In der ersten Zeit nach der bolschewistischen Revolution war die Hierarchie der katholischen Kirche bemüht, für sie einen modus vivendi in Sowjetrußland zu finden. Dies sollte sich jedoch bald als unmöglich erweisen, denn die Regierung der UdSSR war bestrebt, die Kirche allmählich und schließlich völlig zu liquidieren. Diesem Ziel diente die bereits 1918 eingeführte und danach weiter ergänzte, gut durchdachte religionsfeindliche Gesetzgebung. Der gesamte kirchliche Besitz wurde verstaatlicht und vom Staat übernommen. Die Mietung der Kirchen vom Staat war nur nach vorheriger Registrierung der religiösen Gemeinden möglich, die die Gläubigen zu bilden gezwungen waren. Die Geistlichen aller Konfessionen wurden ihrer Rechte beraubt, die religiösen Gemeinden zu leiten. Sie konnten von ihnen lediglich zum Abhalten von Gottesdiensten angestellt werden. In den Jahren 1922-1923 konfiszierten die Behörden alle wertvollen kirchlichen Gerätschaften, angeblich zu dem Zweck, sie zur Unterstützung der hungernden Bevölkerung in Rußland zu bestimmen, in Wirklichkeit jedoch, um die Gotteshäuser aller Konfessionen zu plündern. Der Vorschlag von Papst Pius XI. vom 18. Mai 1922, die Kostbarkeiten aus den katholischen Kirchen zu einem beliebigen Preis zurückzukaufen, wurde ignoriert. Auf dem Hintergrund des bei den Beschlagnahmeaktionen geleisteten Widerstandes und der Nichtrespektierung des Verbots des Religionsunterrichts für Kinder und Jugendliche fand im März 1923 in Moskau ein Prozeß gegen 14 der konterrevolutionären Tätigkeit beschuldigte Priester mit Erzbischof J. Cieplak an der Spitze statt. Es wurden zwei Todesurteile gefällt (J. Cieplak und K. Budkiewicz), von denen eines sofort vollstreckt wurde (K. Budkiewicz). Dieser Prozeß führte zur Liquidierung der Hierarchie der katholischen Kirche in Polen. Da die Kirche infolge der bolschewistischen Revolution die Mehrheit ihrer Geistlichen verloren hatte, wurde dreimal versucht, konspirative Priesterseminare zu gründen. Diese Versuche endeten mit der Verhaftung und der Verurteilung der Seminaristen und Lehrkäfte zu einigen Jahren Arbeitslager. Nur ganz wenige Alumnen aus dem Gebiet der Ukraine (Polen und Deutsche) konnten die konspirative Priesterweihe erhalten. Bald wurden sie alle verhaftet. Trotz aller immer drastischer werdenden Einschränkungen des religiösen Lebens (Verhaftung Geistlicher und religiös aktiver Laien, Schließung der Kirchen, Repressionen wegen religiöser Praktiken) waren sowohl die noch auf ihrem Posten verbliebenen Geistlichen als auch die Gläubigen aufopferungsvoll bemüht, das religiöse Leben unter den bestehenden Bedingungen aufrechtzuerhalten. Schnell entstand eine Doppelströmung: ein offenes und ein geheimes religiöses Leben. Letzteres wurde unter den Bedingungen wachsenden religionsfeindlichen Druckes und zunehmender Einschüchterung immer wichtiger. Die politische Polizei war natürlich sehr daran interessiert, auch dort ihre Spitzel einzuschleusen, um diese Strömung besser liquidieren zu können. Eine außerordnentlich wichtige Rolle spielten die auf dem Territorium der gesamten UdSSR im Untergrund wirkenden Gruppen des sog. Lebendigen Rosenkranzes, die unter konspirativen Bedingungen regel-mäßig zum gemeinsamen Gebet zusammenkamen. Dies war gleichzeitig die einzige Form sozialer Verbundenheit in der von den Behörden durch Terror rücksichtslos atomisierten Gesellschaft. Gegen Ende der dreißiger Jahre standen die Familien der mit allen Mitteln durchgeführten Atheisierung der Kinder und Jugendlieben in und außerhalb der Schule machtlos gegenüber. Selbst der religiöse Unterricht zu Hause wurde 1938 streng verboten. Um ihn aufzudecken, benutzen die Schulen raffinierte Untersuchungsmethoden zur Befragung der Kinder. Im Falle der Aufdeckung von Übertretungen dieses Verbots wurde die gesamte Familie mit Gefängnis bzw. Verbannung nach Sibirien bestraft. Von den Anfang der zwanziger Jahre in der ganzen UdSSR existierenden über 1200 Kirchen und Kapellen waren 1938 nur noch zwei übriggeblieben: in Moskau und in Leningrad. Das religiöse Leben der Katholiken war völlig in den Untergrund gegangen. In hohem Maße betraf dies auch die orthodoxe Kirche (die orthodoxe Kirche im Untergrund) und die anderen Konfessionen.
