HE EDolor
MBASSY
LoremTIpsum
OF THE REPUBLIC OF POLAND NEWSLETTER
Spring 2012
WASHINGTON, DC AUGUST 2011
#7
FROM THE AMBASSADOR
Dear Readers,
Despite being traditionally known as a holiday month,
August was anything but for our Embassy: A lot of work,
with an earthquake and a hurricane thrown into the mix.
We survived it all!
On a serious note: It's two months into Poland's presidency
of the Council of the European Union, and we begin our
newsletter with news from around the world. As part of the
presidency, Poland's Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski
traveled to Pakistan and Afghanistan at the beginning of
the month to meet with top leadership. He also met with
Polish soldiers stationed in Afghanistan; Poland has
supported the International Security Assistance Force
mission there since its inception.
In our last newsletter, we brought you news on the Eastern
Partnership and Poland's democratization efforts to the
EU's eastern borders. This month, we're focusing on
Poland's efforts to advance democratic transformation in
North Africa – a topic especially timely, as recent events in
Libya show.
I traveled to Chicago for Poland's EU presidency in midAugust, meeting with Illinois Governor Pat Quinn,
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Representative Robert
Dold, and a number of Polish-American groups and
individuals. An evening reception hosted by the Polish
Consulate in Chicago for young Polish-American leaders
was especially fruitful; we had excellent conversations and
I look forward to the realization of the future projects we
discussed.
Since August 1 marks the anniversary of the beginning of
the 1944 Warsaw Uprising, we wanted to commemorate
the Uprising in a unique way. So we've decided to tell the
story of the Uprising through women's eyes. Women joined
the Uprising in unprecedented numbers – in the high
thousands. They served as nurses and couriers; they
exhibited tremendous, legendary courage, often in the line
of fire as they dodged sniper bullets to get to wounded
insurgents or deliver important messages.
We’ve brought you an interview with one such woman
insurgent. She served as a nurse during the Uprising, and
was in the group of veterans that met President Obama
during his May trip to Poland.
We’ve also written about the Warsaw Uprising Museum,
which looks at the events of and surrounding the Uprising
through a modern, interactive lens. It’s a must-see
educational experience for Warsaw visitors.
Finally, we have a piece on Richard Cosby, whose
daughter Rita’s book about his Uprising and wartime
adventures is a New York Times bestseller.
We continue our Outside the Beltway section with news
from our Consulates across the U.S. In the Midwest, a
Twin Cities Polish Festival and FilmFest brought Poland’s
culture and traditions to more than 16,000 Minnesotans.
From the West Coast, we have news of a musical
collaboration project.
For our Art in the Embassy series, we have included a
piece on a painting that hangs in our Embassy depicting the
victorious King Jan Sobieski III, and the story of the
painting’s equally fascinating artist.
Please join us on our social media pages if you haven’t
already to stay up-to-date on a daily basis with news,
information and Embassy events.
Best regards,
IN THIS ISSUE
From the Ambassador
1
Foreign Minister Sikorski Visits
Pakistan & Afghanistan
2
Ambassador Kupiecki Visits Chicago
3
Poland’s Democratization Efforts in
North Africa
4
Focus on: The Women of the 1944
Warsaw Uprising
5
Richard Cosby Receives DAR
Americanism Award
The Warsaw Uprising Through
One Woman’s Eyes
Meet the Press, circa 1920
6
The Warsaw Uprising Museum
7
Outside the Beltway: Consulate News
8
Art in the Embassy: King Sobieski
9
Earthquake Update
To Watch / Did You Know
10
August 2011
Embassy of Poland Newsletter
POLAND’S FOREIGN MINISTER RADOSLAW SIKORSKI
VISITS PAKISTAN AND AFGHANISTAN;
HOLDS HIGH-LEVEL MEETINGS WITH LEADERSHIP
Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski visited
Pakistan and Afghanistan August 1-4, 2011,
holding bilateral talks and high-level meetings on
request and behalf of High Representative of the
Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
Catherine Ashton. The Minister was accompanied
by a delegation of Polish business representatives.
PAKISTAN – Minister Sikorski’s trip was the
first official visit to the country by a Foreign
Minister of independent Poland, and he met
with Pakistan’s top leadership: President Asif
Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza
Gilani and Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani
Khar.
Minister Sikorski confirmed that trade
facilitations with Pakistan are the best form
of cooperation with the EU, which has been
a primary economic partner for Pakistan. The
EU is also the primary donor of economic
assistance for Pakistan. As Brussels works on
a 5-year plan for Pakistan, both sides hope
that it will deepen relations on many levels.
AFGHANISTAN – Minister Sikorski met with
President Hamid Karzai and Foreign
Minister Zalmai Rassoul, exchanging views
on the country’s transition process in
anticipation of final troop withdrawal,
scheduled to occur by 2014.
Minister Sikorski also held talks with Italian
Brigadier Gen. Carmine Masiello,
Commander of ISAF Regional Command –
West.
PHOTOS – clockwise from top left: 1. Minister
Sikorski & Pakistan’s President Ali Zardari;
2. Poland’s Foreign Minister Sikorski & Pakistan’s
Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar hold a joint
press conference; 3. Minister Sikorski & Gen. John
Allen, commander of ISAF forces in Afghanistan;
4. & 5. Minister Sikorski with Polish troops &
Poland’s Deputy Chief of Staff Resources, Gen.
