 Saint Josaphat church in Lublin, founded by Greeks in 1768 | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 3600 [1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Wrocław, Police, Zgorzelec, Świdnica, Ustrzyki Dolne and Bielawa.[ citation needed ] | |
| Languages | |
| Greek, Polish | |
| Religion | |
| Greek Orthodox Christianity | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Greek diaspora |
The Greeks in Poland form one of the country's smaller minority groups, numbering approximately 3,600.
Greeks, particularly merchants and traders, have been present in the Polish lands since the Bolesław I the Brave, [2] funding a number of Orthodox Apostolic and in lesser extent Greek Catholic Uniat churches (i.e. in Lublin and Mohylów Podolski) [3] [4] and cemeteries throughout the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. However most of these immigrants eventually assimilated into the diverse groups that trace their heritage from this polity such as Poles, Lithuanians, Belarusians, and Ukrainians. [5]
In the 1921 Polish census, very few people declared Greek nationality, with the largest Greek populations of 18 and 16, based in Łódź and Warsaw, respectively. [6] [7]
Most self-identified Greeks in Poland today trace their heritage to the large number of Greek citizens who fled as refugees from the Greek Civil War and were admitted into Poland. [8] They consisted largely of members of former communist partisan units from the Greek region of Macedonia. Most had been farmers before their flight from Greece. [9] In total, from 1948 to 1951, 12,300 people from Greece came to Poland, of whom roughly one-quarter were children. [10]
Most refugees arrived by sea through the port at Gdynia. The Polish government chose to settle them in the territories west of the Oder River near the border with East Germany, especially near Zgorzelec. [10] About 200 were also sent to Krościenko in the southeast, near the Bieszczady Mountains in a formerly ethnic Ukrainian area. [11] Initially, the refugees were celebrated as anti-capitalist heroes and given significant government assistance in building new lives and integrating in Poland. [9] Initially, they found employment on farms, for which they were well suited because of their rural background; however, they later gravitated towards urban areas. [10]
Some refugees chose to return to Greece early on. [10] By 1957, still roughly 10,000 remained in Poland. [8] However, suspicions later fell on them of being Titoist agents. A large number were deported to Bulgaria in 1961. [12] A 1985 agreement between the governments of Poland and Greece that enabled Greek refugees to receive retirement pensions at home, led to emigration back to Greece. [13]
In 1950 the refugees from Greece were organized in the Community of Political Refugees from Greece (Polish : Gmina Demokratycznych Uchodźców Politycznych z Grecji), based in Zgorzelec. Two years later it moved to Wrocław and was renamed in 1953 Nikos Beloyannis Union of Political Refugees from Greece (Polish : Związek Uchodźców Politycznych z Grecji im. Nikosa Belojanisa). [14] [15] After the fall of the dictatorship in Greece it changed its name into Association of Greeks in Poland (Polish : Towarzystwo Greków w Polsce), but in 1989, an internal schism led to the creation of the Association of Macedonians in Poland (Polish : Stowarzyszenie Macedończyków w Polsce). [15]
In his essay, published by the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, professor Slawomir Lodzinski states:
At present, the full legal protection is limited to this national minorities which are groups of Polish citizens, are “old”, “native” and on non-immigrant origin. This perspective has caused that the groups of Greeks [...] who have been recognized as national minorities from the 1950s, from the beginning of the 1990s are not treated as national minorities by the state. [16]
Answering a question by Brunon Synak, President of the Kashubian-Pomeranian Association, at a meeting organized by the Council of Europe in 2002, Mr. Dobiesław Rzemieniewski, Head of the National Minorities Division in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration, explained that Greeks are "not classified as national minorities since they do not meet the requirement of being traditionally domiciled on the territory of the Republic of Poland". [17]
In 2021, political scientist and historian Stefan Dudra wrote an article "On the need to recognize the Greeks in Poland as a national minority", in the Polish journal Review of Nationalities, advocating for the government of Poland to recognize the Greeks as a national minority. [2] Dudra concluded that: [2]
The Greeks fulfil all the conditions set out in the Act of 2005 (Article 2, section 1, points 1-6) for the recognition of a given social group as a national minority. Among other things, they are a group smaller in number than the rest of the population of the Republic of Poland; they are significantly different from other citizens in terms of language, culture or tradition; they strive to preserve their language, culture and traditions; they are aware of their own historical ethnic community and are oriented towards expressing and protecting it, i.a., through the activities of socio-cultural associations; they are aware of their own historical ethnic community and are oriented towards expressing and protecting it, i.a., through the activities of socio-cultural associations. Their ancestors have inhabited the present territory of the Republic of Poland for at least 100 years (the Greeks have been present on Polish territory since the late Middle Ages, their ancestors inhabited Polish territory in all historical periods of the Polish state, preserving identity continuity) and they identify themselves with a nation organized in their own state. [...] Thus, they should be recognized as a national minority and listed in the Act of 2005.
Zgorzelec is a town in southwestern Poland with 30,374 inhabitants (2019). It lies in Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the seat of Zgorzelec County and of Gmina Zgorzelec. Zgorzelec is located on the Lusatian Neisse river, on the Polish-German border adjoining the German town of Görlitz, of which it constituted the eastern part up to 1945.