The author shows the historical and political conditions in which the changes concerning the language used in the Catholic churches of the Latin rite in Byelorussia and the Ukraine occurred. During the partitions of Poland in the Russian section there were no Polish institutions or schools. The Polish language was publicly used only in churches. The same situation repeated after World War Two. That is why this language became in the churches not only a means of the communication of religious values among the believing people, but also the most important and practically the only sign of the national identity of Poles. After Vatican Council II it became possible to use vernacular languages in the liturgy. In view of the fact that younger generations lost their Polish language, and sometimes there were in the Catholic churches only such nationalities which did not understand the Polish language, there was a need to introduce into the liturgy and paraliturgy other languages: Russian, Byelorussian and Ukrainian. Their introduction, in a way, became a historical breakthrough in this domain. This was mainly due to the priests who arrived in these territories from Poland. At present the national tendencies, which seek to take advantage of the Catholic churches to make the Catholic people (in spite of their strong identification with Polishness) Byelorussian and Ukrainian, have ever more influence on these changes than real pastoral needs. Such tendencies become at times a sources of some tensions and conflicts.
The author analyzes two issues: Soviet ideology and legislature concerning religion. The liquidation of religious beliefs was deemed a sine qua non condition to build communism, thus the spreading of atheism became in the USSR one of the most important tasks of the state. The Soviet legislature concerning religion, introduced on January 1, 1923, dissolved all the existent parishes of all denominations and nationalized any property of the Orthodox/Roman Church. For a new religious commune to exist it was necessary to register it with appropriate authorities. The founding group numbered twenty people. The registered commune had no legal body and could not own any property. The above legislature prohibited religious instruction to teenagers under 18. In fact the Soviet constitution guaranteed denominational neutrality of the state but it was total fiction from the beginning. Thus atheism became the official ideology of the state spread by any means, being at its disposal. This ideology became a pseudoreligion. It had its concrete forms of practicing. Evading it was very severely punished.
The author limits the reception of the encyclical to some official enunciations made by the Catholic bishops of the Latin rite, concerning the social question. Aside to the Church's official teaching there were also other forms of its reception, ie the text of the encyclical was published in the press, commentaries were written etc. The author has taken into account fourteen Polish dioceses: three in the Prussian sector four in the Austrian and seven in the Russian. In each of the mentioned sectors the social and political situation was different. In the period of 1891-1918 the bishops announced over 120 pastoral letters and appeals devoted to the social question. Half of those letters and appeals was published in the Russian sector. The pastoral letters, following the line of the encyclical, severely criticised liberalism and socialism. Much attention, however, was devoted to the evaluation of the results of liberalism. Archbp. J. Bilczewski writes about the decline of morality, abysmal poverty of the working people, splitting of families and practical materialism. The author pinpoints that the fact that the bishops took an interest in the working people question was induced by socialism. Aside to the principles of the Christian social order the bishops put forward a lot of postulates of the social reform. They touched upon the problem of family wages, the protection of women's and children's labour, holiday rest, duration of a working day and problem of accomodation. In two letters the bishops talk about setting minimum wages and about the workers participation in the enterprise's profits (Archbp. Bilczewski and bp. Pelczar). Strike was meant to be a possible solution. The bishops from the Austrian sector dealt mainly with the problems of the countryside. Archbp. Bilczewski postulated establishing a trade association of all workers from the country. Those who took part in a survey carried out by „Przegląd Powszechny” (1906) thought that the most expedient thing was to spread the Christian social teaching and social work in keeping with the encyclical Rerum novarum.
