Polish Resettlement Act 1947
Encyclopedia
The Polish Resettlement Act 1947 was the first ever mass immigration legislation of the British parliament
. It offered British citizenship to over 200,000 displaced Polish troops on British soil who had fought against Nazi Germany
and opposed the Soviet takeover of their homeland. The act also supplied a labour force to the demands of war-torn Britain.
was outstanding, and directly led to the Polish Resettlement Act 1947 and the formation of the Polish British
community as it exists today.
The majority of Poles came to the United Kingdom to help the Allied war effort after the Nazi-Soviet Pact led to the occupation of Poland
in 1939. By 1940, with the fall of France, the Polish President, Prime Minister and the Polish government in exile
transferred to London, along with a first wave of at least 20,000 soldiers and airmen. Thousands more followed throughout the war.
Poles formed the fourth-largest armed force in Europe after the Soviets, the Americans and the combined troops of British Empire. Poles were the largest group of non-British personnel in the RAF during the Battle of Britain, and the 303 Polish Squadron was the highest-scoring RAF unit in Battle of Britain
. Special Operations Executive
had a large section of covert, elite Polish troops and close cooperation with the Polish resistance
. The Polish Army under British high command were instrumental at the Battle of Monte Cassino
, the Battle of the Falaise Gap, the Battle of Arnhem
, the Siege of Tobruk
and the liberation of many European cities including Bologna
and Breda
.
The Poles broke the early version of the Enigma
code and gave their knowledge to the British. Former Bletchley Park
cryptologist Gordon Welchman
said: 'Ultra
would never have gotten off the ground if we had not learned from the Poles, in the nick of time, the details both of the German military... Enigma machine
, and of the operating procedures that were in use.' After the war, Churchill
told King George VI
: 'It was thanks to Ultra that we won the war."
By July 1945 228,000 troops of the Polish Armed Forces in the West
were serving under the high command of the British Army. Many of these men and women were originally from the Kresy
region of eastern Poland including cities such as Lwow and Wilno. They had been deported from Kresy to the Russia
n Gulags when Hitler and Stalin occupied Poland in 1939 in accordance with the Nazi-Soviet Pact. When two years later Churchill
and Stalin formed an alliance against Hitler, the Kresy Poles were released from the Gulags in Siberia, formed the Anders Army
and marched to Persia to create the II Corps (Poland) under British high command.
, Churchill agreed Stalin should keep the Soviet gains that Hitler had endorsed in the Nazi-Soviet Pact, including Kresy
, and carry out Polish population transfers (1944–1946). Consequently, Churchill had agreed that tens of thousands of veteran Polish troops under British command should lose their Kresy
homes to the Soviet Union, with the implication that relatives including wives and children would be at the mercy of the NKVD
. In reaction, thirty officers and men from the II Corps (Poland) committed suicide.
Churchill explained his actions in a three-day Parliament
ary debate starting 27 February 1945, which ended in a vote of confidence. Many MPs openly criticised Churchill over Yalta
and voiced strong loyalty to Britain's Polish allies. Some reporters felt Churchill wasn't confident Poland would be the independent and democratic country Polish troops could return to, because the prime minister also said: 'His Majesty's Government will never forget the debt they owe to the Polish troops... I earnestly hope it will be possible for them to have citizenship and freedom of the British empire, if they so desire.'
During the debate, 25 MPs risked their careers to draft an amendment protesting against Britain's tacit acceptance of Poland's domination by the Soviet Union. These members included: Arthur Greenwood
; Sir Archibald Southby, 1st Baronet
; Sir Alec Douglas-Home; James Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 3rd Earl of Ancaster and Victor Raikes
. After the failure of the amendment, Henry Strauss, 1st Baron Conesford, the Member of Parliament
for Norwich
, resigned his seat in protest at the British treatment of Poland.
by their wartime allies. They refused to return to Poland, because of a range of reasons: the Soviet repressions of Polish citizens (1939–1946), Soviet conduct around the 1944 Warsaw Uprising
, the Trial of the Sixteen
and other executions of pro-democracy Poles such as former members
of the Home Army
including Emil Fieldorf and Witold Pilecki
, and finally, the creation of the Eastern Bloc
.
The result was the Polish Resettlement Act 1947, Britain's first mass immigration law.
Large numbers of Poles, after occupying resettlement camps of the Polish Resettlement Corps
, later settled in London, many recruited as European Volunteer Workers. Others settled in the British Empire, forming large Polish Canadian and Polish Australian
communities.
In the 1951 Census, the Polish-born population of the UK numbered some 162,339, up from 44,642 in 1931.
