SOAR - Warsaw Chapter

Warsaw joined the SOAR family in April 2018. Armenians in Poland have an important presence going back to the 14th century. At the beginning of the 20th century, there were about 6,000 Armenians in Poland, living mostly in what is today Western Ukraine, with centers in Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Berezhany, Lysets, Tlumach, and Snityn. Polish-Armenians were an integral part of the movement to restore Poland’s independence after the First World War. After suffering heavy losses in the Second World War, the Polish Armenian community suffered a second loss. The regions of Poland where Armenians were concentrated, like Eastern Galicia, were annexed into the Soviet Union at the Yalta Conference. As a result, the Polish Armenian community became dispersed across Poland. Many resettled in Krakow, Gliwice, Opole, Wroclaw, Poznan, Gdansk, and Warsaw. To combat this dispersion, Armenians began to form cultural associations. Additionally, the Armenian Catholic Church opened two parishes, in Gdansk and Gliwice. There are approximately 5,000 Armenians living in Poland today.