Was a part of Germany given over to Poland?

After the end of WW2 the borders of Germany had shrunk, making the country some 25% smaller. Parts of eastern Silesia and East Prussia were lost to Poland, along with a disputed border region with France, parts of Alsace-Lorraine passing from German to French control, and not for the first time.

Most of East Prussia, which at the time was virtually 100% German, now has virtually no ethnic Germans, and is a detached enclave of Russia.(the city of Kaliningrad).

Following the defeat of Germany in 1945 the areas of Pomerania, Brandenburg, Silesia and East Prussia became Polish under the Potsdam Agreement. The Oder-Neisse line is the key to the German-Polish border. But the history that leads up to the Potsdam Conference is far more complex.

In the years before the First World War Poland, as a separate independent nation, did not exist, by the end of the war all three occupying powers had been forced to withdraw (Russia, Germany and Austro-Hungary). It is as a result of a very complex history of occupation that Poland was a construct of the post-war treaties as a sovereign republic, forced on the treaty makers at Versailles by the Greater Poland Uprising 1918. This was further complicated by the, relatively, recent unification of Germany (1871).

The resolutions eventually divided East Prussia from Germany by the Danzig Corridor – Danzig became a free port administered by the Allies. The reacquisition of the area of East Prussia was one of the goals of the Nazi creation of a Greater Germany.

1795-1918 Poland was subsumed in Prussia (latterly Germany), Austria & (mainly) Russia. The settlement of 1918 saw Poland approximatley return to its pre-1772 borders, abielt reduced by a large tract of land ceded to Russia (which was ethnically more Russian anyway...)

The 1772-1795 Partition:

http://www.progenealogists.com/poland/images/P1772...

Without knowing exactly where your friend comes from it's impossible to say whether the are she inhabited was a.) an area which was historically a German state that had lost land to Poland post-1945, b.) a part of Poland which had seen Germany immigration 1795-1918 or c.) a piece of land which is historically contested.

Of course things are further complicated by the fact that a great many people in the historic Polish Kingdom at its greater extent were Lithuanians, Germans, Balts, Russians & steppe peoples and the same can be said for Germany at different times...

Neither Germany has interest in Pre WW 2 territories, nor has Poland the interest in giving it back. to not point out merchandising. Its not even necessary via fact the european Union as a state is merging further and extra all its worldwide places in monetary and political words. remember that on the instant border/passport administration isn't cutting-edge anymore between Poland and Germany. In in all probability below 10 years Poland could have accompanied the european funds, the Euro, besides.

Id recommend you to read the wikipedia article about the history of Poland.

You would know that after world war 2 Poland lost a big part of its territory to Soviet Russia, while Germany lost some territory to Poland.

There was a transfer of territory from Germany to Poland after WW2. See the link below for full coverage of the border transfer to the Oder/Neisse line between Poland and Germany.

Yes. I think it is called Silesia. Many people in Silesia spoke German. During WWII the Germans committed many atrocities there, so it was not surprising that at the end of the war some Polish people wanted to eject those who spoke German.

Times change, your friend can go to Poland without a passport, if she lives in a country which has signed the Schengen agreement. She will however need a passport to get out of and return to the UK, which has not signed the agreement.

The German Empire owned about a third of modern Poland pre-WWI. The area given to Poland after Germany's defeat was called the Polish corridor, this technically was a German territory and had been for centuries, including Silesia (a heavily German populated territory). Prussia was given to Russia and was another territory that had been under Prussian-Germanic hands for centuries.

A part of Germany was definitely given to Poland after WWI , with many German people still living in that area.

After WW I Poland was given west Prussia and Silensia , after WW II Poland was given east Prussia .