There were three Partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth that eventually eliminated the existence of Poland, starting in the late 1700’s and ending at the close of World War I in 1918.

Definition by Date

The Partitions of Poland are sometimes described as the three dates when Poland was divided:

• The First Partition took place on August 5, 1772
• The Second Partition took place on January 23, 1793
• The Third Partition took place on October 24, 1795

Definition by Geographic Area

At other times, the three partitions are referred to the three geographic divisions:

• The Prussian (German) Partition
• The Austrian Partition
• The Russian Partition

Presentation Slides

It is helpful to have knowledge of the three partitions to better understand the lives of your ancestors during those times, and there is a wealth of information online.

We suggest that you start with the link below, which shows the slides that Jay Biedny, one of our PGS-MN members, used in his presentation on the Partitions of Poland at the September 1, 2018 PGS-MN program meeting.

PGS-MN Newsletter Article

(You will need to scroll down to the page indicated to find the article within the newsletter link)

Newsletter Issue	page	TItle/Author
Winter 2003	15	Poland’s Changing Borders John Kowles

Other Links about the Polish Partitions

Partitions of Poland
Article about the Partitions
Short VIdeo on Partitions