Polish immigrants made up one of the largest ethnic groups in Chicago at the start of the war, and found themselves caught between two world as the war escalated.

A majority of Poland’s history has consisted of fighting for the right to be recognized as its own entity. Throughout Germany, Russia, and Austria-Hungary, those who identified as Polish faced a tyrannical government who aimed to suppress their patriotism by attempting to eliminate their language and to strip Polish landowners of their property.[2] The oppression of the Polish identity was one of the reasons many of them left the only home they knew for the melting pot that was America.

However, while many Polish immigrants found “prosperity and acceptance”[3] in America, they did not completely forgo their Polish identity and sever their ties to Poland. Therefore, when World War I broke out, many Polish Americans joined the Allied Forces to fulfill not only a sense of patriotic duty, but also the need to sacrifice for the good of the Polish Fatherland.[4]

When war began in Europe in 1914, those who considered themselves Polish were conflicted regarding which side they should be on. The Polish community spanned a geographical area that was made up of parts of Germany, Russia, and Austria-Hungary, and therefore chose to either pledge allegiance to the Central Powers that included Germany and Austria-Hungary, or to the Allies, whom Russia was aligned with. As the war progressed, though, it became apparent that if the Allied Army were to win, they would be the side that would deliver independence for Poland,[5] especially since President Woodrow Wilson “espoused the self-determination of nations.” [6]

And so, on June 4, 1917, the formation of Polish army units began in France, and within two months, the Polish National Committee was established.[7]

The Polish National Committee became a representative for the interests of Poland, and helped create the Polish Army in France. This army was often referred to by various names such as the Blue Army, due to the color of their uniforms, Haller’s Army, for their leader General Jozef Haller, and the Kosciuszko Army after Tadeusz Kosciuszko, a Polish general who fought for America during the American Revolution. [8]

The Polish Army in France looked to North America for more volunteers, and so the Polish Army in America was formed on September 21, 1917. This came with problems, though, as the United States was also recruiting soldiers after joining the war in April. The government had to address the problems that could arise if they allowed a “second military formation on its territory alongside its own army.”[9]

Yet, the need for the Polish Army to recruit in America was necessary because many Polish immigrants were not yet officially American citizens. Additionally, some Polish Americans felt a stronger pull to join the Polish Army and fight directly for the Fatherland, rather than the United States Army, even though both armies were a part of Allied Forces.[10] Thus, the American government came to an agreement on October 6, 1917 that the Polish Army could legally recruit on American soil.[11]

With approval of the government behind them, the Polish Army opened ten recruitment centers that same month. The first ones were established in American cities with prominent Polish populations such as Milwaukee, Detroit, and Chicago. The desire to enlist was so great in Chicago that a second recruitment center was made.[12]

End Notes

[1] Trochimczyk, Maja. “Polish Music Center.” University of Southern California. https://polishmusic.usc.edu/research/national-anthems/dabrowski-mazurka/.

[2] Sister Lucille. “The Causes of Polish Immigration to the United States.” Polish American Studies 8 (3/4)1951: 87. https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/20147265.pdf.

[3] Mortimer, Julie. “The Journey Over: An Oral History of Polish Immigration to America in the Early Twentieth Century” http://www.eiu.edu/historia/mortimer.pdf.

[4] Auleytner, Julian. Postal Communications in Haller’s Blue Army 1917-1920, 19. Warsaw, Poland: Higher School of Pedagogy J. Korczak 2017.

[5] Szlanta, Piotr. “Poland.” International Encyclopedia of the First World War 2014. https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/poland.

[6] Leuchtenburg, William E. “The Perils of Prosperity, 1914-1932,” 56. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press 1993

[7] Auleytner, Julian. Postal Communications in Haller’s Blue Army 1917-1920, 38. Warsaw, Poland: Higher School of Pedagogy J. Korczak 2017.

[8] Valasek, Paul S. Haller’s Polish Army in France, 16. Naples, Florida: Whitehall Printing 2006.

[9] Auleytner, Julian. Postal Communications in Haller’s Blue Army 1917-1920, 38. Warsaw, Poland: Higher School of Pedagogy J. Korczak 2017.

[10] Auleytner, Julian. Postal Communications in Haller’s Blue Army 1917-1920, 19. Warsaw, Poland: Higher School of Pedagogy J. Korczak 2017.

[11] Auleytner, Julian. Postal Communications in Haller’s Blue Army 1917-1920, 40. Warsaw, Poland: Higher School of Pedagogy J. Korczak 2017.

[12] Valasek, Paul S. Haller’s Polish Army in France, 16. Naples, Florida: Whitehall Printing 2006.

[13] Valasek, Paul S. Haller’s Polish Army in France, 399. Naples, Florida: Whitehall Printing 2006.

[14] Uniform, 1914, Polish Army in France, Polish Museum of America, Chicago, IL.

[15] Rychalski, Haller, General Jozef, Photos by Name, Polish Museum of America, Chicago, IL.

[16] Rozanski, Z. Event Promoting Polish Army in France. 1918. Polish Army in France, Polish Museum of America, Chicago, IL.

[17] Rozanski, Z. Blue Army volunteers in Humboldt Park. 1918. Polish Army in France, Polish Museum of America, Chicago, IL.