Amerykańska Polonia chce podziękować Stanom Zjednoczonym za pomoc w odzyskaniu przez nasz kraj niepodległości.  Akcję zbierania podpisów pod deklaracją wdzięczności Amerykanom organizuje wpływowa polonijna organizacja: Polsko-Słowiańska Federalna Unia Kredytowa.

„My, synowie i córki Narodu Polskiego, w setną rocznicę niepodległości Polski pragniemy wyrazić naszą wdzięczność Stanom Zjednoczonym Ameryki za nieoceniony wkład w sprawę polskiej suwerenności” – tak brzmi deklaracja, która ma zostać przekazana władzom Stanów Zjednoczonych w październiku przy okazji dorocznej Parady Pułaskiego w Nowym Jorku.

Organizatorzy akcji liczą na podpisy setek tysięcy a może milionów osób. Przypominają, że dla odzyskania przez Polskę niepodległości kluczowy był plan prezydenta Thomasa Woodrowa Wilsona, który w swoim orędziu do Kongresu zażądał utworzenia niepodległej Polski z dostępem do morza.

Polsko-Słowiańska Federalna Unia Kredytowa wzywa organizacje polonijne do włączenia w zbieranie podpisów. Księgi gdzie można je składać zostały wyłożone w 17 oddziałach Unii. Deklarację można też podpisać w internecie pod adresem: www.deklaracjapolonii2018.org.

Inspiracją do zorganizowania zbierania podpisów pod deklaracją wdzięczności Ameryce była podobna akcja z okresu międzywojennego.  W 1926 roku 5,5 miliona Polaków złożyło podpisy pod życzeniami dla Stanów Zjednoczonych z okazji 150-lecia niepodległości tego kraju. 111 grubych tomów z tymi podpisami znajduje się obecnie w Bibliotece Kongresu USA.

The Polish Declarations of Admiration and Friendship for the United States are a collection of 111 volumes of signatures and greetings presented in 1926 to President Calvin Coolidge to commemorate the 150th anniversary of U.S. independence and to acknowledge American participation and aid to Poland during World War I. Richly illustrated with original works by prominent Polish graphic artists, the volumes were assembled over an eight-month period with submissions from nearly one-sixth of the population of Poland as it then existed, including the signatures of national, provincial, and local government officials, representatives of religious, social, business, academic, and military institutions, and approximately 5.5 million school children.

LINKS:

https://www.loc.gov/collections/polish-declarations/about-this-collection/

https://deklaracja.genealodzy.pl/

A dangerous United States Congressional Resolution for Poland soon may be enacted.  The full title of this resolution is: “Justice for Uncompensated Survivors Today (JUST) Act of 2017”.  This resolution, the JUST ACT OF 2017 has two components: Senate Resolution 447 (S. 447), and House of Representatives Resolution 1226 (H.R. 1226).

The United States Senate voted-up without opposition, on 12 December 2017, S. 447. Now the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives is considering H.R. 1226.

In a general way, the JUST ACT OF 2017 requires the United States Government to observe how 46 countries are fulfilling their obligations to implement numerous agreements on compensation and/or restitution of both private and communal moveable and immovable property, and other commitments, like the maintenance of historic sites and monuments.

The specific purpose of the JUST ACT OF 2017 is: “To require reporting on acts of certain foreign countries on Holocaust era assets and related issues, and for other purposes.” This would require the United States Government to observe and monitor, pressure is a more honest description, compliance by Poland and other countries that participated in the Prague Holocaust Era Conference’s Terezin Declaration (2009).

Poland is the principal target of the JUST ACT OF 2017, because the largest portion of private property formerly owned by Jews (which amounts to 20% of the total of despoiled and nationalized private property), and now claimed by Jewish individuals and organizations, is located in today’s Poland. This private property on conquered Polish territory, called World War II era private property, was first despoiled by Nazi Germany and then nationalized by the communists. Compensation payments to redress these crimes against private property should be sent to Berlin and Moscow, not Warsaw.

Moreover, Poland already satisfied, by acceding to a 1960 bilateral treaty, all claims for private property in Poland owned by United States citizens before September 1, 1939. Today, the United States Congress and the Office of Holocaust Issues in the Department of State is pressuring Poland to pay lump-sum compensation on behalf of transnational Jewish organizations like the World Jewish Congress, and the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany. The World Jewish Congress recently opened an office in Warsaw.  This pressure on Poland is unwarranted. The exceptional role of Poland and the Poles in World War II and her armed resistance to the imposition of communist dictatorship by the Soviet Army makes a moral and historical case for NOT applying deleting H.R. 1226 to Poland.

Two members of the House of Represenatives introduced H.R. 1226: Congressman Joseph Crowley (D-NY14), and Congressman Christopher Smith (R-NJ4). In 2008 Congressman Crowley introduced a House of Representatives Resolution calling on Poland to pay lump-sum compensation for World War II era Jewish private property. In 1991, Congressman Smith organized the Congressional Caucus on Poland to pressure Poland into paying lump-sum compensation. Moreover, in 2005, Congressman Smith introduced a House of Representatives Resolution calling on Poland to pay lump-sum compensation.