Language is generally considered to be the factor that decides the question of national consciousness. However, this conviction is wrong. The Polish national minorities in the Baltic countries, Byelorussia and the Ukraine are an interesting example here. They have lost, sometimes in an overwhelming majority, the knowledge of the Polish language, but they have maintained the Polish consciousness. According to the census conducted in the USSR in 1989, in Latvia 27.3% of those who declared that they were of Polish nationality indicated Polish as their mother tongue, 54.1% indicated Russian, and 14.7% - Lettish. In Lithuania the proportions were: Polish - 85.0%; Lithuanian - 5.0%; and Russian - 9.2%. In Byelorussia only 13,3% Poles indicated Polish, 63.8% - White Russian (dialect), and 22.5% - Russian. In the Ukraine the proportions were: Polish - only 12.5%; Ukrainian - 66.6%; and Russian - 20.2%. As far as Latvia, Byelorussia and the Ukraine are concerned, the loss of the Polish language by the Polish population resulted from the policy of assimilation conducted by the Soviet authorities as well as from lack of any Polish institutions that could support its knowledge. As the above examples show, knowledge of the Polish language was not the most important factor in national self-identification for Poles in the USSR. It was the Roman-Catholic denomination and the religious life based on this very language that were decisive. Since the population considered here is one that is living on the ethnic-cultural borderland, the role of religion as the basic indicator of ethnic identification was in this case much bigger than in any other region. National consciousness is not unconditionally tied to the knowledge of the language of one's nationality.
The problems of the ties of French Polonia with the mother country at the level of religious life is the relatively little known question. Some of these problems have barely been mentioned in this paper, other have been omitted due to the lack of data, e.g. subscribing to the Polish religious papers, establishing libraries on the basis of the books ordered from the mother country, importing religious films, organizing pilgrimages to Poland by local pastors etc. The analyses which have been carried out entitle us to state that forms and motivations of the ties with the mother country and its culture have undergone great transformations among French Polonia over the period of 60 years. The motivation to nourish these ties on the part of the Polish pastoral care has not, however, undergone any significant changes. It is based on the belief that everything what the emigrants and their subsequent generations of the mother country, strengthening in them at the same time the religious values, thanks to specific Polish culture.
After the World War I the majority of the Polish economic emigration of the inter-war period settled in Prance /about 500 thousand/. Along with a system of various organizations the immigrants created also their own press. The author discusses here the religious press, its origin, functions and changes. In the inter-war period there was in fact only one religious paper - a weekly "Polak we Francji" - issued by the Polish Catholic Mission in 3,5 thousand copies. It only partially fulfilled the existing needs but could not develop any further because of financial shortages. The periodical tried to support the religious, cultural, financial and national rights of the immigrants. During the V/orld War II there were two religious periodicals for inteligentsia coming out in Prance. The religious press develops dynamicly after the second world war then the immigrants decide to stay in Prance and enter the period of stabilization. In the 1950s the Polish religious press reached its highest level. The circulation of a few most important periodicals ammounted then up to 40 thousand issues. There were also some periodicals for children and the youth. Since then, slow but gradual regress of the religious press has begun. The Polish religious press after the second world war was published by the Polish orders. It was particularly advantageous since a number of financial and organizational problems were automaticly solved. In a few cases the periodicals initiated some social actions responding to the needs of their readers. Prom the very beginning the religious press had two main, only seemingly contradictory functions: antiassimilation and inculturalization. The latter consisted in presenting and explaining in Polish the world of the French culture to the Polish immigrants. There are striking differences in the social and financial situation of the religious and secular press. The latter was particularly dynamic before the second world war. After the war, there is only one secular newspaper left. The religious press, on the contrary, reached its culminating point after the war and still appears more resistant to various difficulties than the majority of secular periodicals. In general, in 1923-1983 there were 31 religious periodicals coming out in Prance. Most of them came into being after the second world war. In the early 1980s there were: one weekly, 2 monthly periodicals and a few bulletins.