Boguslaw Samol in Afghanistan; 6. The Minister
in Herat, capital of Herat province in Afghanistan;
7. Minister Sikorski & Afghanistan President
Hamid Karzai; 8. Minister Sikorski with
In a joint statement issued after the meeting,
the ministers wrote that they “looked forward
to a reinforced political dialogue, at all levels,
early completion of an ambitious EU–
Pakistan Five-Year Engagement Plan and the
launching of the Strategic Dialogue leading
to the third EU-Pakistan Summit.”
“I can assure you that we will not make the
mistake of the 1990s, which was to leave
Afghanistan to its own devices. Even if the
coalition troops withdraw, Europe and the
West will support your country,” said
Minister Sikorski in a press conference after
his meeting with Minister Rassoul.
High-level talks focused on bilateral issues –
including economic, military and cultural
cooperation, as well as Poland and Europe’s
support for Pakistan’s democracy. Minister
Sikorski also underlined that it was important
for Pakistan’s future stabilization and
development that its educational system be
free from religious radicalism.
Minister Sikorski also said that during its
presidency of the Council of the EU, Poland
will seek a debate within the EU on a
multiannual cooperation agreement with
Afghanistan.
2,600 Polish troops currently serve with
the NATO ISAF operation in
Afghanistan, with 400 troops on reserve.
They're stationed mostly in Ghanzi
province in southeastern Afghanistan, but
also in Kabul.
In Kabul, Minister Sikorski met Gen. John
Allen, the new commander of ISAF forces in
Afghanistan. The two discussed the state of
security and the role Polish troops play in
Afghanistan. He also met Poland’s Deputy
Chief of Staff Resources, Gen. Boguslaw
Samol, and his soldiers.
Poland's troops concentrate on providing
training and mentorship to Afghan
National Security Forces (ANSF). Poland
is also responsible for the Provincial
Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Ghanzi,
through which it delivers development
assistance to Afghanistan.
Minister Sikorski spent the second day of his
Afghanistan visit in Herat, a city he first
visited 25 years ago as a war correspondent.
There, he met with Minister of Energy and
Water Ismail Khan, a former mujahideen
commander during the Soviet occupation, as
well as with the Governor of Herat Province.
In 2011 alone, Poland provided 35 million
Polish zloty, or ~$12.5 milllion for
development assistance in Afghanistan.
Foreign Ministers Sikorski and Khar
discussed the regional situation, exchanging
views on Afghanistan and counter-terrorism,
and expressed their commitment to a stable
and peaceful Afghanistan.
Minister Sikorski also spoke with the team
that prosecuted the killers of Polish geologist
Piotr Stańczak, kidnapped and beheaded in
2009.
POLISH TROOPS IN AFGHANISTAN
29 Poles have lost their lives in
Afghanistan to date; 28 soldiers and 1
civilian medial worker.
2
Embassy of Poland Newsletter
August 2011
AMBASSADOR ROBERT
KUPIECKI IN CHICAGO
The Ambassador paid a working
visit to Chicago August 18-20,
during which he met with
leading government officials,
Congressional Members,
business leaders & PolishAmerican groups & individuals.
GOV. PAT QUINN – The Ambassador discussed cooperation with the state of Illinois on green
projects during his meeting with Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, who underlined the role and
importance of Illinois’ large Polish-American community. Governor Quinn spoke highly of his
past visits to Poland, during which he met with business and community leaders as well as
leading political figures. He also spoke of his intention for the state of Illinois to celebrate the life
of Jan Karski in Chicago; the Governor was Mr. Karski’s student while at Georgetown
University. Following New York and Washington, DC’s examples, the Governor plans on
dedicating a statue in honor of Mr. Karski in Chicago.
MAYOR RAHM EMANUEL – Ambassador Kupiecki met with newly elected Chicago Mayor
Rahm Emanuel, who, like Gov. Quinn, spoke of his constituency’s large Polish-American
community. Mayor Emanuel expressed hope for a positive resolution of Poland's entrance
into the visa waiver program, an issue he was closely involved with while a Congressman of
Chicago’s 5th District. The Ambassador and Mayor also discussed ways the WarsawChicago sister city program, in existence since 1960, can continue building the vibrant
relationship between Chicagoans and Poland’s capital.
CONGRESSMAN ROBERT DOLD – In a meeting with Rep. Robert Dold of Illinois’ 10th District,
the Ambassador thanked the Congressman for his support of House of Representatives
Resolution 959, “Secure Travel and Counterterrorism Partnership Program Act of 2011,”
legislation that is key to Poland’s inclusion in the visa waiver program. The Ambassador also
welcomed the Congressman as the newest member of the Congressional Poland Caucus.
Rep. Dold invited Polish-American business leaders from his district to participate in an open
discussion about ways the 10th District can help the U.S.-Poland relationship grow.
POLISH-AMERICAN LEADERS – Poland’s Consulate General in Chicago hosted an evening
reception for young Polish-American leaders, who met the Ambassador and his delegation
for a question-and-answer session on a wide range of subjects, including Poland’s EU
presidency, the visa waiver program expansion, and conversations about social and political
engagement in Chicago and Illinois. The Ambassador applauded the attendees’ continued
civic engagement, wishing them luck in their careers.
