ABSTRACT
All theories of nationalism recognise that there is a strong link between national identity and the national homeland. 1 The mother/fatherland can be perceived to be the natural land of the forefathers, a tangible link with the nation's ancestors, joining together current citizens with those who came before into one large family directly rooted in common soil. National boundaries are also arguably the most influential system of regulating power divisions in the world, allowing certain spaces to be internally regulated in a national manner, through national institutions. It is not surprising, therefore, that territorial attachments form a key component of exiled national identity for migrants who find themselves outside their homelands. For the Polish diaspora in particular, memories of the homeland are highly significant in the maintenance of a Polish identity outside Poland. Experiences of war, forced migration and exile have fundamentally changed the personal relationship with the Polish homeland, while at the same time a strong awareness persists of the tragic nature of Poland's recent history, which has heightened the importance of territorial independence for the completion of the national project. In addition to this, 50 years of living outside Poland has further complicated the issue of homeland loyalty, almost forcing the creation of new Polish spaces. This chapter, therefore, will explore the changing relationship of the Polish ‘community’ in Britain with the Polish homeland itself, concentrating on the small but well-established Polish group in Leicester, a population that peaked in 1961 with the enumeration of 1,509 Polish-born people in the city. 2 The research itself was based predominantly on 28 oral history/in-depth interviews that used a ‘life-history’ methodology, allowing the respondents to talk freely about their personal experiences, emotions and perceptions. 3
