Polish Elites in London after the Second World War

Abstract

The article discusses the process of developing a strong and well-organized Polish diaspora in the United Kingdom. The mass influx of Poles to the British Isles took place during the Second World War and was connected with the activities of the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile and with the Polish Armed Forces in the West. The Sovietization of Poland and the change of its borders caused that about 500,000 Poles remained in the West after the war. The largest concentration of Polish expatriates was the United Kingdom. The political and intellectual nature of this emigration and its location in London and some major British cities have caused it to become a catalyst for the explosion of numerous Polish organizations, associations, educational and cultural institutions, parishes, schools and the press. The article's author offers a detailed analysis of the examples of the intellectual activity of Polish emigrants in Great Britain.