Poland

Poland ポーランド
Character Information
Name	Republic Of Poland (Rzeczpospolita Polska)
Human Name	Feliks Łukasiewicz (フェリクス・ウカシェヴィチ, Ferikusu Ukashevichi)
Age	19
Gender	Male
Birthday	July 22, November 11 (Polish edition of manga)
Hair Color	Blond
Eye Color	Green
Height	170 cm (5' 6.9")
Debut Appearances
Volume	Hetalia: Axis Powers Volume 1
Strip	Chapter 4: Pact of Steel
Drama CD	Hetalia Fantasia 3
Anime	Episode 01
Voice Actors
Japanese	Kokoro Tanaka
English	Ryan Bijan (S1-2) Joel McDonald (Film, S3- )

Poland (ポーランド, Porando) is a supporting character in the series Hetalia: Axis Powers. Between 2007 and 2008, Himaruya gave out human names to some of the characters and he received the name Feliks Łukasiewicz (フェリクス・ウカシェヴィチ, Ferikusu Ukashevichi).

Attributes

A 'chibi' version of Poland.

Appearance

Poland is a small, short young man. He has straight, chin-length blond hair and green almond-shaped eyes. His WWII uniform is green with a matching cape, and tan boots, though an earlier alternate color scheme exists, with his uniform (and eyes) colored blue. Sometimes he is drawn with a green capelet worn over his jacket, though in one preliminary design of Poland, he wore a full-length cape instead. Though he has not appeared in the Gakuen Hetalia games or strips, he was stated to wear the boys uniform with a navy blue sweater.

Personality and Interests

He was once a super nation that controlled Middle and Eastern Europe with his partner Lithuania in the Middle Ages, until Russia split them apart and he was annexed. Despite this, he kept rising back ("like a phoenix"), noting that Poland is a very strong country.

It is difficult for others to get to know him because he acts shy and has fierce anxiety towards strangers. However, once he becomes used to someone, he will never let go and will act troublesome, clingy and "like a prince." He is a cheerful, somewhat selfish man who is rather forceful with his opinions, and acts silly to hide his sensitivity. He's also noted to be very stubborn and it's said that once he's determined to go into a strange direction, nobody can stop him. Because he is short-sighted and impulsive, other nations can easily take advantage of him. In the character identification chart, he was said to have a weak stomach like Lithuania, although he may not look like it.

He speaks in a Nagoya high-schooler dialect, giving him a very casual and somewhat rude way of speaking. Many English translations adapt this to "valley girl" speak, using the words "like" and "totally" in his sentences. He can, however, speak formally when the situation requires it.

Early strips and sketches showed him with an interest in cross-dressing but this was toned down as the series progressed.

Relationships

Italy

Main Article: Italy

Italy and Poland are shown to be good friends in a few of the "Extra Stories" and Comic Diary strips; it is suggested that they knew each other since they were small children. They became especially close in the 19th century, bonding over their goals for independence. It was Poland who gave Italy the idea to make an ejectable seat in Germany's Kubelwagon, as he had previously designed an airplane with one (which backfired on him). In Comic Diary 9, he asked for Lithuania's opinion on Italy, Poland later adding that he admired him.

Lithuania

Main Article: Lithuania

Though Lithuania often feels like he's dragged around by Poland's strange and occasionally selfish behavior, they remain close friends to this day. It is said once these two meet, there is no need for questions or examinations. After Lithuania's independence from the USSR, Poland has been helping him rehabilitate. He often calls Lithuania by the nickname Rito (short for Ritoania) which is usually translated as Liet (short for Lietuva, the endonym for Lithuania.) He also suggests that Lithuania call him "Polska-sama" or "Po" (Lithuania goes with the latter.)

Lithuania and Poland were once partners and ruled Central and Eastern Europe together. Poland initially objected the marriage alliance of their bosses due to his fear of strangers, to the point of throwing a tantrum, but his leaders persuaded him to confront his new partner. Poland managed to overcome his anxiety, greet and negotiate with Lithuania properly, until he told Lithuania to baptize by shouting "like, show me your penis and junk!"

