Warsaw became the capital of Poland because it was geographically close to Lithuania when that Duchy joined it in a 16th century Commonwealth. It was razed to the ground in 1944 because the uprising of its residents outraged the occupying Germans. It was rebuilt by the Polish Communist regime and received its largest landmark building as a gift from Stalin after WWII. It emerged as a leader in the movement that by 1990 ended the European Communist Empire established by Russia, Poland’s nemesis for over two centuries >>> more 123 next › last » 
