Emigracja zarobkowa ludności wsi podhalańskich do Stanów Zjednoczonych Ameryki Północnej

Abstract

The paper presents the results of the author's researches on earning emigration from Podhale villages to the USA in the years 1982-1988. The main goal of the researches was to estimate the size of emigration and its results on social and economic changes of the region. At the beginning of the eighties, together with liberalizations in receiving passports, number of people emigrating to the USA rapidly increased. Fifty six villages were examined and in the years 1982-1988 about 2 400 of people emigrated to the USA. The greatest number of people, even more than 200, left those villages in which emigration to the USA began in the XIX th century. Among people leaving for the USA more than a half were men and young people of the age 24-40. Majority of them were husbands of wives who after 2-3 years of work in the USA came back and they spent the earned money on building new houses or modernization the old one, on arranging a workshop or on agricultural equipment. The paper presents also connections of emigrants with their native village and families who stayed in Poland. Emigrants' share in financial support for different investments like in building new churches, fire stations, roads, schools was also presented. The author also pointed out the negative results of emigration which are particularly visible when one member of a married couple leaves for the USA for longer than 3 years period of time. The author states that earning emigration to the USA was an important factor in socio-economic changes in Podhale villages and had a significant impact on Podhale economic development.