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Diary of Polish in America Axia College ETH 125 Your name

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Dear Diary,

August 9, 2009

I am missing my country so much! I miss some of my friends, relatives and our traditions. I have not met that many other polish here in the United States of America; and only about .2% of the population speaks Polish in their homes (U.S. Census Bureau, 2000). I have even met people here in this country who were not aware that Polish was an actual ethnicity. These people I am talking about seem to think that what they called a Pollack was a pretend character like in a cartoon that was in many jokes. They will often tell jokes that imply that being polish means you are unintelligent. How many Pollacks does it take to screw in a light bulb?, How do you get a one armed Pollack out of a tree? or Why arent there any polish pharmacists?. Many people will laugh at jokes like these, but it is very hurtful to hear them. To me these jokes are not funny, but they are insulting to my heritage. I happened to overhear someone telling a Polish joke yesterday when I was out buying groceries at the store. I was so insulted hearing this being said because I am proud of my Polish heritage. My great grandmother has talked to me in the past about our heritage and how my ancestors first moved to America in 1900. She told me how my ancestors settled in the midWest. She said they came to America to earn more money and then returned to Poland afterwards. From what I understand life was hard in Poland; several others did as my ancestors did, and moved to America temporarily to make more money to bring home to their family. Unfortunately, not to long after people were doing this, in 1914, World War I began, and it was almost impossible to return back to Poland. By the time the war was over, these immigrants decided to stay in America (Jones, n.d.). . Thankfully, my ancestors did not move back to

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Poland. I am only saying this because during World War II, many Polish were murdered in the holocaust. To be exact, one in five Polish were killed during the holocaust (Jones, n.d.). Some of my family remained, and eventually settled in the mid-West, particularly in Chicago, Illinois. In fact, there is a large population of Polish-Americans in Chicago (Jones, n.d.). Most of these Polish immigrants began working labor jobs such as steel-working, meatpacking, and mining (Jones, n.d.). Later on, during the time when the automobile industry became popular, many Polish worked on the assembly lines. My family comes from a very long line of steelworkers and automobile assemblers. My parents tend to feel most comfortable living among other Polish descendents in the Chicago area. By my parents living among people of the same cultural background as my family, they are able to maintain their Polish heritage. It can be hard to maintain your heritage when you are not living with other people who share the same heritage. Many Polish that left the areas of America that have a high polish population have a tendency to lose touch with their ethnicity. This is called assimilation. After spending time in an area that does not have a high number of other polish people, I can see how this process can happen easily. Though I try to maintain my Polish traditions, but I find it hard to when there is no one of Polish decent to share them with. Even though I do miss my country I plan on staying here. I want to be able to educate my children in a society that encourages them to embrace their heritage, while learning about American culture as well. I believe that teaching someone about their ethnic background is not a way of rejecting other peoples traditions. It is more of a way of remembering your heritage and traditions. I dont want my children to ever forget that they are Polish. They are from a group of people that have experienced hardships such as near extermination.

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By Polish living in America they have been given great opportunities. There are many Polish people living in America today that have succeeded in life, where they might not have otherwise in Poland. Polish-Americans should make sure not to forget about their traditions in an effort to blend in with the crowd. It is important to remember that every American has a different background and we can all learn from one another about diversity.

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References Jones, S. Polish Americans, n.d. Retrieved August 9, 2009, from Everyculture.com http://www.everyculture.com/multi/Pa-Sp/Polish-Americans.html U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Summary File 3, Matrix PCT10