[dfwgator]

Curious John Paul would honor a man who was part of the dynasty that occupied a part of his home country.

[Guelph4ever]

A very small part. Actually, almost all of Poland was under the control of the Tsar, and were quite happy when German and Austrian troops drove back their rulers. In fact, it was the Central Powers who set up the *first* Polish state, though they were careful to make it a Kingdom of Poland rather than a republic, a nation which the Allies quickly sold out after the war was over to establish one with a government more to their liking and which would include alot of German (rather than Polish) territory - recipe for future disaster. During the war, the German Kaiser, Wilhelm II, even sent relief supplies to the Polish Jews of Warsaw whom the Russians had left to starve.

In fact, the founder of even the republican Polish government, whose name escapes me at the moment, was originally an officer in the Austro-Hungarian Army. I have also heard from at least one source (which may be entirely wrong I admit) said that Pope John Paul II was named after Emperor Charles (Karol - Karl).

[Pan Ed]

After the final partition of Poland in 1795 Austria ended up with the province Galicia (largest city, Krakow). The inhabitants were all Catholic, and of the three participants(Austria, Russia and Prussia) were the only ones to end up in a Catholic environment. Pope John Paul II was named after his father. It was not unusal to name children after the emperor. The Pope's father may have been named after a relative who may have named after Charles VI, Maria Theresa's father. The Pope's father was a Lieutenant in the Austro-Hungarian Army and served under Karl I in WWI. It may also be noted the Popes St.Pius, Pius XI, John XXIII, Paul VI, John Paul I, and John Paul II all were natives of former Austrian provinces (Lombardy-Venicia and Galicia).