Seeking a Richer Life
“San Pedro Street Renamed in Honor of Area’s Croats†(Sept. 24) is correct in mentioning the large numbers of Croats who immigrated here in the 19th and early 20th centuries from what was at that time the Hapsburg Empire. I would take issue, however, with the assertion that they were “fleeing the harsh regime of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.†To my knowledge, when my grandfather came to this country in 1912 from his native island of Korcula he was not fleeing a harsh regime (in fact, he spoke fondly of the old Hapsburg world) but the one thing that has driven many people to seek a new life in the U.S.: poverty.
Damian Bacich
Los Angeles
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