1st Edition

The Poles in Britain, 1940-2000 From Betrayal to Assimilation

By Peter D. Stachura Copyright 2004
    140 Pages
    by Routledge

    200 Pages
    by Routledge

    Stachura provides an important, original analysis of the Polish community in the United Kingdom, adding up to a provocative interpretation of the Pole's position in British society. The chapters add to our understanding of the significant Polish military effort alongside the Allies in defeating Nazi Germany, while the appalling price the Poles paid at the end of the war at the Yalta Conference is accentuated. This crass and wholly unjustified betrayal of the cause of a free Poland by the Allies resulted directly in the formation of a large Polish community in Britain.

    Chapter 1 Introduction, Peter D. Stachura; Chapter 2 Towards and Beyond Yalta, Peter D. Stachura; Chapter 3 The Establishment of the Polish Section of the SOE, Jeffrey Bines; Chapter 4 The Government of the Republic of Poland in Exile, 1945–92, Wojciech Rojek; Chapter 5 The Poles in Scotland, 1940–50, Peter D. Stachura; Chapter 6 General Stanis?aw Maczek and Post-war Britain, Evan McGilvray; Chapter 7 Homeland Memories and the Polish Community in Leicester, Kathy Burrell; Chapter 8 Oral History and Polish Émigrés in Britain, Michelle Winslow; Chapter 9 The Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum and its Archival Holdings, Andrzej Suchcitz;

    Biography

    Peter D. Stachura, Dr Stanislaw Komorowski

    'The book vividly portrays the complexity and depth of the trauma the Polish emigrants to Britain experienced ... this book [is] very informative and educational. For this reason I would recommend it as useful backgound reading for an introductory course on Polish/British Second World War history.'

     - Nationalities Papers

    'This book certainly fulfills its primary goal: to expand 'the English-Language historiography (which) has been fairly limited hitherto', and provide a base for 'future works' that may elaborate on these contributions or perhaps consider alternative aspects of the Polish experience in Britain.'

    - Petr Kafka, University of Toronto