Poles in Mexico, the forgotten exile

In the nearly one thousand days they lived there, the main purpose of the residents was to heal the wounds, physical and psychological war had made on them. The group of Polish refugees consisted mainly of women and children, because they were wives, widows and daughters of soldiers who served the Polish Army. The men in the group were either minors or those who are not to serve in the army, soldiers on leave or older. All were marked from the migration from home to labor camps in Siberia, then to Iran, Bombay, New Zealand, USA and finally Mexico. Hunger, forced labor, disease, suffering, loss, travel, displacement and uprooting had become a constant in their lives.

In the refugee camp they reproduced a miniature social network with organized labor, living arrangements and health care routines were established and continued cultivation of their culture was encouraged.

The effort was supported by funding from the U.S. government through a loan to the Polish Government in Exile, the Polish Council of the United States, and the National Catholic Conference welfares and War Relief Services. The aid workers directed its field work, resources and effort to support people, maintenance of the property, construction of new spaces and resources, medical care, clothing, education, the promotion of productive activities such as growing vegetables and a farm with cows, pigs, goats and chickens, small workshops craft, recreational needs, preservation of culture.

"The story did not end in 1947 because some of the children of that time are still living and working in Mexico" - said Joanna Addeo, a counselor at the Polish Embassy in Mexico.

"Some live in Mexico City, others stayed in Guanajuato, Leon and other locations while emigrated to the United States and some returned went to Poland."

"The truth is that we have a Polish culture alive here because they were integrated and contributed to the Mexican society" - she concluded. 


Poland-Mexico political relations
"Poland and Mexico have joined through a historical resemblance, which caused the interest and sympathy among some parts of the intellectual and political elites of both countries as distant and different.

The development of the peculiar asymmetrical contacts difficult history. When there was still the state of Poland, the proud Mexico was under colonial rule was crystallized as the independent state of the Mexican country, Poland was divided by the foreign yoke.

During the first half of the nineteenth century the representatives of Poland wiped off the political map of Europe were mostly political exiles "pilgrims of freedom" as a participant in the struggle for independence from Mexico, Poland Karol Bieniewski.

The beginnings of the "Mexican Revolution" are joined in chronological order with the time of WWI. The regeneration of Poland and Mexico renewed large revived while different political and social upheavals. The first political contact with Mexico brought the Prince Albert Radziwill, who was then the Chief aquela Honorary Polish Legation in Washington. This was in 1921. The years 1921-23 brought many facts confirming the interest of the governments of both countries to establish the constant diplomatic and consular relations.

The invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, deeply moved public opinion in Mexico. The government of Mexico declared strongly in favor of defending the independence and sovereignty of the Polish State. Both countries created a great anti-fascist coalition. In the last days of December 1942 the President of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Poland, General Wladyslaw Sikorski, visited Mexico with the main objective of organizing support for a large group of Polish refugees. Thanks to the benevolence by the Mexican authorities established a camp in Santa Rosa, where approx. thousand five hundred people in Poland, it found children under seven. Most of them adopted Mexico as his second home. During July 1945, Mexico as the first country in Latin America adopted the Provisional Government of National Unity in Poland. The way for the development of relations was opened.

Today, Mexico is a major political and economic partner for Poland. In recent years it was found through our contacts, strengthening our relationships as well as close cooperation in international fora and also perceived similarly, the most important issues concerning international relations.

"Bits and pieces of HE. Mr. Aleksander Kwasniewski - President of the Republic of Poland, on the occasion of 75 anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between Poland and Mexico (2004).


Chronology of major events in bilateral relations

The first diplomatic contacts between Poland and Mexico begin in 1921 with the recognition of the Polish state from Mexico and the visit of an official mission from Poland to Mexico with the occasion of the centenary celebrations of the Independence of Mexico.

Diplomatic relations between Poland and Mexico were formalized on February 26, 1928. In July 1928 opened the Consulate General of Poland in Mexico City, while the Consulate of Mexico in Warsaw was opened in February 1929 In 1930 he established the Mexican Legation in Poland and in 1931 opened the Legation of Poland in Mexico.

It is important to stress that during World War II relations between the two countries are not interrupieron. In December 1942, made an official visit in Mexico Prime Minister of Poland Wladyslaw Sikorski general who met with Mexico President Manuel Avila Camacho. During the visit is arranged on arrival in the former Santa Rosa ranch in Guanajuato Polish refugees, including more than seven hundred orphans.

In 1945, Mexico recognized as the first country in Latin America, the Provisional Government of Poland. Charge d'Affaires of Mexico during the war he moved to Stockholm and then returned to Warsaw to Lisbon reinstalled in 1946. The Polish Legation in Mexico was restored in 1947.

In the following years took place numerous visits by high level government as well as visits of businessmen and artists. In 1960 the two countries raised their diplomatic missions to the rank of embassies. In l963 the relations got a boost by the visit of Prime Minister of Poland Józef Cyrankiewicz to Mexico and Mexico's President Adolfo Lopez Mateos to Poland. In the sixties and seventies there were several visits by foreign ministers of Poland to Mexico (1964, 1977) and other political views, including parliamentarians. It also lacked the Mexican political visits to Poland. In 1979 he made an official visit to Mexico, the President of the State Council of Poland Henryk Jablonski.

In the eighties continued exchange of visits political, cultural and economic. They were signed several bilateral agreements on cultural and educational cooperation.

Since the early nineties bilateral relations have undergone many changes since first, the transition of Poland both democratization of political life, as well as the introduction of a market economy and on the other, the opening reforms and modernization of the Mexican economy. The political dialogue was established political consultation mechanism at the level of foreign secretaries of both countries that address the different issues concerning the political, economic, legal and cooperation as well as issues of multilateral, particularly those relating to peace and security and the Polish-Mexican cooperation in international organizations, especially in the UN.

Among the high-level contacts and mutual visits at the end of the nineties and early twenty-first century are: the visit to Mexico of the Prime Minister of Poland Jerzy Buzek in December 1998, Foreign Minister Rosario Green in March 2000 to Poland and Mexico in August 2003 the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz.

The special importance was the official visit of President of Mexico Vicente Fox Poland, on May 14, 2004 and the presence of the President of Poland Alexander Kwasniewski the Third Summit of Heads of States and Governments of the countries European Union and Latin America and Caribbean May 28, 2004 in Guadalajara.