www.polamjournal.com 1 FOUNDATION TO MAKE PAJ ARCHIVES FREEPOLISH TO THE AMERICAN PUBLIC JOURNAL • MAY 2019 PERIODICAL POSTAGE PAID AT BOSTON, NEW YORK AT PERIODICAL PAID POSTAGE POLISH AMERICAN AND ADDITIONAL ENTRY OFFICES JOURNALDEDICATED TO THE PROMOTION AND CONTINUANCE OF POLISH AMERICAN CULTURE MINNESOTA SINGER SONGWRITER A HIT IN ESTABLISHED 1911 MAY 2019 • VOL. 108, NO. 5 • $2.25 www.polamjournal.com POLAND — PAGE 8 THE BOTTOM LINE(S) • A HUMBLE HERO • PROBLEMS WITH NAMES • ACPC CONVENTION TO RECOGNIZE WOMEN ACPC TO RECOGNIZE WOMEN • TRIBUTE TO PIONEER SMARDZ • NEW DEVELOPMENTS CONCERNING “FORT TRUMP” POLISH BOOKS IN AMERICA • LYPW’S 80TH ANNUAL “BAL AMARANTOWY” • WORDS THAT LOOK THE SAME NEWSMARK Notre Dame’s Polish Chapel Survives Tragedy PHOTO: YANNICK BOSCHAT / DIOCESE OF PARIS BOSCHAT YANNICK PHOTO: by Robert Strybel to in the reconstruction and EMBASSY LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN TO HELP LIFT VISAS renovation of France’s iconic, FOR POLES. (RADIO POLAND) — The American em- PARIS — The recently flame-damaged national ca- bassy in Warsaw launched a campaign to help Poland join dedicated chapel of Our Lady thedral. In a sign of solidar- the U.S. Visa Waiver Program. of Częstochowa in Paris’ ity with French Catholics and The aim of the VisaWaiverDlaPolski (Visa Waiver for Notre Dame cathedral for- the French nation in general, Poland) campaign is to motivate Poles travelling to the tunately survived the blaze church-bells rang out across United States to apply for visas, and to tell them about the that gutted France’s historic Poland. essential requirements for being granted a visa. 800-year-old structure. The Notre Dame is a beloved The threshold for a country to enter the Waiver Pro- cathedral’s first national cha- symbol of both France’s gram is a 3-percent refusal rate. According to the U.S. Catholic heritage and its na- State Department, American consulates in Warsaw and pel was funded by the French tional culture. Caritas, the Kraków in 2017 rejected 5.9 percent of visa applications Polonia and unveiled in De- submitted by Poles, up from a record low of 5.37 percent cember 2018. Catholic charity, has set up in 2016. The relics of Saint John a special texting account for In March, U.S. ambassador to Poland, Georgette Mos- Paul II that had been en- Poles wishing to donate to bacher, vowed to help lift visas for Poles travelling to shrined there were also un- the project. French. Presi- America by the end of 2020. Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, scathed. When word of the dent Emmanuel Macron ex- Cyprus and Croatia are the only EU member countries not French tragedy reached Po- The Polish chapel at Notre Dame, “Saint-Germain - Our pressed the hope that Notre included in the U.S. Visa Waiver Program. land, President Andrea Duda Lady of Czestochowa, Queen of Poland,” was dedicated Dame, which took some 200 and Prime Minister Mateusz last December. It also became the chapel of St. John Paul years to build, could be re- STOCKING UP. Poland signed a deal to buy four Navy he- Morawiecki immediately II, since a relic of this Polish pope has been deposited there. stored to its splendor within licopters capable of combating submarines, said Defense pledged Poland readiness The icon and relic were saved from the fire. five years. Minister Mariusz Błaszczak. The Merlin AW101 helicop- ters are also expected to be capable of carrying out search and rescue operations in combat conditions. Polish American Journal Foundation The British-Italian machines are produced by the Leon- Accepting Applications for 2019-2020 Scholarship ardo group, which owns Poland-based helicopter manu- facturer PZL Świdnik. BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Polish rently enrolled at an accredited col- links to the Polish American Journal In January, the Polish government signed a multi-mil- American Journal Foundation (PAJF) is lege/university in the United States, Foundation and the Scholarship Appli- lion deal to buy a first batch of four Black Hawk helicop- currently accepting applications for its with confirmed future attendance at cation. ters for the country’s armed forces from PZL Mielec, a 2019-20 scholarship for college students an institution in the Fall of 2019. The Polish American Journal Foun- Poland-based aviation producer owned by U.S. defense of Polish or Polish American descent. • describe his/her involvement with dation (PAJF), a 501(c)3 non-profit or- giant Lockheed Martin. The $1,000 scholarship is available to the Polish community — past, pres- ganization, was established in 2014 to In March, Błaszczak announced the purchase the new- undergraduate and graduate students. ent, or future. promote Polish and Polish American est U.S. F-35 combat aircraft, in a move to replace worn- Applications will be accepted from A complete application package — culture and