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April 2020 for Poles Who Saved Jews Pg pac vice-president bajdek and the kościuszko mound in kraków Pg. 2 ■ pac – new jersey division initiative Pg. 4 ■ 80th anniversary of katyn Pg. 5 ■ resolution: commemorating the 80th anniversary of the katyn massacre Pg. 6 ■ revisiting a previous newsletter story Pg. 8 ■ righteous among the nations medals April 2020 for poles who saved jews Pg. 9 ■ the 2020 census Pg. 10 ■ pac mission statement committee Pg. 10 ■ national remembrance day mass Pg. 11 ■ letter from president of the republic of poland Pg. 12 ■ the music of chopin – 16th annual concert Pg. 14 ■ will lockdown slow pandemic spread? Pg. 15 ■ poland’s world-class composer passes away Pg. 16 ■ from the bookshelf Pg. 17 Polish American Congress Volume 7, Number 2 Your in America!Voice DEADLINES FOR SUBMISSIONS Future PAC Newsletters will be sent out: Deadline for submission Publication date Friday, June 5, 2020 Friday, June 12, 2020 Friday, August 7, 2020 Friday, August 14, 2020 Friday, October 4, 2020 Friday, October 11, 2020 Friday, December 6, 2020 Friday, December 13, 2020 “Your Voice in America” is a bimonthly newsletter published by the Polish American Congress. The purpose of the Dear Directors and Members of the Polish American Congress, newsletter is to offer PAC National Directors and PAC Executive Committee members the opportunity to share I hope this newsletter finds you healthy in these uncertain times. news and information about their state divisions and offices. Every day, we are learning of new developments surrounding The newsletter does not receive funds from any external COVID-19. I understand that at times the amount of information source. The editor is Dr. Mark Pienkos. can be overwhelming. My hope is that you, your family, and friends are safe and feeling well. Our Executive Officers are Articles should be between 100 and 400 words. Some editing will all well. Ms. Wisniewska of our Washington Office and Mr. be done to match our style guidelines and spatial constraints, Czop are working remotely from their homes. Our primary concern is the as well as correcting grammatical errors. We do not send proofs for approval. When sending photos, please include safety of our staff and individuals visiting the offices. captions with names, official titles. All submitted materials Unfortunately, one of our Directors, a longtime member of the Illinois Division, become the property of the Polish American Congress and may be used to promote the mission of the PAC. Materials Mr. Andrzej Gedlek, was recently hospitalized on a ventilator and heart machine will not be returned unless requested. due to the coronavirus. I am sad to report that Mr. Gedlek passed away. Prayers go out to the Gedlek Family. Peace. Also, let’s keep in our prayers the many Articles are due according to this schedule. Send your individuals that are suffering. submissions to PAC National VP for Public Relations, Mark Pienkos at [email protected]. April 1st was 2020 Census Day and here are points YOU can do TODAY to ensure the Polish-American community is fairly — and accurately — counted in the 2020 Census. Join us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Polish-American-Congress Continued on next page... Your Voice in America ■ Polish American Congress In your state divisions, you can do the following: take place unless the stay-at-home order is in effect. The Executive Committee will monitor this situation and keep you informed on 1. Forward this newsletter to all the Polish-Americans within your an ongoing basis. personal network. 2. Post a statement on social media that you are proud to be a It saddened me, as well as many of our Directors, to learn of the Polish-American and be sure to respond to question number 9, passing of Fr. Carl Urban who was a priest for over a half century. concerning race and ethnicity, by noting “POLISH.” For many years, Fr. Urban was a National Director of the PAC of the Central Division of New York. He certainly will be missed for not 3. Make sure that all children are listed, as well. only leading us in prayer, but for his dedication and commitment 4. An information sheet is available in Polish for our Polish and to the Polish-American community. We send our condolences to English-speaking community with salient points concerning his family and extended family. the Census which can be distributed. Simply request a specific Wishing you health and safety as we go through this crisis. number of information sheets. Sincerely, Please make sure to reach out to your community. You can make a difference in having our community counted and be represented. There have been questions addressed concerning the upcoming Council of National Directors Meeting scheduled for September Frank J. Spula, President 8th through the 10th, 2020. As of this newsletter, the meeting will PAC Vice-President Bajdek and the Kościuszko Mound in Kraków Written by John Czop PAC Director of Policy Planning