Americans of Polish descent. How many of us are on Polish forums?

how many of us are really here?

how many still talk with family in poland and have direct contact?

how many have mixture of polish with some other nationality?

what do you still know and still celebrate that was part of your familys traditions?

speak up we dont have to sit back and let people call us names, we are a good nation
and we take care of what we need to, we dont have to answer to people!!!

I'd like to add two more questions -

- How many of you would consider moving to Poland for good?
- If you have to choose, are you American or Polish?

You mean just American born, or also Polish born naturalized citizens? depends what you mean

I would.. I have a great family that still lives in poland and I know they would help out
and get me on my feet if needed.. thats how familys roll..
and I could get citizenship just like that .. and I know my family would help me with that
too.. they love me like I love them.. no matter how far away we are from each other.


right now I am American of polish decent. I have American citizenship because I was
born here,, same as in every country. but my Ancestry is Polish , just like yours is
supposed to be scottish.

They are not really questions they are more like hypothetical ultimatums.
You have your own thread for this ;p

yes I can include my polish brothers and sisters.. yeah, all polish who immigrated
after 1919.. cause you know, your say is important.. you definately mean something
and those who immigrated in 1960/70s , yes, you are important.. please share
some of your knowledge as well.

oh and BTW, thank you so much for your knowledge of poland those who did come
later, your experience can help us to understand how it was then.

well i'm a dual citizen, came here in 1991, from the 80's i just remember the long lines in front of stores and greyish buildings lol.

Sounds like an apple store whenever they release a new product to the addicted :)

I would assume that she means anyone who considers themselves to be of Polish origin, regardless of birthplace?

Something else I'd like to know about the people who respond - when did you or your ancestors leave Poland?

That's something I am interested in too.

How long have you been out of Scotland Delphi? How long, if at all, would it take you not to be Scottish any more?

Is nationality just where you were born? what you feel like? what you have ties to? what you class yourself as? what you associate yourself with? does it have an expiry date?

Of course all these questions are subjective and will differ depending on the person but I think that because this is a Polish forum, most Polish Americans will identify with the American Polish culture, would that be a fair thing to say?

Hmm - counting university (went to university in England) - this is my 5th year outside. Can't say I particularly miss the place either!

I don't think it's possible for a 1st generation immigrant to lose his nationality, but I do feel more and more European by the day.

Isn't it two very different things?


Can you explain exactly what makes you feel European?

Picture yourself 50 years down the road (out of Scotland), would you still be Scottish then? what would make you Scottish, your youth? your parents? your passport?

As a Paddy, i don't have this problem since most of us live outside the country any way, I am more Irish here than at home :p

Playing table football with a Hungarian, a Pole and a Frenchwoman would do that to you :)

I think I believed in the European dream at that moment...


Birthplace and youth, I think - these two things tend to combine to give you a sense of identity.

I think you can see a comparison with the 1945-era Poles in the UK - they're still Polish, no matter what, even though their children and grandchildren are British.

So even if from this day forth, you were to know nothing about what was happening in Scotland, stopped going there and spent the rest of your days with your table football with your Hungarian, a Polish and Frenchwomen for the next 50 years, you'd still be a Scot?

I am actually asking myself the same question Delphi but just bouncing it off you, if you know what I mean.

I think at some stage identity it a matter of personal choice, which brings us nicely back to the Americans.

Well technically if you're an American citizen you're an American, of Polish descent, doesn't matter that you're not American born. Some people see it that way some don't, at least on paper it's that way.

Has there recently been a resurgence of "searching for origins" in the states?
I know many Americans have always known their family history, it just seems to me that it has been more popular in the last decade or so, maybe I am wrong?

Perhaps with the fall of communism and the popularity of the internet, it has changed things, like what people know and how they see themselves.

I find the subject of cultural identity interesting, good thread Patrycja19.
Unfortunately I have more questions than opinions ;p

My father grew up with what people on PF would consider a "real Pole", someone who grew up in Poland and moved to this country. My Grandmother's parents both came from Poland. On my father's side of the family, it's all Polish, nothing else. My mother's side is Irish, Scottish and German.

with new resourses and updated sites like Family Search ''searching for origins'' is bigger than ever. there must be millions of people in the USA looking for their European roots.

Sometimes I can see your fine mother in you Plastic Pole ;)

I know a few Polish Americans and there is no way they are not Polish.
They had their parents bring them up that way :) they live in Polish neighbourhoods, "should" date 'good Polish girls' through out their childhood.

Some feel closer to Poland (even if they've never been) than to America in a way (in bold for emphasis).
With their grandmother cursing them in Polish and the local Sklep knowing all about their family etc...

Why wouldn't a person in such circumstances feel Polish?

Merged thread:
American born and still Polish?

Usually when you ask someone where he's from and the person is from the states, the answer is: "I"m an American but my ancestors came from ........."

This being Polish seems to be still very important to many of you, to how many I can't tell as where I live, I've never met anyone with Polish roots. I'm sure there are some of you around but I've just never met any. I'd love to ask you how you guys manage to live with those split feelings of being both, Americans and Poles at the same time? It's probably easy for those of you who were born in Poland but I wonder how the American born feel about it. I can imagine, it must be pretty confusing. I'm defending you on PF because I believe that Poles should really appreciate your position toward Poland and everything Polish instead to bash you all the time. As an American, I'd love to ask you where you actually stand?

