The end of World War II found a devastated Poland under Soviet occupation. Much of the country's population had been displaced to work camps in Germany during the war; now they faced the possibility of continued suffering under a totalitarian regime in their home country. Many Poles made the decision to immigrate to the United States. Their journey, however, would not be easy. The rigors of the war had affected America as well, and immigration laws were strict. Fortunately, many Polish refugees received help from the Polish American Immigration and Relief Committee (PAIRC). Founded in 1947 to help Polish citizens displaced by World War II, the committee continued its work as the postwar period became the Cold War era and Poles continued to flee the communist regime. This study of the PAIRC and its work includes both the broad history of the committee and stories of specific individuals, which add detail and lend insight into the plight of the refugees and the importance of the advocacy that the committee provided. Drawing on information from committee archives and firsthand consultations with prominent members, this book covers such topics as American immigration law, aid for the Polish Republic, and the effect of political change in Poland itself. It also discusses how the downfall of the communist government transformed Poland into a country that opened its own arms to the world's refugees.

Poland was in ruins after World War I. The fighting front had rolled through some areas more than seven different times, and the result was the almost complete destruction of the roads, railways, bridges, water systems, and power plants. The government was based mainly on civil servants of Polish descent who remained on the job after the fall of Germany, Russia, and Austria-Hungary. Even after Poland regained her independence in 1918, the borders were not yet defined and the nation was vulnerable to continued threats from Germany and Russia. This work presents the story of the Kosciuszko Squadron, a small group of American flyers that formed, without the support of the State Department and the American Expeditionary Force in Europe, to defend Poland from the Bolshevik armies from Russia and to prevent the communist revolution in Russia from uniting with the German "Spartakus" movement in the Polish-Bolshevik War of 1919-1920. The book covers the events leading up to the formation of the squadron and the first efforts to enlist American military help for Poland in 1918. It explores why that small group of Americans felt compelled to fight for Poland and what they knew about who and what they were fighting for and against, and discusses the people, events, and issues that figured prominently in the war. The Squadron was named, of course, in honor of Tadeusz Kosciuszko, who famously came from Poland in 1776 to join the Colonial forces fighting the War of Independence from Britain.