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Post by rdywenur on Apr 6, 2008 7:37:23 GMT -7
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franek80
Cosmopolitan
From Sea To Shining Sea
Posts: 875
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Post by franek80 on Apr 6, 2008 8:48:20 GMT -7
Chris; This article that that guy wrote growing up Polish in America has me scratching my head. I was born 1925 and I never saw anything like that in Baltimore. We all lived in perfect harmony. Yes it is true that we had our own neighborhoods,but we all blended in. We shopped in Italian,Jewish. markets and never had any problems.. The Blacks. Yes, but they far removed than the Europeans..In them days they were no problem. My best years were growing up as a POLISH AMERICAN in Baltimore
Franek
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Post by leslie on Apr 6, 2008 9:34:07 GMT -7
Franek Back on my hobbyhorse! Should I say that I am 'English English' or 'Scottish English' or even (4th generation) 'Polish English'? I'm sorry, but these anachronisms mean as little as Polish American' - what nationality is it on your passport? If it is 'Polish' you are Polish; if it says 'American', you are American. I am not discussing the heritages that we should all keep, but the official terminology for your present nationality. Ergo, my great, great, great grandfather was Polish; I was born of English parents in Scotland (was there for a week after my birth); then for the next ten years I was brought up in France by my French grandmother. BUT I am English (or as my passport says British - not Scottish/French/Polish English and my Birth Certificate (I was birth registered when my parents brought me home - which was in England - as English!) Hope I don't offend Leslie
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franek80
Cosmopolitan
From Sea To Shining Sea
Posts: 875
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Post by franek80 on Apr 6, 2008 11:13:07 GMT -7
Leslie: I was born here in America to my Parents who immigrated to America from Poland.. As far as I am concerned,this makes me 2nd.generation POLISH AMERICAN As far as a passport goes,I do not own one.. I have no desire to travel to Europe.. The last time that I was there ,instead of a passport I was issued a rifle and it served me well.Europe has NOTHING to offer me.. Anything that I want to see is here in AMERICA.
Franek
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Post by leslie on Apr 6, 2008 11:30:44 GMT -7
Great Franek If you were born in America and had your birth registered there - you are American. OK you have a strong and close Polish heritage, but your personal nationality must be American. Pozdrawiam bardzo Leslie
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Post by kaima on Apr 6, 2008 11:45:36 GMT -7
Should I say that I am 'English English' or 'Scottish English' or even (4th generation) 'Polish English'? I'm sorry, but these anachronisms mean as little as Polish American' - what nationality is it on your passport? If it is 'Polish' you are Polish; if it says 'American', you are American. Leslie Leslie, My passport says "Nationality USA". Nothing of "American" or anything else. My dad came back to America (where he was born, thus had citizenship) and an aunt moved to the Czech part of Czechoslovakia after the war, and of course is in the Czech Republic since then. Her daughter once asked 'what nationality are you', and that is when I pulled out the passport and looked. The poor woman was born in Czechoslovakia but had Slovak heritage - just as I do. She must have been going through an identity crisis at the time. Now one thing I don't go along with is dual citizenship. Somewhere it says you can't serve two masters; in my view as an American, two masters (governments) can't serve you, and that is the one reason our democracy (theoretically) exists, to serve the people. That is a tangent I will avoid for the moment, with royals and dual countries demanding loyalty and all that. Franek, I expect that you growing up in America, born in America a few decades before Guzlowski led to a totally different experience whht him coming over as a foreign born DP. I remember the Poles having to put up with a lot of crap in the 1960's with Polish jokes and all, something that made me happy to be Slovak. As for myself, I am American. Having a distinct ethnic identity just adds some nice spice to life. I wonder how WASP's (White AngloSaxon Protestants) put up with their bland lives; it seems too much like bland food. Leslie, take no offense at that last comment, WASP is the old term for what we simply call White Man today, the guy who carries the blame for screwing everything up & getting nothing right. So we ethnic peoples are simply white men with spice. Kai
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Post by jimpres on Apr 6, 2008 15:59:29 GMT -7
Leslie,
Like Kai, my passport says, Nationality, United States of America. Both of my parents (grandparents raised me) came form Poland in 1898. They did not speak English, Not required in the USA, so I had to learn Polish. And dual citizenship is a no brainer for me. I was born an American and will stay one. However, my heritage and background is Polish and I am proud of it and the many contributions the Poles have made to the world. I would never give up my US citizenship
Jim
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Post by freetobe on Apr 7, 2008 19:46:49 GMT -7
Am I wrong or are children born in the US to Polish immigrant parents not first generation? The incident of birth in the US is an entitlement of American citizenship despite the citizenship of the parents. Would that also grant the citizenship of their parents to these children? If the child's parents were naturalized Americans, would this negate the possibility of dual citizenship? If naturalization occurred prior to or after the child"s birth, would it be a factor? The US does not look kindly on dual citizenship, but I do not believe they will revoke US citizenship, unless Americans swear allegience to another nation. Any one know what the laws are on this?