MEDILL SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM – A delegation of Embassy and Consulate representatives
visited the Evanston campus of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, one of
the top-ranked journalism schools in the U.S., meeting with Associate Dean Mary Nesbitt to
promote a journalism contest on independence in Belarus for current students and recent
graduates sponsored by the Embassy and the German Marshall Fund of the United States.
CHICAGO CUBS – Ambassador Kupiecki proved a good-luck charm for the Chicago Cubs
on Saturday, August 20: He threw the first pitch at Wrigley Field in front of a sold-out
crowd (43,000+), opening an afternoon game between the Cubs & their historic arch-rivals,
the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cubs beat the Cardinals 3-0 in the packed, jubilant Friendly
Confines. Rep. Mike Quigley (IL-5) accompanied the Ambassador throughout the game,
giving some last minute advice for the first pitch & sharing the history of beautiful Wrigley
Field, which is part of his Congressional district.
3
Embassy of Poland Newsletter
TUNISIA
LIBYA
August 2011
Tunisia
President Komorowski and President Obama announced
the Tunisia Mentorship Initiative in May. This U.S.-Polish
project is part of a broader U.S. initiative, the “Democracy
Mentorship Initiative.” The project matches mentors from
Poland and the U.S. with civil society representatives from
the MENA region in order to share experiences, discuss
challenges and develop joint projects.
Polish representatives, including former president Lech
Walesa, former Minister of Defense Janusz Onyszkiewicz,
Minister of Foreign Affairs Radoslaw Sikorski and Speaker
of the Senate Jan Borusewicz, among others, traveled to
the region extensively in the spring and summer of 2011.
“Polish experiences of 1989 can play a significant role in
the democratization of Tunisia,” Tunisian Minister of
Regional Development Abderrazak Zouari said during his
July visit to Poland.
POLAND'S EFFORTS TO ADVANCE
DEMOCRATIC TRANSFORMATION IN NORTH AFRICA
In last month’s newsletter, we detailed Poland’s work in
promoting democracy and economic reforms to the EU’s Eastern
Neighborhood, through the Eastern Partnership. In this
installment, we take a look at Poland’s work in the MENA
(Middle East and North Africa) region, with a specific focus on
North Africa.
Cognizant of the strong support it received during its own
transformation from communism to democracy, Poland
is now promoting democratic transformation beyond its
own borders.
Most recently, Poland is following the developments in the
Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region with great
interest, with the intention to be involved in the historic
processes that are taking place in countries like Libya and
Tunisia.
The Arab Spring and the subsequent transformation
process hold their own, unique challenges, but Poland is
working to share its own vast experience of a peaceful
transition process. It also ongoingly supports the MENA
region’s transformation through bilateral cooperation as
well as through the EU.
During his May trip to Poland, President Barack Obama
met with Polish leaders, who Poland’s President Bronislaw
Komorowski introduced as “those who fought for Polish
freedom and for the democratic state, and fought well,” as
well as “the protectors of today’s democracy.”
President Obama said that Poland’s peaceful overthrow of
Communism held lessons for Tunisia and other Arab
countries facing challenges in the aftermath of popular
revolts, and that he welcomed Polish leadership reaching
out in Africa and the Middle East.
Below are highlights of specific initiatives.
As Tunisia prepares for major administrative reform that
will allow it to depart from a centralized system, the
Tunisian delegation’s main focus was to examine the
Polish model of local governance and local governance
reform.
Poland will continue to share its experiences through
training offered to civil society representatives from Tunisia
on self-governance and regional development later this year
during a training session in Warsaw. Poland will also
welcome representatives from Tunisia and Egypt to
observe the upcoming Poland’s parliamentary elections in
October this year. Warsaw plans to send its own experts to
observe elections in emerging North African democracies.
Libya
As events in Libya continue to unfold, Poland has
committed itself to engage extensively in the country’s
transformation process facing the new government.
Poland’s Foreign Minister Sikorski traveled to Benghazi in
May 2011 – he was the first foreign minister to visit the
rebel’s capital since the crisis there began (for details, see
our May newsletter). Shortly afterward, Poland opened a
diplomatic office in Benghazi.
Poland has also offered to provide training to future Libyan
security and civil servants and is ready to cooperate with
the new Libyan authorities to support the country’s
transformation process to democracy.
According to the Humanitarian Aid Department of the
European Commission (ECHO), Poland has provided the
highest amount of humanitarian assistance thus far among
Central European countries (medicine, food, and about
$100,000 have gone toward support at the Tunisia-Libyan
border).
Al-Jazeera Television Series Project
Poland has recently begun working with Al-Jazeera TV on
producing a television series that will discuss Poland’s
experience in democratic transformation, which will be
broadcast on Al-Jazeera television.
4
August 2011
Embassy of Poland Newsletter
SPECIAL AUGUST SECTION: THE WOMEN OF THE 1944 WARSAW UPRISING
The above poster is located in the rose garden of the 1944 Warsaw
Uprising Museum in Poland. On it, four women with Home
Army armbands stand amid lightning bolts and rubble, the words,
“Też walczyłyśmy” – “We Also Fought” above their heads.