This is why the President of the Polish American Congress (PAC), Mr. Frank J. Spula, wrote a forceful letter, addressed to Chairman Ed Royce, and by extension his 46 colleagues serving on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. This letter strongly encourages these 47 members of the House of Representatives NOT TO APPLY H.R. 1226 to Poland. If they ignore this sound advice from the PAC, then Polish Americans will not vote to re-elect these members of the House of Representatives on 6 November 2018 in Congressional Elections.

John Czop

Director of Policy Planning

Polish American Congress Meets in Washington, D.C

September 25 – 28, 2017

The Polish American Congress (PAC) held its annual Council of National Directors (CND) Meeting September 25-28, 2017. The Hilton Garden Inn, near President Ronald Reagan National Airport in Arlington, VA., was the venue for the CND’s business meetings and banquet on September 25.  On Tuesday 26 September the national directors and their guests boarded a bus to Washington, DC for an all -day-event,  POLISH AMERICAN CONGRESS ADVOCACY DAY FOR POLAND ON CAPITOL HILL, which included, for the the first time, a Reception/Rally in prestigious Congressional Meeting Room, North, with brief speeches delivered by members of the Congressional Caucus on Poland and Polish Government officials representing the Embassy and the Polish Cultural Institute in New York City.  The CND continued its business meetings at the Hilton Garden Inn on Wednesday and Thursday.

The keynote speaker and Guest of Honor at the CND’s opening session was Reverend Miroslaw Krol, newly appointed Chancellor of Orchard Lake Seminary in Michigan. Reverend Krol thanked the PAC for playing a major role in helping Orchard Lake to continue its mission on behalf of the Church and Polonia.

The members of the PAC Executive Committee, Mrs. Micheline Jaminski, Honory Consul Debbie Majka, and Messrs. Anthony Bajdek, Hubert Cioromski, and Richard Mazella delivered their reports at Monday afternoon’s session. Mrs. Bozena Kaminski’s well received report on Polish Affairs included remarks by a surprise guest speaker: Mrs. Anna Holden, Unit Chief, Counter Terrorism Division, U.S. Department of Justice The PAC is making good progress.

The Guest of Honor at Monday evening’s banquet, Piotr Wilczek, Ambassador of the Republic of Poland, praised the achievements of the PAC from its establishment, in 1944, to the present. Ambassador Wilczek called on the PAC to continue its advocacy for permanent NATO armed forces bases in Poland, with troops from western Europe and North America, at this time of resurgent Russian imperialism and aggression. Professor Marek Chodakiewicz’s keynote address called on the PAC and Polonia to open their checkbooks so we can persuade official and public opinion that a strong and truly sovereign Poland protects United States National Security Interests and promotes American values of freedom and free enterprise in the lands between the Baltic and Black Seas.

POLISH AMERICAN CONGRESS ADVOCACY DAY FOR POLAND ON CAPITOL HILL had two components.  First, PAC national directors, who represent the 19 states where the PAC has Divisions, and their guests, visited the offices of their United States Senators and Members of the House of Representatives. They delivered two strong messages.  First, resurgent Russian imperialism requires strengthening NATO’s northeastern flank to ensure Poland’s security.  Second, members of the House of Representatives should co-sponsor H.R. 2388. President Spula persuaded Congressman Mike Quigley to sponsor this resolution calling for Poland’s prompt accession to the Visa Waiver Program. Soon there will be a similar Senate resolution.

ADVOCACY DAY FOR POLAND ON CAPITOL HILL concluded with a Reception/Rally in Congressional meeting Room, North.  President Spula asked Congressman Quigley to sponsor this prestigious room for the PAC’s event on the evening of 26 September from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.  Brief speeches were delivered by:

Mrs. Bozenna Buda, Washington DC Chapter, Friends of Saint Pope John Paul Foundation II

Congressman Mike Quigley (Illinois) who was the Key-Note Speaker

Congressman Tim Murphy (Pennsylvania, first vice-president Rick Pierchalski’s is his top Polish American constituent)

Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (Ohio, introduced by PAC National Director David Milcinovic)

Congressman Lapinski (Illinois, introduced by National director Mary Anselmo)

Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (Michigan)

Pawel Kotowski, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Washington D.C.

Izabela Gola, Polish Cultural Institute,  New York City

Dr. Lucja Swiatkowska Cannon, Chairwoman of Polish Americans for Trump Advisory Committee

Mrs. Monika Jablonska, author of a new biography of Saint Pope John Paul II

Mrs. Anna Wellisz, strategic communications expert on correcting the image of Poland and the Poles

Mr. Brandon Weichert, expert on Russia

To commemorate the 200th anniversary of the death of the great hero of the American Revolution and patriot of his native Poland, General Tadeusz Kosciuszko, a delegation representing the Polish American Congress and Polonia throughout the United States, laid a wreath at the Kosciuszko Monument located in LaFayette Square, across from the White House. Members of the delegation were Micheline Jaminski, Hubert Cioromski, and Dr. Mark Pienkos, who delivered remarks about Kosciuszko. In 1910 the Polish National Alliance gave this magnificent monument to the United States. President William Howard Taft presided over the dedication ceremonies.

