St Florian Catholic Church - Hamtramck Michigan

As of 2001, the

Metro Detroit The Detroit metropolitan area, often referred to as Metro Detroit, is a major metropolitan area in the U.S. State of Michigan, consisting of the city of Detroit and its Southeast Michigan, surrounding area. There are varied definitions of the a ...

area had the U.S.'s second largest

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

ethnic concentration after

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

.Woodford, p
185
As a whole,

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

has the second-largest percentage of Polish ancestry of any U.S. state.

History

In the 1880s Polish immigration to Detroit started.India leads all nations in sending people to Detroit

Archive
. '' Crain's Detroit Business''. June 1, 2014. Updated June 6, 2014. Retrieved on September 29, 2014. In 1904 the City of Detroit had 13,000 Polish people. By 1925 the number of Polish people increased to 115,000.Woodford, p
186
In the 1910 count of Detroit's population, the Polish population was not distinguished because Poland was not yet independent. Steve Babson, author of ''Working Detroit: The Making of a Union Town'', wrote that "Thus, at least half of the "Germans" counted were probably Poles."Babson, p
27
After

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

the U.S. government began counting Poles as a separate ethnic group. At that period it was the largest ethnic group in Detroit. In 1910 the

Dodge Brothers Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above Ply ...

opened an automobile plant in

Hamtramck Hamtramck ( ) is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 28,433. Hamtramck is surrounded by the city of Detroit except for a small portion that borders the fellow enclave city of Hi ...

.Vinyard, p
182
This caused an increase in Polish immigration. By 1920 about 66% of the Hamtramck's residents were Polish-born. Of the remaining residents, most were ethnic Polish. In 1922 Hamtramck became a municipality, electing a Pole as its first mayor. George Tysh of the ''

Metro Times The ''Detroit Metro Times'' is a progressive alternative weekly located in Detroit, Michigan. It is the largest circulating weekly newspaper in the metro Detroit area. History and content Supported entirely by advertising, it is distributed ...

'' stated that "In the early days of the auto industry, Hamtramck’s population swelled with Poles, so much so that you were more likely to hear Polish spoken on

Joseph Campau Joseph Campau (February 20, 1769 – May 13, 1863) was among the leading citizens and wealthiest landowners in Detroit, Michigan, at the beginning of the 19th century. Campau had three trading posts and a store in Detroit until the early 1800s. He ...

than any other tongue."Tysh, George.
Little Bengal
"
Archive
''

''. June 5, 2002. Retrieved on September 8, 2013. For portions of the 20th Century the Polish community was centered on Hamtramck and Detroit's

Poletown Poletown East is a neighborhood area of Detroit, Michigan, bordering the enclave city of Hamtramck. The area was named after the Polish immigrants who originally lived in the area. A portion of residential area known as Poletown became the General ...

.Introduction
"
Archive
''Polish Americans in Michigan''.

Bentley Historical Library The Bentley Historical Library is the campus archive for the University of Michigan and is located on the University of Michigan's North Campus in Ann Arbor. It was established in 1935 by the regents of the University of Michigan. Its mission i ...

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

. Retrieved on December 5, 2013. A wave of Polish immigrants arrived in the U.S. post-

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Poletown in Detroit began losing its Polish population since the 1940s because of construction projects replacing earlier structures and demographic changes.Buckowczyk, p. 51. From the late 1960s to the early 1990s a wave of arrivals consisted of refugees, including those who were members of Solidarity, and non-immigrants who had temporary visas. In 1981 the Central Industrial Park (CIP) project destroyed much of Detroit's Poletown. By the 21st Century, the Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties formed the center of Michigan's Polish populations. Many Poles had moved from Hamtramck, and

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in present-day Turkey, south-west of Ç ...

became the center of the Polish-American community.

Demographics

As of 2014, Macomb County has almost 4,500 immigrants from Poland and Wayne County has 3,300 immigrants from Poland. Those two counties have the highest numbers of Polish immigration in Metro Detroit.

Politics

In the 20th century, Poles were politically divided among Catholic traditionalists, Polish nationalists, and Socialists. The nationalists advocated for independence of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

while the Catholic church favored working with the existing German, Russian, and Austrian governments. The Polish National Church had four parishes in Detroit. The church, founded by American Poles, used Polish liturgies and was against social conservatism. The Polish Catholic Union, the socialist Polish Mutual Aid Association, and the pro-independent Polish National Alliance were Polish social programs in the area.Babson, p
28
In terms of the political parties, Polish people were most aligned with the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

.Feinstein, p
5
"The Poles are the most loyal to the Democratic party, while the Germans ..

Social groups

Historically, the Polish had several associations including the Polish Doctors Association, the Society of Polish Engineers, the Polish Lawyers Association, and the Polish Veterans. The latter group, which had a clubhouse, had 25% of its members born in Poland. The members had enlisted in Haller's Polish Army.Feinstein, p
237

Socioeconomic status

According to ''Ethnic Communities of Greater Detroit'', 1970, Poles were "in terms of their occupation, their education, and their income", the "least successful" immigrant group along with the Italians.

