Ledóchowski, Count Mieczisław, 1822–1902, cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, b. Russian Poland. He became (1865) archbishop of Gniezno and Poznań (then in Prussian Poland). When the Prussi...

Warta, river, c.475 mi (760 km) long, rising in the Jura Krakowska, S Poland, and flowing N and W past Częstochowa and Poznań to the Oder River at Kostrzyn. It is connected with the Vistula Ri...

Hindenburg, Paul von, 1847–1934, German field marshal and president (1925–34), b. Poznan (then in Prussia). His full name was Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Hindenburg und Beneckendorff. He fought...

Rehnskiöld, Karl Gustaf, 1651–1722, Swedish field marshal. One of the ablest lieutenants of Charles XII in the Northern War, he played an important part in the Polish campaign of 1701–3 and de...

Cyrankiewicz, Józef, 1911–89, Polish political leader. Active in the Polish resistance after the German invasion in 1939, he was arrested in 1941 and spent the remainder of the war in concentr...

Piast, 1st dynasty of Polish dukes and kings. Its name was derived from that of its legendary ancestor, a simple peasant. The first historic member, Duke Mieszko I (reigned 962–92), began the ...

Versailles, Treaty of, any of several treaties signed in the palace of Versailles, France. For the Treaty of Versailles of 1783, which ended the American Revolution, see Paris, Treaty of, 1783...

Poland, Pol. Polska, officially Republic of Poland, republic (2005 est. pop. 38,635,000), 120,725 sq mi (312,677 sq km), central Europe. It borders on Germany in the west, on the Baltic Sea an...

Prussia, Ger. Preussen, former state, the largest and most important of the German states. Berlin was the capital. The chief member of the German Empire (1871–1918) and a state of the Weimar R...