Poles

The Poles (Polish: Polacy, pronounced [pɔˈlat͡sɨ]; singular masculine: Polak, singular feminine: Polka) are a nation and West Slavic ethnic group native to Poland. The population of Poles in Poland is estimated at 37,310,000 out of an overall population of 38,538,000 (based on the 2011 census). The preamble to the Constitution of the Republic of Poland defines the Polish nation as comprising all the citizens of Poland; ethnicity is a private matter of each citizen.

Poland's population inhabits several historic regions: Wielkopolska ("Greater Poland"), Małopolska ("Lesser Poland"), Mazovia (in Polish, Mazowsze), Silesia (in Polish, Śląsk), Pomerania (in Polish, Pomorze), Kujawy, Warmia, Mazury, and Podlasie.

A wide-ranging Polish diaspora (the Polonia) exists throughout Europe (Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Russia, Belarus, Lithuania, Czech Republic, Latvia, Ukraine), the Americas (the United States, Brazil, Canada, Argentina) and in Australia. In 1960, Chicago, in the United States, had the world's largest urban Polish population after Warsaw. Today the largest urban concentration of Poles is the Katowice urban agglomeration (the Silesian Metropolis) of 2.7 million inhabitants. Milwaukee, Wisconsin, hosts a Polish Fest; and Chicago, Illinois, "Polish Fest Chicago".

Nation

Nation (from Latin: natio, "people, tribe, kin, genus, class, flock") is a social concept with no uncontroversial definition, but that is most commonly used to designate larger groups or collectives of people with common characteristics attributed to them—including language, traditions, customs (mores), habits (habitus), and ethnicity. A nation, by comparison, is more impersonal, abstract, and overtly political than an ethnic group. It is a cultural-political community that has become conscious of its autonomy, unity, and particular interests.

According to Joseph Stalin: "a nation is not a racial or tribal, but a historically constituted community of people;" "a nation is not a casual or ephemeral conglomeration, but a stable community of people"; "a nation is formed only as a result of lengthy and systematic intercourse, as a result of people living together generation after generation"; and, in its entirety: "a nation is a historically constituted, stable community of people, formed on the basis of a common language, territory, economic life, and psychological make-up manifested in a common culture."

Poland

Coordinates: 52°N 20°E / 52°N 20°E / 52; 20

Poland (Polish: Polska [ˈpɔlska]), officially the Republic of Poland (Polish: Rzeczpospolita Polska, listen ), is a country in Central Europe,bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine and Belarus to the east; and the Baltic Sea, Kaliningrad Oblast (a Russian exclave) and Lithuania to the north. The total area of Poland is 312,679 square kilometres (120,726 sq mi), making it the 71st largest country in the world and the 9th largest in Europe. With a population of over 38.5 million people, Poland is the 34th most populous country in the world, the 8th most populous country in Europe and the sixth most populous member of the European Union, as well as the most populous post-communist member of the European Union. Poland is a unitary state divided into 16 administrative subdivisions.

The establishment of a Polish state can be traced back to 966, when Mieszko I, ruler of a territory roughly coextensive with that of present-day Poland, converted to Christianity. The Kingdom of Poland was founded in 1025, and in 1569 it cemented a longstanding political association with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania by signing the Union of Lublin. This union formed the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, one of the largest and most populous countries of 16th and 17th-century Europe. The Commonwealth ceased to exist in the years 1772–1795, when its territory was partitioned among Prussia, the Russian Empire, and Austria. Poland regained its independence (as the Second Polish Republic) at the end of World War I, in 1918.

National anthem

A national anthem (also state anthem, national hymn, national song etc.) is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history, traditions and struggles of its people, recognized either by a nation's government as the official national song, or by convention through use by the people. The majority of national anthems are either marches or hymns in style. The countries of Latin America tend towards more operatic pieces, while a handful of countries use a simple fanfare.

Languages

Although national anthems are usually in the most common language of the country, whether de facto' or official, there are notable exceptions-

States with more than one national language may offer several versions of their anthem: for instance, Switzerland's anthem has different lyrics for each of the country's four official languages (French, German, Italian and Romansh). Canada's national anthem has different lyrics in each of the country's official languages (English and French), and on some occasions is sung with a mixture of stanzas taken from its French and English versions. The Irish national anthem was written in English; an Irish translation, although never formally adopted, is now almost always sung.

Poland Is Not Yet Lost

"Mazurek Dąbrowskiego" (Polish pronunciation: [maˈzurɛɡ dɔmbrɔfˈskʲɛɡɔ], "Dąbrowski's Mazurka") is the national anthem of Poland. It is also known by its original title, "Pieśń Legionów Polskich we Włoszech" ([pʲɛɕɲ lɛˈɡʲɔnuf ˈpɔlskʲiɣ vɛˈvwɔʂɛx], "Song of the Polish Legions in Italy"). English translations of its Polish incipit ("Jeszcze Polska nie zginęła" [ˈjɛʂt͡ʂɛ ˈpɔlska ɲɛ zɡʲiˈnɛwa]) include: "Poland has not yet perished", "Poland has not perished yet", "Poland is not lost", "Poland is not lost yet", and "Poland is not yet lost".

The lyrics were written by Józef Wybicki in Reggio Emilia, Cisalpine Republic in Northern Italy, between 16 and 19 of July, 1797, two years after the Third Partition of Poland erased the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from the map. It was originally meant to boost the morale of Polish soldiers serving under General Jan Henryk Dąbrowski's Polish Legions that served with Napoleon's French Revolutionary Army in the Italian campaigns of the French Revolutionary Wars. "Dabrowski's Mazurka", expressing the idea that the nation of Poland, despite lack of independence, had not disappeared as long as the Polish people were still alive and fighting in its name, soon became one of the most popular patriotic songs in Poland.