Poland’s history is deeply marked by a long and often tragic series of invasions. Its geographical location in Central Europe, situated between powerful neighbors like Germany and Russia, has made it a frequent battleground and a target for expansionist powers. All the way back in the 13th century, Poland had to deal with constant invasion by the Mongols. While the Mongols never completely occupied the country, they did a good job of destroying its will and its infrastructure, arguably setting it up for future challenges.
Next came the Teutonic Knights, a German crusading order, that posed a significant threat to Poland for centuries. They invaded and conquered Polish territories, leading to prolonged conflicts and wars as Poland struggled to defend its northern borders and regain lost lands. This would be the start of a pattern that never ended well for the Poles.
The mid-17th century saw Poland invaded by Sweden in a period known as “The Deluge.” This invasion, part of larger conflicts like the Second Northern War, was extremely destructive and is considered one of the most traumatic periods in Polish history. While we may find it difficult today to think of the Swedes as any kind of threat, they really messed up Poland for several years.
Then came the fucking Cossacks. The Russian invaders were a problem all across Northern Europe. By the time everything was said and done, Poland didn’t exist as an independent nation. Rather, its territory had been divided between Russia, Prussia, and Austria. This condition would continue well into the 20th century, though individual Polish identity remained strong.
WWI was nothing to laugh about, but in the end, Poland was once again established as an independent country. Had this truly been the ‘war to end all wars,’ everyone there would have lived happily ever after. But then came began on September 1, 1939, with the Nazi German invasion. As if that wasn’t bad enough, two weeks later on September 17, the fucking Russians invaded again, splitting the country. Neither set of invaders was nice. In fact, it can be argued that one was just as evil and bloodthirsty as the other.
With the end of WWII, Poland was once again independent and one might have thought they would stay that way, but no, here came the fucking Russians again making Poland part of the Soviet Union. The oppression of the Soviet state was severe. As with all the Soviet countries, Poland struggled to remain even the slightest bit autonomous.
Then came Lech Walesa. In August of 1980, this brave man did what no one else dared to do: he went on strike and he took the entire Gdansk shipyard with him. Moscow was pissed and everyone else in the world, including the US, took notice. This move would not only mean independence for Poland but signaled the beginning of the end for the Soviet Union.
Given all that history and the way the country has been pushed around and stomped on by its neighbors, one can understand why they would look at Russia’s current aggression against Ukraine with some level of worry. Should Russia be successful with Ukraine, Poland might well be their next target.
This is why Poland’s Prime Minister, Donald Tusk (no, I’m not making that up; that’s his real name) announced Friday that his government is preparing to require every adult male to undergo “large-scale military training” to more than double the size of the army. One can understand why. With a long and brutal history behind them, the Polish people have every right to scream ‘ENOUGH ALREADY!’ and put up a real fight against Russian aggression. With the US an untrustworthy ally and NATO’s protective capabilities questionable, Poland has every good reason to protect itself.
This decision came after French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday that, “I’ve decided to open the strategic debate on the protection by our deterrence of our allies on the European continent,” he said in a live broadcast on his official social media channels, during which he stressed the need for Europe to continue assisting Ukraine and strengthen its own defense.
Of course, Russia, being the bastards they are, immediately took offense at Macron’s statement. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused Macron of posing a direct threat to Russia with his rhetoric. This is likely more than just saber rattling. France has a large and functioning nuclear arsenal. Now, they’re offering to help out the fellow NATO countries and both Poland and Lithuania said, “We’re in!”
Poland’s Tusk said that Poland, “must reach for the most modern possibilities, also related to nuclear weapons and modern unconventional weapons”, in a landmark speech to parliament that made stark the country’s need to increase its defense capabilities to confront a much more threatening global environment. I say this with full responsibility, it is not enough to purchase conventional weapons, the most traditional ones. The battlefield is changing before our eyes from month to month.”
Tusk wants to expand the size of Poland’s standing army from 200,000 to something closer to 500,000. He also left open the idea of women being required to serve, something that other European countries such as Norway have done with success. Polish women have a long history of fighting alongside men and in WWII were a constant pain in the side of the Nazis and Russians.
As for Walesa, who remains president of Poland’s Solidarity movement, he signed a letter to the US President this past week referencing the blow-up with Ukraine’s President Zelensky that said in part that he is, “terrified by the fact that the atmosphere in the Oval Office during this conversation reminded us of the one we remember well from interrogations by the Security Service and from courtrooms in Communist courts.” He referenced the similar intimidation tactic Poles endured from communist before and told President Punk that, “you don’t have the cards.”
Every victim of every bully has a point where they’ve had enough and are willing to fight back with everything they have. Poland has reached that point. Both the US and Russia would do well to leave them the fuck alone.
