Polish Refugees and the Polish American Immigration and Relief Committee

Polish Refugees and the Polish American Immigration and Relief Committee PDF Author: Janusz Cisek
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 0786422947
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 260

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Book Description
The end of World War II found a devastated Poland under Soviet occupation. Many Poles--those displaced to work camps in Germany, those in German concentration and P.O.W. camps, and those still in Poland made the decision to immigrate to the United States. Their journey, however, would not be easy. The rigors of the war had affected America as well, and immigration laws were strict. Fortunately, many Polish refugees received help from the Polish American Immigration and Relief Committee (PAIRC). Founded in 1947 to help Polish citizens displaced by World War II, the committee continued its work as the postwar period became the Cold War era and Poles continued to flee the communist regime. This study of the PAIRC and its work includes both the broad history of the committee and stories of specific individuals, which add detail and lend insight into the plight of the refugees and the importance of the advocacy that the committee provided. Drawing on information from committee archives and firsthand consultations with prominent members, this book covers such topics as American immigration law, aid for the Polish Republic, and the effect of political change in Poland itself. It also discusses how the downfall of the communist government transformed Poland into a country that opened its own arms to the world's refugees.

Polish Refugees and the Polish American Immigration and Relief Committee

Polish Refugees and the Polish American Immigration and Relief Committee PDF Author: Janusz Cisek
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 0786422947
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 260

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Book Description
The end of World War II found a devastated Poland under Soviet occupation. Many Poles--those displaced to work camps in Germany, those in German concentration and P.O.W. camps, and those still in Poland made the decision to immigrate to the United States. Their journey, however, would not be easy. The rigors of the war had affected America as well, and immigration laws were strict. Fortunately, many Polish refugees received help from the Polish American Immigration and Relief Committee (PAIRC). Founded in 1947 to help Polish citizens displaced by World War II, the committee continued its work as the postwar period became the Cold War era and Poles continued to flee the communist regime. This study of the PAIRC and its work includes both the broad history of the committee and stories of specific individuals, which add detail and lend insight into the plight of the refugees and the importance of the advocacy that the committee provided. Drawing on information from committee archives and firsthand consultations with prominent members, this book covers such topics as American immigration law, aid for the Polish Republic, and the effect of political change in Poland itself. It also discusses how the downfall of the communist government transformed Poland into a country that opened its own arms to the world's refugees.

The Exile Mission

The Exile Mission PDF Author: Anna D. Jaroszyńska-Kirchmann
Publisher: Ohio University Press
ISBN: 082144185X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 346

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Book Description
At midcentury, two distinct Polish immigrant groups—those Polish Americans who were descendants of economic immigrants from the turn of the twentieth century and the Polish political refugees who chose exile after World War II and the communist takeover in Poland—faced an uneasy challenge to reconcile their concepts of responsibility toward the homeland. The new arrivals did not consider themselves simply as immigrants, but rather as members of the special category of political refugees. They defined their identity within the framework of the exile mission, an unwritten set of beliefs, goals, and responsibilities, placing patriotic work for Poland at the center of Polish immigrant duties. In The Exile Mission, an intriguing look at the interplay between the established Polish community and the refugee community, Anna Jaroszyńska–Kirchmann presents a tale of Polish Americans and Polish refugees who, like postwar Polish exile communities all over the world, worked out their own ways to implement the mission's main goals. Between the outbreak of World War II and 1956, as Professor Jaroszyńska–Kirchmann demonstrates, the exile mission in its most intense form remained at the core of relationships between these two groups. The Exile Mission is a compelling analysis of the vigorous debate about ethnic identity and immigrant responsibility toward the homeland. It is the first full–length examination of the construction and impact of the exile mission on the interactions between political refugees and established ethnic communities.

Polish Americans

Polish Americans PDF Author: Helena Znaniecka Lopata
Publisher: Transaction Publishers
ISBN: 9781412831062
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 328

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Book Description
Polish Americans examines the impact of post-communist changes in Poland and the presence of the third wave of immigrants on Polish communities abroad. It studies this community as a living entity, with internal divisions and conflicts, and explores relations with the home nation and the country of settlement.

Polish Americans and Their History

Polish Americans and Their History PDF Author: John J Bukowczyk
Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Pre
ISBN: 0822973219
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 297

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Book Description
This rich collection brings together the work of eight leading scholars to examine the history of Polish-American workers, women, families, and politics.

