The Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Chicago () is a consular mission of the

Republic of Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

in the United States. The mission serves the largest Polish communities outside of Poland. The consulate is located at 1530 North Lake Shore Drive in the Gold Coast area of the Near North Side region of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

.Consulate
" ''Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Chicago''. Retrieved on July 28, 2014.

History

Soon after the establishment of the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...

, a consulate was opened in Chicago on June 1, 1920, with being the first consul. After the United States recognized the

Provisional Government of National Unity The Provisional Government of National Unity (, TRJN) was a puppet government formed by the decree of the State National Council (, KRN) on 28 June 1945 as a result of reshuffling the Soviet-backed Provisional Government of the Republic of Pola ...

(later becoming the communist

Polish People's Republic The Polish People's Republic (1952–1989), formerly the Republic of Poland (1947–1952), and also often simply known as Poland, was a country in Central Europe that existed as the predecessor of the modern-day democratic Republic of Poland. ...

) over the

Polish government-in-exile The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile (), was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Poland of September 1939, and the subsequent Occupation ...

in 1945, the previous representatives refused to hand over the premises of their missions, resulting in it taking several months before all consulates, including the one in Chicago, were taken by PPR diplomats. The US Department of State asked that the consulate be closed down in 1954; it took until October 1958 for an agreement to be made to restore it, with the consulate finally reopening in October 1959. The consulate had jurisdiction over 28 states from that point until the opening of a consulate in Los Angeles, which took jurisdiction over 15 western states previously managed there. Through the 1980s, the

Polish American Congress The Polish American Congress (PAC) is an American umbrella organization of Polish-Americans and Polish-American organizations. Its members include individuals as well as fraternal, educational, veterans, religious, cultural, social, business, and ...

held demonstrations outside the consulate, among other measures, to signal their support for the

Solidarity movement Solidarity or solidarism is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. True solidarity means moving beyond individual identities and single issue politics ...

and protest the imposition of

martial law in Poland Martial law in Poland () existed between 13 December 1981 and 22 July 1983. The Polish United Workers' Party, government of the Polish People's Republic drastically restricted everyday life by introducing martial law and a military junta in an a ...

. This led to the square outside the consulate being dubbed "Solidarity Square". The building that currently houses the consulate opened in 1916 as a private residence named Eckhart Mansion. The Polish government bought the house in 1974. The house became a Gold Coast historical monument in 1989.

References

External links

Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Chicago
{{DEFAULTSORT:Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Chicago

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

Poland–United States relations

History

See also

References

External links