What are the themes of post-WW2 Polish immigration to the United States?
Upvote:1
Much would depend on the individuals and where they settled. In Chicago there were /are neighborhoods where Polish was the language, where I expect they would be very welcome. On the other hand , Lithuanians moved into our 2-flat in a non-ethnic neighborhood (I was a kid) , they did not talk to anyone ,except "good morning", etc, and no one talked to them. They both worked and in a few years saved enough to but a house and moved ( my parents said).
Upvote:2
Since I had a girlfriend who was living in Poland for years and I went to Poland too, Poland is a bit familiar to me. So let me make an answer.
The Wikipedia explains,
The history of Poles in the United States dates to the American Colonial era. Poles have lived in present-day United States territories for over 400 years—since 1608. There are 10 million Americans of Polish descent in the U.S. today, making it the largest diaspora of Poles in the world. Polish Americans have always been the largest group of Slavic origin in the United States.
Historians divide Polish American immigration into three "waves", the largest from 1870 to 1914, a second after World War II, and a third after Poland's independence in 1989.
Their life in general was
Most Polish Americans are descended from the first wave, when millions of Poles fled Polish districts of Germany, Russia, and Austria. This group is often called the za chlebem (for bread) immigrants because most were peasants in Poland who did not own land and lacked basic subsistence. The Austrian Poles were from Galicia, unarguably the most destitute region in Europe at the time. Up to a third of the Poles returned to Poland after living in the United States for a few years, but the majority stayed. Substantial research and sociological works such as The Polish Peasant in Europe and America found that many Polish immigrants shared a common objective of someday owning land in the U.S. or back in Poland.
And their motivation to go to the U.S was,
Immigrants in all three waves were attracted by the high wages and ample job opportunities for unskilled manual labor in the United States, and were driven to jobs in American mining, meatpacking, construction, steelwork, and heavy industry—in many cases dominating these fields until the mid-20th century.
But today,
The Polish today are well assimilated into American society. Average incomes have increased from well below average to above average today, and Poles continue to expand into white-collar professional and managerial roles. Poles are still well represented in blue collar construction and industrial trades, and many live in or near urban cities. They are well dispersed throughout the United States, intermarry at high levels, and have a very low rate of language fluency (less than 5% can speak Polish).
For the people of the "second wave", please read the "World War2" part.
Thank you.
More post
- 📝 Under German-Nordic heraldic tradition, can arms pass through the female line?
- 📝 Looking for a (preferably digital) collection of McCarthy speeches (transcripts)
- 📝 Was Pythagoras against traditional/contemporary Greek education?
- 📝 In Studying the peoples of pre-Roman Britain, what are our primary reference sources?
- 📝 Why did US federal tax revenue jump in 1815?
- 📝 Why did the Soviets not shoot down US spy satellites during the Cold War?
- 📝 What Were the Types of Sieges?
- 📝 What exactly were currours, and what were they used for?
- 📝 How did Germany deal with the East German communist Government structure after unification?
- 📝 To what extent was the Cold War caused by post World War 2 economics?
- 📝 When did Abu Bakr agree to lower taxes for the Arabs living under the rule of Byzantine and Sassanid Empire?
- 📝 What were the factors that caused the world to move away from the Gold Standard in the 20th century?
- 📝 Was the Athenian generals' trial after Arginusae a political one?
- 📝 Is there an instance where Rome adopted a weapon to win a war?
- 📝 Why did the British think a 99-year lease on Hong Kong's New Territories was "as good as forever"?
- 📝 Where is the location of this large stump and monument (lighthouse?) background?
- 📝 Who invented the aeroplane?
- 📝 Has there been an occasion where ranged weapons were available but not used?
- 📝 When did last names start being used, and who introduced the concept?
- 📝 Why require every ploughman to make his own plough?
- 📝 Why America was not discovered from the left land at Bering strait?
- 📝 What were Hispanic people called in the US in the 1800s?
- 📝 What is the average price, in silver, for a loaf of bread through history?
- 📝 What is the diplomatic record on President Sadat's 1971 peace offer to Israel?
- 📝 Was "Mad Anthony" Wayne of the Continental Army really that cruel like shown in this video?
- 📝 Were the Pechenegs at some point Manicheans?
- 📝 Who or what is Glohithia
- 📝 Why did the north and south struggle to control the territories before the American Civil War?
- 📝 Are records on the meetings of the Japanese war council during 1945 publicly available?
- 📝 What is this military uniform from the 1870s?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 What are the themes of post-WW2 Polish immigration to the United States?
- 📝 Why are the signatures on the United States Declaration of Independence structured as they are?
- 📝 How did the United States avoid (or recover from) post revolution corruption?
- 📝 Are these Polish WWI or WW2 uniforms? And any idea on the shorter gentleman's military decoration (cross?) on left shoulder?
- 📝 Why was immigration from France to the United States lower than from some other countries?
- 📝 At what point did the United States have a truly federal army?
- 📝 What were the factors that led to stagflation in the United States during the 1970s?
- 📝 What did anti-Greek stereotyping look like in the United States in the early 20th century?
- 📝 When the United States Congress passes an amendment, how are its votes counted?
- 📝 What factors contributed to the United States having a larger proportion of Jews than other British colonies?
- 📝 What was the goal behind the 9 state approval of the United States constitution?
- 📝 What role did the United States government and major corporations have in controlling dissent and protest starting in the late 1940s?
- 📝 What are the height units of contours on this WW2 topographic map?
- 📝 What are some cases where a country bought land from another country, other than the United States?
- 📝 To what extent has the United States become (in 1870) the nation that it originally set out to be?
- 📝 What flags are on display in “Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States”?
- 📝 Why does the United States keep using "old" date representations and imperial system, while being in the minority?
- 📝 Is there any evidence to support the claim that the United States was "suckered into WW1" by Zionists, made by Benjamin Freedman in his 1961 speech?
- 📝 Why didn’t Japan attack the West Coast of the United States during World War II?
- 📝 What are the factors that caused the new world civilizations to be less technologically advanced than the old world?
- 📝 Has the United States ever had a non-Christian President?
- 📝 Why did the United States not resort to nuclear weapons in Vietnam?
- 📝 What is the origin of the stereotype that Polish people lack intelligence?
- 📝 Why would silk underwear disqualify you from the United States military draft?
- 📝 How was the United States able to produce excellent tanks in 1942?
- 📝 Did the United States have a third atomic bomb to drop on Japan?
- 📝 How did gold come to symbolize lower ranks than silver in the United States Air Force?
- 📝 Was slavery in the United States legally limited to blacks?
- 📝 Are there any documented examples of wooden ships which were in active service for 100 years or more? If not, what is the longest?
- 📝 Why did the Japanese expect the United States navy would attack the Home Islands?