The 1944 Warsaw Uprising began August 1, 1944, and was the
apex of the Polish Resistance movement in occupied Poland.
Militarily, it was fought against Poland’s German occupants and
was timed to coincide with German retreat from the region.
The Uprising’s second, political goal was to preserve Poland’s
independence from Soviet rule. Tragically, the Uprising did not
succeed. After 63 days of fierce, explosive fighting, surviving
insurgents were expelled to concentration camps. And when
Soviet armies entered the vicinity of Warsaw in January 1945,
it was to a city destroyed and virtually empty.
Women played a key role in the Uprising: According to the
Warsaw Uprising Museum, 12,000 female insurgents that are
known by name took part in the Uprising, and that figure
constitutes more than 20% of all Uprising participants known by
name.
Many women served as nurses and couriers, and because of their
vulnerability and exposure as they ran to tend to wounded
soldiers or deliver important messages, were at great risk for
enemy fire. Female insurgents also assembled mines; they took
part in diversion and sabotage missions. Some were even snipers.
Following the Uprising, those who survived were imprisoned in
work or concentration camps.
The Warsaw Uprising, despite the failure of its military and
political goals, was a tremendous display of heroism and sacrifice.
Today, female Home Army veterans are highly decorated – and a
living monument to extraordinary heroism exhibited by civilians
in the face of war. On the next page, one female insurgent’s story;
a story not unlike that of thousands of ordinary, civilian women
who chose to stand up for Poland during the Uprising.
Poland’s Resistance movement was the largest underground
organization in Nazi-occupied Europe. 1944 membership
estimates are around 400,000; at least 10 percent of that were
women.
Photos, clockwise from left: 1. Sgt. Barbara Wasik, pseudonym Bronka & 2nd Lt.
Zbigniew Jaworski; pseudonym Noż (Knife). 2. Lt. Jan Walcuch, pseudonym
Gwido & Hanna Pruszkowska, pseudonym Baska – she’s holding Kropka (Spot)
the dog. Both photos courtesy of the Warsaw Uprising Museum. 3. A monument
in the Museum’s garden lists Uprising participants, including thousands of women.
RICHARD COSBY RECEIVES
DAR AMERICANISM AWARD;
LAUDS THE WOMEN OF THE
WARSAW UPRISING
“They served as nurses, couriers, and
eventually carried rifles. They crawled through
demolished houses, exposed to sniper fire,
through basements, and even city sewers.”
“They” are the women of the 1944 Warsaw
Uprising. The speaker is Richard Cosby, and
he’s at the Constitution Hall of the Daughters
of the American Revolution in Washington,
DC, where he received the Americanism
Medal on July 2, 2011.
Mr. Cosby is the father of Emmy-winning TV
host and journalist Rita Cosby, who wrote
about his experiences as a Polish Resistance
fighter and prisoner-of-war, as well as her own
journey of discovery about his past, in her
New York Times bestseller, “Quiet Hero.”
“It is the story of war, a story of courage,
and a story of a daughter finally getting to
know her father,” Rita Cosby wrote when
the book was published last year.
In his address, Mr. Cosby, who fought in
the 1944 Uprising, paid homage to the
women who fought alongside him and his
fellow male insurgents.
“We grew up during World War II,” Mr.
Cosby said. “Poland was occupied by
German and Soviet Union armies, and
soon Resistance movements sprung up.
Polish women joined in great numbers.
Their courage and sacrifice were the glue
that kept the organizations together. They
paid the price in Gestapo torture chambers
and concentration camps.”
After the Uprising, Mr. Cosby was
captured as a
POW. He escaped
and was rescued by
U.S. troops. But his
focus during the
DAR event was his
female Warsaw
Uprising
counterparts.
“These womenwarriors chose to
share the fate of the
men, and marched into POW camps in great
numbers. Decades later their daughters and
granddaughters supported the Solidarity
movement, which succeeded in liberating
Poland from communist oppression,” Mr.
Cosby said.
Watch our video interview with Richard
Cosby and his daughter Rita Cosby, recorded
live at the event.
5
Embassy of Poland Newsletter
FOCUS ON:
THE WOMEN OF THE
1944 WARSAW
UPRISING
Because that’s how “matki-Polki” (Polish mothers) were, she
says. And that’s how the times were.
Mrs. L. did go to the barricades, serving as a nurse. Her sister,
younger by five years, also took part in the Uprising.
“She came over a couple of days before the Uprising,” Mrs. L.
says. “She walks in with a backpack, with a rolled-up blanket,
and says, ‘I’m going to a meeting!’ Nobody took her seriously;
we thought she was going to meet friends. But that was the last
time we saw her for the remainder of the war.”
A CONVERSATION
WITH HANNA
LAWRYNOWICZ
Hanna Lawrynowicz née Lubecka
had just turned 23 when the 1944
Warsaw Uprising began against the
city’s German occupants. When I
visited her in her Warsaw
neighborhood home this May, she
was about to turn 90. She brewed
us cups of strong coffee, fed me
fresh strawberries and homemade
cake, showed me around her
elegant home, and did something
she rarely does: spoke about the
Uprising.
