White Privilege Myth Harms PolAms Pienkos2

PNA Centennial History of the Polish National Alliance of the United States of North America, by Donald E. Pienkos. 1984

Poles, as Whites, Were in No Sense Privileged

This book is a history of the PNA (Polish National Alliance). But it is much more than that. It is, to a certain extent, a history of Polish Americans in the last century before the publication of this book (1984).

Pienkos recounts the experiences of Poles during the Partitions, and their struggles to maintain their identity in the face of foreign rule. Prussian rule was the worst: Bismark’s Kulturkampf sought to extirpate all traces of Polish national consciousness, and to suppress the Catholic Church. Many Poles fled to America. Ironically, Polish immigrants to America were often falsely labeled Prussians, Russians, or Austrians.

POLES, AS WHITES, WERE IN NO SENSE PRIVILEGED

Early Polish immigrants were forced to perform backbreaking labor (p. 5), much the same as the black slaves in the South had performed before the Civil War. And, of course, racism and discrimination were not limited to nonwhites. For example, despite his later pro-Polish policies, US President Woodrow Wilson thought that Italians and Poles lacked initiative and intelligence (p. 458). It is ironic that, according to one cited study (p. 428), the IQ scores of Polish-American gentiles are second only to that of Polish-American Jews among Americans in general.

POLAMS AND WWII

A moderate amount of attention is paid to Polish Americans at the time of WWI. In many cases, they already thought of themselves as Americans first and Poles second. They served in disproportionate numbers in the US armed forces.

Pienkos focuses on the period at the end of WWII, when, owing to his inexperience, Charles Rozmarek endorsed FDR for President. The book shows the infamous map, during a meeting that included FDR and Rozmarek, showing Poland in per pre-WWII boundaries, even though FDR had already secretly agreed to the giveaway of the Kresy (Poland’s eastern half) a year earlier!

THE 1968 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN

In the 1960’s, Vice President Hubert Humphrey addressed crowds during the May 3 Polish Constitution Day of 1959, 1965, and while running for President in 1968. I remember, because I was at one of them.

Pienkos tabulates much useful data towards the end of his book. This includes all state units of the PNA, the biographies of major members of the PNA, and the texts of the speeches of all US Presidents before the PNA.