The Polish Colony in Harbin, Manchuria

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The Polish Colony in Harbin, Manchuria

This post is about the former Polish colony in Harbin, which together with Russians and other East Europeans, transformed the small Chinese fishing village of Harbin into a thriving city of significant commercial importance.

Map attribution: Dagvidur via Wikimedia Commons.

Map location the Polish Colony in Harbin.
Map location the Polish Colony in Harbin

It is estimated that at the peak of the Polish colony in Harbin, which was between 1917 and 1920, up to 10,000 Poles lived in Harbin. Source: Naukowcy poszukują śladów po polskich współzałożycielach chińskiego miasta. (Historians are looking for traces of the Polish colonisers of the Chinese city). Nauka w Polsce. In Polish.

Introduction

Towards the end of the 19th century, Russia wanted to build a railway line that would join the Russian cities of Chita and Vladivostok and, at the same time, link up to the existing Trans Siberian Railway. The shortest route between the two cities was through Manchuria in China. The project included a branch line to Port Arthur in the city of Dalian on the banks of the Yellow Sea. Port Arthur is known today as Lyushunkou District in Dalian.

Chinese Eastern Railway

In 1896, the Chinese government gave the project their approval, thus allowing Russia to construct the Chinese Eastern Railway through Manchuria. This railway is sometimes referred to in English as the Trans-Manchurian Railway. Source: Giza, Andrzej. Polacy z Mandżurii Dzieje kolonii polskiej w Harbinie. Pages 44 & 48.

Image: Chinese Eastern Railway: Voland77 derivative work: Vmenkov, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Map of The Chinese Eastern Railway.
The Chinese Eastern Railway. The map shows current international borders.

Construction of the railway commenced in 1897, and the project was completed in 1903. Source. Burkova Valentian Fedorovna. Far Eastern Line History Museum in Khabarovsk. In English.

Why the Polish Colony in Harbin was founded

The January Uprising on the territory of Russian-occupied Poland occurred between 1863 and 1864. Following this failed uprising, Tsarist Russia removed the last vestiges of rights still left to Poles and commenced an intensive Russification of the population. Poles graduating from technical educational institutions in occupied Poland and Russia had little chance of a prosperous career in their ancestral homeland unless they embraced this Russification. These onerous restrictions, however, were not so strictly enforced in the far corners of the Russian empire.

Polish insurgents of the January Uprising.
Polish insurgents of the January Uprising

Image of Polish Insurgents at Wikimedia.

Construction of the Chinese Eastern Railway railway link

The construction of the Chinese Eastern Railway railway link presented far-reaching opportunities for engineers, entrepreneurs, and support workers from Russian-occupied Poland to advance their careers in Manchuria. As previously mentioned, such opportunities were impossible in the homeland. This was the beginning of a long-term migration of Poles to Harbin, and the establishment of, in its heyday, a sizeable and vibrant Polish community that was to last for nearly 50 years.

Polish engineers constructed major railway infrastructure for the Chinese Eastern Railway

Stanisław Kierbedź (1844–1910) was a railway engineer and one of the project managers of the Chinese Eastern Railway. Kierbedź was favoured by the Tsarist prime minister of the time and thus able to exert great influence in decision making. It was due to Kierbedź’s influence that some 20% of managerial and supporting roles on the railway were filled by Poles.

Tsar Nicholas II, alarmed at the high ratio of Polish personnel working on the project, personally intervened with his foreign minister to seek redress to this undesirable situation. The Tsar was informed by his minister that nothing could be done due to the lack of suitably qualified Russian personnel. Source: Giza, Andrzej. Polacy z Mandżurii: Dzieje kolonii polskiej w Harbinie. Poles from Manchuria: The history of the Polish colony in Harbin. Pages 47-48. Avalon Publishing Poland. In Polish.

Portrait of Stanisław Kierbedź.
Portrait of Stanisław Kierbedź

Kierbedź’s portrait is in the National Museum in Warsaw. At Wikimedia Commons.

The first railway bridge spans the Songhua River in Harbin

Stanisław Kierbedź designed the first railway bridge over the Songhua River in Harbin. The bridge opened in 1901 and still exists as a protected monument. This bridge is known as the Binzhou Railway Bridge.

