At that time, Poland’s armies led to the country’s domination of most of Eastern Europe: it was under the rule of Casimir III the Great, in the 14th century that Poland was at its military height. During this same period, one of the first universities in Europe was established in Krakow. By the 17th century, Poland’s power began to wane. A relatively new Parliament was unable to prove itself effective and the population grew disillusioned. Ruling nobles took advantage of the situation and began to build up personal fiefdoms, leading to a breakdown in the nation’s cohesion and thus the opportunity for foreign powers to invade and claim parts of Poland as their own. WWI was a time of further devastation, as many of the battles of the war’s eastern front took place on Polish territory. In fact, Poles fought against each other, as they were forced to enlist in the armed forces of occupying powers that were on opposite sides in the war. The country’s losses were enormous, and yet, due to the chaotic process of re-establishing peace in the region, Poland regained territorial independence. Poland annexed parts of East Prussia, which in actuality was one of the reasons for the invasion of the country by Nazi Germany, launching WWII. Early on, Poland was divided once again, this time between Germany and Russia; and a brutal occupation followed that led to the slaughter of the country’s Jewish population. Communist rule was unpopular from the beginning, and its demise began with the Solidarity union movement at the shipyards in Gdansk. Union leader Lech Walesa encouraged dissent against government policies and oppression. The dissent was met with the introduction of martial law, with the backing of the Soviet Union; and the Solidarity labour union was banned. It maintained momentum, however, finally coming to power when democratic elections were held in 1989. Poland’s admission into the EU in 2004 further integrated the country into the European fold. | 
