Railroad Workers, Civilization and Communism: the Young Men’s Christian Association on the Interwar Polish Frontier
This article seeks to present and analyze one of the aspects of the work of the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA or Y) in interwar Poland: the initiatives for railroad workers from eastern frontier towns and cities. Focusing on the efforts that the organization undertook on the territory comm...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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European Association for American Studies
2019-01-01
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| Series: | European Journal of American Studies |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/13718 |
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| author | Sylwia Kuźma-Markowska |
| author_facet | Sylwia Kuźma-Markowska |
| author_sort | Sylwia Kuźma-Markowska |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article seeks to present and analyze one of the aspects of the work of the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA or Y) in interwar Poland: the initiatives for railroad workers from eastern frontier towns and cities. Focusing on the efforts that the organization undertook on the territory commonly referred to as the Polish borderlands (Kresy), I show that for the leaders of the Y the work among the railway employees was of utmost political and civilizational importance. There were several reasons why the YMCA became involved in the railroad work on the eastern Polish borderlands. One of them was the looming threat of communism from neighboring Russia, another—the American Y leaders’ mythic perceptions of the U.S. moving frontier, which prompted them to adapt the American discourse on civilization to the Polish political and social situation. Using archival documents and recollections of Americans involved in the Y’s activities on the eastern Polish frontier I demonstrate how the perception of the Polish borderland by the Y’s secretaries was greatly influenced by myths deeply embedded in American culture. Drawing on the contemporary Polish press reports as well as writings of local collaborators of the YMCA, I also describe the reaction of Polish public opinion to the Y’s undertakings on the Polish frontier. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-42eaa902c5084f80a081eb7da2f83dcc |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1991-9336 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2019-01-01 |
| publisher | European Association for American Studies |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Journal of American Studies |
| spelling | doaj-art-42eaa902c5084f80a081eb7da2f83dcc2025-01-06T09:08:54ZengEuropean Association for American StudiesEuropean Journal of American Studies1991-93362019-01-0113310.4000/ejas.13718Railroad Workers, Civilization and Communism: the Young Men’s Christian Association on the Interwar Polish FrontierSylwia Kuźma-MarkowskaThis article seeks to present and analyze one of the aspects of the work of the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA or Y) in interwar Poland: the initiatives for railroad workers from eastern frontier towns and cities. Focusing on the efforts that the organization undertook on the territory commonly referred to as the Polish borderlands (Kresy), I show that for the leaders of the Y the work among the railway employees was of utmost political and civilizational importance. There were several reasons why the YMCA became involved in the railroad work on the eastern Polish borderlands. One of them was the looming threat of communism from neighboring Russia, another—the American Y leaders’ mythic perceptions of the U.S. moving frontier, which prompted them to adapt the American discourse on civilization to the Polish political and social situation. Using archival documents and recollections of Americans involved in the Y’s activities on the eastern Polish frontier I demonstrate how the perception of the Polish borderland by the Y’s secretaries was greatly influenced by myths deeply embedded in American culture. Drawing on the contemporary Polish press reports as well as writings of local collaborators of the YMCA, I also describe the reaction of Polish public opinion to the Y’s undertakings on the Polish frontier.https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/13718frontierYoung Men’s Christian Associationinterwar Polandcommunismcivilization |
| spellingShingle | Sylwia Kuźma-Markowska Railroad Workers, Civilization and Communism: the Young Men’s Christian Association on the Interwar Polish Frontier European Journal of American Studies frontier Young Men’s Christian Association interwar Poland communism civilization |
| title | Railroad Workers, Civilization and Communism: the Young Men’s Christian Association on the Interwar Polish Frontier |
| title_full | Railroad Workers, Civilization and Communism: the Young Men’s Christian Association on the Interwar Polish Frontier |
| title_fullStr | Railroad Workers, Civilization and Communism: the Young Men’s Christian Association on the Interwar Polish Frontier |
| title_full_unstemmed | Railroad Workers, Civilization and Communism: the Young Men’s Christian Association on the Interwar Polish Frontier |
| title_short | Railroad Workers, Civilization and Communism: the Young Men’s Christian Association on the Interwar Polish Frontier |
| title_sort | railroad workers civilization and communism the young men s christian association on the interwar polish frontier |
| topic | frontier Young Men’s Christian Association interwar Poland communism civilization |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/13718 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sylwiakuzmamarkowska railroadworkerscivilizationandcommunismtheyoungmenschristianassociationontheinterwarpolishfrontier |