It is a major tourist attraction of the city and is accessible to pedestrians.

On an aside, Kierbeź was the nephew of another Stanisław Kierbedź, the designer of the Aleksandryjski Bridge that spanned the Vistula river in Warsaw. That bridge was destroyed during World War II.

Sungari River Bridge in Harbin.
Sungari River Bridge in Harbin. ca. 1903-1919

Image credit: DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University.

Since 2014 the Binzhou Railway Bridge in Harbin no longer carries railway traffic. A newer railway bridge stands alongside Kierbedź’s bridge.

Source: Chinese Eastern Railway: Century-old witness to Harbin’s history. With video. China Global Television Network. In English.

Note: In Polish and Russian orthography, The Songhua River is usually referred to as the Sungari River, as used in Mandarin Chinese Pinyin romanisation.

Old songhua river railway bridge and new Songhua railway bridge in harbin.
Old songhua river railway bridge and new Songhua railway bridge in harbin

Image at Wikimedia.

Creation of Harbin City

At the crossroads of the route to Dalian, Kierbedź instructed the Polish civil engineer Adam Szydłowski to map out and create the city of Harbin. Source: Giza, Andrzej. Polacy z Mandżurii: Dzieje kolonii polskiej w Harbinie. Page 48. In Polish.

Map source: Modern Heritage, the Other, and the Anthropocene.

Map of Harbin from 1898 by Archibald Colquhoun.
Map of Harbin from 1898 by Archibald Colquhoun

Harbin Railway Station was designed by a Polish civil engineer

Harbin Railway Station

Ignacy Cytowicz designed Harbin’s railway station. The station was constructed in art nouveau style and modelled on the style of the 19th-century railway station in Siedlce, Poland.

Source: Giza, Andrzej. Polacy z Mandżurii: Dzieje kolonii polskiej w Harbinie. Page 56. In Polish.

Image credit: DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University.

Old railway station in Harbin.
The old railway station in Harbin – Early 20th century

The first brewery in Harbin opened

Jan Wróblewski established Harbin’s first brewery in 1900. This brewery still operates and was the first to open in China. Source: Fundacja Edukacji Polonijnej.

The image shown is a contemporary example of Harbin beer that you can buy in China today.

Image: Fredrik Rubensson from Stockholm, Sweden, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

A bottle and glass of Harbin beer.
Harbin Beer

Polish Newspapers in Harbin

There were numerous Polish newspapers published in Harbin. These publications covered local and international news, ladies’ interests, Christian news, sports news and more. Some newspapers kept publishing during the Japanese occupation.

From left to right, or stacked if you are viewing on a mobile phone:

Polish Weekly published in 1939 during the Japanese occupation. Note the Japanese permissions at the top-right.

One-day scout troop in Harbin dated 1923.

Advertisements from Daleki Wschód newspaper dated 1934.

Polish Weekly newspaper.
Scout troop newspaper.
Advertisements from Daleki Wschód newspaper.

Cultural life of the Polish colony in Harbin

The singing group Lutnia and the cultural centre Gospoda Polska

Lutnia (lute) was the name of a group of Polish singers in Harbin, founded in the early years of the 20th century.

In 1907, the “Gospoda Polska” (Polish Inn) Association was founded and with Lutnia’s agreement, took over the cultural and educational work of Lutnia. All of Lutnia’s property such as books, furniture and financial assets were transferred to the newly formed Gospoda Polska.

The associated image shows a group of unidentified people outside the Gospoda Polska.

Image source: National Digital Archives of Poland (NAC).

Gospoda Polska in Harbin.
Gospoda Polska in Harbin

The work of Gospoda Polska

The Gospoda Polska was essentially a Polish cultural centre. Following several rebuilds of the centre at Głucha Street, the considerably enlarged and more functional building was able, by 1919, to more fully accommodate the many diverse cultural needs of the Polish diaspora in Harbin.

The centre was by then also able to absorb several cultural venues that had previously been scattered across Harbin city.