The PAC Council of National Directors resumed its business meeting on Wednesday. Ian Brzezinski, Director of the Brent Scowcroft Center, of the Atlantic Council explained the various measures taking place to protect Eastern European nations that are NATO members, including the Republic of Poland.Wednesday’s meeting continued with discussions on ways to improve communication within the organization, as well as action on resolutions.

The PAC annual meeting continued on Thursday morning with speaker Dale Denda who described how  General Kazimierz Pulaski leading his Legion, composed largely of cavalry, kept open the overland supply route to Philadelhia, capital of the Continental Congress, from Little Egg Harbor, on the Atlantic coast of New Jersey.____________________________ __

Founded in 1944, the Polish American Congress is an umbrella organization representing at least ten million Americans of Polish descent, many of whom also are citizens of Poland. The PAC promotes civic, educational, and cultural programs designed to further knowledge of Polish history, language, culture, and encourages Polish American involvement in civic affairs For further information, please visit our website: www.pac1944.org

On behalf of the Polish American Congress, Polish Americans, and friends of Polonia, elected national officers of the PAC laid a wreath at the Kosciuszko Monument in LaFayette Square across from the White House in Washington, D.C. on September 26, 2017. Commemorating the 200th anniversary of the death of this great American Revolutionary General and patriot of his native Poland are:

From the left: Richard Mazella, Dr. Mark Pienkos, Micheline Jaminski, Hubert Cioromski

O Polakach ratujących Żydów podczas II wojny światowej było zdecydowanie zbyt cicho, dlatego ufam, że wniesiony przeze mnie projekt ustawy o ustanowieniu 17 marca Narodowym Dniem Pamięci Polaków ratujących Żydów podczas II wojny światowej zostanie uchwalony przez Sejm, co będzie istotnym bodźcem do kontynuowania, a zarazem zintensyfikowania koniecznej pracy na rzecz upamiętnienia polskich bohaterów – napisał w liście do uczestników Międzynarodowej Konferencji „Pamięć i Nadzieja” prezydent Andrzej Duda.  List odczytał minister Adam Kwiatkowski.

Artykuł na ten temat czytaj tutaj:

https://wpolityce.pl/spoleczenstwo/368901-prezydent-duda-w-liscie-do-uczestnikow-konferencji-w-toruniu-o-polakach-ratujacych-zydow-bylo-zdecydowanie-zbyt-cicho

Edward Wojciech Jeśman
President & National Director
PAC of Southern California

https://www.facebook.com/edward.jesman/posts/474037869662583

A MESSAGE TO MY ENGLISH SPEAKING FRIENDS! Dear Friends! Please do not trust your official media stories of Poland being overrun by 60,000+ fascists, racists, Nazis and other far right elements. Such claims are false and baseless. To see how Warsaw Independence Day March of 2017 really looked like please click on the link enclosed below. No burning cars! No vandalism! No arrests! Instead you see: Deep pride! Love of the country! Real sense of community and overriding patriotism! Appreciation of our long and rich history and culture!… Unfortunately, large number of media sources in the United States has branded the celebrations commemorating the 99th anniversary of the Poland’s Independence of November 11, 2017 as a social and political menace full of unchecked nationalism, racism, fascism and Nazism. Media channels have edited their footage of the march in ways, which completely misrepresented its character and further enhanced their “reporting” with highly distorted commentary full of unsubstantiated claims of violence and insinuations of alleged general mayhem perpetrated by the marchers. Multi-generational, patriotic participants, full of pride and love of the country, have been belittled, disparaged and unfairly labeled with onslaught of appalling and engineered fake news overflowing with obvious anti-Polish bias. The deliberate mischaracterizations of Poland and her people, create an untrue and unacceptable image of Poland as a backward country overrun by fascists. The dissemination of an image of Poland as a country full of bigotry, intolerance, racial bias, xenophobia and antisemitism clashes with the facts. Nothing in fact could be further from the truth. Poland is a modern, economically, socially and politically developed country. She is safe to live in and known around for her hospitality. Media reporting, full of falsehoods and absurd exaggerations, truly pains us, Poles, because it not only tries to undermine Poland ‘s sovereignty and eliminate our traditional values but also tries to establish and propagate bad image of Poles and Polish Americans. Media’s conduct in obvious way institutes, condones and perpetrates anti-Polish bias and amounts to hate speech. We Poles are astonished, shocked and angered by the scope and intensity of the most recent anti-Polish propaganda campaign, which is directed at nothing less than the suppression and elimination of Polish sovereignty and Polish way of life. Needless to say that we view media’s anti-Polish agenda as hostile, political, unprincipled, intellectually flawed, professionally dishonest and morally and legally corrupt. Such continued conduct is absolutely unacceptable. Their actions are widely viewed as harmful and damaging to the interests and safety of Poland, Poles and the Polish-American community of the United States… Edward WojciechJeśman