In 1939, Poland was invaded by nazi Germany and the USSR, and in 1945 it was subjected to a communist dictatorship imposed by Stalin.<\/p>\n
During those terrible years of oppression, persecution and death, the Catholic Church played a fundamental role as a pillar of resistance for the Polish people<\/strong>, a predominantly Catholic people who have always considered their religious faith to be one of the fundamental ingredients of their national identity. The Church paid a heavy price for remaining faithful to the truth<\/strong>, with martyrs murdered by the nazis, such as the priest Saint Maximilian Kolbe<\/a> (murdered at Auschwitz in 1941), and by the communists, such as the priest Jerzy Popie\u0142uszko<\/a> (arrested and murdered by the political police of the dictatorship of Henryk Jab\u0142o\u0144ski in 1984).<\/p>\n
\n