Photograph: National Digital Archives of Poland NAC.

Board members of Gospoda Polska in 1926.
Board members of Gospoda Polska in 1926

Activities at Gospoda Polska

Amenities at the Gospoda Polska included a theatre, library and reading room. The centre also functioned as an information point for Poles where they could be directed to employment and assistance from the community.

Free Polish language courses were available, and the study of literature was possible at a nominal expense. A primary school was also established.

Text source of activities at Gospoda Polska. Adapted from: Pamiętnik Charbiński 1923 (Diary from Harbin 1923). Archived at the Podlasie Digital Library. In Polish.

The first photograph below is from a 1930 performance at the Polish Theatre in Harbin. It is interesting to note the participation of Chinese people at the performance. “Some Poles maintained social relations with the Chinese, and there were even Chinese who took part in cultural events in the Polish colony.” “There were also mixed Polish-Chinese marriages.” Sources: Culture.pl. In Polish. Lower Silesian Harbinites Club. In Polish.

Find out more about relations between Poles and Chinese in Harbin further down in this post.

The second image is of the flag raising at the Gospoda Polska. From the Harbin publication Daleki Wschód (The Far East). Edition 1934 No. 7. In Polish. Archived at Książnica Pomorska, (Pomeranian Library) in Poland. Page 15 in the archive. In Polish.

A 1930 performance at the Polish Theatre in Harbin.
A 1930 performance at the Polish Theatre in Harbin
Raising the flag on the building of the Gospoda Polska.
Raising the flag on the building of the Gospoda Polska

The Restaurant at Gospoda Polska

An advertisement (with transcript in English) for the Gospoda Polska restaurant. From the Harbin publication Daleki Wschód. (The Far East). Edition 1934 No. 7. In Polish. Source: Książnica Pomorska, Poland.

Buffet for members of the Polish Inn Association

Transcript: We recommend home-cooked dinners of various kinds, snacks and miniatures, ice cream, our own barley soup, herring and marinated fish.

Lunch times from 1 to 4. Two-course dinner – 0.40; three courses – 0.50; 1 dish – 0.25.

Our motto: Cheap, Healthy and Tasty.

Advertisement for the restaurant at Gospoda Polska.
Advertisement for the restaurant at Gospoda Polska

Relations between Poles and Chinese in Harbin

Natalia Rodziewicz (more about the Harbin Rodziewicz family later in this post) was a schoolteacher in Harbin. Natalia and her husband Antoni Rodziewicz, who had been deported to Siberia by the Russians, employed Chinese domestic workers in their household. The following describes some Chinese-Polish relations, as written by Aleksandra Ziółkowska-Boehm.

The Rodziewicz family was extremely well-liked by the hard-working locals. When Natalia Rodziewicz died, the Chinese workers willingly took time off work to attend Natalia’s funeral. Among them were many friends of Antoni Rodziewicz. He knew nine different dialects of Chinese so he could communicate effectively. He also understood how to treat his employees. Following his work as an engineer on the Transbaikal Railway, he was appointed Chief Engineer of the locomotive maintenance shed.

At one time, Antoni was giving a tour to some visiting inspectors. A teenage employee was using a hammer improperly. Angrily, one of the inspectors ran up and hit him across the face. Then he took off his glove and threw it mockingly at his feet. Simply removing his own glove, Antoni Rodziewicz then demonstrated the proper hammer technique to the young worker using just his bare hand. He did this with measured calmness. The incident caused him lots of problems, including the possibility of losing his job. The Chinese workers witnessed the event. From that point on, they would obey him, stand by him, and express their thanks and enthusiasm.

Source: Roman: In The Shadow Of The Hubal Legend, by Aleksandra Ziółkowska-Boehm. JSTOR. Subscription required.

NB: The author of this post shares the same family name with the Rodziewicz family from Harbin, but he is not related to them.

Museum of Oriental Studies in Harbin

The Kuryer Literacko-Naukowy dated 29 June 1931 (Literary and Scientific Courier ) newspaper in Poland carried an article about the Museum of Oriental Studies in Harbin.

