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Class of 1926
The Polish Declarations of Admiration and Friendship for the United States, signed and gifted by Poles to the people of the United States on the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, continues to surprise and inspire us today thanks to the joint effort of Polish and US institutions. The entire collection of 111 volumes, containing over five million signatures, is now housed at the Library of Congress. Thirteen of the 111 volumes were digitized in the early 2000s. The Polish Library in Washington led the "Class of 1926" project to digitize the remaining ninety-eight volumes. Under the patronage of the Embassy of Poland and the United States Congressional Polish Caucus, as well as with the unfailing support of the Library of Congress, the Declarations in their entirety were made accessible online on July 4th, 2017. Funding for the project came from a grant given by the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and generous contributions from private donors.
Find Your Ancestors
These documents may serve as an important resource for historical research and an invaluable source of information for members of the Polish-American community who want to find their Polish ancestors. If you want to browse the signatures of famous Poles or search for your Polish ancestors who were school age in 1926, you can view the Declarations online:
www.loc.gov
keyword: Polish Declarations
On the "About the Collection" page, type the name of the city or town where the school was located in the search bar. Your search will return scans of pages signed by students in the area. Then it's your task to patiently decode signatures and hopefully find who you're looking for! |