Ewa Karpińska-Gierat and Her Ways of Integrating Polish Intellectuals in Postwar America

Abstract Ewa Karpińska-Gierat (also known as Ewa Gierat) was an editor, author, social worker, and scout leader. Her traces can be found in publications and documentation of numerous Polish American organizations, such as the Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences of America, the North American Study Center for Polish Affairs, the Polish Scouting Organization—ZHP Inc., and the Polish American Congress. Her life was abound in diverse initiatives to integrate the Polish American diaspora, especially the intellectual part of it, into a more unified whole, with the potential for members to blend into American society, while preserving the diaspora's best qualities and pride in its heritage, and to influence American politics in order to help the democratic opposition in Poland in its fight against communism. She also advocated for the cooperation of Polish communities all over the world to strengthen Polonia's self-consciousness in a global context.