At the same time, Britain's social and economic areas had been hard hit by the Second World War, and to rebuild itself physically and financially it required a workforce to do it quickly and effectively. The Polish Resettlement Act enabled Poles to settle in Britain and provide labour. They formed much of the Polish British
community as it exists today.
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
. It offered British citizenship to over 200,000 displaced Polish troops on British soil who had fought against Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
and opposed the Soviet takeover of their homeland. The act also supplied a labour force to the demands of war-torn Britain.
Background
The Polish contribution to World War IIPolish contribution to World War II
The European theater of World War II opened with the German invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939. The Polish Army was defeated after over a month of fighting. After Poland had been overrun, a government-in-exile , armed forces, and an intelligence service were established outside of Poland....
was outstanding, and directly led to the Polish Resettlement Act 1947 and the formation of the Polish British
Polish British
Polish migration to the United Kingdom describes the temporary or permanent migration of Poles to the United Kingdom . Most Polish migrants to the UK emigrated after two major events, the Polish Resettlement Act 1947 and the 2004 enlargement of the European Union...
community as it exists today.
The majority of Poles came to the United Kingdom to help the Allied war effort after the Nazi-Soviet Pact led to the occupation of Poland
Occupation of Poland
Occupation of Poland may refer to:* Partitions of Poland * The German Government General of Warsaw and the Austrian Military Government of Lublin during World War I* Occupation of Poland during World War II...
in 1939. By 1940, with the fall of France, the Polish President, Prime Minister and the Polish government in exile
Polish government in Exile
The Polish government-in-exile, formally known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in Exile , was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Poland of September 1939, and the subsequent occupation of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, which...
transferred to London, along with a first wave of at least 20,000 soldiers and airmen. Thousands more followed throughout the war.
Poles formed the fourth-largest armed force in Europe after the Soviets, the Americans and the combined troops of British Empire. Poles were the largest group of non-British personnel in the RAF during the Battle of Britain, and the 303 Polish Squadron was the highest-scoring RAF unit in Battle of Britain
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940...
. Special Operations Executive
Special Operations Executive
The Special Operations Executive was a World War II organisation of the United Kingdom. It was officially formed by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton on 22 July 1940, to conduct guerrilla warfare against the Axis powers and to instruct and aid local...
had a large section of covert, elite Polish troops and close cooperation with the Polish resistance
Armia Krajowa
The Armia Krajowa , or Home Army, was the dominant Polish resistance movement in World War II German-occupied Poland. It was formed in February 1942 from the Związek Walki Zbrojnej . Over the next two years, it absorbed most other Polish underground forces...
. The Polish Army under British high command were instrumental at the Battle of Monte Cassino
Battle of Monte Cassino
The Battle of Monte Cassino was a costly series of four battles during World War II, fought by the Allies against Germans and Italians with the intention of breaking through the Winter Line and seizing Rome.In the beginning of 1944, the western half of the Winter Line was being anchored by Germans...
, the Battle of the Falaise Gap, the Battle of Arnhem
Battle of Arnhem
The Battle of Arnhem was a famous Second World War military engagement fought in and around the Dutch towns of Arnhem, Oosterbeek, Wolfheze, Driel and the surrounding countryside from 17–26 September 1944....
, the Siege of Tobruk
Siege of Tobruk
The siege of Tobruk was a confrontation that lasted 240 days between Axis and Allied forces in North Africa during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War...
and the liberation of many European cities including Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
and Breda
Breda
Breda is a municipality and a city in the southern part of the Netherlands. The name Breda derived from brede Aa and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. As a fortified city, the city was of strategic military and political significance...
.
The Poles broke the early version of the Enigma
Enigma machine
An Enigma machine is any of a family of related electro-mechanical rotor cipher machines used for the encryption and decryption of secret messages. Enigma was invented by German engineer Arthur Scherbius at the end of World War I...
code and gave their knowledge to the British. Former Bletchley Park
Bletchley Park
Bletchley Park is an estate located in the town of Bletchley, in Buckinghamshire, England, which currently houses the National Museum of Computing...
cryptologist Gordon Welchman
Gordon Welchman
Gordon Welchman was a British-American mathematician, university professor, World War II codebreaker at Bletchley Park, and author.-Education and early career:...
said: 'Ultra
Ultra
Ultra was the designation adopted by British military intelligence in June 1941 for wartime signals intelligence obtained by "breaking" high-level encrypted enemy radio and teleprinter communications at the Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park. "Ultra" eventually became the standard...
would never have gotten off the ground if we had not learned from the Poles, in the nick of time, the details both of the German military... Enigma machine
Enigma machine
An Enigma machine is any of a family of related electro-mechanical rotor cipher machines used for the encryption and decryption of secret messages. Enigma was invented by German engineer Arthur Scherbius at the end of World War I...
