The Polish Resettlement Act and Polish Resettlement Camps for Political Refugees after WW2 - the Experience of British Migrant Settlement Policy

The Polish Resettlement Act and Polish Resettlement Camps for Political Refugees after WW2-the experience of British migrant settlement policy

The subject domain of this paper is Polish immigration to post-War Britain. It portrays the Polish community’s rehabilitation in exile and the British government’s creation of a model migrant settlement policy for Polish refugees after 1946. It explains how Poles successfully integrated into mainstream British society and highlights the importance of education as their route to civic integration.
The research leading to this paper examined the political implications of the passage of the Polish Resettlement Bill in March 1947 (the first ever British legislation dealing with mass immigration) and how the original refugees formed much of the Polish community as it exists today.
A good deal of this paper is dedicated to the creation of the Polish Resettlement Camps in Britain in 1946. At the end of the Second World War the British Government offered hospitality to Polish soldiers who had served under British command and who were unable or unwilling to return to their native country. Wives and dependents were brought to Britain to join the soldiers, bringing the total estimated number to over 250,000.
In due course, the Poles emerged as dedicated contributors to the rebuilt British economy. Children of Polish descent, who were born, brought up and educated in the reality of the resettlement camps or hostels have engaged in professional careers and made their Polish names recognizable in a rapidly diversifying British society and abroad.