Servicemen and Women from all over the world tell their stories.

Servicemen and Women from all over the world tell their stories.

Members and students of the Polish Diaspora are invited to become involved by sharing their experiences and documents. Indeed, it is very gratifying to receive encouragement from those interested in Polish history, regardless of where they live, be it the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada or Australia. This move towards global collaboration will be enhanced by the digitization of the data, resulting in global access to the records.

This study of the Polish emigre experience will transcend disciplinary, methodological and national boundaries, and create a transnational picture of the Polish Diaspora. We live in yet another era when vast numbers of people are forced to call refugee camps 'home'. It is important that the experiences of these earlier refugees be preserved and shared with future generations so they work hard to promote world peace.
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Polish Camp, Fairford, Gloucestershire, England, 1953




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"My dear son. I was waiting for your letter with great impatience. Your letters are for me like a balsam for my injured heart. My pining for you poisons me in my old age; I wait for the time when I can find myself in your arms and cry with joy, though I don't know when this will happen."

Micha³ Wojciechowski, writing from Kluczbork, Poland, in April 1947, to his son Boles³aw Wojciechowski (above) in England. Micha³ died before Boles³aw obtained a British passport and was able to visit Poland. The family was originally from Lwów and the children recalled that they were obliged to move from that part of Poland when Lwów became part of the Ukraine. For this reason Micha³ saw himself as a refugee even though he still lived in Poland.