Pruszcz Gdański is a town in Pomerania, northern Poland with 26,834 inhabitants (2010). Pruszcz Gdański is an industrial town neighbouring Gdańsk, part of the Tricity agglomeration. The Tricity Bypass begins in Pruszcz Gdański.
Bardo is a historical town in Ząbkowice Śląskie County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of the administrative district (gmina) called Gmina Bardo.
Dziwnów is a town in north-western Poland situated on the Baltic Sea at the mouth of the river Dziwna which divides it into the right-bank part containing the center of the town, belonging to historical Farther Pomerania, while the left-bank part is located in Western Pomerania, with both parts connected through a bascule bridge. It is a part and the seat of the eponymous Dziwnów municipality within Kamień County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship. As of December 2021, the town has a population of 2,595.
The Lithuanian minority in Poland consists of 8,000 people living chiefly in the Podlaskie Voivodeship, in the north-eastern part of Poland. The Lithuanian embassy in Poland notes that there are about 15,000 people in Poland of Lithuanian ancestry.
Fablok is a Polish manufacturer of locomotives, based in Chrzanów. Until 1947 the official name was First Factory of Locomotives in Poland Ltd., Fablok being a widely used syllabic abbreviation of Fabryka Lokomotyw, among others as the company's telegraphic address. It is now named "BUMAR - FABLOK S.A. (corporation)". Fablok is located in the town of Chrzanów in Lesser Poland. As of 2009, Fablok no longer builds new locomotives.
Ukrainians in Poland have various legal statuses: ethnic minority, temporary and permanent residents, and refugees. According to the Polish census of 2011, the Ukrainian minority in Poland was composed of approximately 51,000 people. Some 38,000 respondents named Ukrainian as their first identity, 13,000 as their second identity, and 21,000 declared Ukrainian identity jointly with Polish nationality. However, these numbers have changed since the mid-2010s, with a large influx of economic immigrants and students from Ukraine to Poland, with some estimating their total number at 2 million people. Their status has been regulated according to the Polish and European Union (EU) policies of temporary work permits, temporary residence permits and permanent residence permits. The number of Ukrainians in Poland rose dramatically following the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022. By 16 August 2022, more than 11.2 million Ukrainian refugees left the territory of Ukraine, of which more than 5.4 million people fled to neighbouring Poland.
Greek-Polish relations are relations between Greece and Poland. Both countries are full members of NATO, the European Union, Three Seas Initiative, OECD, OSCE, the Council of Europe and the World Trade Organization. There are circa 4,000 people of Greek descent living in Poland, and over 20,000 people of Polish descent living in Greece. Greece has given full support to Poland's membership in the European Union and NATO.
Following centuries of relative ethnic diversity, the population of modern Poland has become nearly completely ethnically homogeneous Polish as a result of the altered borders as well as both the Nazi German and Soviet Russian or Polish Communist campaigns of genocide, expulsion and deportation during and after World War II in the country. Nevertheless, various ethnic minorities of various origin remain in Poland today, including some newly arrived or grown in size in recent decades.
Gołotczyzna is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Sońsk, within Ciechanów County, Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland. It lies approximately 3 kilometres (2 mi) west of Sońsk, 10 km (6 mi) south of Ciechanów, and 67 km (42 mi) north of Warsaw.
Orło is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Małkinia Górna, within Ostrów Mazowiecka County, Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland. It lies approximately 8 kilometres (5 mi) north-west of Małkinia Górna, 8 km (5 mi) south-east of Ostrów Mazowiecka, and 90 km (56 mi) north-east of Warsaw.
Gniazdowo is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Stary Lubotyń, within Ostrów Mazowiecka County, Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland. It lies approximately 4 kilometres (2 mi) west of Stary Lubotyń, 15 km (9 mi) north of Ostrów Mazowiecka, and 100 km (62 mi) north-east of Warsaw.
Polish–Romanian relations are foreign relations between Poland and Romania.
Celiny is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Ożarowice, within Tarnowskie Góry County, Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It lies approximately 4 kilometres (2 mi) south of Ożarowice, 14 km (9 mi) east of Tarnowskie Góry, and 21 km (13 mi) north of the regional capital Katowice.
Bielsko-Biała is a city in southern Poland created after the merging of two closely situated cities, Bielsko and Biała, in 1951. As separate entities, the cities have a lengthy history.
Macedonians of Poland form a small minority of the country primarily concentrated in Southern and Central Poland. Most of the Macedonians of Poland originate from the child refugees of the Greek Civil War. Estimates put the number of Macedonian refugees settled in Poland at 11,458. Many Macedonians immigrated to Poland after the Breakup of Yugoslavia.
Andrew Rossos is a Canadian-Macedonian Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Toronto.
The German Minority Electoral Committee is an electoral committee in Poland which represents the German minority. Since 2008, its representative has been Ryszard Galla. In the 2023 Polish parliamentary election, Galla lost his seat in the Sejm, leaving the party with no national representation.
Józef Ciągwa, slov. Jozef Čongva – Polish lawyer of Slovak origin, translator, lecturer at University of Silesia in Katowice, professor of jurisprudence and president of the management board of Slovaks in Poland Association.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)| Old Greek Diaspora | |
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| New Greek Diaspora |
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| Traditional areas of Greek settlement | |
| Europe | |
| Caucasus and Central Asia | |
| Middle East | |
| Africa | |
| Latin America | |
| Asia-Pacific | |
