TO THE SIMPLISTIC AMERICAN AND BRITISH MEDIA: POLAND IS NOT A PART OF EASTERN EUROPE

Reading the American or British newspapers or listening to their audio or visual media, one gets very often aggravated by constant description of Poland as an Eastern European nation. Frankly speaking, I'm tired of the media's ignorance, simplifications, shoddy journalism, sloppiness and constant inability to liberate themselves from the shackles of convenient stereotypes.
Even Wikipedia knows better, as describing Poland it properly says: "a country in Central Europe". The truth is Anglo-Saxon media description of present day Poland as an Eastern European nation is groundless and unjustified geographically, politically and culturally.
1) Geographically, Poland lies in the center of Europe and therefore it is a Central European country. If one draws the line between Portugal's Atlantic Coast on the western border of Europe, and the Ural Mountains on the eastern border of Europe, with the line between the northern tip of Scandinavia on the northern border of Europe and the southern tip of Sicily on the southern border of Europe, those lines will cross each other near Lodz in Poland. Therefore, the precise center of Europe is located near Lodz in Poland, which is at the same time the center of Poland, and consequently, Poland lies in Central Europe. Prior to World War II, when Poland was reaching much further to the east as it consisted of major parts of Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania, whereas some of the western territories of present day Poland were in Germany, describing Poland as being part of Eastern Europe was almost justified. Not at present though, I must repeat, as Poland is undoubtedly a Central European country.
2) Politically, Poland is in the Western Europe nowadays. Of course, during the Soviet domination of Poland after World War II (domination caused by the sell-out of Poland to Stalin by F.D.R., with weak resistance from Churchill, at Yalta Conference - an unprecedented betrayal of their biggest ally which came up with the 4th biggest allied military forces and military contribution, notwithstanding being occupied by Germany), Poland was politically part of Eastern Europe, however, it is no longer the case as Poland recovered its democratic system structures in 1989, became part of NATO in 1999 and a member of EU in 2004.
3) Culturally, Poland is part of the West for more than a thousand years as it accepted Latin Alphabet and Christianity, in the form of Roman-Catholic religion, in 966. Since then, all its literature, arts and culture otherwise is that of a western nation.
Perhaps it is the time for the managers of the western media to change your manuals of style and usage, with respect to Poland's location, or its description in political, cultural or geographical terms, since your education system is incapable to break out of the stereotypes formed during the cold war and your writers are still ignorant of basic facts concerning one of the big nations of Europe.

Janusz Andrzejewski, a New York City based attorney, writes on the legal and other important community topics. You can contact him by telephone (212-634-4250),  or through e-mail: janusz@januszandrzejewski.com