PolishOrigins(TM) Forum

Re: Emigration from Galicia

Ute — Wed Jan 15, 2014 1:55 am

Author: Ute

Posted: Wed Jan 15, 2014 1:55 am

Aga Pawlus wrote:

"Beyond the Big Water. Part 4: The authorities towards the emigration".

Today we are publishing the last part of the article:

"Facing such an enormous problem of disappearing recruits, the authorities were going out of their way to stop this process. They were censoring and confiscating private letters, in which emigrants were speaking positively about their life abroad. There was also the recommendation not to give passports to people who had not sufficient assets. But people had their tricks to skip this obligation..."

Read the whole article on our blog: http://blog.polishorigins.com/2014/01/14/beyond-the-big-water-part-4-the-authorities-towards-the-emigration/

Hello Aga,
You did a great job on providing such comprehensive background information and insights on the subject of emigration from Galicia. I bought the German edition of the book by Martin Pollack 'Der Kaiser von Amerika' some years back, and I must say I was shocked by the details described in the book. After reading the book and your article, I respect our ancestors even more, considering the conditions they lived in and the issues they faced before emigration. Thank you so much for sharing your precious work with us, Aga!
Ute

Re: Emigration from Galicia

Agnieszka Pawlus — Tue Jan 14, 2014 9:25 am

Author: Agnieszka Pawlus

Posted: Tue Jan 14, 2014 9:25 am

"Beyond the Big Water. Part 4: The authorities towards the emigration".

Today we are publishing the last part of the article:

"Facing such an enormous problem of disappearing recruits, the authorities were going out of their way to stop this process. They were censoring and confiscating private letters, in which emigrants were speaking positively about their life abroad. There was also the recommendation not to give passports to people who had not sufficient assets. But people had their tricks to skip this obligation..."

Read the whole article on our blog: http://blog.polishorigins.com/2014/01/14/beyond-the-big-water-part-4-the-authorities-towards-the-emigration/

Emigration from Galicia

Andrzej — Mon Jan 13, 2014 5:56 pm

Author: Andrzej

Posted: Mon Jan 13, 2014 5:56 pm

Dear Friends !
With regards from Galicia !

Re: Beyond the Big Water. Part 3: The “Emigration Hyenas”

rsowa — Mon Jan 13, 2014 1:57 pm

Author: rsowa

Posted: Mon Jan 13, 2014 1:57 pm

Aga Pawlus wrote:

Read the whole article on our blog: http://blog.polishorigins.com/2014/01/13/beyond-the-big-water-part-3-the-dark-side-of-the-emigration-the-emigration-hyenas/

The passenger advertisement that you posted took me by surprise. I was delighted to see one of the advertized sailings (ship Imperator, sailing on 26 May) was the very ship my grandfather's brother Francisek Sowa sailed on. It arrived in New York (Ellis Island) on 3 June 1914.

Three weeks after he arrived in America, 28 June 1914 Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated and Europe was plunged into World War I. I suspect that many of the advertized crossings after that date, never happened.

Beyond the Big Water. Part 3: The “Emigration Hyenas”

Agnieszka Pawlus — Mon Jan 13, 2014 11:22 am

Author: Agnieszka Pawlus

Posted: Mon Jan 13, 2014 11:22 am

Beyond the Big Water. Part 3: The dark side of the emigration: the “Emigration Hyenas”.

"Interesting pranks were played by the “director” of the company Abraham Izaak Landerer. To gain some additional 4 or 5 guldens from the peasant’s pocket he was showing him the alarm clock pretending to be the phone to Hamburg. He was “calling” to the port asking if there is a place available on the ship. In a while the clock was alarming – the reply was coming. Later the clock was winded up again – it was the call to the emperor of America to ask if he wishes to accommodate his new subjects. For this call of course there was the significant fee (…) Even the coat must have been left, as no one can enter America in peasant clothes..."