Last Spring, readers of this Newsletter learned that Polish American Congress (PAC) Vice-President for American Affairs, Dean Emeritus Anthony J. Bajdek, was named an Honorary Member of the Kościuszko Mound Committee. Since then, many have asked me: “What is the Kościuszko Mound?” The answer to this question goes to the longstanding and unwavering democratic credentials of both Poland and the Poles. We need to understand the significance of the Kościuszko Mound because at the present moment, the House Foreign Affairs Committee and an influential segment of public opinion, which finds expression in the mainstream mass media, mistakenly assert that the present Polish Government is "backsliding" on its commitment to democratic values and the rule of law. This negative point-of-view continues to get traction even after by retiring officials who were appointed by the communists, and Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki masterfully rebutted these by enacting legislation that benefit the Polish people rather than views when he spoke last April to an audience of at least 500 in the former nomenklatura who continue to cling to power and who the auditorium of New York University Law School. The Prime receive support and sympathy from influential sections of American Minister explained that the mission of his Government is to public opinion. The side of the auditorium where Poles were sitting make the Second Revolution to achieve the democratic program vigorously applauded the PM's explanation of his Government's of Solidarity. Morawiecki stated that the transformation of 1988- goals which promote democracy. 1991 was cosmetic and marked by continuity in both personnel and policy from the communist regime, the Polish People's Republic. His Government is fulfilling the democratic program of Solidarity Continued on next page... 2 Your Voice in America ■ Polish American Congress The Kościuszko Mound is the most visible sign of the Photo above: Aerial view of Kościuszko Mound in Kraków. A serpentine path leads attachment of Poland and the Poles to democratic to the top, approximately 326 meters (1,070 ft) above sea level, with a panoramic view of the Vistula River and the city. (Approximate distance from downtown values which are the foundation of national freedom Krakow to the Kościuszko Mound: 10 minute Uber ride or 1 hour walk.) and independence. In 1794, at the time of Kościuszko's Insurrection for democracy, approximately 15% of the Polish population were nobles who constituted the political nation. The war to repel the counter- After Poland regained her independence in 1918, a new chapter revolutionary Russian invaders required the mass began in regards to the history of the Kościuszko Mound. On the of Poland's population, who were peasants without political rights, 150th anniversary of the American Declaration of Independence, on to serve as soldiers in Kościuszko's Army, this was the Democratic July 4, 1926, an official United States Delegation placed, at the peak Revolution in arms and the Nation in Arms, created by the war of the mound, soil from the battlefields of the War of Independence emergency which obliged Poles of all social ranks to unite. The which Kościuszko helped to win. war made the modern Polish political nation. This reminds us that the democratic revolution only succeeded The Congress of Vienna, 1814-1815, ratified the late 18th century in America because the patriots won a decisive military victory. partitions of Poland, and it established Kraków as a Free City. Kraków This is what makes America unique. Elsewhere in the western and its environs was the only small part of pre-partition Poland that world, during the nineteenth century and much of the twentieth remained independent, though it was surrounded on all sides by century, the democratic revolution struggled against strong counter- Austria, one of the three powers that partitioned Poland. Krakow revolutionary forces. was independent from 1815 until 1846 when Austria conquered This is why PAC Vice-President Bajdek's work as founder of the the former Royal Capital of Poland. American Friends of Kościuszko at West Point is of such high Two mounds already existed in Kraków; one dedicated to Krak contemporary importance. This is why his new book entitled THE and the other to Wanda. Three years after Kościuszko died, the PATRON SAINT OF WEST POINT: Tadeusz Kościuszko and his Senate of the Free City of Kraków enacted a resolution, in July Disciples (University of Illinois Press, 2019) well merits a wide 1820, to commemorate the national hero by building a mound in readership. Vice-President Bajdek's leadership reminds our fellow his honor on Blessed Bronisława Hill just west of the city. Poles Americans that Poland and America are partners in freedom. America from all parts of Poland participated by bringing soil from their enjoyed continuity from the victory in the War of Independence areas to erect the mound.
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