Among over twenty Polish periodicals which were being published in Sweden in the period of 1945-1985, religious publications were not very numerous. Actually there was only one biweekly "Znak". It was coming out in the years 1946-1950. However, in the following years the Polish community, concentrated round that periodical, initiated publishing religious books in Swedish. This initiative has been carried on till now. These publications have been popularizing Polish religious culture with the local society. They include over a dozen different items.
In the empire of czarist Russia the most important religious institutions for Poles were parishes of the Catholic Church (of the western rite). In 1917 there were c. 1200 churches, chapels and oratories. In the USSR they were all liquidated, except the churches in Moscow and Leningrad. The Soviet authorities launched the same process of liquidation of the Church in the territories invaded after 1945. With the exception of Lithuania and Latvia, where the former structure of pastoral care had not been destroyed, until the 1980s some barely 120 parishes had remained in Belorus and the Ukraine out of more than 1000. The process of regeneration of the institution of the Catholic Church, begun during the time of M. Gorbatchov's perestroika, permitted to rebuild, and partly establish, c. 1000 parishes. At the moment, in c. 1200 parishes in the former USSR there are regular or occasional services said in the Polish language for Poles. A new element in their work is the introduction of national languages: Byelorussian, Ukrainian, and Russian. They will influence the self-identification of the faithful of the Catholic Church, above all, the Poles. Outside the Baltic countries and Russia the Polish language is spoken in other institutions than the Church, e.g. in the theological seminaries in Belorus and the Ukraine. This language is indispensable in the process of education (the teaching staff, handbooks, and literature). Other religious institutions, which the Poles attend (associations, magazines, and radio broadcasts), are still fledgling. The shortage of the staff and finance stand in the way.
In over 30 addresses which John Paul II delivered to Poles and Polonia in different countries in the years 1979 to 1987, the family belongs to that which he most often dwelt upon. In principle, the Pope talks about two functions of the family: socio-psychological and religious. His addresses present the family as a religious society. They present in a comprehensible way the duty of preserving by that society the cultural heritage which people bring from their homeland. The Popes's addresses point to the threats which the family is subject to and they put forward certain general postulates. The first task mentioned by the Pope and which the family is confronted with is the preservation of its own spiritual identity abroad. Practically, it means preservation and handing down to the young generation in the process of education one's own cultural heritage which bears the Christian character.
The Church’s teaching and legislation concerning the pastorate of ethnic groups and national minorities was already established in ancient times. Recently, because of millions of people migrating from almost all the countries of the world and in connection with ever stronger aspirations of national minorities to maintain their identity, it has become especially abundant. Pope John Paul II’s teaching has an important place here. In the Catholic Church in Byelorussia and Ukraine Polish national minorities constitute an overwhelming majority of the congregation. Until the late 1980s Catholics of Byelorussian and Ukrainian origin did not reveal their denomination. Introducing Polish, and soon afterwards also Byelorussian, Ukrainian, and sometimes Russian into the liturgy to replace Latin, was a historical breakthrough. It also initiated a change in the stereotype identifying the Catholic Church of the Western rite with Poland and Poles, and its de-Polonization in the liturgy in the mentioned countries. As far as the culture and the language is concerned the Polish character of this Church resulted from the fact that a great majority of its congregation was of Polish nationality. Introducing new languages showed its supranational character, but it also involved imposing a limit, or in some areas partial or complete elimination of the Polish language from the liturgy. The Polish identity without the support of the Polish language in religion and in the Church loses its most profound basis, stops being an emotional value and may be treated instrumentally. The present situation connected with the use of various languages in the East is different in various places. It depends on the geographical situation of the parish, on the national option of the priest, on understanding and respect given to the spiritual needs of the congregation and on the number of Poles in the community. Despite accepting and ratifying international treaties that safeguard the rights of national minorities, state authorities very often in one way or another try to assimilate them, using a lot of different ways to this aim.
