2. POLISH HISTORY ( IN A PILL) WHAT? WHEN? WHERE? WHY?

3. THE BEGINNING THERE ARE MANY LEGENDS ABOUT POLISH HISTORY ONE IS CALLED ‘ABOUT LECH’ IT TELLS HOW WE CHOSE OUR FIRST CAPITAL CITY AND OUR COAT OF ARMS

4. THE FIRST MONARCH HIS NAME WAS MIESZKO I HE WAS BRAVE AND STRONG HIS WIFE WAS CZECH, HER NAME WAS DUBRAWA MIESZKO I MADE POLISH PEOPLE BECOME CHRISTIANS IN 966

5. OTHER kINGS AND QUEENS WE HAD MANY KINGS AND QUEENS SOME WERE WISE AND BRAVE SOME NOT WISE AND NOT BRAVE ONE KING CALLED ZYGMUNT STARY (ZYGMUNT THE OLD) HAD A WIFE FROM ITALY HER NAME WAS BONA SFORZA d’ARAGONA ( HER PARENTS WERE FROM MILANO AND NEAPOL) SHE BROUGHT VEGETABLES TO POLAND

6. NO POLAND FOR 123 YEARS IN 1795 THE RUSSIAN ARMY, THE GERMAN ARMY AND THE AUSTRIAN ARMY TOOK OVER POLAND ON THE MAPS OF EUROPE THERE WAS NO POLAND

7. DON’T GIVE UP!!! POLISH SOLDIERS DID NOT GIVE UP THEY LOOKED FOR HELP IN COUNTRIES WHICH WERE ALSO FOGHTING AGAINST OUR OCCUPIERS THE POLISH SOLDIERS ASKED FOR HELP NAPOLEON BONAPARTE - THE FRENCH LEADER. AT THAT TIME NAPOLEON BONAPARTE WAS IN ITALY AND LET THE POLISH MAKE THEIR OWN ARMY ! IN REGGIO IN 1797 MR JÓZEF WYBICKI WROTE A WONDERFUL SONG „MAZUREK D Ą BROWSKIEGO” - NOW IT IS OUR NATIONAL ANTHEM

8. BACK TO THE EUROPEAN MAP! WE BECAME INDEPENDENT AFTER A LONG TIME, IN 1918 ON NOVEMBER 11TH IT IS NOW OUR INDEPENDENCE DAY

9. WORLD WAR II 1 SEPTEMBER 1939 POLISH SOLDIERS WERE FIGHTING AGAINST GERMAN ARMY ALL OVER THE WORLD THEY WERE ALSO IN GREAT BRITAIN POLISH SOLDIERS WERE BRAVE AND TOOK PART IN THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN – ESPECIALLY POLISH PILOTS OF THE 303RD SQUADRON FIGHTERS WHO SHOT DOWN GERMAN AIRCRAFT

10. HARD TIME AFTER THE WAR POLAND WAS A COMMUNIST COUNTRY WE WERE VERY POOR, NOT EVERYBODY COULD TRAVEL ABROAD

11. POLAND AFTER 1989…. NOW WE ARE INDEPENDENT AGAIN! WE HAVE BEEN IN EUROPEAN UNION SINCE 2004