For God, Country, and Polonia: One Hundred years of the Orchard Lake Schools

For God, Country, and Polonia: One Hundred years of the Orchard Lake Schools - Frank Renkiewicz

What is Polonia a century after the largest wave of Polish immigrants came to America? Most of today's Polish Americans, the great grandchildren and great grand children of those immigrants, barely know the Polish language. From 1772 to 1918, Poland was wiped off the map and Polonia (Poles spread throughout the world) spread far and wide with Poles searching for their identity while continuing to preserve our heritage.  To be a Pole or of Polish descent means much whether we know our native tongue or not. Poland would be called "the Christ of Europe,'' suffering yet greatly changing history. Poles decisively saved Europe from the Ottoman Empire in 1683 and from the Soviet Union in 1920. Polish leader Jowere the first nation invaded in World War II, lost again to the Soviets after the war yet launched the fall of communism starting in 1979. Today Poland is one of the chief exporters of Catholic priests and many of those priests bound for U.S. churches go through Orchard Lake.