During his pontificate Pope John Paul II made 104 foreign journeys and visited 130 countries. In 45 countries he met members of the Polonia (Polish Community Abroad), Polish emigrants and members of the Polish national minority in Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine. This happened in 19 European, 8 African and 9 South American countries. Moreover, the Pope met Poles in Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Kazakhstan. During the meetings he made speeches they had expected. He also spoke to Polish pilgrims coming to Rome from various countries of the whole world. There were more than 70 such speeches. In them, the Pope ponders on the problems that Poles face when leaving their country and settling down abroad. They can be reduced to two basic ones. They are: maintaining their own spiritual identity based on Christian values in the Polish culture gained in their homeland, and integration with the nations living in the country they are going to settle. The Pope indicates that maintaining one’s own Christian identity is a necessary condition for having respect for oneself and for bringing a valuable contribution to the culture of the target countries. Integration in the meaning of joining the life and culture of the target countries, with maintaining the basic values of the Christian Polish culture is considered a necessary social process by the Pope.
The Polish education in France started to develop rapidly immediately after the world war. The number of pupils was even higher than before the war. Soon, however, a crisis of Polish teaching began as a result of political reasons. By 1963 all the Polish schools had been closed by the Embassy of the Polish People’s Republic. Since then the French government has taken over the teaching of Polish. This did not affect, however, the schools that have been run by various Polish social organizations and Catholic orders. Though far from being numerous, they appeared to be the strongest. Before World War II only 20% percent of Polish children could attend the Polish schools in France. A few years after the war the percentage of such children was hardly none. It is due to various Polish organizations rather than the education itself that the majority of Polish emigrants in France have maintained strong links with the culture of the country of origin. Thanks to these organizations the young generation of old emigrants have not undergone assimilation but entered the process of integration, that is, their full participation in the life of France with the simultaneous maintenance of some elements of their native cultural heritage. Presently, the Polish language teaching is possible wherever a proper number of children has been registered. The French legislation presents good opportunities in this sphere now. The further development of Polish education depends only on those who are really interested in it.
The paper analyzes ca 40 addresses delivered by the pope John Paul II during meetings with the Polish emigration and their subsequent generations in ca countries and in Rome. The paper covers the period of 1979-1989. It seeks to analyze the contents of the concept "Polonia" by which is meant the ethnic groups of Polish origin that settled in various countries. One can understand this concept in a double way: exclusive and inclusive. In the first case it would be Polish ethnic groups abroad which totally identify themselves in a conscious manner with Polish culture and traditions. In the case of inclusive understanding one would mean all those who, irrespectively of their country of origin and fluency of the Polish language, preserve some cultural values linked with their Polish origin. This way or another they show their interest in it. An analysis of papal addresses contained in the paper leads to the following conclusions. The pope looks on Polish emigration and Polonia first of all in its pastoral aspect. He always makes notice, however, of all historical, cultural, religious, psychological, political, organizational and economical conditionings in which Polish people live abroad. "Polonia" in his understanding is a very complex social reality. All conditionings which have been mentioned above are linked with one another and interdepedent. The following statements contained in the papal addresses belong to the basic ones: "Polonia" is a living part of Poland; its great moral duty is to preserve their own spiritual identity based on Polish historical heritage; the preservation of Christian values which permeate Polish culture is the condition of a positive contribution to the development of new homelands as well as their first homeland, Poland. The pope always points to double solidarity and responsibility (for their country of settlement and country of origin). "Polonia" has a mission of religious and social character in the world to fulfill. The concept of Polonia in the papal addresses seems to have a broad and inclusive meaning.
