The Federation of Poles in Great Britain ( pl, Zjednoczenie Polskie w Wielkiej Brytanii) is a voluntary

umbrella organisation An umbrella organization is an association of (often related, industry-specific) institutions who work together formally to coordinate activities and/or pool resources. In business, political, and other environments, it provides resources and ofte ...

established to promote the interests of

Poles in the United Kingdom British Poles, alternatively known as Polish British people or Polish Britons, are ethnic Poles who are citizens of the United Kingdom. The term includes people born in the UK who are of Polish descent and Polish-born people who reside in the UK ...

and to promote the

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

and

culture of Poland The culture of Poland ( pl, Kultura Polski ) is the product of its geography and distinct historical evolution, which is closely connected to an intricate thousand-year history. Polish culture forms an important part of western civilization and ...

among

British people British people or Britons, also known colloquially as Brits, are the citizens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the British Overseas Territories, and the Crown dependencies.: British nationality law governs m ...

. As a charity the Federation's statutes contain detailed information about its objectives and responsibilities.

History

The Federation of Poles in Great Britain (FPGB) was formed in 1946, when the

British Government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_est ...

formally withdrew recognition of the

Polish Government in Exile The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile ( pl, Rząd Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej na uchodźstwie), was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Pola ...

, rendering many Poles in Britain effectively stateless. They were however granted special leave to remain under the provisions of the

Polish Resettlement Act 1947 The Polish Resettlement Act 1947 was the first ever mass immigration legislation of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It offered British citizenship to over 250,000 displaced Polish troops on British soil who had fought against Nazi Germany an ...

.Michael Hope, ''The Abandoned Legion'', Veritas Foundation Publication , Paperback First Edition Chapter "The Transfer of Diplomatic Recognition" From that time until 1990, the Federation represented the interests of Polish settlers in relation to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

authorities. Following the emergence in 1990 of Poland as a state no longer within the

Soviet bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that exist ...

, its Presidential Insignia, kept until then in London, were ceremonially transferred by President Ryszard Kaczorowski to President

Lech Wałęsa Lech Wałęsa (; ; born 29 September 1943) is a Polish statesman, dissident, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who served as the President of Poland between 1990 and 1995. After winning the 1990 election, Wałęsa became the first democrati ...

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...

. At that juncture certain responsibilities remained vested in The Federation.

Peter D. Stachura Peter D. Stachura is a British historian, writer, lecturer and essayist. He was Professor of Modern European History at the University of Stirling and Director of its Centre for Research in Polish History. He has published extensively on the subj ...

, Editor ''The Poles in Britain 1940-2000'', Frank Cass, 2004, , Paperback First Edition Page 45 The Federation became recognised by both Polish and British governments, along with other Polish organisations worldwide, as the organisation representing the Polish minority in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...

Activities within its remit

In 2008, the Federation spokesman, Wiktor Moszczynski, submitted a complaint to the

Press Complaints Commission The Press Complaints Commission (PCC) was a voluntary regulatory body for British printed newspapers and magazines, consisting of representatives of the major publishers. The PCC closed on Monday 8 September 2014, and was replaced by the Inde ...

over claims that the ''

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...

'' had run a series of articles defamatory to Poles. The PCC arranged a compromise between the Federation and the ''Daily Mail'', whereby the ''Daily Mail'' promised to remove the offending articles from their

website A website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Examples of notable websites are Google, Facebook, Amazon, and W ...

Membership

The Federation was originally set up to bring together the various Polish organisations across Great Britain. Subsequently, a change in the statutes introduced Individual Membership. This has opened membership to Poles permanently resident in Great Britain, members of their families, people of Polish heritage and anyone else supporting the aims of The Federation.

References

External links

Federation of Poles in Great Britain web site

UK Poles attack Daily Mail 'bias' Guardian article on the Federation complaining about Daily Mail coverage of Poles

Guardian article on the resolution of complaint against The Daily Mail

Guardian article on Giles Coren's Article in The Times
{{DEFAULTSORT:Federation Of Poles In Great Britain Polish-British culture Poland–United Kingdom relations Polish diaspora organizations Diaspora organisations based in London

History

Activities within its remit

Membership

See also

References

External links