Thank you, the only way to know is to search.. some of us lost our grandparents young
some never had the chance to know them, and my parents spoke polish, but all of us
kids didnt know what they were saying,, of course it was at Christmas and Easter and
anytime they just didnt want us to know what they were saying..

when your a kid, you dont know any better. I dont blame them, maybe at some point
they knew it was something they shouldnt do because kids are mean ( sorta like del)
telling you how to be and not how to be. thinking they are better then everyone else.

I remember going to school, I was in 1st grade, and they called out your name in class
for attendence and soon as they say your longggggggggggg last name with silent
letters that end with a ski, they would laugh.

couldnt shrink in my chair, so I just sat there thinking of what /why kids are making fun
of my last name.. doesnt anyone else have one too??

whats so funny? but it wasnt my way of saying my last name, the teacher multiated
it so bad it sounded horrible.. and they ask you, how do you say your last name?
ok I am in 1st grade, I am just learning life, and your asking me how to say my last name?
and kids stare.. yeah, its really fun to be around jack asses.. people who think they are so
much better.

so it could be that , I cant ask my parents, both are deceased, all the questions i still have
I cant get answers to , even though I miss the heck out of both of them, and think often
of them and how I wish I was a kid again so I could ask those questions.


yes there is, its a very large business now. its advertised on TV and they have a show now
about family roots. alot of famous people are getting more involved.. pretty sure they
are just selling the whole idea, but hey everyone has ancestors.. :)

Why did your parents not teach you Polish?

It's interesting how many people had fluent Polish speakers for parents, yet they didn't learn themselves. It's the same with other languages, of course.

I dont know, I never asked, but as a child, I was embarassed because kids called us
dumb polacks, my father and mother both went to catholic schools, strict learning, strict
religious beliefs..

when I found my dads report card at the same public school he went to ( after catholic)
I seen something that bothered me alot.

they werent rich, they managed, but they graded the kids on appearance.. how
screwed up was it back then?

so I am sure it had to do with how he was treated, and my mom, people fit in if your
not different.

Jesus, talk about discrimination :(


Thanks - that was a really interesting insight, I appreciate you taking the time to post it :)

I'm American, fourth generation, half Polish. As far as I know, I have no family in Poland that bears my surname. I don't know if there are descendants related to my dad's maternal grandparents. My wife is from Poland, and she has plenty of family there. I would consider moving to Poland. I'm very proud of my American citizenship, and have no desire to give it up.

What happens with me is people see or hear my name and say "Ah, Polish last name! Don't see many of those west of the Mississippi" if they are from back east. So, people identify me as Polish based on my last name, not because I am actually from Poland. They identify me immediately as "Polish American". It's cool with me.

Yes, of course, I am an American, would never dream of calling myself a European, though I think it's an interesting place, full of history, but I am Polish regardless. You can be Polish and be from America, just like you can be American Irish, Italian, German, Vietnamese. If you look at a Vietnamese person born in the US but maybe only one or two generations in you are going to think they are Asian before American just because they look Asian. Their Vietnamese heritage is always on the forefront even though they were born in the US, so they say "We are Vietnamese" before they say they are Americans. Would anyone argue with them and say "nah you aren't Vietnamese you have never stepped one foot inside Vietnam so you can't be that! You are an American!" Most of them would think you are crazy because in America, it's so obvious when someone is Asian.

In America, it's less obvious when one is Polish, unless one's last name is Polish, then it's the same. People who see or hear the surname say "A Polish name!" and they instantly recognize it. Either that, or they say "What kind of last name is that? Is it Polish?"

You mean, just because of your Polish last name they say you're Polish?
Strange, I'd understand it if you also spoke with a strange accent or so but only because of your name?


Polish from America or American Polish? Don't get me wrong but I associate Polish from America with someone who just came to the US and lives there for a short period of time. If you say, I'm American Polish, it makes me feel more like you're an American now but used to be Polish and if you call yourself an American and mention that your ancestors came from Poland than I see you as an American regardless. Of course you guys can see it anyway you want it. It doesn't bother me as long as you're good people.


to be quite honest, only in connection with your English level. If you sound like an American, most likely no one would really care about your last name unless you point it out somehow.

Plastic Pole and Patryca19, have you ever been to Poland? Have you ever traveled outside the country?

I am not part of Polonia, but I have Polish ancestry and have been to Poland for three visits.

I stayed for three weeks in 2000, for one week in 2008, and for three weeks this past summer. I have good friends there from the first visit and made lots of new ones.

My relatives all came from Poland, some as ethnic Poles that were German citizens of Prussia and others as Russians that were ethnically German and others that came after Poland became a nation again, and had Polish citizenship. So it gets very complicated to answer the usual question asked in America, "where did your family come from?" lol

I found the farm where my grandmother lived and had coffee with the current owner. We could not communicate in detail as he knew no English and I was left with what I learned as a baby. However, we managed. I went to all the villages that my family ever lived in and wow what a wonderful trip. I even fell in love with a lot near where my grandmother came from so I could retire to Poland. But, I am not sure if I can purchase land. Or if I'd want to go and leave my grandkids.

moje-miejsce.net.pl/en/41/offer/ostrowite.html

P.S. This is the church where my Polish great grandparents were married in Gniezno, Poland.
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gniezno.19th_September_2007._Franciscan_church.JPG