Monuments & Museums

The Polish American Museum located at 16 Belleview Avenue in Port Washington, New York, USA, was founded on January 20, 1977 and is directed by Gerald Kochan. It features displays of folk art, costumes, historical artifacts and paintings, as well as bilingual research library with particular focus on achievements of the people of Polish heritage in America.

The Polish Military Heritage Museum was founded in 1996 in New York at the headquarters of the Polish Army Veterans Association of America. The aim of the museum is to preserve and display objects related to the history of Polish Arms, with special emphasis on the military effort of the Polish American Community in World Wars I and II. The displayed objects relate mainly to the recruitment of Polish volunteers from the United States and Canada for the Polish Army in France in the years 1917-1919. Historical flags of PAVA Posts, uniforms, posters, paintings and documents are exhibited in the museum. A large part of the exhibits are memorabilia of World War II veterans. Of particular interest is the collection of uniforms, elements of armament, equipment, and decorations.

The PAVA Archives resources come from the years 1917-2000. The total amounts to more than 160 linear feet of documents. Among the archival collections some of the most valuable are the personal files of more than 20,000 veterans from World War I and World War II who were or are members of PAVA; a list of more than 38,000 volunteers from the United States and Canada for the Polish Army in France during the years 1917- 1919; and a rich collection of photographs and audiovisual recordings, mostly narrations by soldiers. The biggest in this section is the collection of recordings by more than 150 veterans who were Polish soldiers during the Second World War. An important group of archival records consists of documents concerning PAVA contacts with American and Polish American authorities and organizations, and prominent politicians. The most valuable in this group include: correspondence and other materials relating to contacts with General J. Haller, I. J. Paderewski and Polish diplomatic posts in the United States and Canada