We are told that out of 3 Chinese Studies museums on the territory of Manchuria, only one was in European hands. That was the Museum of Oriental Studies, recently established at the Gospoda Polska by Polish academics.

The museum was divided into three sections. These were Economics, Natural Science and Ethnography. Orientalist groups from China, Japan and Russia had started visiting the museum and reported that the museum, with approximately 500 exhibits, had a bright future ahead. The priceless exhibits had recently been collected from the province of Heilongjiang by Kazimierz Grochowski.

Editorial at Kuryer Literacko-Naukowy.
Editorial at Kuryer Literacko-Naukowy

The tone of the article is one of great sadness, as in Poland no people or institutions had expressed interest in offering financial help to the museum to ensure its continued success.

Source: Kuryer Literacko-Naukowy. (Literary and Scientific Courier). Digital Library of Małopolska. Page V. In Polish.

Closure of the museum and loss of the exhibits

The Museum of Oriental Studies in Harbin had been established in 1930 by the geologist Kazimierz Grochowski. Grochowski permanently left Harbin for Poland in 1934.

The museum ceased to exist just two months after Grochowski’s departure, due to a lack of suitable personnel to administer it. The management of the Gospoda Polska had, as previously mentioned, hosted the museum on its premises. They came to the conclusion that there was no benefit in keeping the museum and decided to recover the two rooms allocated to the museum. Grochowski’s young successors remaining in Harbin did not have enough influence to oppose this decision.

The exhibits were packed into storage chests, and most of them disappeared under unknown circumstances.

Kazimierz Grochowski.
Kazimierz Grochowski

Image: National Archives of Poland NAC.

Sources. Dolnośląski Klub Harbińczyka. (Lower Silesian Harbiners Club). “Historie Harbińczyków,” (History of The Harbinites). 31 May 2021. In Polish.

Niedzwiedzki Robert. Kazimierz Grochowski (1873–1937) – zapomniany badacz złota Syberii. Przegląd Geologiczny, vol. 56, nr 6, 2008. (Forgotten explorer of Siberian gold. Geological Review) In Polish.

School education in Harbin

Henryk Sienkiewicz Secondary School in Harbin

By far the most well-known educational institute in Harbin was the Gimnazjum im. Henryka Sienkiewicza w Harbinie. (Henryk Sienkiewicz Secondary School in harbin), established in 1915 and closed in 1949.

Source: European Educational Research Association (EERA). In English.

Image: National Archives of Poland NAC.

Henryk Sienkiewicz Secondary School in Harbin.
Henryk Sienkiewicz Secondary School in Harbin

School certificates recognised in Poland

In 1924, the Polish Government recognised examination and leaving certificates issued by the Henryk Sienkiewicz Secondary School in Harbin, as valid in Poland.

Source: Tygodnik Polski in Harbin (Polish Weekly) dated 25 January 1925. PDF file.

Image: A 1926 Secondary school leaving certificate issued by the Henryk Sienkiewicz Secondary School in Harbin. Source: National Archives of Poland NAC.

Polish Weekly newspaper dated 1925.
Polish Weekly newspaper dated 1925

Click or touch the image to see a full sized version.

Secondary school leaving certificate issued by the Henryk Sienkiewicz Secondary School.
Secondary school leaving certificate issued by the Henryk Sienkiewicz Secondary School

Schoolchildren from the boarding school in Harbin

The associated photograph shows Polish schoolchildren from the Polish boarding school in Harbin exhibiting their works. The children are accompanied by Fr Władysław Ostrowski and unnamed school teachers.

From the weekly publication Na Szerokim Świecie: kurjer tygodniowy w obrazach i słowie dla miast i wsi. (The Wide World: a weekly courier in pictures and words for towns and villages). Published in Warsaw, Kraków and Lwów. Edition No. 35. Dated 26 August 1934.

Polish pupils and their teachers from the boarding school in Harbin.
Polish pupils and their teachers from the boarding school in Harbin

Sources: Newspaper editorial: Na Szerokim Świecie: kurjer tygodniowy w obrazach i słowie dla miast i wsi. In Polish.

Photograph dated 1934 from National Archives of Poland NAC.