The role of women in the Uprising
is fascinating, because they were
such a crucial part of it: As
battlefield nurses and couriers, they
were in the thick of fighting. They
exhibited extraordinary courage,
and paid an extraordinary price:
their mortality rates were
exceedingly high because they were
so often in risky situations. Many
survived – a living legacy of our
past. But these women were also
very human – and civilians.
Ordinary people in a sense, whose
everyday lives were turned upside
down with the war, and who
decided to take action.
I ask what it was like – what did the
Uprising mean, back then?
Her face lights up: “Enormous
solidarity. The youth rose up!”
She explains: “We’d lived through
a difficult German occupation.
Everyone dreamed of getting out
from underneath the German
boot.”
In 1944, Poland had been under
occupation for five years. There
were mass arrests, deportations,
shootings.
“The occupation was awful,” she
says. “And the shootings. So many
people killed.”
She doesn’t have friends from her
childhood or youth: “I had so
many,” she says. “They’re all
gone.”
August 2011
Two friends who visited her one
evening didn’t make it back home
before the curfew imposed by the
Gestapo. They were arrested on
their doorstep and taken away.
“The next day I saw their names on
a sign: shot to death,” she says
quietly.
She’d wanted to be a doctor since
she was a little girl, but the Medical
Academy closed when the war
broke out. Many of the Academy’s
professors went to teach at the
nursing academy, so she went there
instead. She has her diploma to this
day, and it’s those skills that she put
to use during the Uprising – and
afterward.
She describes the day the Uprising
began: August 1, 1944.
Everyone knew that it was the day.
The Uprising leadership had
marked 5 p.m. as the time the
Uprising would officially begin, and
gave it the cryptonym “Godzina
W” – “W Hour.”
In the morning, Mrs. L. went to the
city center via tram. But midway
through the return trip, the tram
conductor told everyone to exit.
Because fighting had already begun
where she lived, the Żoliborz
district, a few hours before the W
Hour.
She began walking.
“I had new shoes on,” she says.
People yelled to her from windows:
“Where are you going? You’re
going to get killed! Come up here!”
But she wanted to get home.
So she took off her shoes (“they had
French heels,” she adds); and
eventually made it home, halfrunning, half-hiding, where her
mother met her at the door:
“Haniu, why are you here? Why
aren’t you on the barricades?”
Her sister did go to a meeting – a meeting of her Uprising
group. She survived the Uprising; their mother found her in
Krakow after the war. “But she stepped out, just like that – to
a meeting.”
As for the days of fighting, she says that there was such joy
each time the insurgents managed to capture a building, a
street. But the insurgents were counting on Russian help;
Russia was, at that time, an “Ally.” Instead, Russian armies
stayed on the other side of the Wisła River until the Uprising
was put down by German armies.
She was captured after the Uprising, taken to Bergen-Belsen
German Nazi Concentration Camp in Germany, then
transferred to Blankheim, a POW women’s camp. She was
liberated in 1945 from there by Gen. Patton’s Third Army,
then worked as an Allied Civilian Nurse at a U.S. military
hospital in Augsburg. In 1947, she returned to Poland, where
on behalf of the U.S. Ambassador she started a small hospital
for diplomats in Warsaw – mainly Americans.
As we wind up our interview, she says that she hopes that
future generations remain interested in the Uprising, and pass
that legacy on to others.
Mrs. L. tells me that she doesn’t like watching films or footage
from the Uprising; she doesn’t speak about it with most people
– even her contemporaries. But she was interviewed by the
Warsaw Uprising Museum for their Oral Histories series. And
when she
visited the
Museum, she
discovered a
photo of
herself in one
of the exhibits.
“Look!” she
told her son,
who had
accompanied
her. “That’s
me!”
It’s this photo, and it was taken as she was being transported
from one work camp to another.
There’s a note that comes with the photo from her son: “She
said that she smiled for the photo because she always wanted
to look nice.”
~Justine Jablonska is the Embassy’s Press Advisor.
WATCH our video interview with Mrs. Lawrynowicz,
recorded in her Żoliborz home in May.
6
August 2011
Embassy of Poland Newsletter
THE WARSAW UPRISING MUSEUM:
HISTORY, HERE AND NOW
The Warsaw Uprising Museum in
Poland is dedicated to the 1944
Warsaw Uprising against German
occupants. It’s an interactive journey
through the Uprising; one that
couldn’t be told publicly in full
before 1989, during Poland’s
communist era.
There’s a section devoted to the
CichoCiemni (“the silent and the
dark”), an elite special operations
squad of Poland’s Army-in-exile,
which trained in Great Britain for
diversion and sabotage missions
aimed at the German warfare
machine. 91 CichoCiemni came into
Poland to take part in the Uprising
But with the Museum’s opening on
(some parachuted in); 18 were killed
July 31, 2004, which also marked the in action.
Uprising’s 60th anniversary, the
story of the Uprising – and of
And then there are the women. Their
Warsaw before and during the war – faces are everywhere – because they
were almost everywhere, by the
is now told in full.
thousands, during the Uprising.
