University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Archives Department.

Zietara, Leon, 1917- .

Papers, 1936-1937, 1946-1980.

Milwaukee Manuscript Collection 29

.6 cubic ft. (1 archives box, and 1 small archives boxes)

ABSTRACT: Papers, mostly in Polish, of a Polish native who served in the Polish underground army (Armia Krajowa) prior to immigrating to Milwaukee in 1948. About half of the collection consists of letters to Leon and Irene Zietara from family and friends in Poland, England, France, and Canada; his notebooks from classes taken at a Scotland refugee camp following World War II; identification, military, and travel papers; and other items. Also contains a few news clippings (1963-1980) on Polish affairs.

ACCESS RESTRICTIONS: There are no access restrictions on the materials, and the collection is open to all members of the public in accordance with state law. However, the researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of libel, privacy, and copyright which may be involved in the use of this collection. (Wisconsin Statutes 19.21-19.39).

SCOPE AND CONTENT: About half of the collection consists of letters, most in Polish, addressed to Leon and Irene Zietara from Leon's brothers and sisters and from friends. Among Leon's family members are:

Stansilsaw Zietara (b. 1902 or 1903) living in Krakow with his wife Julia
Jozef Zietara (b. 1907 or 1908) living in France with his wife Gertuda (a Frenchwoman of Polish descent) and their children, Jan, Michal, and Laurent
Lucja (Zietara) Satke (b. 1911), a widow living in Rzeszow, Poland and her daughter Elzbieta Zgoda
Eugeniusz Zietara (b 1914), living in a village near Medrzechow, Poland
Irene's brother Piotr Wolosewicz, his daughter Joanna Zdonowicz, and her son Jon Zdonowicz

Friend include the Eugene M. Jasinski family in Hamilton, Ontario, and Genowefa Orlowski of Birmingham, England, formerly a Polish refugee living in the Middle East, with whom Irene Zietara began a correspondence in 1942. Most of the letters concern family and personal matters.

Noteworthy attachments to the letters are:

from Stanislaw Zietara are a Polish newspaper clipping regarding the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, attached to a letter dated 6 December 1963
a clipping concerning Polish politics and quoting a relative from the community of Medrzechowa, with a letter dated April 1974
a clipping giving the official Polish viewpoint of the SALT talks, attached to a letter of 3 November 1974
a Polish clipping reporting on American neo-Nazis, 14 March 1977
a picture of Pope John Paul II, 2 December 1978
a Polish newspaper editorial on the development of the American neutron bomb, 3 August 1979
an article speculating on President Reagan's new style of government, with a letter of 9 November 1980

The remainder of the collection consists of Zietara's class notebooks and lessons from the period following World War II when he studied forestry, woodworking, and English in Scotland. The notebooks are in both English and Polish. Among the personal documents are Zietara's military identification and travel papers, some issued by the Polish Government in Exile, used both in England and for his departure to the United States. Several photographs of Zietara are attached to his identification cards and passes. There are also a few grade reports and other papers from Zietara's schooling in Poland prior to World War II.

COLLECTION CITATION: This collection should be cited as:

Zietara, Leon, 1917- . Papers, 1936-1937, 1946-1980. Milwaukee Manuscript Collection 29. Wisconsin Historical Society. Milwaukee Area Research Center. UWM Libraries. University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee.

ACQUISITION: Presented by Leon Zietara of Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1980-1981 (accession numbers M81-49, and M81-116).

MARC RECORD SEARCH TERMS: The following terms were used in the online bibliographic MARC record to this collection:

Armia Krajowa.
Immigrants--Wisconsin--Milwaukee.
Poland--History--Occupation, 1939-1945.
World War, 1939-45--Refugees.
World War, 1939-45--Underground movements--Poland.
Zietara, Irene.

MILWAUKEE MANUSCRIPT COLLECTION 29	BOX	FOLDER
Correspondence, American Embassy in London, 1947-1948	2	7
Correspondence, Friends and Relatives, 1949-1981	1	1
Correspondence, Janski, Eugene M., 1971, 1976-1979	1	2
Correspondence, Orlowski, Genowefa, 1975, 1977-1980	1	3
Correspondence, Satke, Lucja, 1955-1963, 1965-1980	1	4
Correspondence, Wolosewicz, Piotr, Joanna Wolosewicz Zdonowicz, and Jon Zdonowicz, 1974-1980	1	12
Correspondence, Zgoda, Elzbieta (Satke), Daughter of Lucja Satke, 1957, 1959, 1963, 1968, 1977	1	5
Correspondence, Zietara, Eugeniusz, 1951, 1953	1	7
Correspondence, Zietara, Jozef and Jan Zietara, Son of Jozef, 1955-1980	1	8-9
Correspondence, Zietara, Leon's Father, 1976, 1979	1	6
Correspondence, Zietara, Stanislaw, 1954-1980	1	10-11
Education Documents, 1936-1937, 1948	2	5
English Notebook, undated	1	13
Forestry Manuals, 1947, undated	2	2
Forestry Notebooks, 1947-1948, undated	1	14-15
Immigration and Naturalization Documents, 1946-1949	2	3
Military Documents, 1946-1948	2	6
Travel Papers, 1946, 1948	2	4
Zoology and Botany Notebooks, 1947, undated	2	1