https://doi.org/10.31648/ep.6715
Economic migration from Poland to Estonia was a corollary of the socioeconomic situation of both countries. In Poland, the key internal determinants of emigration were rural overpopulation and poverty. For many people, emigration presented new opportunities for improving their livelihoods. Surplus agricultural labor in Poland coincided with Estonia’s rapid economic growth. At a time when Poland was struggling with overpopulation and an excess of labor in the countryside, the Baltic suffered from a shortage of workers. Estonia experienced a continued influx of the immigrant population between 1937 and 1939. During this period, around 8,500 of Polish workers were employed in Estonian farms, and the immigrant workforce would have probably increased significantly were it not for the outbreak of World War II. The aim of this article was to analyze Estonian laws relating to emigration, the procedures for recruiting and transporting emigrants, their living and working conditions, as well as interactions with employers, the local community and the local Polish diaspora. Consular assistance for Polish expatriates was also discussed.
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