I visited the Museum in May, right
Their faces peer out from under
after meeting with female Home
helmets; they hold bandages, or have
Army insurgent Hanna
courier bags slung across their
Lawrynowicz (interview on previous
soldiers.
page). I toured the Museum and its
The largest exhibit in the Museum is
grounds, and met with the director
and his staff to learn more about the a replica of a B-24J Liberator that
flew to Warsaw for an airdrop supply
Museum’s mission.
during the Uprising. It’s the only
replica of its kind, built in a 1:1 scale
The Museum is intense. And the
from the original technical
history it presents is incredibly
documents (which Poland’s Ministry
palpable. That’s part of the
of Foreign Affairs helped obtain),
Museum’s mission: an interactive
unpublished photographs, and
immersion into the world of the
conversations with pilots and
Uprising.
mechanics who flew and maintained
similar machines.
One exhibit presents the “heart” of
Warsaw in 1944: It’s an enormous
wall with the symbol of the Uprising, During his trip to Poland this May,
President Obama met with a group
the letters “P” and “W” joined.
They stand for Polska Walczy –
of Home Army veterans who fought
Poland Fights (in the present tense). in the Warsaw Uprising. It was an
important moment, because on
If you stand close to the wall, you
September 18, 1944, near the
can hear it beating. You can also
Uprising’s end, a squadron of 107
peer into peepholes that present
U.S. bombers flew over Warsaw to
various scenes from the Uprising,
airdrop supplies.
and listen to the sounds of the
Uprising in songs of that era.
“There was a moment [during the
As you move through the Museum, Uprising] when there were more
than 1,000 Americans in the air
you can open cabinets, collect
above Warsaw, flying slowly across
calendar pages from each of the
the sky during the day,” says Mr.
Uprising’s 63 days, even walk
Oldakowski, the Museum’s director.
through a reconstruction of a sewer
through which insurgents escaped in The armada was so large that
the last days. You can watch grainy, Russian planes didn’t make any
attempts to get near. Instead, the
original footage, browse through
documents, and see armbands worn Soviets shot at the armada with land
cannons, taking down three U.S.
by the insurgents, worn with battle
bombers. “The insurgents
scars and time.
remember,” he says, “and remain
grateful to this day.”
I ask how the Museum fits into the
Uprising’s legacy today.
“It's difficult to discuss the Uprising
because it's the history of people
who fought for freedom, and who,
defending their ideals, stood up to
two massive totalitarianisms – and
lost. They paid a terrible price.
Warsaw was ruined,” he says.
The Uprising can be compared to
the Alamo, he says: “There is
defeat, but you fight to defend your
ideals to the end.”
That’s why the Uprising is so often
explored through art. “The
Museum hosts many concerts,
films, plays – the language of art
avoids one-sidedness and allows for
the formulation of difficult
questions,” he says.
The Museum also reaches out to its
community. It has a large volunteer
department, is on the web and has a
strong social media presence (its
Facebook page has more than
27,000 fans to date). It also holds
educational events.
“We learned to do this partly in the
U.S. when we were starting out
here, through training arranged by
the U.S. State Department,” he
says. “We learned in the States that
a museum isn't just an exhibit. A
museum is a type of code; a
collection of elements ranging from
mass communication and pop
culture through high culture and
museumology.”
There’s a motto in the Museum:
“We wanted to be free, and to owe
that freedom to ourselves."
Poland regained its independence
after 123 years of foreign partition
following World War I. With the
onset of World War II came
German occupation and Soviet
deportations to Siberia.
So when the Warsaw Uprising
began, a small, seemingly free
Poland once again emerged: Two
journals of laws of the Republic of
Poland were published. Political
parties, civil authorities, a fire
brigade, and local government were
established.
That kind of Poland wouldn’t exist
again until after the fall of
communism – because in a sense,
World War II didn’t end for Poland
in 1945.
“This may be difficult to see from
the U.S. perspective – the fate of
Central and Eastern European
nations was different than that of
western Europe,” Mr. Oldakowski
says. “The effects of WWII ended
in Poland, some say, with the free
elections in 1989 and others – in
1991, with the withdrawal of Soviet
troops from Poland.”
There’s a small café inside the
Museum where you can drink
delicious coffee in a room stylized
like a pre-WWII parlor. It’s
charming, with small tables, a
piano, a beautiful clock, and
knickknacks here and there. There
were countless cafés like this one in
Warsaw before the war broke out,
and it seems fitting that there’s
again one here, in the Museum – a
reminder of the Warsaw before the
war and before the Uprising.
~Justine Jablonska is the Embassy’s
Press Advisor.
VIEW a photo slideshow with
archival photographs from the
Uprising & photos of the Museum.
7
Outside the Beltway – News from our Consulates
August 2011
TWIN CITIES POLISH FESTIVAL
& FILMFEST
VIA THE POLISH CONSULATE
GENERAL OF POLAND
IN CHICAGO
MINNEAPOLIS – The Fourth Annual
Twin Cities Polish Festival, held August
13-14, brought together more than 16,000
Minnesotans, who celebrated and learned
about Poland through its culture, tradition
and food.
Visitors were treated to performances by
world-acclaimed jazz singer Grazyna
Auguscik; Chicago-based composer
Jaroslaw Golembiowski; Megitza Quartet
as well as the Grammy-nominated Polka
Family Band.
The rich and varied musical content was
complemented by other cultural events,
such as A Poet of Reportage, an exhibit
on Ryszard Kapuscinski; a Na zdrowie
(To your health) 5-kilometer race; and
dance performances by the Tatry Folkloric
Ensemble.