In the inter-war period the Polish organizations in France constituted the best developed and the most coherent system in comparison to other immigrant groups. There were 2350 associations with about 100 thousand members. The religious organizations appeared to be the largest and most numerous. It followed from the fact that Catholicism was considered fundamental for the Polish ethnic identity. In 1938 there were 383 religious organizations associating 33 thousand member They focused on two basic aims: maintaining the religiousness as well as the Polish culture and education. They were effectively active till the middle of the 1950s. Since then, the gradual crisis of all the Polish organizations has begun. The religious organizations appeared to be the most resistant to any changes. Consequently, the had the greatest influence on maintaining both the religiousness as well as various elements of the Polish heritage among the new generations of the Polish immigrants. In general, the Polish organizations have been controlled by the workers. The lack of inteligentsia prevented from creating a central, superior institution that would help the immigrants understand their national identity and join the elements of the Polish and French cultures.
The article shows various forms of Polish-French cooperation in organizing pastoral care for Polish economic emigration in France, which started after 1900. Before World War I, during it, and immediately after its end, the institution called „Polish Protection of the Polish Worker in France”, established in Paris in 1910, played the leading role. In the period between the wars about half a million Poles found themselves in France. And since all the Polish-French conventions left out the problem of pastoral care, the Polish and French episcopates employed themselves in organizing it, starting from 1919. A close cooperation of the Archbishop of Paris, L. Dubois and the Primate of Poland, E. Dalbor, and then A. Hlond, made it possible to establish a centre managing all the Polish pastorate in France. The Polish Catholic Mission existing since 1836 in Paris became such a centre. „Regulations for Polish priests in France” worked out together (1924) continued to be the legal base for such care till 1953. The fact that French employers (i.e. the managers of potassium, iron ore and coal-mines as well as of other plants employing Poles) started financing about fifty permanent pastoral institutions, which after the war became Polish parishes, was decisive for their establishing. An important role in this respect was played by Deputy President for the Chief Management of the Mine Union in France, H. Peyerimhoff. The cooperation of the French hierarchy was animated by the hope for a future gradual assimilation of the Polish element. However, they did not try to accelerate the process. Conflicts caused by assimilating aspirations of local French parsons were usually decided by the bishops in the Polish side’s favour. Apart from only a few exceptions, all the Polish pastorate used French churches and the diocesan periodicals published the information about Polish travelling pastorate through all the period between the wars. The Polish-French cooperation was eventually influenced by several factors: by the traditions of Polish-French friendship, the fact that the managers of the big plants employing Poles were Catholic, by their own interest and by the traditions of freedom, so characteristic of France.
The paper aims at showing the attitude of the French youth of Polish origin to Polish national and religious traditions and the degree of their integration within the French society. The main empirical material used by the author are the questionnary answers of a particular group of youth of Polish origin, the material having been gathered in the north of France (Nord and Pas-de-Calais departments). The answers (numbering 135) come from the youth belonging to the third generation of emigrants. The author considers the following issues: the question of so- -called „choice of homeland”, the major integrational features and the attitude towards Polish traditions, the command of Polish, choosing Polish rather than French pastorship, and the problem of psychological and cultural distinctness of the questionned youth. The great majority of the investigated group is still considerably influenced by various traits of Polish mentality and culture. They also maintain and respect various, typically Polish, lay and religious traditions. This situation promotes the „cultural diffusion” process as the youth belong to the French society. The interest in the country of the ancestors, however, does not mean any identification with the Polish nationality. This interest has to be analysed - as the answers point out - in the cultural, not national categories. For the majority of the respondents it is important to know the Polish language; almost all the answers concerning the necessity of existence of Polish associations are of positive character. The motives given by them for choosing the Polish church and services are indicative of the Polish religious character which is closely connected with the national culture of Poles. Today the barriers in the mutual relations of the French- -Polish youth are no longer noticeable. This is proved by the steadily growing number of mixed marriages. The questionnary answers clearly reveal the process of integration accompanied by a resolute and conscious rejection of assimilation, which means a breach of all bonds with the country of their ancestry.
