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|president =Bronisław KomorowskiAndrzej Duda

|pm =Donald Tusk Ewa Kopacz

'''Poland''' is the most [[pro-life]] nation in [[Central Europe]] (Middle Europe) located on its western side. It has suffered many hardships before and after [[World War I]] and [[World War II|II]] disappearing as a nation in 1975 1875 and re-appearing in 1918. Emerging as a nation again after World War I, Poland was partitioned between [[Nazi Germany]] and the [[Soviet Union]] at the start of World War II. Given nationhood again at the end of the war, it was under the shroud of being a Soviet satellite controlled by a [[communist]] regime. Poland finally became liberated from the communist rule in late 1980s. The exact date of the end of communism in Poland is hard to difine, but it is often accepted as July 4, 1989 (the date of the elections won by the ''Solidarność'', or ''Solidarity'' movement. [[Pope John Paul II]] was from Poland and played a major part in bringing down [[communist|communism]] in Poland. Among the nations under Soviet domination, Poland was unique in continuing to keep its strong [[Catholic]] roots even in the face of persecution. The [[capital]] of Poland is [[Warsaw]].

More than 94% of the population is [[Roman Catholic]]. According to the 2007 Annual Statistical Yearbook of Poland, the formal membership of the listed religious groups includes: 33,862,800 Roman Catholics; 506,800 Polish Orthodox Churchmembers; 53,000 Greek Catholics; 126,827 Jehovah's Witnesses; 77,500 Lutherans (Augsburg Confession); 23,670 Old Catholic Mariavits; 21,199 Pentecostals; 9,620 Seventh-day Adventists; 19,035 members of the Polish Catholic Church; 4,881 members of the New Apostolic Church; 4,726 Baptists; 4,445 Methodists; 3,516 Lutherans (Reformed); 2,500 Jews; 2,425 members of the Church of Christ; 2,195 Catholic Mariavits; 1,299 members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons); 915 members of the Church of Krishna Consciousness (Hare Krishnas); and 112 registered members of Muslim associations. These figures do not account for persons who adhere to a particular faith but do not maintain formal membership. Figures for Jews and Muslims in particular are significantly deflated as a result. Jewish and Muslim organizations estimate their actual numbers to be 30,000-40,000 and 25,000, respectively.<ref> See [http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2008/ U.S. State Department "International Religious Freedom Report 2008"]</ref>

Former President of the Polish CommonwealthRepublic of Poland, Bronislaw Komorowski.

Poland's written history begins with the reign of [[Mieszko I]], who accepted [[Christianity]] for himself and his kingdom in AD 966. The Polish state reached its zenith under the [[Jagiellonian dynasty]] in the years following the union with [[Lithuania]] in 1386 and the subsequent defeat of the [[Teutonic Knights]] at Grunwald in 1410. The Union of Lublin united the [[Kingdom Poland|Kingdom of Poland ]] and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania on July 1, 1569, in Lublin, Poland which created a single state known as the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Polish Commonwealth was at one point the largest country in Europe, covering much of what is today Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, and Poland. The Polish experienced their Golden Age during the 16th century. The monarchy survived many upheavals but eventually went into a decline, which ended with the final partition of Poland by [[Prussia]], [[Russia]], and [[Austria]] in 1795.