, and of the operating procedures that were in use.' After the war, Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
told King George VI
George VI of the United Kingdom
George VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death...
: 'It was thanks to Ultra that we won the war."
By July 1945 228,000 troops of the Polish Armed Forces in the West
Polish Armed Forces in the West
Polish Armed Forces in the West refers to the Polish military formations formed to fight alongside the Western Allies against Nazi Germany and its allies...
were serving under the high command of the British Army. Many of these men and women were originally from the Kresy
Kresy
The Polish term Kresy refers to a land considered by Poles as historical eastern provinces of their country. Today, it makes western Ukraine, western Belarus, as well as eastern Lithuania, with such major cities, as Lviv, Vilnius, and Hrodna. This territory belonged to the Polish-Lithuanian...
region of eastern Poland including cities such as Lwow and Wilno. They had been deported from Kresy to the Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n Gulags when Hitler and Stalin occupied Poland in 1939 in accordance with the Nazi-Soviet Pact. When two years later Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
and Stalin formed an alliance against Hitler, the Kresy Poles were released from the Gulags in Siberia, formed the Anders Army
Anders Army
The Anders Army was the informal yet common name of the Polish Armed Forces in the East in the period 1941-1942, in recognition of its commander Władysław Anders...
and marched to Persia to create the II Corps (Poland) under British high command.
Yalta
These Polish troops were instrumental to the Allied defeat of the Germans in North Africa and Italy, and hoped to return to Kresy in an independent and democratic Poland at the end of the War. But at YaltaYalta
Yalta is a city in Crimea, southern Ukraine, on the north coast of the Black Sea.The city is located on the site of an ancient Greek colony, said to have been founded by Greek sailors who were looking for a safe shore on which to land. It is situated on a deep bay facing south towards the Black...
, Churchill agreed Stalin should keep the Soviet gains that Hitler had endorsed in the Nazi-Soviet Pact, including Kresy
Kresy
The Polish term Kresy refers to a land considered by Poles as historical eastern provinces of their country. Today, it makes western Ukraine, western Belarus, as well as eastern Lithuania, with such major cities, as Lviv, Vilnius, and Hrodna. This territory belonged to the Polish-Lithuanian...
, and carry out Polish population transfers (1944–1946). Consequently, Churchill had agreed that tens of thousands of veteran Polish troops under British command should lose their Kresy
Kresy
The Polish term Kresy refers to a land considered by Poles as historical eastern provinces of their country. Today, it makes western Ukraine, western Belarus, as well as eastern Lithuania, with such major cities, as Lviv, Vilnius, and Hrodna. This territory belonged to the Polish-Lithuanian...
homes to the Soviet Union, with the implication that relatives including wives and children would be at the mercy of the NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
. In reaction, thirty officers and men from the II Corps (Poland) committed suicide.
Churchill explained his actions in a three-day Parliament
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
ary debate starting 27 February 1945, which ended in a vote of confidence. Many MPs openly criticised Churchill over Yalta
Yalta
Yalta is a city in Crimea, southern Ukraine, on the north coast of the Black Sea.The city is located on the site of an ancient Greek colony, said to have been founded by Greek sailors who were looking for a safe shore on which to land. It is situated on a deep bay facing south towards the Black...
and voiced strong loyalty to Britain's Polish allies. Some reporters felt Churchill wasn't confident Poland would be the independent and democratic country Polish troops could return to, because the prime minister also said: 'His Majesty's Government will never forget the debt they owe to the Polish troops... I earnestly hope it will be possible for them to have citizenship and freedom of the British empire, if they so desire.'
During the debate, 25 MPs risked their careers to draft an amendment protesting against Britain's tacit acceptance of Poland's domination by the Soviet Union. These members included: Arthur Greenwood
Arthur Greenwood
Arthur Greenwood CH was a prominent member of the Labour Party from the 1920s until the late 1940s. He rose to prominence within the party as secretary of its research department from 1920 and served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Health in the short-lived Labour government of 1924...
; Sir Archibald Southby, 1st Baronet
Sir Archibald Southby, 1st Baronet
Commander Sir Archibald Richard James Southby, 1st Baronet was an English Conservative Party politician.He served in the Royal Navy and, in the period following the First World War, took part in the demilitarization of Heligoland...
; Sir Alec Douglas-Home; James Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 3rd Earl of Ancaster and Victor Raikes
Victor Raikes
Sir Henry Victor Alpin MacKinnon Raikes KBE was a British Conservative politician.Raikes was the son of Henry St. John Digby Raikes, eldest son of Henry Cecil Raikes. His mother was Annie Lucinda...
