The Polish Cultural Institute of Winona, MN. known as the Polish Museum, was founded and organized in 1976 by Rev. Paul J. Breza, a Winona native. Determined to preserve Polish history, the museum was originally meant to accommodate his own collection of Kashubian history and artifacts. Today, the museum has grown to mirror the cultural and religious heritage of the large number of Poles who settled in the Winona area.

Cherished family heirlooms, religious articles, parish records, photographs and other treasures have been lovingly donated, becoming a legacy from these hardworking people. Many give their time and talents to make the Polish Museum an echo of the past and a promise for the future. Programs of cultural awareness and education are an important part of the goals of the Museum.

After eight centuries of independence, Russia, Prussia and Austria, divided Poland among them in 1795, thereby removing Poland from the map of Europe until 1919, but they never succeeded in breaking the Polish spirit. In the years from 1850-1900, hundreds of thousands of Poles, facing economic, social and cultural persecution, left the Kashubian region, knowing the only way they could preserve their heritage was to take it with them.

Winona, Minnesota became home for the largest concentration of Kashubian Poles in the U.S.. Many of them were highly skilled tradespeople who were unable to use their skills because of language barriers. Instead, they labored long hours for low pay in factories and mills, enduring enormous hardships, but thankful to avoid Europe's wars, to pursue economic opportunity and maintain their Polish culture and traditions.

Across the river, in Wisconsin, Kashubians settled in Dodge and Pine Creek, while in Arcaidia, Independence and North Creek, the Poles were mainly from the Silesian (Southwestern) area of Poland. Over there, Silesians were coal miners: here, many became farmers.

The Silesian and Kashubian dialects are different enough so that there is much difficulty understanding each other. The museum tries to preserve the folk songs, recipes and traditions of both groups of Poles.

The Polish Cultural Institute of Winona, Minnesota, known as the Polish Museum, was founded and organized in 1976 by Rev. Paul J. Breza, a Winona native. He was determined to preserve Polish history which he felt was being lost. It originally was meant to accommodate his own collection of Kashubian history and artifacts. Today, the museum is growing to mirror the cultural and religious heritage of the large number of Poles who settled in Winona and nearby areas.

Cherished family heirlooms, religious articles, parish records, photographs and other treasures have been lovingly donated, becoming a legacy from these hardworking people. Many give their time and talents to make the Polish Museum echo of the past and a promise for the future. Programs of cultural awareness and education are an important part of the goals of the Museum. Developing an entire museum of local Polish history has been difficult for two reasons: first, much historical information is usually learned from census information, but because most of the Poles who settled in Winona's East End did not speak English, their individuality was lost on the census-takers of the age. They were simply listed as "common laborer". A pharmacist in Poland became a lawyer in a lumberyard and maybe mixed herbal medicines at home. (Today's immigrants have the same problem. For example; Lawyers from Poland may start here as factory workers and move up only as language and retraining allow.)

Second: Early immigrants were allowed to bring only one small box with them. It contained food, medicine and often, the prayer book; no professional tools, no books. As a result, the museum has an outstanding collection of prayer books, but little professional background information.