Program Information

The nation of Poland has survived, but at times only in the imagination and through the powerful combination of nationalism and religion.

A Moment in Time is a brief, exciting and compelling journey into the past. Created to excite and enlighten the public about the past, its relevance to the present and its impact on the future, A Moment In Time is a captivating historical narrative that is currently broadcast worldwide.

Transcript

Lead: The nation of Poland has survived, but at times only in the imagination and through the powerful combination of nationalism and religion.

Intro: A Moment In Time with Dan Roberts.

Content: Surrounded by powerful and often greedy neighbors, Poland has frequently lost its independence. By 1795, due to political weakness, war and a series of partitions at the hands of Russia, Prussia and Austria, Poland had ceased to exist. Except for a brief resurrection under Napoleon as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw, Poland did not return to the map of Europe for 125 years. Yet, Poland continued to survive, if in no other form than as an idea nourished by nationalism and religion.

Of all its children, nationalism is one of the longest lasting offspring of the French Revolution. As articulated by revolutionary theorists, each national group, defined by common heritage, language or religion, should have an opportunity to exist as an independent state. It is a powerful concept and even in the twenty-first century still animates many of the conflicts of the modern era. Ireland, the Balkans, Palestine, Iraq, and parts of the former Soviet Union all suffer tensions because of nationalist sentiment. Early in the 1800s nationalism caught fire in Poland.

Poland also survived because of the powerful influence of the Roman Catholic Church. Since Christianity came to Poland in 966, the Catholic Church has helped maintain the nation's identity. In 1918 Poland reemerged as a nation state only to have its liberty compromised by the Germans and Russians during World War II and the Cold War. Yet, nationalist fervor and Roman Catholic devotion kept alive the dream of nationhood and Poland, breaking from the crumbling Soviet Empire in the 1980s, became an independent nation once again.

The producer of A Moment In Time is Steve Clark. At the University of Richmond, this is Dan Roberts.

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