<P> Historians divide Polish American immigration into three `` waves '' , the largest from 1870 to 1914 , a second after World War II , and a third after Poland 's independence in 1989 . Most Polish Americans are descended from the first wave , when millions of Poles fled Polish districts of Germany , Russia , and Austria . This group is often called the za chlebem ( for bread ) immigrants because most were peasants in Poland who did not own land and lacked basic subsistence . The Austrian Poles were from Galicia , unarguably the most destitute region in Europe at the time . Up to a third of the Poles returned to Poland after living in the United States for a few years , but the majority stayed . Substantial research and sociological works such as The Polish Peasant in Europe and America found that many Polish immigrants shared a common objective of someday owning land in the U.S. or back in Poland . Anti-Slavic legislation cut Polish immigration from 1921 to World War II , but opened up after World War II to include many displaced persons from the Holocaust . A third wave , much smaller , came in 1989 when Poland was freed from Communist rule . </P>
<P> Historians divide Polish American immigration into three `` waves '' , the largest from 1870 to 1914 , a second after World War II , and a third after Poland 's independence in 1989 . Most Polish Americans are descended from the first wave , when millions of Poles fled Polish districts of Germany , Russia , and Austria . This group is often called the za chlebem ( for bread ) immigrants because most were peasants in Poland who did not own land and lacked basic subsistence . The Austrian Poles were from Galicia , unarguably the most destitute region in Europe at the time . Up to a third of the Poles returned to Poland after living in the United States for a few years , but the majority stayed . Substantial research and sociological works such as The Polish Peasant in Europe and America found that many Polish immigrants shared a common objective of someday owning land in the U.S. or back in Poland . Anti-Slavic legislation cut Polish immigration from 1921 to World War II , but opened up after World War II to include many displaced persons from the Holocaust . A third wave , much smaller , came in 1989 when Poland was freed from Communist rule . </P>
when did the most polish immigrants come to america
when did the most polish immigrants come to america
from 1870 to 1914
from 1870 to 1914