In a study that has now become a classic, Jürgen Heyde provides an overview of the more than thousand-year history of Poland. Alongside the political, societal, and cultural development of this country, special attention is paid to the representation of the European dimensions of Polish history as well as the development of the German-Polish neighboring state relationship. For this new edition, the text has been thoroughly revised throughout and brought up to date. Jürgen Heyde is a project manager and researcher at the Leibniz Institute for the History and Culture of Eastern Europe in Leipzig and associate professor at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg.