Document Type

Poster

Publication Date

9-8-2017

First Advisor

Stephanie Yuhl

Department

History

Abstract

Poster complementing author's summer research project exploring the history of the Polish-American community of Worcester, Massachusetts centered on the parish of Our Lady of Czestochowa and how its members responded to the forces of Americanization. Research in area archives such as the Worcester Historical Museum, the Worcester Public Library, and at Our Lady of Czestochowa’s rectory and its parish school of Saint Mary’s, as well as oral history interviews with past and longtime members of the community test the assumption that the story of Worcester’s Polish community is one of loss and decline. On the contrary, Polish-American efforts to preserve their group identity proved to be particularly resilient. The resilience of Worcester’s Polish-American community against full Americanization until even the present day suggests that this resistance is characteristic of Polonian communities in other areas of the United States.

The corresponding thesis is available at https://crossworks.holycross.edu/mellon_summer_research/4/

The interviews conducted as part of the research for this project may be found at https://crossworks.holycross.edu/polish/

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