Religious life in Harbin

Church of St. Stanisław in Harbin

The associated photograph shows the Roman Catholic Parish Church of St. Stanisław in Harbin, built by the Polish civil engineer Mikolaj Kizi-Girej. Construction of the church commenced in 1906 and it was consecrated in 1909.

Source: Giza, Andrzej. Polacy z Mandżurii: Dzieje kolonii polskiej w Harbinie. Pages 72-73. In Polish.

Image: Polacy na Dalekim Wschodzie. Kazimierz Grochowski. Published 1928. Archived at Polona archive.

Church of St Stanislaw in Harbin.
Church of St Stanislaw in Harbin

Industrious life of Poles in Harbin falls upon hard times – The colony declines in size

Japanese troops in Manchuria.
Japanese troops in Manchuria

The Polish Colony in Harbin and the Japanese Invasion of Manchuria

On 18 September 1931, Japan invaded Manchuria and established the puppet state of Manchukuo.

In comparison with the Chinese population, who experienced great brutality at the hands of the Japanese, the Polish community faired comparatively well.

We learn from the article Roman: In The Shadow Of The Hubal Legend, by Aleksandra Ziółkowska-Boehm that:

As soon as the Japanese seized Manchuria, they gave preferential treatment to the large Polish population residing in Manchuria. At first, they offered them many privileges and enticed Poles to work for them. At the same time, they declared that the children of Poles would be extended various forms of support should they choose to return home. Two ships were allocated for the journey from Vladivostok to Japan. They set sail for London from Japan, from where children, including Romuald Rodziewicz and his sister Sofia, would be returned to their recently liberated and restored country.

Antoni and Natalia Rodziewicz were the parents of Romuald Rodziewicz (1913 – 2014), who later became a distinguished and decorated soldier in the Polish Armed Forces. Source: Romuald Rodziewicz – the last Hubal’s soldier died. Media EFHR.

Sources: Roman: In The Shadow Of The Hubal Legend, by Aleksandra Ziółkowska-Boehm. JSTOR. Subscription required.

Sofia Rodziewicz. Obituary at Thestar.com.

Recognition of Manchukuo by Poland

A relatively small number of countries recognised the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo. The inter-war government of Poland, mindful of the large Polish population in Manchuria, did recognise the state and no doubt this led to the continuation of good relations between Warsaw and Tokyo, thus facilitating better treatment of some Poles in Manchuria. Source: Giza, Andrzej. Polacy z Mandżurii: Dzieje kolonii polskiej w Harbinie. Page 125.

While ordinary Poles were, as previously mentioned relatively well treated, this treatment did not always extend to Polish entrepreneurs. The Japanese increased their influence and control of some Polish companies, especially those companies producing materials essential to the Japanese war effort.

In particular, Władysław Kowalski’s timber business was nationalised by the new regime, and Kowalski was bankrupted and evicted from his residence. He died in Harbin of a heart attack in 1940. Source: Polacy-katolicy w Harbinie. W trosce o zachowanie tożsamości narodowej. Polish Catholics in Harbin. In an effort to preserve national identity. University of Łódź Repository. In Polish.

Władysław Kowalski.
Władysław Kowalski (centre) with his family

Poles lost their right to work for the railway industry

In 1935, Japan purchased the Chinese Eastern Railway from the Soviet Union. However, because of an agreement that only Russian personnel could work for the railway and its supporting services, many Poles became unemployed. The regime gave Russians an exclusive right to work for other Japanese companies. The situation for Poles became dire and living standards declined sharply, leading to mass repatriations to Poland. Source: Giza, Andrzej. Polacy z Mandżurii: Dzieje kolonii polskiej w Harbinie. Page 125.

Rationing of food and other products introduced

In 1942, basic food products were rationed and in 1943, rationing was extended to coal, firewood and wool products. Initially ration vouchers were issued by the Polish Welfare Committee and then by The Polish Consulate. Source: Giza, Andrzej. Polacy z Mandżurii: Dzieje kolonii polskiej w Harbinie. Page 126.

