ABSTRACT
Before World War II, Poland was a country of culturally separate regions. The cultural impact of the several superpowers that had divided Poland among themselves can be felt in Poland. The former Prussian territories around the city of Poznan are said to have produced Poles that unlike the rest of their countrymen are effective organizers, diligent workmen and reliable business partners. Warsaw is the intellectual center of Poland. The most prestigious scientific institutions, such as the Polish Academy of Science, and several universities are located in the capital. Owing to the presence of the central bureaucracies the proportion of university graduates in Warsaw is well above the country's average of 10%. Warsaw, with its many universities, its highly educated population and its openness towards the world, and also its traditions of resistance, is a fertile ground for political protest and opposition.
