia. Silesia was ruled by princes from the Polish dynasty of Piast until 1675, and eventually, in 1343, recognized the sovereignty of the rulers of Bohemia.

Counter-Arguments

Many who are not Polish and some who are doubt the validity of these claims, however, contending that the concept of Poland of a thousand years ago and the modern notion of Poland bear very little relation to each other. This concept is equally non-realistic to a concept of some modern English nationalists deriving their Englishness from the inheritance of Alfred the Great.

Also, since the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth ruled almost all of eastern Europe at one time or another, it could be argued that in 1945 Polish claims to these territories were no better than claims would be for sovereignty over Kiev or Moldova.

Referenced By