My Mother's Immigration into the United States

Contributed by Krystyna Maciejak

My Mother's Immigration into the United States

 

My mom emigrated from Poland into the United States during the 1970-1980s era.  Their main reason for leaving Poland was that Poland was a communist country and life was difficult and limited.  Poland first became a communist country in 1947, under the Stalinist leader Boleslaw Bierut.  Life in communist Poland was very rough.  It was a struggle for people to get the basic foods they needed every day.  Uprisings began in 1970, where there was a food price riot in Gdansk.  Prices on food were raised and this significantly affected the urban workers and caused them to strike.  Riots caused the death of 50 workers who were shot and killed by the police.

Poland had what was known as a “shortage economy”.  This limited people’s lives and caused them to be unable to purchase everyday necessities such as bread, coal, or toothpaste.  In 1980, Poland faced an economic crisis and was forced into raising the price of goods, which caused many strikes, lead by the Polish labor force, to spread across the country.  The strike started on August 14^th, 1980, and workers demanded legislation for independent labor unions.  The strike continued on August 16^th, and many other committees joined the Gdansk shipyard workers.  These strikers made more demands, such as the legal formation of independent trade unions, an end to media censorship, the right to strike, new rights for the Church, the freeing of political prisoners, and improvements in the national health system. The strike caused many factories to shut down during the duration of it.  The Polish Soviet government finally signed an agreement passing many of the workers’ demands, known as the Gdansk Agreement.  This was a significant step in taking apart the Soviet power. 

After this agreement, there was more tension and pressure put upon the Polish government by the Russians.  The Russians felt that they were losing control of Poland.  Wojciech Jaruzelski, sent by the Soviets, became prime minister of Poland in 1981.  On December 13^th, 1981, he declared Martial Law on the country.  This caused lifestyles to change.  Borders were sealed, travel from city to city required permission, curfew was imposed, telephone lines were disconnected, and mail was censored.  Police officers filled the streets.  When people tried to fight back, strikes were crushed by riot police.  During nights about 5,000 Solidarity members, people trying to bring down the communist government, were arrested and put in jail.  At the end of 1981, Solidarity had weakened and by 1982 Solidarity was banned.  The Martial Law was then lifted in 1983.   

Interview:

I have interviewed my mother about her immigration from Poland to the United States.  Click here:Interview or go to https://www.dropbox.com/s/md4gl2gy9b8dhrc/Memory%20Project%20Slideshow.pptx 

For more information, see :

“The Polish Crisis." Socialist Labor Party of America. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2013.

http://www.slp.org/res_state_htm/polish_crisis81.html.

"The Story of the Solidarity Movement." Gdansk Life. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2013.

http://www.gdansk-life.com/poland/solidarity.

Poland Timeline." BBC News. N.p., 18 Jan. 2012. Web. 13 Feb. 2013.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/country_profiles/1054724.stm.

"Poland-Economy." Mongabay. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2013. http://www.mongabay.com/reference/country_studies/poland/ECONOMY.html.

"History of Poland." New World Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2013.

http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/History_of_Poland_(1945-1989).