. After the failure of the amendment, Henry Strauss, 1st Baron Conesford, the Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Norwich
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
, resigned his seat in protest at the British treatment of Poland.
Legislation
When the Second World War ended, Stalin reneged on his Yalta promises and a Communist government was installed in Poland. Still, the British government wanted to maintain cordial relations with Stalin, who had popular appeal in the UK, and tried to persuade Poles in the UK to leave. Most Poles felt betrayedWestern betrayal
Western betrayal, also called Yalta betrayal, refers to a range of critical views concerning the foreign policies of several Western countries between approximately 1919 and 1968 regarding Eastern Europe and Central Europe...
by their wartime allies. They refused to return to Poland, because of a range of reasons: the Soviet repressions of Polish citizens (1939–1946), Soviet conduct around the 1944 Warsaw Uprising
Warsaw Uprising
The Warsaw Uprising was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance Home Army , to liberate Warsaw from Nazi Germany. The rebellion was timed to coincide with the Soviet Union's Red Army approaching the eastern suburbs of the city and the retreat of German forces...
, the Trial of the Sixteen
Trial of the Sixteen
The Trial of the Sixteen was a staged trial of 16 leaders of the Polish Underground State held by the Soviet Union in Moscow in 1945.-History:Some accounts say approaches were made in February with others saying March 1945...
and other executions of pro-democracy Poles such as former members
Cursed soldiers
The cursed soldiers is a name applied to a variety of Polish resistance movements formed in the later stages of World War II and afterwards. Created by some members of the Polish Secret State, these clandestine organizations continued their armed struggle against the Stalinist government of Poland...
of the Home Army
Armia Krajowa
The Armia Krajowa , or Home Army, was the dominant Polish resistance movement in World War II German-occupied Poland. It was formed in February 1942 from the Związek Walki Zbrojnej . Over the next two years, it absorbed most other Polish underground forces...
including Emil Fieldorf and Witold Pilecki
Witold Pilecki
Witold Pilecki was a soldier of the Second Polish Republic, the founder of the Secret Polish Army resistance group and a member of the Home Army...
, and finally, the creation of the Eastern Bloc
Eastern bloc
The term Eastern Bloc or Communist Bloc refers to the former communist states of Eastern and Central Europe, generally the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact...
.
The result was the Polish Resettlement Act 1947, Britain's first mass immigration law.
Large numbers of Poles, after occupying resettlement camps of the Polish Resettlement Corps
Polish Resettlement Corps
The Polish Resettlement Corps was an organisation formed by the British Government in 1946 as a holding unit for members of the Polish Armed Forces who had been serving with the British Armed Forces and did not wish to return to a Communist Poland after the end of the Second World War...
, later settled in London, many recruited as European Volunteer Workers. Others settled in the British Empire, forming large Polish Canadian and Polish Australian
Polish Australian
Poland has been a source country of immigrants to Australia, in particular in the post-war period. Immigration from Poland has long tapered off, with Polish Australian population now part of the mainstream Australian community.-Demography:...
communities.
In the 1951 Census, the Polish-born population of the UK numbered some 162,339, up from 44,642 in 1931.
At the same time, Britain's social and economic areas had been hard hit by the Second World War, and to rebuild itself physically and financially it required a workforce to do it quickly and effectively. The Polish Resettlement Act enabled Poles to settle in Britain and provide labour. They formed much of the Polish British
Polish British
Polish migration to the United Kingdom describes the temporary or permanent migration of Poles to the United Kingdom . Most Polish migrants to the UK emigrated after two major events, the Polish Resettlement Act 1947 and the 2004 enlargement of the European Union...
community as it exists today.
See also
- Polish BritishPolish BritishPolish migration to the United Kingdom describes the temporary or permanent migration of Poles to the United Kingdom . Most Polish migrants to the UK emigrated after two major events, the Polish Resettlement Act 1947 and the 2004 enlargement of the European Union...
- Western betrayalWestern betrayalWestern betrayal, also called Yalta betrayal, refers to a range of critical views concerning the foreign policies of several Western countries between approximately 1919 and 1968 regarding Eastern Europe and Central Europe...
- Federation of Poles in Great BritainFederation of Poles in Great BritainThe Federation of Poles in Great Britain is an organisation established to promote the interests of the Polish ethnic minority in Great Britain, and to promote Polish history and culture among the British people....
- World War II Behind Closed Doors: Stalin, the Nazis and the WestWorld War II Behind Closed Doors: Stalin, the Nazis and the WestWWII Behind Closed Doors: Stalin, the Nazis and the West is a BBC / PBS documentary film on the role of Joseph Stalin during World War II. The 2008 film combines narrative-led documentary segments, interwoven by dramatic re-enactments, with actors representing main political figures of the period....