Nicolaus Copernicus is known that Copernicus knew Polish on a par with German and Latin. Historian Michael Burleigh describes the nationality debate as a "totally insignificant battle" between German and Polish scholars during the interwar period. Polish astronomer Konrad Rudnicki calls the discussion a "fierce scholarly quarrel in ... times of nationalism" and describes Copernicus as an inhabitant of a German-speaking territory that belonged to Poland, himself being of mixed Polish-German extraction. Czesław Miłosz describes the debate as an "absurd" projection of a modern understanding of nationality onto Renaissance people, who identified with their home territories rather than with a nation. Similarly,
Copernicus Programme a wide range of applications in a variety of areas. These include urban area management, sustainable development and nature protection, regional and local planning, agriculture, forestry and fisheries, health, civil protection, infrastructure, transport and mobility, as well as tourism." Copernicus is the European Union's contribution to the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) thus delivering geospatial information globally. Some Copernicus services make use of OpenStreetMap data in their maps production. Other initiatives will also facilitate the development and functioning of Copernicus services: Copernicus is one of three related initiatives that are the subject of the GIGAS ("GEOSS, INSPIRE and