Emigration from Poland in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries

Abstract

Summary The subject of Polish emigration in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries has not yet been treated systematically, either in its quantitative or its qualitative aspects. Apart from studies devoted to Polish emigration in certain countries the main demographic and economic aspects of this movement remain terra incognita if not terra intacta to the majority of social scientists. It is hoped that the present study will serve as stepping stone for a series of detailed investigations relating to Polish emigration The first part of the paper describes Polish migratory movements as a function of demographic pressure and economic backwardness of the country. The second part contains a brief survey of main centres of Polish emigration: the U.S.A., France and Brazil