Polish National Alliance

The Polish National Alliance, (PNA), was created on February 15, 1880, simultaneously in Philadelphia and Chicago, under the leadership of Julius Andrzejkowicz. The original goal of the PNA founders was to create a nationwide organization to support the fight for Polish independence, provide humanitarian aid to Polish people, and to improve the conditions of the Polish immigrant population in America. The PNA grew to become the largest of all ethnically-based fraternal insurance benefit societies in the United States of America.

Today it has membership of over 230,000 with members in all 50 states. It is estimated that two million people have belonged to the PNA since its founding in 1880. Unlike its rival, the Polish Roman Catholic Union of America, membership in the PNA is open to all religions and to all nationalities of the old Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (mainly Poles, Lithuanians, Ukrainians, and Belorussians) regardless of religion. The Alliance's motto is "In unity there is strength, in consensus power" (W Jednosci Sila, w Zgodzie Potega).

The original headquarters of the PNA were located at 1406 W Division St in the historic "Polish Downtown" of Chicago. In 1936 they were moved to 1520 W Division St and remained there until moving to the current location in 1976.

See also:
Encyclopedia of Chicago
PNA history