Topic: Polish Women in the USA. Émigré Biographies from Wartime Europe and Postwar America.

Duration: since 2022

Project coordinator: prof. dr hab. Beata Halicka

Project partners: Department of History at the University of Illinois in Chicago

Project funded by: Kosciuszko Foundation

Description: 

This project examines the life stories of selected Polish women from post-war emigration and their contributions to the social life of the Polish American community and to society in general. Women who achieved widespread professional success, occupied positions of leadership, and made a significant impact on their communities. In the male-dominated world of the Polonia, the role of women leaders has often been overlooked, meaning their contribution still remains in the shadow of its leading male figures. This is why it seems crucial to highlight those women who did manage to develop areas of professional and community activity both in typically female fields (e.g. Polish Women’s Alliance of America and its organ Głos Polek) and in areas usually managed by men (e.g. the editorial office of Dziennik Związkowy and the Polish Section of Voice of America radio). A separate group of women is comprised of those who forged their careers in science and as academic teachers. Moreover, some of them combined their scientific aspirations with literary and journalistic work, achieving numerous successes in these fields. The choice of specific biographies will be made during the course of the project.