Modern Polish community in Liverpool
The modern polish population in Liverpool is made up of a huge mix of people, from students to those who have moved here for economic opportunity. Polish student studying in Liverpool, Maciej Sidorowicz stated: “I’ve felt welcomed to this city, across the entire country Liverpool is known as a very welcoming city”.
Historically, the Polish community here in Liverpool was subject to xenophobic abuse and consequently Polish traditions were celebrated in private. This was particularly true following the large wave of post-WWII migration.
Manager of Merseyside Polonia, Dagmara Wojciechowicz stated: “Many were reluctant to speak Polish in public… lots of people hid their identity and changed their surnames to English sounding names. So the cultural events were not open to others because they were the safe space”.
Merseyside Polonia is an organisation established in 2009 that promotes Polish culture and heritage through celebrations of traditions such as All Saints day on November 1st, to the promotion of Polish arts and culture through museums here in Liverpool. The Polish government allocates money to promote Polish culture and heritage abroad, this is a unique thing that most countries do not allocate a budget for.
In recent years Poland and its people and culture have become more understood and appreciated here in Liverpool. Ms Wojciechowicz said:”it’s almost the stark contrast to what it was 70 years ago when the Polish community was hiding, we are not hiding now we are very open”.
Merseyside Polonia has had an upsurge in Scousers interested in Polish culture, history and heritage. This interest usually comes from relationships or friendships that scousers have formed with Polish people or from them visiting the country and wanting to learn more about the culture afterwards.
Despite this rise in appriciation of Polish culture, Ms Wojciechowicz also suggested that many Poles, especially those on the outskirts of the city, face discrimination and xenophobic abuse since the rise of Reform UK and anti-migrant rhetoric. “We are not from here, so anti-migrant rhetoric is also aimed at us. The Polish community experiences different things depending where they are in Liverpool”.
Polish culture has a rich history and a thriving modern community here in Liverpool. With the cities direct links to many Polish cities it looks like cultural links between the two countries going to continue to grow.
In recent years, Poland has become an increasingly popular tourist destination with brits with almost 650,000 brits visiting the country in 2025. Poland is the second fastest growing tourism economy in the EU and brits constantly rank amongst the top foreign visitors.
Ms. Wojciechowicz said: “The rise in tourism is definitely linked with how people perceive us and our culture definitely has a platform now. People no longer see Poland as as post-soviet grey tower blocks. They see it as a welcoming and very open culture”.
Scousers are no different to this trend with many visiting Poland each year. This is made easy by budget airlines with direct links form Liverpool John Lennon Airport to 6 Polish cities. Ryanair recently celebrated carrying its one millionth passenger on their Liverpool-Wroclaw route.
(https://www.facebook.com/liverpoolairport/posts/ryanair-recently-carried-the-one-millionth-passenger-on-their-liverpool-wroclaw-/1288657473295992/ )
Lewis Field, a resident here in Liverpool who recently visited Krakow stated: “It’s clean, it’s safe, the architecture is beautiful. It was the complete opposite of what I expected.”
Lots of Brits are becoming interested in visiting Poland and in Polish culture in general, but there may not be a need to travel all the way to Poland to get a taste of Polish culture. Liverpool is a city with a rich history of Polish immigration and currently has a flourishing Polish community.
Could this surge in of interest in Poland come from the rich history of polish immigration and cultural integration within the Liverpool and the wider UK? Mr. Sidorowicz stated he thinks the reason more Brits are heading to Poland is because “Polish people who live in the UK tell British people that the country is a good place now and they should visit”.
History of Polish immigration to Liverpool
Polish culture has become ingrained within the melting pot of Liverpool with Polish immigrants coming to the city in three major waves spanning over 150 years.
The first wave of Polish migration to Liverpool happened in the 19th century and is known as the ‘Great Immigration”. Following a series of uprisings in Poland between 1830-63, Polish political refugees fleeing oppression found asylum in Britain.
Many decided to call Liverpool their new home, with a Polish presence in the city dating back to the 1830s.
The second major wave of Polish migration to Liverpool happened during the Second World War. Poland faced the brunt of destruction during WW2 with the nations capital, Warsaw, left approximately 90% destroyed. Liverpool served as a major port for Polish forces returning from the war. Thousands decided not to just pass through but to settle here in Liverpool, fearing a return to a communist controlled country. The Polish resettlement act 1947 allowed Polish war veterans and their families settle in the UK. This was the first act of its kind in British history allowing for a specific nationality to settle in the UK.
The third major wave of Polish immigration to Liverpool started in 2004. In 2004 Poland officially became a member of the European Union. This allowed for a large new wave of immigration from Poland as EU countries had the right to freedom of movement between each other. This third wave brought a younger Polish population to Liverpool, bringing modern Polish culture to the city. Despite Britain leaving the EU, many Poles have decided to stay in Britain, with a significant community in Merseyside.