Education

As of 2013,

is among the most commonly spoken foreign languages in Hamtramck Public Schools. As of the 2008–2009 school year 2.4% of the district's students had Polish as their primary language. After Hamtramck became a municipality in 1922, every member of the Hamtramck Board of Education was a Pole and most students of the school system were Polish Catholics. In 1925, of the school district's 7,526 students, about 5,400 were ethnic Polish. Half of the ethnic Polish students were non-US citizens. In a period in the 20th Century, 8% of HPS teachers were Polish.Feinstein, p
238
"The proportion of teachers of Polish descent is not so great in Detroit as in Hamtramck, where they constitute more than 8 per cent of the whole number. Northeastern High School in Detroit has the largest number of its staff, the principal, the librarian, and two of the teachers being Poles born in Europe." Many Polish residents of

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

in the decade of 1910 did not send their children to

Detroit Public Schools Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD) is a school district that covers all of the city of Detroit, Michigan, United States and high school students in the insular city of Highland Park. The district, which replaced the original Detr ...

. This was partly due to a curriculum introduced in the decade of 1900 that lacked Polish culture and strongly emphasized English language and literature, and partly due to a 1910 IQ testing-based tracking system that had the potential of denying immigrants access to academic programs. In addition many of the new intermediate schools built around 1910 were not accessible to Polish residents. ''Ethnic Communities of Greater Detroit'' (1970) stated that in the 20th Century, the "proportion of teachers of Polish descent is not so great in Detroit as in Hamtramck". Of the DPS schools, Northeastern High School during a period in the 20th Century had the highest levels of Polish teachers, with some Europe-born ethnic Polish faculty. In the early 20th century, Hamtramck three parishes established grade schools, St. Florian, Our Lady Queen of Apostles, and St. Ladislaus.Vinyard, p
183
In the 20th century, the Institute of Educational Aid, offering biology, citizenship, English, geography, and mathematics courses to adults, was operated by a Polish organization.

Media

Historically

WJLB WJLB (97.9 FM) is a radio station in Detroit, Michigan. Owned by iHeartMedia, it broadcasts an urban contemporary format. WJLB's studios are located in Farmington Hills. WJLB's transmitter is located in Highland Park near the intersection o ...

broadcast Polish-language radio programming.Mayer, p
60

Notable people

John Dingell John David Dingell Jr. (July 8, 1926 – February 7, 2019) was an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1955 until 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he holds the record for longes ...

* John Dingell Sr. *

Bob Keselowski Robert Allen Keselowski (August 1, 1951 – December 22, 2021) was an American professional stock car racing driver. He owned K Automotive Racing and was a competitor in the ARCA Hooters SuperCar Series and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Rac ...

(

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

) *

Brad Keselowski Bradley Aaron Keselowski (; born February 12, 1984) is an American professional stock car racing driver, team owner, and entrepreneur. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 6 Ford Mustang for RFK Racing, a team he also ...

(

Rochester Hills Rochester Hills is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 76,300. It is the 14th-largest city in Michigan. The area was first occupied by settlers of European descent in 1 ...

) *

Brian Keselowski Brian A. Keselowski (born September 2, 1981) is an American professional stock car racing driver, crew chief, and spotter. He made headlines in 2011, qualifying his family-owned K-Automotive Motorsports entry into the Daytona 500. Early life and ...

(Rochester Hills) *

Ron Keselowski Ronald William Keselowski (born September 12, 1946) is a former NASCAR Winston Cup driver who raced from 1970 to 1974. He is the uncle of current and retired NASCAR Cup Series drivers Brad and Brian Keselowski along with being the brother of retir ...

(

) * John Lesinski Sr. * George Sadowski *

Eddie Slovik Edward Donald Slovik (February 18, 1920January 31, 1945) was a United States Army soldier during World War II and the only American soldier to be court-martialled and executed for desertion since the American Civil War. Although over 21,000 Am ...

(Detroit) *

Norbert Schemansky Norbert "Norb" Schemansky (May 30, 1924 – September 7, 2016) was an American weightlifter. He was the first weightlifter to win four Olympic medals, despite missing the 1956 Summer Olympics due to back problems. He won a silver medal in the 19 ...

( Dearborn)

References

* Babson, Steve. ''Working Detroit: The Making of a Union Town''.

Wayne State University Press Wayne State University Press (or WSU Press) is a university press that is part of Wayne State University. It publishes under its own name and also the imprints Imprint or imprinting may refer to: Entertainment * ''Imprint'' (TV series), ...

, 1986. , 9780814318195. * Buckowczyk, John J.
The Decline and Fall of a Detroit Neighborhood: Poletown vs. G.M. and the City of Detroit
"
Archive
''

Washington and Lee Law Review The ''Washington and Lee Law Review'' is a law review published four times each year by the Washington and Lee University School of Law and founded in 1939. It presents lead articles contributed by leading scholars, judges, and lawyers, as well ...

'', January 1, 1984. Volume 41, Issue 1, Article 5. p. 49-76. * Feinstein, Otto. ''Ethnic Communities of Greater Detroit''. Monteith College,

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...

, 1970. * Mayer, Albert. ''Ethnic groups in Detroit, 1951''. Wayne University Department of Sociology and Anthropology, 1951. * Vinyard, JoEllen McNergney. ''For Faith and Fortune: The Education of Catholic Immigrants in Detroit, 1805-1925''.

University of Illinois Press The University of Illinois Press (UIP) is an American university press and is part of the University of Illinois system. Founded in 1918, the press publishes some 120 new books each year, plus 33 scholarly journals, and several electronic proje ...

, January 1, 1998. , 9780252067075. * Woodford, Arthur M. ''This is Detroit, 1701-2001''.

, 2001. , 9780814329146.

Notes

External links

American Polish Cultural Center

West Side Detroit Polish American Historical Society

Polish Century Club of Detroit

Polish Genealogical Society of Michigan
{{Polish Americans by location

Polish-American history Polish-American culture in Metro Detroit Polish communities in the United States History of Detroit