LOS ANGELES – “Poland… Why
Not?” is a project born in the U.S. and
realized in Los Angeles. U.S. writers
and producers are working with Polish
artists to create the country’s first
globally recognized superstar – both in
workshops in Poland, as well as in a
writing and recording session held in
Philadelphia. Participants included the
writers and producers of hit songs for
Shakira, Danity Kane, Nelly Furtado,
Chris Cornell and Britney Spears.
QUICK NOTES FROM
LOS ANGELES
AND CHICAGO
LOS ANGELES – WPC 2011
(Worldwide Partner Conference), held
July 10-14 in Los Angeles, brought
together more than 640,000 worldwide
business partners who sell and support
Microsoft solutions from 135 countries.
More than 130 Microsoft partners
traveled to L.A. from Poland for the
conference, which also included the
participation of the Consulate General
of Poland in Los Angeles.
“The Festival was a great success,” said
Edward Rajtar, its director. “Attendance
increased 25% over the 2010 count while
a variety of new retail, exhibit and food
vendors enhanced the atmosphere.”
The Twin Cities Polish FilmFest, which
ran Aug. 12-18 and overlapped with the
Festival for two days, was an excellent
supplement for Polish film connoisseurs
and those experiencing Polish cinema for
the first time.
Presented in partnership with the Film
Society of Minneapolis / St. Paul, the
FilmFest showed a selection of awardwinning Polish movies from a wide variety of genres, from contemporary feature films
to animations and short films.
To learn more about the Festival, which was reactivated in 2009 by an enthusiastic
group of Polish-Americans in Minnesota devoted to preserving their heritage, visit
www.tcpolishfestival.org.
POLAND… WHY NOT?
VIA THE POLISH CONSULATE
GENERAL OF POLAND
IN LOS ANGELES
In an August 15 concert at a Los Angeles club, U.S. audiences were treated to
performances by two Polish artists: Patricia Kazadi and Natasza Urbanska.
As “Poland… Why Not?” moves forward, the Consulates writes that it hopes the project
paves the way for these and other Polish artists to establish themselves on the U.S. and
world entertainment markets.
CHICAGO – A briefing and conference on business and trade opportunities in Poland
is scheduled for September 13, 2011, from 11 a.m.-2:00 p.m. at the Illinois Institute of
Technology in Chicago.
The topic is: “Kielce, Swietokrzyskie, Poland – A Gateway to Business in Central and
Eastern Europe.” This is the third event of its kind under the project “Eastern Europe
Gateway.”
This latest event will focus on opportunities between Chicago-Illinois and the city and
region of Kielce in Poland, and will showcase the Kielce Technology Park and the
Kielce Trade Show and Exposition Center. Participants will also hear a brief
presentation on tourism and hotel development.
For more information, contact the Polish American Chamber of Commerce:
(773) 205-1998 or [email protected].
8
August 2011
Embassy of Poland Newsletter
2
3
1
ART IN THE EMBASSY: KING JOHN III SOBIESKI AT THE BATTLE OF VIENNA
One of the finest portraits of
the victorious King Jan III
Sobieski ever painted is “John
III Sobieski at the Battle of
Vienna.” An excellent copy of
this painting hangs in our
Embassy’s Blue Salon.
The painting depicts King
Sobieski as the savior of
Vienna (the tower of St.
Stephen’s Cathedral is visible
in the background) and of, as
was then widely believed, the
Christian world from Ottoman
power.
The Battle of Vienna took
place Sept. 11-12, 1683 after
Vienna’s two-month
besiegement by the Turkish
army – led by Grand Vizier
Kara Mustafa Pasha. The
battle pitted 150,000 Ottoman
Empire forces against 84,400
Polish-Lithuanian, Hungarian,
Austrian and German forces
commanded to victory by King
Jan III Sobieski of Poland.
Despite the army’s
international composition and
that it gathered in just six days,
a leadership structure,
indisputably centered on King
Sobieski and Poland's heavy
cavalry units was effectively
established. (The battle had the
largest cavalry charge in
history.)
As one of the most important
battles of the 17th century, the
Battle of Vienna marked the
turning point in the 300-year
struggle between the forces of
Central European kingdoms
and the Ottoman Empire. King
Sobieski’s victory profoundly
affected the shape of Europe
for centuries to come.
In the painting, the monarch is
represented as a leader,
modeled after a Roman
emperor. He’s seated on a
rearing horse and dressed in
antique scaled armor and
basinet – a medieval steel
helmet (1). The glory of the
invincible Polish Lion (3) –
symbolized by the figure of
Hercules and Turkish trophies
scattered under the horse’s
hooves – is proclaimed by the
winged figure of Pheme (2),
who personified fame and
renown in Greek mythology.
She bears a shield with the
Sobieski coat of arms.
Sobieski has traditionally been
presented in art as a warrior
king. But he was also an art
connoisseur and a great lover
of books who, in his leisure
time, indulged in reading and
held erudite discussions with
his secretaries and visitors who
came to his Wilanów Palace
from different parts of the
world. He was also a patron
for many artists – including
that of the original of this
painting.
The very talented Polish
painter and engraver Jerzy
Szymonowicz SiemiginowskiEleuter (c.1660 – c.1711), is
one of Poland’s most
accomplished Classical
Baroque artists.