traditions among members out Soviet-era aircraft by 2026 as part of the country’s May to July 31, 2019 with winners an- and $15.00 application fee — must be of the public and other Polish and Pol- multibillion military upgrade program. nounced on August 31, 2019. Funds will received in its entirety no later than July ish American groups. Membership in Lockheed Martin, the company manufacturing the be dispersed to the winners upon proof 31, 2019. the PAJF is open to all. Donations are F-35, revealed that the first aircraft could arrive in Poland of full-time studies at an accredited in- Factors for consideration include a accepted in any amount. All donations within five years. stitution. demonstrated interest and involvement will be ac knowledged and may be used in Polish American cultural activities as charitable contributions on your tax DISGRACEFUL ACT CHIDED. The Primate of the Polish ELIGIBILITY. To be eligible, the appli- with future plans to advance those in- return. Roman Catholic Church, Archbishop Wojciech Polak, said cant must: terests, and a significant and potential For more information, or to make the burning of books — including parts J.K. Rowling’s • be an American citizen, either by contributions (academic, cultural, sci- a donation, call, write, or email: PAJF famous Harry Potter series —was a scandal. birth or naturalization. entific, civic), open to all career fields. 2018-19 Scholarship, P.O. Box 271, In a parish in Gdańsk, northern Poland, three priests set • be of Polish or Polish American de- The complete application package North Boston, NY 14110-0271; email: fire to books they regarded as sacrilegious. They also set scent. can be downloaded from Polish Ameri- [email protected]; (716) 312- ablaze other items that were linked to what they described • be a full-time college student, cur- can Journal’s website by following the 8088 or (800) 422-1275. as “the occult and magic.” “Books must not be burned but should be read so that one can debate their content in a critical manner,” said From the Steppes of Russia to Monte Cassino Archbishop Polak to the Catholic Information Agency. The brave history of top monastery. How proud it was for the Polish 2nd Corps them — in the eyes of the world — to OAK MARKS ANNIVERSARY. An oak tree from Poland raise the red and white Polish flag above has been planted in the gardens of the Vatican to mark by Frank Pleszak the captured ruins. For most of the Pol- 100 years since the Holy See resumed diplomatic relations ish soldiers who participated it was their with Warsaw. May 18, 2019 marks the 75th anni- first combat involvement since their Among those taking part in the ceremony at the Vati- homeland was invaded by Germany can was Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello, who is a senior advi- versary of the victory of the famous bat- nearly five years earlier on the first day sor to Pope Francis, and a string of Polish officials led by tle at the Monastery of Monte Cassino of September 1939. Deputy Foreign Minister Szymon Szynkowski vel Sęk. in Southern Italy in 1944. But who were those Polish soldiers at The ceremony took place March 28, two days before This highly significant battle was Monte Cassino? Why were they there in the 100th anniversary of the Vatican recognizing Poland one of the most important Allied victo- as an independent country. ries of the war, which had by then been Southern Italy? Where had they come raging for nearly six months. Its capture from? How had they arrived there? And DUDA OKS CASH FOR PENSIONERS. Poland’s President from the German Army had required most importantly, why were they even Andrzej Duda signed into law a plan to give pensioners a four separate hard-fought bloody battles bothered about fighting at all? cash boost, a move pledged by the country’s ruling conser- involving Allied soldiers from Britain, Most of the Poles there had originat- vatives as part of a new package of benefits. Duda green- America, Canada, France, Morocco, General Wladyslaw Anders, Monte ed from the eastern borderland region of lighted the measure at a ceremony after it passed in a 81-1 India, Poland, and New Zealand. How- Cassino, May 24, 1944. Poland known as Kresy, and theirs is the vote with two abstentions in the upper house of parliament ever, its success and significance were For the Poles it represented the pin- tragic and truly unbelievable story of last month. A total of PLN 10.7 billion (USD 2.8 bn) in ad- largely overshadowed early the follow- nacle of their wartime achievements. the short-lived 2nd Polish Army Corps. ditional handouts will be paid out to more than 9.7 million ing month by the D-Day landings in In the battle, members of the celebrated Born in Russia’s frozen steppes from pensioners in May under the government’s “Pension Plus” Normandy which signaled the begin- Polish 2nd Corps led the final success- initiative.