The Red Army takes control of Manchuria

In August 1945, the Red Army took control of Manchuria. This was the beginning of mass deportations to the Soviet Union of Poles, Russians and other East Europeans living throughout Manchuria. Source: Giza, Andrzej. Polacy z Mandżurii: Dzieje kolonii polskiej w Harbinie. Page 127.

Image: Mil.ru, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Soviet infantry crossing the border of Manchuria on 9 August 1945.
Soviet infantry crossing the border of Manchuria on 9 August 1945

Civil war in China – Decision to repatriate all Poles in Manchuria

During the period 1945-1949, China was engulfed by a civil war between communists and nationalists. By 1946 it was estimated that the number of poles living in Manchuria was down to 1,516. During the second half of the 1940’s the post-war Polish Government decided to repatriate the remaining Poles from Manchuria. One of the few Polish institutions still functioning in Manchuria was the Gospoda Polska in Harbin. The Polish Government sent a delegate to the Gospoda Polska, whose function was to communicate to the remaining Poles an appeal that they urgently needed to leave Manchuria for Poland. Source: Giza, Andrzej. Polacy z Mandżurii: Dzieje kolonii polskiej w Harbinie. Page 138.

Repatriation train for Poland leaves Harbin

The first post-World War II repatriation of 800 Poles by was organised by the Polish Government. The departure was from Harbin’s main railway station and the train was surrounded by an exceptionally large crowd of Chinese who had turned up to say goodbye to the Poles with whom they had lived and worked with, side by side for decades. They surrounded the train carriages with flowers and banners to pay homage to their Polish friends. Source: Giza, Andrzej. Polacy z Mandżurii: Dzieje kolonii polskiej w Harbinie. Page 139.

Expulsion of the Polish colony in Harbin and repatriation

Following the victory of the communists and the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, the new regime began a campaign of massive repression against Poles in China. Restrictions were placed upon Poles relating to dress codes and hairstyles. The policy of the communist regime was also to expel Poles and all foreigners living in China. The idea was to make China a homogeneous nation and to this end, the slogan of the Chinese communists was “Asia for the Asians”. Source: Giza, Andrzej. Polacy z Mandżurii: Dzieje kolonii polskiej w Harbinie. Page 141.

Poland continued with its policy of repatriation by both rail and sea routes. Most Poles settled in Poland, while some chose Australia, Canada, the U.S.A., Israel and various countries in South America. By 1963, there were only 18 Poles living in Harbin. At this time, the Polish Government, in liaison with the Chinese Communist Party, brought about the closure of the last remaining Polish organisation in Harbin, namely the Association of Polish Citizens in China. Source: Giza, Andrzej. Polacy z Mandżurii: Dzieje kolonii polskiej w Harbinie. Page 141-142.

Destruction of the Polish Catholic Cemetery in Harbin

During the Cultural Revolution, the student-led Red Guards destroyed the Polish Catholic cemetery in Harbin, which had been located within the Russian Orthodox cemetery.

The area of the cemetery is now an amusement park and features as one of Harbin’s attractions. Sources: Zaginiony cmentarz. (The Lost Cemetery). In Polish. Roman Catholic cemetery in Harbin (1903-1958). Boym Institute. In English.

Former Russian Orthodox cemetery in Harbin.
Former Russian Orthodox cemetery in Harbin

Image at Wikimedia.

The last Pole leaves – The Polish Colony in Harbin ceases to exist

On 10 February 1993, Edward Stokalski was the last Pole to leave Harbin. He left Harbin to spend the rest of his life in Poland, where he had never been. This was the final chapter of the Polish colony in Harbin. Sources: Roman Catholic cemetery in Harbin (1903-1958). Boym Institute. In English. Bez Polonii w Chinach. Archive of The Republic of Poland. In Polish.

CIA report about the Polish colony in Harbin

In December 1947, The CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) reported about the Polish colony in Harbin. This document, marked confidential, was declassified in 2006 and is available with redactions on the CIA’s website.

The text of the report sheds light on the challenging circumstances faced by Poles in Harbin in 1947.

