Out of the shadows: exploring the lives of the Birmingham Polish

[摘要] Using an oral history methodology this thesis explores the lives of the Birmingham Polish people. The first wave Polish migrants who arrived in Birmingham post 1939 were distinctly affected by the consequence of the Second World War. Polish migrants in Birmingham are not homogeneous and yet are linked by the Catholic faith which has served to both include and exclude members. The importance of Polish history was pertinent for many of the respondents of this study and the thesis identifies the relevance of loss and trauma, resulting from this history for Polish migrants in Birmingham. These experiences of loss, trauma of war and ethnic conflict, although unique to the Polish and other migrants fleeing both Stalin and Nazism, resonate with those of new migrant communities of refugees and asylum seekers today, who also face issues of loss, trauma and abuse and this affects the way that they live their lives in the private and public sphere.

[发布机构] University:University of Birmingham;Department:Institute of Applied Social Studies

[关键词] H Social Sciences;HT Communities. Classes. Races