Contributed by Katie Brown
In September 1939, German leader Adolf Hitler instigated
the war by invading Poland. From then on, Poland suffered significantly and
every social class was impacted. Western Poland took a major hit when Germany
established a colonial government in hopes of trying to wipe out the Polish
nationality in general. Millions of Poles were removed from their homes and
German settlers moved into the homes to create a new German empire. Other Poles
were forced into labor camps, similar to concentration camps for the Jews,
where average people and prisoners of war worked day in and day out. Jews of
course were affected by the Holocaust and sent away to concentration camps
mostly on Polish soil. Devastating camps like Auschwitz, Majdanek, and
Treblinka killed close to 3 million Polish Jews on their very own soil. The
Poles who weren't in concentration camps, labor camps, or removed
from their homes succumbed to German rule in a different way and lost
opportunities for schooling, jobs, and more. Many people did try to fight
Hitler and the Germans back, but of course, they did not succeed.
After the war, Poland slowly got up on its feet but
continued to struggle until present day. Many rural areas are still in shambles
from German invasion from decades ago and have terrible living conditions. Many
Poles yearned to immigrate elsewhere but it was extremely hard to maintain a
farm let alone move to America. The 1960s brought forth immigration reform in
the United States. Previously, a quota system was in place permitting only
certain immigrants to come into the country legally. The Hart-Cellar Act
abolished this system and attracted skilled workers to the US. Many people from
all over Europe were attracted to the idea of living out the “American Dream”
and came to this country. Though immigrant conditions were awful, in most cases
the immigrants definitely were a whole lot better here than in their
motherland. America had new additions to its melting pot.
Additional Resources
Heubeck, Meg. "The Polish Experience During World
War II." University of Virginia,
"Poland - World War II." Poland - World
War II. US Library of Congress
Sadi-Nakar, Merav. "Welfare and Immigration Policies
During the 1960s." University of Los Angeles,
"U.S. Immigration Since 1965." History.com.
A&E Television Networks
"WW II: Behind Closed Doors." PBS.
PBS
Interview
The link bellow is an interview with Donna (Dabrowski) Brown, a Polish Immigrant whose family was severely impacted by World War II and inevitably came to America in hopes of pursuing "The American Dream". Headphones are suggested when viewing the video.
Great interview Katie! My mom also came to the U.S from Poland to look for better opportunities. It was nice to see an interview with someone who went through similar experiences as my mother.
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