Seal of the CIA.
Seal of the CIA

We learn from the report that in 1947, the number of Polish people living in Harbin was roughly two thousand. The Polish Consulate in Harbin may have been replaced, albeit unofficially, by the Polski Komitet Obywatelski of Manchuria. Livicky (first name unknown) is the head of the Polish Association Committee, while V. Yablonski is the vice-chairman. Jalandowski is another high-profile member (first name unknown).

Most of the Polish population does not support the Soviet Union, including the Committee’s members and leaders. About 200 Poles in Harbin identify as “progressive” and are overtly pro-Soviet, with the remaining Poles preferring to adopt a moderate stance on matters of politics.

The Polish Club*, supported by the committee, is the centre of the Polish community. Two churches, a middle school, a grammar school, and the Polish Welfare Organization, whose primary duty is to oversee an elderly care facility and a home for the poor, are among the other organisations that receive comparable sponsorship.

*The CIA report would have been referring to the Gospoda Polska, previously mentioned.

Ninety per cent of the population does not have access to enough food. For the past two years, they have been forced to sell personal belongings for food and clothing.

The Chinese Communist government has taken control of the former Polish Church Mission site. Father Hotnievich, the former head of the mission, still oversees the work of the four priests or missionaries. One of the two churches was about to fall into the hands of the Chinese Communists.

Only the TASS interpretation of global news, is presented in the Soviet-dominated Polish newspaper published in Harbin.

The Chinese Changchun Railway employs a small number of highly skilled Poles but Soviet Russians are given preference when it comes to job opportunities. Some non-Soviet Poles have succeeded in running their private businesses.

Source: CIA website. 1947. PDF file.

The Harbin Poles in Poland

Upon leaving Harbin, most Poles, having been born in Manchuria, were to see their ancestral homeland for the first time.

The main settlement areas of the Harbin Poles are in the West Pomeranian (particularly in Szczecin) and the Lower Silesian Voivodeships in Poland.

Meeting with the chairman of the Harbinites Club in Szczecin, Poland

There is an excellent recent YouTube video entitled Polsko-Rosyjskie miasto w Chinach. (Polish-Russian City in China). In Polish. Regrettably, there are no captions or subtitles available. This video tells some of the stories of the Poles and Russians in Harbin. The meeting with the club chairman Romuald Oziewicz, starts at 17 minutes and 5 seconds into the video. I highly recommend the complete video if you can follow along in Polish. Oziewicz gives much insight into the history of Poles in Harbin and their life in Poland.

From the YouTube channel Planeta Abstrakcja. Dated March 2024.

Forced Migrations of the Polish Colony in Harbin and China

While some Poles and other eastern Europeans came voluntarily to Harbin and Manchuria, I would class this as a forced migration of people who wished to escape Russification and better their economic future. The many repatriations to Poland that occurred after the 1930s, and particularly those during China’s Cultural Revolution, were unavoidable, and most certainly they were migrations very much forced.

Achievements of the Polish Colony in Harbin

The collage of advertisements shown below is from the Polish Weekly in Harbin, dated 7 of May 1939. As previously explained, this was a challenging time for the Poles in Harbin. Manchuria was under Japanese occupation, and World War II, which would bring more hardships, was about to begin.

The Polish émigrés that came to Harbin were in it for the long term. Essentially, they planned for Harbin to be their forever home, free of Russian colonisation. Their diligent work ethic, combined with a high standard of school education, planned for future generations to be knowledgeable of Polish culture and traditions and able to continue building on the success of their forefathers.

Associated advertisements arranged by South Coast View. This newspaper edition is archived at Książnica Pomorska, (Pomeranian Library) in Poland. In Polish.

A selection of advertisements placed by businesses of the Polish colony in Harbin.
Tygodnik Polski. (Polish Weekly) 1939 nr 19

A selection of advertisements placed by businesses of the Polish colony in Harbin.

Additional References

My YouTube video about The Polish Colony in Harbin.

Harbiners Club in Szczecin represented at the Pomeranian Library.

Lower Silesia Harbiners Club website.

Appeal for information

If you notice any errors in this article, or have new information and/or images that I might be able to include here, I will be grateful if you could let me know. My contact page is here.

This post is copyright © South Coast View.

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