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Post by jimpres on Apr 7, 2008 20:11:31 GMT -7
You are correct 1st born children to immigrants are 1st generation. If the child is born in America it is an American citizen, not the parents. In some cases you can have dual nationality. If you swear allegiance to another county and accept it's citizenship your American citizenship will be revoked.
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Post by Atlantis5 on Apr 8, 2008 6:59:20 GMT -7
Am I wrong or are children born in the US to Polish immigrant parents not first generation? The incident of birth in the US is an entitlement of American citizenship despite the citizenship of the parents. Would that also grant the citizenship of their parents to these children? If the child's parents were naturalized Americans, would this negate the possibility of dual citizenship? If naturalization occurred prior to or after the child"s birth, would it be a factor? The US does not look kindly on dual citizenship, but I do not believe they will revoke US citizenship, unless Americans swear allegience to another nation. Any one know what the laws are on this? This is the method of approch by your country. travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1753.htmlCharles
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Post by rdywenur on Apr 8, 2008 13:19:09 GMT -7
I came here at the age of three. When I was 10 my parents got their citizenships. They also took me and I got mine. Whether this is normal to automatically make a child a citizen or maybe they made arrangements that we all were citizens. I know I did not need to study for any tests but my mom did. I do not have dual citizenship. My brothers who were born here before my parents became citizens were not citizens of Poland or with a dual citizen till they got their papers. So my parents were citizens of Poland and became naturalized but I was born in Germany so do I have a triple header ?
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Post by rdywenur on Apr 8, 2008 13:24:41 GMT -7
In regards to calling some one Polish American, Italian American, German American. I think this term is asked/used as a general statement/question. The passport means nothing. It only verifies you are an Amercan by citizenship or by birth and the US is your guardian. When we ask or use the term Polish American it is to distinquish/clarify what your heritage is, hence nationality you came from. Lets not get so nit picky with the term. MHO.
FTB...you are correct. My brothers who were born here are first generation but I came here as a 3 year old and also thought of myself as a first generation but that would not be correct.
John and I came here from Germany at the same time from the same place but my experiences were slightly differnet than his. Maybe it was location, maybe cause my dad had more education although in some instances I can identify with his story. I think it really had to do with his parnets and the parents upbringing. We lived and were brought up in an Italian neighborhood. There was some prejudice back then and as a child one wishes to be like ones friends so I wished to be like them and not Polish.
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Post by Atlantis5 on Apr 8, 2008 14:04:18 GMT -7
In regards to calling some one Polish American, Italian American, German American. I think this term is asked/used as a general statement/question. The passport means nothing. It only verifies you are an Amercan by citizenship or by birth and the US is your guardian. When we ask or use the term Polidh American it is to distinquish/clarify what your heritage is, hence nationality you came from. Lets not get so nit picky with the term. MHO. FTB...you are correct. My brothers who were born here are first generation but I came here as a 3 year old and also thought of myself as a first generation but that would not be correct. John and I came here from Germany at the same time from the same place but my experiences were slightly differnet than his. Maybe it was location, maybe cause my dad had more education although in some instances I can identify with his story. I think it really had to do with his parnets and the parents upbringing. We lived and were brought up in an Italian neighborhood. There was some prejudice back then and as a child one wishes to be like ones friends so I wished to be like them and not Polish. I do not know if your parents were stateless by declaration, or requesting asylum from return to Poland. But how ever, there has been a great deal of time expired and also, that you have acquired American citizenship. How ever, this would be to the decision of the German Consular Service in your area. www.germany.info/relaunch/info/consular_services/citizenship/generalinformation.htmlThere have been some important changes completed since of 1 Jan. 2000 in this regard. I am not knowledgeable nor do I have the authority to provide specific information {as this would be expected..}. Just for information in use of common street terms: The term of {German American} is listed in common terms with the Embassy {German}. Un like the Brits, we hold on to our people with jealous intent. Charles
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Post by rdywenur on Jun 18, 2008 9:16:56 GMT -7
New update and book ....Poland 1946 by John Vachon with photos and letters and and view into the past. Dear Friends, I wrote a follow up to my blog posting about May 3rd, Polish Constitution Day. This short essay talks about how we typically celebrated this Polish-American holiday. The entry also contains a photograph by the great photographer John Vachon who took a series of photos of the Displaced Poles who returned to Poland in 1946. Vachon's photos are superb, and this one may be the best. Here's the link: lightning-and-ashes.blogspot.com/ John Guzlowski
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Post by Jaga on Jun 18, 2008 22:52:31 GMT -7
It is amazing and also sad to see that Leslie still participated in this discussion with his usual vigor and also some controversy, a typical Leslie By the way, this blog which started the discussion is quite interesting. Chris, thanks for posting!
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