Belarusian Americans

The first massive immigration wave of Belarusians started at the end of the 19th century and lasted until World War I. Political emigrants and [Page 331]Belarusian Jews were the dominant immigrants to the United States. This initial immigration was the result of several factors, including the difficult economic situation for Belarusians in their home countries; limitations on the Belarusian language (many Belarusian schools in Poland were closed at the beginning of the 20th century, and the newspapers published in the Belarusian language were proclaimed illegal); intolerance toward Orthodox Belarusian Jews; high taxes; and a lack of learning possibilities.

Emigration was not intensive during the period between World War I and World War II. However, a second emigration wave started after World War II, when, according to various calculations, around 50,000 Belarusians arrived in the United States. According to Vitaut Kipel, the newcomers constituted a significant number of Belarusian natives. These Belarusians emigrated because of political reasons, anti-Communism, and the desire to reestablish an independent republic of Belarus. Some of these emigrants were prisoners of the Polish–Soviet War (1919–20); others had left Belarus after World War I and settled in European countries before relocating in America; and still others were Belarusians who were sent to German labor camps during World War II. The emigrants also included refugees, deserters, and dissidents. In later years, the scope of emigration decreased significantly, and the emigrants were primarily Belarusians of Jewish origin.

The Belarusians settled throughout the United States, with the largest number living in the states of Illinois and New York. Such distribution was conditioned by the demand for unqualified workers and the decisions of the people responsible for diverting ships with emigrant passengers to American ports.

Nowadays, there are between 700,000 and 750,000 Americans of Belarusian origin in the United States, although it is difficult to ascertain the exact number. This is partly because the ethnic group of Belarusians is not distinguished in official emigration documents, as it was identified with larger emigrant groups such as Russians or Poles, because the Belarusians held the passports of these countries. In addition, there are conflicting interpretations about the territory from where the Belarusians came. It is essential to know whether this is the territory of the present-day Belarus or an earlier part of the territories where the Belarusians lived in Poland and Lithuania.