Polish Immigrants in the USA

Polish Immigrants in the USA PDF Author: Eveline Podgorski
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
ISBN: 3640228901
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 26

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Book Description
Seminar paper from the year 2007 in the subject American Studies - Culture and Applied Geography, grade: 1,3, University of Paderborn, course: From Melting Pot to Quilt, language: English, abstract: The ‘land of immigrants’ or the ‘melting pot’ – as the United States of America are often called – where many different cultures meet and are combined with each other, is also the home for several million immigrants from East European countries, especially from Poland. Polish immigrants came to the USA in two larger immigration waves to pursue the same dreams all other immigrants had when coming to the New World, mainly to live a better life. This paper deals with Polish immigrants in the United States, their history, their original community around Chicago, and also with their identity they have kept in the foreign country until today. Firstly, I will give an overview on the American immigration issue, describing the development of immigration from the discovery of America until the beginning of the 20th century. This is followed by a short passage on the most famous entry point to the United States – Ellis Island. I will not go into further detail on immigration during and between the World Wars because this topic will be treated on the background of Polish immigration later on. However, a short overview on how the United States deals with immigration – and especially illegal immigration – in current times will be added. The two major immigration waves, which were already mentioned above, will be the topic of chapter three, in which the reasons for immigration, meaning the political and the economical context in Poland, will be described. The subsequent chapter deals with the city of Chicago, which is the place many Polish immigrants settled at and enlarged their families. In this context, I will portray the living and working conditions for Polish Immigrants in the 19th and 20th century, describe the Polish nationality and identity in the United States, and take a look at the influence political happenings in their home country had on Polish immigrants and their successors in the United States.

Opposite Poles

Opposite Poles PDF Author: Mary Patrice Erdmans
Publisher: Penn State Press
ISBN: 9780271042602
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 286

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Book Description
A study of Chicago's Polish community based on data collected between 1987 and 1989. The author used archival resources, participant observation, surveys, and 59 interviews in his study of Polonian organizations in Chicago, their involvement with activities and events in the home country, and the Polish-American experience in general. The study looks at the different experiences of immigrants, refugees, and Wakacjusze, the culture and discourse of communism, Solidarity in Poland and in America, and the partially free elections in Poland in 1989. Paper edition (unseen), $19.95. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Polish Americans, 1854-1939

Polish Americans, 1854-1939 PDF Author: Andrzej Brożek
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Polish Americans
Languages : en
Pages : 322

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Book Description


Refugee Resettlement Program

Refugee Resettlement Program PDF Author: United States. Office of Refugee Resettlement
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Refugees
Languages : en
Pages : 760

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Book Description


American Warsaw

American Warsaw PDF Author: Dominic A. Pacyga
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022640661X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 330

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Book Description
Every May, a sea of 250,000 people decked out in red and white head to Chicago’s Loop to celebrate the Polish Constitution Day Parade. In the city, you can tune in to not one but four different Polish-language radio stations or jam out to the Polkaholics. You can have lunch at pierogi food trucks or pick up pączkis at the grocery store. And if you’re lucky, you get to take off work for Casimir Pulaski Day. For more than a century, Chicago has been home to one of the largest Polish populations outside of Poland, and the group has had enormous influence on the city’s culture and politics. Yet, until now, there has not been a comprehensive history of the Chicago Polonia. With American Warsaw, award-winning historian and Polish American Dominic A. Pacyga chronicles more than a century of immigration, and later emigration back to Poland, showing how the community has continually redefined what it means to be Polish in Chicago. He takes us from the Civil War era until today, focusing on how three major waves of immigrants, refugees, and fortune seekers shaped and then redefined the Polonia. Pacyga also traces the movement of Polish immigrants from the peasantry to the middle class and from urban working-class districts dominated by major industries to suburbia. He documents Polish Chicago’s alignments and divisions: with other Chicago ethnic groups; with the Catholic Church; with unions, politicians, and city hall; and even among its own members. And he explores the ever-shifting sense of Polskość, or “Polishness.” Today Chicago is slowly being eclipsed by other Polish immigrant centers, but it remains a vibrant—and sometimes contentious—heart of the Polish American experience. American Warsaw is a sweeping story that expertly depicts a people who are deeply connected to their historical home and, at the same time, fiercely proud of their adopted city. As Pacyga writes, “While we were Americans, we also considered ourselves to be Poles. In that strange Chicago ethnic way, there was no real difference between the two.”

The Polish American Encyclopedia

The Polish American Encyclopedia PDF Author: James S. Pula
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 0786462221
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 597

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Book Description
At least nine million Americans trace their roots to Poland, and Polish Americans have contributed greatly to American history and society. During the largest period of immigration to the United States, between 1870 and 1920, more Poles came to the United States than any other national group except Italians. Additional large-scale Polish migration occurred in the wake of World War II and during the period of Solidarity's rise to prominence. This encyclopedia features three types of entries: thematic essays, topical entries, and biographical profiles. The essays synthesize existing work to provide interpretations of, and insight into, important aspects of the Polish American experience. The topical entries discuss in detail specific places, events or organizations such as the Polish National Alliance, Polish American Saturday Schools, and the Latimer Massacre, among others. The biographical entries identify Polish Americans who have made significant contributions at the regional or national level either to the history and culture of the United States, or to the development of American Polonia.