American Council for Polish Culture Convention in Buffalo, N.Y
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
SPECIAL POLISH HERITAGE MONTHPOLISH EDITION AMERICAN JOURNAL • OCTOBER 2014 www.polamjournal.com 1 POLISH AMERICAN YORK NEW BOSTON, AT PAID PERIODICAL POSTAGE AND ADDITIONAL ENTRY OFFICES AND ADDITIONAL ENTRY JOURNALDEDICATED TO THE PROMOTION AND CONTINUANCE OF POLISH AMERICAN CULTURE BILKO MEETS BILKO ESTABLISHED 1911 OCTOBER 2014 • VOL. 103, NO. 10 | $2.00 www.polamjournal.com PAGE 16 GOOD REASONS TO SHARE OUR HERITAGE • HOLOCAUST LIE TO BE OMITTED IN NEW JERSY CIRRICULUM • A NEW KATYN? ALLIED UNANIMITY ON POLISH ARMED FORCES DAY • ST. JOHN PAUL II SHRINE DEDICATED • WHERE PULASKI DIED RADWANSKA CONTINUES TO MAKE HER MARK • CHURCH RECORDS IN POLAND • AN INTERVIEW WITH DR. TIM BORDEN Tour of Duty HERITAGE MONTH NEWSMARK PHOTO: GREG WITUL KOPACZ NEW PM. Polish President Bronislaw Ko- morowski accepted the Americans candidacy of Speaker Ewa Kopacz as Poland’s new – what prime minister, Sept. 12, at Warsaw’s Belvedere Pal- makes us ace. The new cabinet is set tick? to be appointed in late by Robert Strybel September, prior to Ko- The 1960s and ’70s were morowski’s departure for a violent time in America. the United States. Race riots, bombings, anti- The meeting followed war protests, Weathermen, Komorowski’s acceptance of outgoing prime minister Black Panthers, Students for Donald Tusk’s resignation, with the latter set to take on the Democratic Society, Black presidency of the European Council December 1. Muslims, and other radical Tusk’s cabinet was dissolved, a development that had groups engaged in both ver- been expected regardless of his EU election, owing to a bal and physical violence wire-tapping scandal that rocked the government over the against the American way of summer. life, promoting socialism and “The new government will be different, because the anarchy in its place. prime minister is different,” Kopacz said as she left the Many Polish Americans Belvedere, responding to questions from journalists. back then were proud that She declined to give journalists any hints about her new OFFICERS AND MEMBERS OF THE AMERICAN COUNCIL FOR POLISH CULTURE pose they were defending America cabinet choices. for a group photo in front of Assumption BVM Church during a tour of Polish American sites at a time when others were in Buffalo, N.Y. The organization, which has affiliates across North America, helds its Annual trying to tear it down. Pol- NATO TO CONVENE IN WARSAW. Poland’s President Covention in Buffalo. Story on page 19. ish Americans worked hard, Bronislaw Komorowski announced that Poland will host paid taxes, kept up their prop- the NATO 2016 Summit. NATO chief Anders Fogh Ras- erty and kept their kids out of mussen stated that Warsaw will be a great place to hold Poland’s PM Tusk Becomes EU President trouble. Their contribution to the summit saying it would “send a strong signal of Polish American war effort in both involvement in the alliance and a very visible presence by A boost to Poland’s stature and prestige world Wars, Korea and Viet- NATO in the eastern regions of that alliance.” CRASH COURSE IN ENGLISH IS TUSK’S TOP PRIORITY nam was disproportionately by Robert Strybel large compared to their nu- SITTING THIS ONE OUT. Poland will not deploy ground WARSAW–Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, 57, has merical strength. And on na- troops in either Syria or Iraq, said Stanislaw Koziej, chief been appointed chairman of the European Council, the equiv- tional holidays in many Pol- of the National Security Bureau. alent of European Union president. That is the highest post ish neighborhoods the Star “We will defi nitely not engage ourselves by sending in the 28-nation bloc ever achieved by a Pole or any other Spangled Banner was fl own soldiers onto the territory of Iraq or Syria,” said Koziej, Eastern European. from more homes than in who also stated “even the Americans themselves say that In his fi rst address to the Council, Tusk said: “I know we non-Polonian ones. That was the usage of ground forces on this territory is out of the are faced with a great deal of work. I offer goodwill, a pinch of then, what about now? question.” imagination, interesting East European experience and great For many of the answers Defense Minister Tomasz Semoniak said Poland, how- faith that Europe makes sense.” Less than fully fl uent in Eng- we can look to the Piast In- ever, will send humanitarian aid. lish, the Polish prime minister apologized for speaking in his stitute (http://www.piastinsti- native tongue, which required simultaneous translation, but tute.org/), a national research SALE OF CRUISE MISSILES APPROVED. The United See “Tusk,” page 5 see “Heritage ...,” page 10 States has agreed to authorize the sale of advanced AGM- 158 cruise missiles, with the intention