Les recherches sur la pastorale polonaise des émigrés polonais dans divers pays, ont permis d’établir sa double fonction principale: (1) une conservation de la culture religieusse d’origine et (2) une aide dans le prosessus de l’intégration avec la société du pays d’établissment des émigrés. La même régularité est à observer en France. On constate d’abord chez la population polonaise un effort constant et décidé de garder au moyen d’une pastorale propre, les formes d’expression culturelle et religúese d’origine. Elles sont considérées toujours comme beaucoup plus riches par rapport aux françaises, meme par la nouvelle génération élevée en France. Mais à la fois cette génération fait introduire dans la pastorale des paroisses polonaises les divers éléments de la culture française: une langue du pays, des coutumes liées avec l’administration des sacraments (le mariage, le baptême, l’enterrement etc.), une coordination avec le programme pastoral français. Ce caractère français de plus marqué de la vie religieuse des Polonais en France ne laisse pas cependant à côté un „cultural background” polonais. Et c’est un exemple de l’intégraticn qui présente l’union de différentes valeurs de deux culture religieuses.
Au sein du nombre du demi-milion des citoyens polonais en France avant la deuxième guerre mondiale on aperçoit un groupe d’immigrants polonais de Westphalie qui comptait environ cent mille personnes. Ce groupe l’emportait sur les autres arrivants de Pologne par une vive conscience nationale, une grande expérience dans le domaine d’une activité sociale et le sens de la solidarité. L’auteur en s’appuyant sur la théorie sociologique du commandement, fait une analyse du rôle de ce groupe dans l’histoire de l’émigration polonaise en France. Il essaye de montrer qu’il était prépondérant dans tous les domaines. C’est ce groupe qui a défini les buts nationaux des immigrés polonais et ensuite a créé une structure d’organisation extrêmement dynamique qui les réalisait. Il existait en France dans la période d’entre-deux-guerre plus de mille associations, en majorité créés par les Polonais venus de Westphalie. Elles comptaient en somme cent mille membres de toutes les catégories des immigrés. La défence des valeurs nationales polonaises était le but de ces associations et son idéal s’exprimait dans les mots: „Dieu et Patrie”. Les changements sociaux d’aprés la guerre ont très limité et quelquefois liquidé l’influence des associations traditionelles. Mais si les Polonais dans ce pays ne se sont pas assimilés mais ont trouvé la route vers l’intégration sociale, c’est à dire la possibilité d’entrer dans la société française en conservant certaines valeurs de leur patrimoine culturel, c’est que le système de l’organisation créé par le groupe westphalieri a joué un rôle important.
Owing to social policy of the French mining authorities closely knit Polish settlements were set up in the North of France (Nord and Pas-de-Calais) after the First World War. Neighbouring villages of Ostricourt (Nord), Libercourt (Pas-de- Calais), Oiginies (Pas-de-Calais) and Carviin (Pas-de-Calais) are a typical instance of the origin and development of a Polish mining settlement and parish. C. 13,000 persons settled there, including 45 per cent Of arrivals from Westphalia. Societies and clubs of various kinds, cultural, sport’s, religious and others usually flourished in Polish settlements, particularly between the two World Wars. They ministered to the spiritual needs of Poles and represented Polish culture and folklore in France. Thus they could antagonize the adverse effects of social isolation and denationalization as well as help effectively in the integrating processes. It is necessary to stress the particular features of social and religious life in Polish settlements. In spite of all the changes, for the past 50 years they have been able to preserve the individual forms of religious activities, traditions and customs typical of Polish religious culture and concerning family, community and social life. There is also a strong belief in the educational value of Christian moral ideas cultivated by younger generations. As at the beginning also at present the social life centres round the Polish Church. Unlike French parishioners living in the same area, the Poles tend to keep up traditional forms of worship. E.g. during the past 50 years there has been a visible decrease in religious practices but they are still more popular than among the French. The second and third generations seem to be completely integrated into the French society as far as social, economic or cultural life is concerned. Yet they live a separate religious life.
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