On 10 October 1910, according to the census, there were 10,975 Poles in Bosnia and Herzegovina, i.e. 0.57% of the total indigenous population. Of these, the places of birth were: in Bosnia – 1,642 people; in Austria /Galicia/ – 8,824 people; in Hungary /Bukovina/ – 82 people; abroad – 427 people; total: 10,975 people
Poles lived in the following districts:
- Banja Luka District – 8,972 people
- Sarajevo District – 766
- Travnik District – 506
- Tuzla District – 417
- Bihać District – 163
- Mostar District – 152
total
10,975 people
Outside the Banja Luka District, the recorded numbers of Polish settlers also included people employed in the justice system and the treasury, as the Austro-Hungarian government was establishing an administration in this area composed of newcomers. It is noteworthy that the emigration of officials had no connection with agricultural emigration. One of the problems troubling the Polish emigrant community was the lack of teachers, which made it impossible to teach the Polish language. The emigrants attempted to bring teachers from Poland. In 1904, the Felician Sisters from Kraków founded a small school for Polish illiterate people in Nowy Martyniec. It was housed in a building erected for this purpose by the local Polish population. The school operated for only two years because the local parish priest, Piotr Andzielic—a Croat who spoke Polish—opposed their stay, as the sisters teaching Polish were the main center for maintaining Polish identity among the settlers. The sisters left behind a large collection of books, which our compatriots used for many years afterward. The library remained at the disposal of Adam Urban, the parents of a re-emigrant from Yugoslavia who lived in Nowogrodziec. During the 1914–1918 war, Father Stanisław Skierawski of the Congregation of the Resurrectionists in Vienna arrived at the parish of Miłować, adjacent to the parish in Nowy Martyniec. Poles living in the territories of Bosnia gathered around him; for this reason, he was later recalled from the parish. Father S. Skierawski distributed newspapers and books in the Polish language among the Polish population. Through this activity, he popularized reading as well as interest in Polish culture. After 1912, three Polish schools were established in the settlement areas. After 1918, they were closed because the teachers had left for their homeland /let us recall that in 1918 Poland regained its independence and state sovereignty/. During this period, most of the educated class left the settlement areas for Poland. After the establishment in 1918 of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, the situation of the Polish population deteriorated considerably compared with the period of Austrian rule. For political reasons, the Austro-Hungarian government pursued a policy favorable to the settler /newcomer/ population. After 1918, the settlers’ material conditions also worsened, as reflected in an increase in the land tax and a ban on teaching the Polish language. This led to the renewed emigration of the Polish population to Brazil. When the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was established, the Polish settlers refused to accept its citizenship and consequently became stateless. In order to obtain passports to leave for Brazil, they applied to the Polish consulate in Zagreb, which in March 1924 issued passports and visas for Brazil to the Polish citizens who had applied. The district office in Prnjavor confiscated these passports, claiming they had been issued unlawfully, and thus stopped the wave of emigration to Brazil. In 1930, approximately 1,000 Polish citizens voluntarily accepted Yugoslav citizenship. In 1934, the Yugoslav authorities required Poles to accept citizenship; otherwise, their residence in the settlement areas would be regulated on the basis of a passport. One of the prominent activists among the Polish settlers was Adam Urban, who lived in Nowy Martyniec /Prnjavor District/ and maintained regular contact with the Polish Consulate in Zagreb. In 1929, the Congress of Poles from Abroad was organized in Warsaw. The Polish Consulate in Zagreb enabled three delegates from Yugoslavia to participate. The delegation consisted of Adam Urban, Sławomir Gecka from Sarajevo, and Piotr Cieciński. This congress took place in Warsaw from 4 to 21 July 1924. Delegate Adam Urban—later a resident of the Nowogrodziec municipality—received Congress card no. 79. During his stay at the Congress in the capital, Adam Urban discussed the issue of the collective return of Poles from Yugoslavia with the Minister of Agriculture. The Minister declared, however, that a mass return of Poles to the country was unrealistic. Poland, he stated, was seeking settlement areas because of the population surplus in the motherland. This position was also confirmed by Michał Pankiewicz, President of the Emigration Office. In 1930, a Polish organization called Ognisko Polskie was established in Zagreb. Its aim was to conduct educational and upbringing activities among the Polish settlers. During the proceedings of the Second Congress of Poles from Abroad, held in Warsaw from 5 to 12 August 1934, Adam Urban was the only delegate of Ognisko Polskie. He took an active part in the work of the Cultural and Educational Commission and the Economic Commission, where he presented the demands of Poles from Yugoslavia.
Based on materials by Józef Dolecki.