Born in today's Ukraine (then
the Polish-Lithuanian
Commonwealth), the young
Szymonowicz was entrusted
by his parents to King Sobieski
in 1677. According to legend,
Szymonowicz’s father was
sentenced to exile for
murdering a neighbor and
went into hiding, thus making
it impossible for the son to use
his real surname for some time.
Recognizing his talent, the
king sent the boy to study in
France and Italy, and the
young artist was admitted to
Rome’s Accademia di San
Luca on the King's
recommendation. He lived up
to the King’s expectations: in
January 1682 he received a
first prize in painting, and that
September became a member
of the honorable group of
Roman academicians.
On his way back to Poland,
Szymonowicz purchased
paintings for Sobieski as his
royal art agent. He traveled
through Vienna on the eve of
the Turkish invasion and was
at the actual place he later
depicted in the painting.
Shortly after his return to
Poland in 1684, he was
ennobled by the King. The
artist took the name of
Chevalier Eleuter (in Greek: free,
independent). In 1701,
Szymonowicz arranged to be
adopted by the impoverished
noble Siemiginowski family,
and thus became the Polish
noble with a tripartite
surname: Szymonowicz
Siemiginowski-Eleuter.
He was also a renowned
architect and the main artist
responsible for the decoration
and interior painting of
Warsaw’s Wilanów Palace. He
painted antiquitised portraits of
the royal family, and created
engravings with French artist
Charles de La Haye.
Among the most notable of his
works are four plafonds
(ornamental ceilings) depicting
the Four Seasons in Wilanów
Palace, where he also
established a painting school.
Many of his religious paintings
in Warsaw (such as Crucifixion
in Holy Cross Church,
Transfiguration in the Capuchin
Church) were destroyed during
the extensive bombardment of
the city by the Germans in
1944. His works at Wilanów
Palace survived, however, and
can be seen in their full glory to
this day in Warsaw.
LEARN MORE about the
Wilanów Palace on its website.
EARTHQUAKE
UPDATE
A 5.8 magnitude earthquake
hit our area the afternoon of
August 23, 2011. Our
Embassy and the surrounding
buildings suffered some
damage. Thankfully, no one
was hurt, and we’re also very
grateful that our building,
which is more than a century
old, made it through the
earthquake intact – along with
our historic interiors and
art collection.
9
August 2011
Embassy of Poland Newsletter
TO WATCH: TRAILER FOR “BATTLE OF WARSAW 1920”
Director: Jerzy Hoffman
The first film trailers are out for this epic
feature film, which tells the dramatic
story of the Battle of Warsaw in the
1919-1920 Polish-Soviet War. Filmed in
3D, it’s one of the most lavish
productions in the extensive history of
Polish cinema, with thrilling battle
scenes & romantic panoramas. The film
premieres in Poland September 30, &
will also premiere in the U.S. in
October. Stay tuned for details on
film screenings in New York,
Chicago & DC.
- English-language trailer
- Movie website (in Polish)
Film still photograph by Wojciech
Glinka/Glinka Agency
DID YOU KNOW: SOPOT + AMBER
As summer winds down, we reminisce fondly of the Polish sea town Sopot, a popular vacation spot for
Poles & tourists alike. Located in north Poland on the Baltic Sea's southern coast, it's part of a trifecta of
Polish seaside towns that, along with Gdańsk and Gdynia, make up the Trójmiasto (Tri-city).
Sopot boasts a large health spa; tourist resorts ranging from the grand to the cozily rustic; wonderful beaches and Europe's longest
wooden pier, which stretches 1,678 feet (511.5 meters) into the sea.
During Poland’s presidency of the Council of the European Union, Sopot is also playing host to various EU meetings, including a
Sept. 2-3 informal meeting of EU Foreign Ministers hosted by Poland’s Foreign Minister Sikorski and High Representative of the
Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton in the Gymnich Format (meaning there’s an agenda but no
decisions), before the September UN General Assembly session.
The city also plays host to the Sopot International Song Festival – Europe's second-largest event of its
kind after the Eurovision Song Contest.
The Baltic Sea is a plentiful source of amber – bursztyn in Polish (right). Amber is fossilized resin from
coniferous trees. Used since ancient times for medicinal and decorative purposes, amber was traded
widely throughout ancient Europe.
Amber is also a valuable resource for researchers when it contains “inclusions” – animal and plant
organisms that were trapped in the amber millions of years ago and preserved perfectly. The animals
(mostly insects) allow scientists to study the composition of the forests that once housed them. They
include arachnids, which hunted on resinous tree trunks; butterflies, which hid in bark crevices; aphids
and beetles that fed on juices from the trees or ate their leaves; and even insects like wasps or flies that
lived near the trees and were tossed by rain or wind into the resin.
Photos: Sopot's pier and lighthouse by Tomasz Kolowski; Hotel and ship via Poland MFA Flickr;
Photo of amber with inclusion by Ł. Głowala/KFP
MORE EMBASSY NEWS + INFORMATION
FACEBOOK:
Embassy of Poland, DC
TWITTER:
@PolishEmbassyUS
Previous Newsletter Issues
EMBASSY OF THE
REPUBLIC
OF POLAND
2640 16th St NW
Washington DC
washington.polemb.net
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Justine Jablonska:
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