Later, Poland asks Lithuania to share an interesting story about his capital, but Lithuania suggests Poland share a story about his capital first. Poland tells the story of the Wawel Dragon of his then-capital, Kraków. Then Lithuania tells him about the legend of the Iron Wolf, but Poland decides to roll around instead of listening.

In Checkmating Poland, Poland and Lithuania are playing chess and Lithuania is in the lead. Poland responds by asserting it's always his turn, he ends up throwing the chess pieces around and declaring himself the winner. A side note says "these two countries look like they have this relationship."

A "missing" page of Chapter 5 revealed that Poland possibly did care for Lithuania underneath it all, as he stated, "I, like, totally don't care what [Lithuania] thinks of me. Even if you, like, hate me, it totally doesn't change that I like you." Then he says that he'll try to be less selfish. The expression he uses in Japanese can also mean 'love'. But the validity of that statement remains ambiguous, due to the dream sequence-nature of the scenario (as it may have been Lithuania's own interpretation of Poland's nature).

In the last panel of While You Were Gone, he thinks, "There's a side of Lithuania I don't know," after seeing Lithuania's battered and bruised back.

Prussia

Main Article: Prussia

When Prussia was banished from Hungary, he found a new home at Poland's house. Their relations became bad, and the two started to argue with each other. At the Battle of Tannenberg, Poland, together with Lithuania, succeeded in beating Prussia but, due to the economic problems caused by the preparations for war, was unable to fully exploit the victory. Much later, Prussia, as an independent kingdom, played a major role in the partitions of Poland.

Today, they still seem to dislike and annoy each other, a reference to the fact that a lot of territory that was historically Prussian (Silesia, Pommerania, Posen and parts of ducal Prussia) is now part of Poland.

Russia

Main Article: Russia

The two have argued with each other since the early 1600s, when Poland succeeded in capturing Moscow. Russia got his revenge by joining Prussia and Austria in the partitions of Poland. In 1939, Russia decided to partition Poland again in conjunction with Germany. Their relationship was further soured by the post-war Soviet domination.

It should be noted that Poland is not afraid of Russia; Poland actively defends Lithuania from him despite the inherent threat.

Appearances

Anime

Poland in Episode 47

Poland appeared briefly in Episode 01 when he intervened in the confrontation between Russia and Lithuania and threatened to make the former's capital Warsaw. He formally appears in Episode 47, where England and France talk to him about Germany.

Poland's eyes are slightly altered to have more shine to them in his anime design, while in the manga they are flatly-colored. His hair is also a more yellow shade of blond. In Hetalia: The Beautiful World, his design was changed to reflect the artwork in the manga.

Trivia

An early sketch of Poland.

• Poland's birthday, July 22nd, is often a point of controversy with fans due to the fact that it references the foundation date of a "free Poland" under Communist rule. November 11th is seen as more acceptable, due to it being the date that Poland was reestablished as a country after WWI. In the Polish translation of the manga published by Studio JG, the latter birthdate was used to avoid such controversy, and in a footnote this was said to be by Himaruya's request.
• According to notes by Hidekaz Himaruya, Poland was originally designed as being female but was changed to a male character sometime in production, though the feminine sense of attire was kept to give him the cross-dresser angle.
• In a somewhat noticeable continuity error, Poland and Lithuania are shown in their teens during the Battle of Grunwald in What Happened After Tannenburg, though another strip written at the same time (that took place in the Chibitalia timeframe) showed them to still be small children long after that would have taken place.
  • Originally, it was said that Italy and Poland first met each other in their teens while Poland had been partitioned and Italy was still not yet independent. However, the Comic Diary strip depicts the two playing together as small children. It might be because in the time of Renaissance Polish king Zygmunt I the Old had married duchess Bona Sforza, who brought with herself to Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Italian artists, architects, scientists etc.