The first subdivisions of the Republic involved the territories that were acquired in the west after World War II.
After World War II, Poland lost 77,000 km2 (30,000 sq mi) of eastern regions (Kresy), gaining instead the smaller but much more industrialized so-called "Regained Territories" east of the Oder–Neisse line.
This reorganization of administrative division of Poland was mainly a result of local government reform acts of 1973 to 1975.
[2] After World War II, the new administrative division of the country was based on the prewar one.
This reorganization of the administrative division of Poland was mainly a result of the local government reform acts of 1973–1975.
The three smallest voivodeships—Warsaw, Kraków and Łódź—had the special status of municipal voivodeships; those cities' presidents (mayors) were also their provincial governors.