American Center of Polish Culture

 

Poland was the furthest West extent of the Golden Horde.  There are many in Poland that identify as Tatar and we are told that as in Russia, "If you scratch a Pole, underneath you will find a Tatar" 

Wandering the streets of Washington DC, camera in hand, we found yet another connection to our ancestral heritage.

Polish - Dziadkowie mówili tatarskiego!

English - Grandparents spoke Tatar!

"Moja rodzina w Polsce jest pochodzenia tatarskiego"

"My family in Poland is of Tatar descent"

Tatarska Jurta

http://www.kruszyniany.pl/

More from Tatars in Poland!

Muzyka Tatarska

Here is a new CD called “Yazcite” which was released in Poland in July 2010.

The music draws much of its inspiration from the old chants of the Tatars. The melodies are derived mainly from the regions of Kazan and Ufa, however there are self-created melodies inspired by tatar music as well. There are used etnical music instruments.

Polish people do associate the Tatars mainly with the violent and wild tribe plundering the country and making its inhabitans prisoners. Nonethelles their significant presence on Polish lands is a 600-years old tradition. Today this etnical group numbering about 5,000 live mostly in Podlasie (Podlachia) region near Bialystok and Sokolka.

This is first project in Poland reviving music of polish Tatars !

http://www.empik.com/muzyka-tatarska-yazcite,prod58305592,muzyka-p

This was submitted by Hanna Turonek.

Tatars in Poland Keep the Faith

Poles and Tatars

Clash between Polish cavalry and Tatars (XVII century)

Polish heirs of Tokhtamysh

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=polish-heirs-of-tokhtamysh-2009-12-02

"With six centuries of co-existence behind them, Poles and ‘their Muslims,’ an ethnic Turkic group also known as Polish Tatars, have a long history of peace in their communities and perhaps many lessons for the rest of Europe..."

Tatar Invasions of Europe

Tatar invasions of Europe from the east took place over the course of three centuries, from the middle ages to early modern period.

The term "Tatars" was often confusingly applied to different peoples.

Mongol-Tatar Golden Horde forces led by Batu Khan began attacking Europe in 1223, starting with Kyivan Rus'. They continued to defeat German, Polish, and Hungarian armies before turning back to go home, upon learning of the death of their Great Khan in 1241. It was in this during this series of invasions that Krakow was sacked.

The Tatars succeeded in establishing control over Rus' principalities which they held until 1380, when they were defeated in the Battle of Kulikovo by Grand Prince of Muscovy Dmitri Donskoi. Muscovy remained a vassal of the Golden Horde until Great standing on the Ugra river in 1480.


Poland was invaded by Tatars from Crimean Khanate in 1506 with an army 10,000 men, who were summarily destroyed. The Ottoman Turks invaded in the summer of 1524, but were prevented from breaching deeply the boundary of Polish lands by Hetman Jan Tarnowski. Tatar forces invaded again in 1589, invading Lwow and Tarnopol, but were beaten back by Cossack forces.


From 1569 the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, have suffered many Tatar invasions, whose goal have been to loot, pillage and capture slaves. The borderland area to the South-East has been in a state of semi-permanent warfare until the 18th century.

Tatars in Poland

Tatar Cematary in Warsaw

Kruszyniany Poland Mosque Interior

"For centuries Poland resisted Tatar raids. Since the 14th century, however, Tatars - mainly political emigrants - began to settle in Poland and in Lithuania.

Over the centuries many mosques were built across the lands of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Great Khan, as the Tatars called the Commonwealth's king, made no objections to their making the pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina.

The Tatar remained loyal to the Commonwealth even during the conflict with the Ottoman Empire at the battle of Vienna. Owing to enlived contacts with the East, Polish gentry adopted many elements of Tatar arms."

above from the youtube linked page of the video below;

Tatars in Poland - Tatars' Last Stand

This strangely-worded and rather insulting article about Tatars in Poland is from the Washington Post, May 21, 1990. It pissed off my friend Sabirjan enough for him to write a letter to the editor.

The quality of the scan is rather poor, due to it being a nineteen year old photocopy of a newspaper article. (click on the article to expand)

Tatars in Poland

Polish Tatars
Zwiazek Tatarow Polskich or Polonya Tatar Birlik

Polish Tatars flagThis is a flag used by the Union of Polish Tatars (Zwiazek Tatarow Polskich or Polonya Tatar Birlik), the foremost organization of the remnants of a once prosperous and influential ethno-religious group of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. From feared invaders in the XIII Century, the Tatars evolved into one of the most patriotic elements of the Polish nation. Treated with respect and equality, allowed complete religious freedom, they served with enthusiasm and numerous sacrifices their new fatherland. Over the years most of them lost their language and even the religion of their fathers by blending into Polish nobility and general population. Wars, partitions and border changes affected them severely, and today only about 5 thousand remain faithful to their tradition and Islam. But their involvement in epic struggles in defense of Poland, from the wars with the Teutonic Knights to fierce resistance against German-Soviet invasion of 1939 entitle them a special place in the society. They are not treated as a minority but as equal compatriots, just of different religion. In the Polish III Republic they have a chance to flourish again. Besides two archaic mosques in Kruszyniany and Bohoniki (near Bialystok), a new and modern mosque was built in Gdansk and cultural centers opened in Bialystok and Warsaw. Most recently, the Union of Polish Tatars and Polish Islamic Association issued statements condemning the attack on the WTC. Chrystian Kretowicz, 9 Oct 2001

from fotw.net