HISTORIOGRAPHY OF POLISH IMMIGRATION: A PROSPECTIYE ASSESSMENT OF THE STUDIES ABOUT RIO GRANDE DO SUL - BRASIL

This article presents an analysis of the studies on Polish immigration in Rio Grande do Sul, placing them in an the interethnic context, which firstly, is specific to this host society, and secondly, affects both the visibility of different groups and the intellectual production about them. The works are in part authored by the descendants of the immigrants from the group itself, i.e. by those who are recognized and who recognize themselves as "Polish". This study also aims at reviewing some interpretations of this historiography, emphasizing certain factors, such as: the economic developments in the occupied areas and the role of the urban immigrants; the frameworks of comparative studies on the German and Italian people; the influence the immigrants' states of origin had over the communities; and the presence of ethnic Jews among the Polish people.