The Yalta Conference ( February 1945 ) sealed Poland 's fourth partition , exchanging Poland 's pre-war eastern third , including two of the country 's premier cities , for two major eastern German cities and somewhat less former German territory , and '' de facto '' placing Poland firmly within the Soviet sphere of influence . The great majority of Polish military veterans stranded in western Europe decided against returning to former parts of their homeland that had , in November 1939 , become part of Byelorussia and Ukraine . These Poles and their families — many of whom had experienced deportation to the Soviet Union — subsequently formed the nucleus of the postwar Polish community in Britain . The Polish Government in Exile , though denied majority international recognition after 1945 , remained at its post in London until formally dissolved in 1991 , after a democratically elected president had taken office in Warsaw . A much smaller wave of Polish migration to Britain occurred with the imposition of martial law in Poland ( 1981 – 83 ) , when individuals , mainly students and intellectuals who had been visiting the UK , chose not to return to Poland . The European Union 's 2004 enlargement , and the-then UK Government 's decision not to restrict immigration from the new accession states , encouraged educated and skilled Poles to migrate to the UK rather than to Germany . As of 2016 , the number of Polish-born UK residents was estimated at 911,000 , making them the UK 's largest foreign-born community , having overtaken Indians . Additionally , the UK 's Polish-descended population includes descendants of the over 200,000 Poles who had settled in Britain after the Second World War . The Polish language is the second-most spoken language in England , and the third-most spoken in the UK after English and Welsh . About 1 % of the UK population speaks Polish
Yalta Conference
Yalta Conference
Poles in the United Kingdom