Polish Argentines ( es, polaco-argentinos) are

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, ...

citizens of full or partial Polish ancestry or

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 ...

-born people who reside in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

. Poland was the fourth largest net migrants contributor after

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

. Although it is hard to give an exact number of Polish immigrants to

, as those who immigrated before 1919 carried German, Austrian or Russian passports, it is estimated that between 1921 and 1976, 169,335 Poles permanently settled in the country. Today there are 500,000 Argentines of Polish descent. The Polish minority in Argentina is both one of the most significant minorities in

and one of the largest groups of Polish minority.

Polish immigration to Argentina

It is not easy to determine the number of Poles who immigrated to Argentina. Before 1919, they were registered as Germans, Austrians, or Russians. Polish immigrants to Argentina were made up of three distinct groups: the Catholic ethnic Poles (25%), the Orthodox and Eastern Catholic

Ruthenians Ruthenian and Ruthene are exonyms of Latin origin, formerly used in Eastern and Central Europe as common ethnonyms for East Slavs, particularly during the late medieval and early modern periods. The Latin term Rutheni was used in medieval sou ...

(45-50%) and the Polish

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

(25-30%). Between 1921 and 1976, 169,335 immigrants from Poland permanently settled in Argentina. The first Poles arrived in Argentina during the 19th century. In 1890, the first Polish organization in Argentina was founded (Towarzystwo Polskie). For many years, the

Misiones Province Misiones (, ''Missions'') is one of the 23 provinces of Argentina, located in the northeastern corner of the country in the Mesopotamia region. It is surrounded by Paraguay to the northwest, Brazil to the north, east and south, and Corrientes ...

was the major Polish center in Argentina. Today it is estimated that between 500,000 and 1 million Argentines have Polish ancestry. Over a quarter of Misiones population has Polish roots (250,000 persons), the highest concentration of Polish Argentines in the country. About 140,000 Poles live in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

; other Argentine cities with large Polish populations include Córdoba,

Rosario Rosario () is the largest city in the central Argentine province of Santa Fe. The city is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the west bank of the Paraná River. Rosario is the third-most populous city in the country, and is also the most p ...

and Santa Fe. A major organization of the Polish minority is the

Polish Association in Argentina Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

(Związek Polaków w Argentynie). In 1995 the

Argentine National Congress The Congress of the Argentine Nation ( es, Congreso de la Nación Argentina) is the legislative branch of the government of Argentina. Its composition is bicameral, constituted by a 72-seat Senate and a 257-seat Chamber of Deputies. The Senate, ...

made June 8 Polish Settlers' Day.

Notable people

Carlos Bielicki Carlos Bielicki (born 15 May 1940) is an Argentine chess master. In 1958, he won the Argentine Junior Championship. In 1959, Bielicki was World Junior Chess Champion, winning the tournament in Münchenstein and earning the International Master ti ...

, chess master *

Fabián Bielinsky Fabián Bielinsky (3 February 1959 – 29 June 2006) was an Argentina, Argentine film director. Career Fabián Bielinsky was born in Buenos Aires on February 3, 1959. Bielinsky started to make films early in life, while still a high school stu ...

(1959-2006), movie director *

John Bocwinski John Bocwinski (born November 22, 1936 in Buenos Aires, Argentina) was an Argentine-American soccer defender who was a member of the U.S. Olympic soccer team at the 1972 Summer Olympics Player Youth Bocwinski, born in Argentina to immigrant Pol ...

, football player *

Juan Pablo Brzezicki Juan Pablo Brzezicki (born 12 April 1982) is a retired Argentine professional tennis player. Tennis career In 2007, Brzezicki was the Argentine surprise at the French Open, one of the four tennis Grand Slams, by reaching the third round before ...

, ex tennis player *

Vladislao Cap Vladislao Wenceslao Cap (5 July 1934 – 14 September 1982) was an Argentine football player and manager. As a player he represented his native country at the 1962 FIFA World Cup in Chile as a defender. Twelve years later he was the manager of ...

(1934-1982), ex football player and manager * Paulo Dybala, football player *

Juan Foyth Juan Marcos Foyth (born 12 January 1998) is an Argentine professional football player who plays as right-back or centre-back for Spanish club Villarreal and the Argentina national team. Having begun his professional career at his hometown clu ...

, football player *

Witold Gombrowicz Witold Marian Gombrowicz (August 4, 1904 – July 24, 1969) was a Polish writer and playwright. His works are characterised by deep psychological analysis, a certain sense of paradox and absurd, anti-nationalist flavor. In 1937 he published his fi ...

(1904-1969), writer * Enzo Kalinski, football player * Diego Klimowicz, football player *

Miguel Najdorf Miguel Najdorf (born Mojsze Mendel Najdorf) (15 April 1910 – 4 July 1997) was a Polish–Argentinian chess grandmaster. Originally from Poland, he was in Argentina when World War II began in 1939, and he stayed and settled there. He was ...

(1910-1997), chess master *

Marzenka Novak Marzenka Novak (Poland, 2 September 1945 – Buenos Aires, 3 July 2011) was an acclaimed Polish-born Argentine actress. She was the wife of actor Hugo Arana.Ayelén Stepnik Ayelén Iara Stepnik (born November 22, 1975) is a retired field hockey player from Argentina who won the silver medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney and the bronze medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens with the National field hock ...

, field hockey player * Fernando Troyansky, football player *

Rubén Wolkowyski Rubén Oscar Wolkowyski (born September 30, 1973) is an Argentine former professional basketball player, who also holds Polish citizenship. At a height of tall, he played at the power forward and center positions. Professional career Wolkowysk ...

, basketball player * Ricardo Zielinski, ex football player and presently coach

Polish immigration to Argentina

Notable people

Figures

See also

References

External links