The History of Poles in Lithuania describes the history of Polish culture and language in Lithuanian lands, as well as the process of formation in the Polish community there before 1990.
During the Polish–Lithuanian union, there was an influx of Poles into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the gradual Polonization of its elite and upper classes. At the end of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795, almost all of Lithuania's nobility, clergy, and townspeople spoke Polish and adopted Polish culture, while still maintaining a Lithuanian identity.[1] In the late 19th century, due to the processes of Polonization of Lithuanian and Belarusian peasants Polish population lived mainly on a long strip of land, stretching to Daugavpils and including Vilnius. The rise of the Lithuanian national movement led to conflicts between both groups. Following World War I and the rebirth of both states, there was the Polish–Lithuanian War, whose main focus was Vilnius and the nearby region. In its aftermath, the majority of the Polish population living in the Lithuanian lands found themselves within the Polish borders. However, interwar Lithuania still retained a large Polish minority. During World War II, the Polish population was persecuted by the USSR and Nazi Germany. Post-World War II, the borders were changed, territorial disputes were suppressed as the Soviet Union exercised power over both countries and a significant part of the Polish population, especially the best-educated, was forcefully transferred from the Lithuanian SSR to the Polish People's Republic. At the same time, a significant number of Poles relocated from nearby regions of Byelorussian SSR to Vilnius and Vilnius region.
Currently, the Polish population is grouped in the Vilnius region, primarily the Vilnius and Šalčininkai districts. In the city of Vilnius alone there are more than 85,000 Poles, who make up about 15% of the Lithuanian capital's population. Most Poles in Lithuania are Roman Catholic and speak Polish, although a minority of them speak Russian or Lithuanian, as their first language.