Read the whole article on our blog: http://blog.polishorigins.com/2014/01/13/beyond-the-big-water-part-3-the-dark-side-of-the-emigration-the-emigration-hyenas/

Re: Emigration from Galicia

Agnieszka Pawlus — Fri Jan 10, 2014 9:05 am

Author: Agnieszka Pawlus

Posted: Fri Jan 10, 2014 9:05 am

Beyond the Big Water. Part 2: The journey and its destinations.

“The ship’s name was “Kronprinz Wilhelm” it was the big, new, steamboat, but the rooms were appalling. Cabins had several dozens of sleeping bunk benches, with almost no space between, it was hard to lie down on my bed. The passages were so narrow that it was difficult to walk there, and seasick passengers were contaminating the beds of their neighbors. During the journey almost everyone was falling sick every few days . The food was prepared in large cauldrons, and who was healthy could go to another cabin and eat, who was sick, ate in his bed. After 8 days of such burdensome travel we arrived in New York. My sickness terminated and all passengers were leaving with curiosity how does it look in this America.”

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Read the whole article on our blog: http://blog.polishorigins.com/2014/01/10/beyond-the-big-water-part-2the-journey-and-its-destinations/

Beyond the Big Water. Part 1: Reasons of the emigration.

Agnieszka Pawlus — Thu Jan 09, 2014 9:58 am

Author: Agnieszka Pawlus

Posted: Thu Jan 09, 2014 9:58 am

A note from the emigrant's memories:

“I was receiving letters from my sister, my uncle and aunts from America. They were sending me also their photographs. They were so nicely dressed, I could not imagine that the simple workers could afford it. I pondered long time what a strange country it must be: America. Ordinary people look like some officials in Poland. The photographs showed that they were well-fed and what is more, they were sending money to their family. I compared it to the standard of living of workers in Poland..."

Read the next part of the article on our blog: http://blog.polishorigins.com/2014/01/09/beyond-the-big-water-part-1-reasons-of-the-emigration/

Beyond the Big Water - the article on our blog

Agnieszka Pawlus — Wed Jan 08, 2014 10:24 am

Author: Agnieszka Pawlus

Posted: Wed Jan 08, 2014 10:24 am

Preparing PO Galicia Tour itinerary, we have found a great book by Martin Pollack: "Cesarz Ameryki. Wielka ucieczka z Galicji" (it was also mentioned by Ute in Books&Movies section: http://forum.polishorigins.com/viewtopic.php?t=1414 ).

Among other things, I found out that Oświęcim played an important role in the history of emigration in Galicia. Nowadays, even for many people from Poland, Oświęcim is known only for the Auschwitz museum. This was something new, a fresh look on history, broadening horizons.

After this book I started to search for other publications about emigrants from this part of Poland. I would like to share with you some of my findings. Today we will start publishing the new series: "Beyond the Big Water. Emigration from Galicia". Special thanks to Shellie, James and Ute for proofreading and language revision of this article!

"Many of our ancestors left the old continent and decided to start a new life beyond the Big Water: in America. There was an explosion of emigration in the whole of Europe, but in Galicia (the part of old Poland which was under Austrian partition) this phenomenon was enormous.

Why did they decide to leave? How did they prepare for the journey? Who made profits on emigration? The emigration phenomenon helps to have a broad view on Galicia’s history..."

Read the whole introduction to the article on our blog: http://blog.polishorigins.com/2014/01/08/beyond-the-big-water-emigration-from-galicia-introduction/

And last, but not least: if you would like to find out more about emigration (and other subjects) during our PO Galicia Tour, see some details of the tour: http://polishorigins.com/document/galicia_tour. We are waiting for you in Poland!

Emigration from Galicia

Ute — Sun May 13, 2012 11:53 am

Author: Ute

Posted: Sun May 13, 2012 11:53 am

Below is a link to some interesting information on emigration from Galicia that I would like to share:

http://balticworlds.com/inferno-of-the-swindlers-and-the-swindled/

See also my post in the forum section Books & Movies:

http://forum.polishorigins.com/viewtopic.php?t=1414