Am I of Polish or German descent? 11 Feb 2021 #1
I grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In that city is an area known as Polish Hill . There is where I grew up. Everyone considered themselves Polish because everyone descended from Polish relatives. Our families spoke Polish in the homes (though us younger generations did so very poorly), we maintained Polish traditions, and we all watched and followed the events in Poland in the 1980 s. So we re Polish-American s right?
Not so fast.
You are ONLY of Polish descent if you can trace your relatives to Poland when it existed as a nation. Not to the geographical region that is now, today, Poland.