Polish immigration to São Paulo after World War II in the context of the immigrations of displaced persons: 1947-1951

Abstract

This paper deals with the social history of the immigration to São Paulo. It focuses specifically on the period that is usually known as the resumption of immigration after World War II, when the arrivals of immigrants were divided basically into two periods: 1947-1951, with backing from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and from 1952 to 1980, with the support of the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration (ICEM). This paper focuses on the so-called “displaced persons” of Polish nationality, one among many groups of different nationalities who were freed from the refugee camps in Germany and Austria. This study was supported by documentation from the Immigrant Memorial, which has been systemized into a database, and is based on articles published in the Journal of Immigration and Colonization (JIC). The aim of this study is to contextualize the discussion on the need and convenience of the arrival of these displaced Polish immigrants, who were taken in through agreements between Brazil and the IRO at that time. This paper also outlines the profile of these immigrants, characterized as the largest group among the nationalities that arrived in Brazil during that period. The focus on post-war Polish immigration indicates the specific character of this group, whose profile differed from previous waves of immigrants to Brazil in a context strongly marked by movements to protect Brazilian workers and internal migrants.