of increasing Po- land’s deterrence capabilities in the wake of the Ukraine crisis. A Solid Foundation for Growth The AGM-158 can be launched from Poland’s fl eet of by Larry Trojak cial resources. In many cases, F-16 combat jets, and strike ground targets almost 250 The phrase “we are our state or federal arts/cultural miles away. The missiles currently used by Polish F-16s own worst enemy” has often funding is actually available, can only hit targets about 40 miles away. been cited when describing but the processing fees need- The sale comes during the ongoing Ukraine crisis on problems Polish Americans ed to meet application re- Poland’s borders, which has accelerated a ten year defense have with cultural self-pro- quirements put it out of reach. modernization plan announced by the government in 2012. motion. And while that’s been It’s a troubling situation that, Poland aims to increase defense spending to 2% of GDP, true in far too many cases — left unchecked, would not the NATO target. a troubling sense of apathy, bode well for Polonia. promoters scheduling con- The operative phrase, MONUMENT PLANNED FOR POLISH RIGHTEOUS. fl icting events immediately however, is “left unchecked.” (Polskie Radio) — A competition has been announced for come to mind — there’s no For there are real efforts be- the design of a memorial to Poles who risked their lives denying that a solid fi nan- ing made to help the cause saving Jews during the Nazi occupation. cial base from which to work and one of those is the Polish The memorial is the brainchild of Zygmunt Rolat, a Pol- could go far in helping alle- American Journal Founda- ish Jew who lost his family during the war and, as a boy of viate many of the problems tion. Established in 2014, the 15, emigrated from Poland and settled in the United States, we face. Case in point: many POLISH AMERICAN JOURNAL FOUNDATION (PAJF) Board PAJF is a non-profi t 501c3 developing a successful business career there. students who are passionate Members Ben Stefanski, Jr. (left), and Eugene Trela, are organization whose mission The unveiling of the memorial is scheduled for the au- about Polonia and their cul- two of American Polonia’s most successful business leaders. is to promote the vibrancy tumn of 2015, and the monument is to be located close tural heritage (young adults Trela, who initiated the PAJF, realized the role the newspaper of Polish and Polish Ameri- to the Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw, who, in fact, represent our has in the promotion and preservation of Polish culture in can culture and traditions, whose core exhibition opens next month. cultural future), seek alter- North America. not just to Polish and Polish Addressing a press conference in Warsaw, Rolat said native areas of focus, simply American groups, but also to that the project will be fi nanced entirely by Jews in Israel because they could not secure we see scores of talented aca- on — who are forced to aban- members of the general pub and other countries. something as basic as airfare demicians, scholars, artists, don special projects or areas lic. The goal is to accomplish to study in Poland. Similarly, folk groups — the list goes of study due to lack of fi nan- See “PAJF,” page 5 2 www.polamjournal.com POLISH AMERICAN JOURNAL • OCTOBER 2014 Take pride in your heritage, ALMANAC VIEWPOINT this month, and all year long! Follow us on Facebook or visit us Good Reasons to Share Our Heritage on the internet at: polamjournal.com October is Polish Heritage Month, and October 2014 No one. Not even Putin’s Russia. is a particularly appropriate time to reflect on just how This year marks the 25th anniversary of the begin- October Q PaŸdziernik hard Poland has worked both to secure its own freedom ning of the end of communism in central Europe. Next POLISH AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH. and to bolster freedom throughout the world. Just con- month, there will be lots of press coverage about the HELEN Sponsored by the Polish American sider all the major anniversaries marked this year. silver anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. It’s NOWAKOWSKI Congress, groups across America’s This year, we mark the centennial of the beginning hard to believe a quarter of a century has passed since Philadelphia Polonia celebrate Polonia’s rich of World War I. The end of that War brought the res- Albanians, Bulgarians, Czechs, East Germans, Hungar- background in the United States. urrection of Polish independence, as part of Woodrow ians, Romanians, and Slovaks danced in their streets, Wilson’s Fourteen Points, after 123 years of partition. proud that for them World War II had finally ended and “The living owe it to those who It’s important to remember why Austria, Prussia, and Najlepsze życzenia! no longer can speak to tell their sto- they were finally free.