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Remembering Katyn, remembering a grandfather and father

From American Public Radio: Remembering Katyn

Across Poland this week, memorial services have been held to honor the dozens of dignitaries who died in last weekend’s plane crash. They were on their way to mark the 70th anniversary of what’s become known as the Katyn Massacre, the killing of over 20,000 Polish officers and intelligentsia at the start of World War II. Anna Wojtowicz’s father perished on that plane. Wojciech Seweryn had devoted his life to building a monument to honor the Polish victims of Katyn, including his own father. His powerful sculpture of a fallen Polish soldier held in the arms of Mary sits at the entrance to St. Adalbert Cemetary in Niles, Ill. Anna talks with Dick about the importance of remembering all that her dad and her grandfather stood for…

The podcast of the interview is here.

Poland - Polish - Polonia

Reflecting on those who do the work

From The Telegraph: Polish plane crash: country has shown resilience since President Kaczynski’s death

For Anne Applebaum, the crash that killed the Polish president Lech Kaczynski and his entourage was a personal tragedy as well as a blow for Poland. But she believes the country is emerging stronger.

By the time I met Ryszard Kaczorowski, he was an elegant, elderly man, with no air of tragedy or trauma about him. Yet at the age of 21, he had been arrested by the Soviet secret police —“ this was 1940, in Soviet-occupied Bialystok —“ and sent to Kolyma, one of the worst camps of the Gulag.

Kaczorowski’s story helps explain why Poles have been so traumatised since last Saturday’s plane crash near the Katyn forest, why air raid sirens wailed at 8.56 on Saturday morning, marking a week since that fatal moment, why at least 100,000 people came to Saturday’s public memorial service in Warsaw – and why more are expected to converge on Krakow on Sunday, despite the clouds of volcanic ash drifting across Europe.

Though sentenced to 10 years forced labour, Kaczorowski never served his whole term. In 1941 Hitler invaded the USSR, and Stalin decided to allow the hundreds of thousands of Poles in his labour camps to form an army. Kaczorowski marched out of the USSR under the command of General Wladyslaw Anders, travelled through Persia and Palestine, and fought at Monte Cassino in Italy.

After the war, Kaczorowski did not go home. Like many others in what became known as Anders’ Army, he stayed in London, not wanting to return to a Soviet-dominated Poland. But he maintained ties with the Polish government-in-exile, a group of men who had been Britain’s allies during the war, but who quickly turned into an embarrassment afterwards.

Following the Soviet occupation of Poland, these “London Poles” became irrelevant: Britain, like every other country in the world, recognised the new communist government as legitimate, not them.

Nevertheless, the government-in-exile remained in place, symbolically preserving the memory of free Poland. In 1986, Kaczorowski accepted the honorary post of president-in-exile. He held that title until 1990, when he transferred the insignia of office to Lech Walesa.

Last weekend, Kaczorowski died in the plane crash that also killed the Polish president, Lech Kaczynski. Both were on their way to honour the 20,000 Polish officers murdered by Stalin in the Katyn forest and at other places nearby. That act of mass terror, which took place 70 years ago this month, could easily have killed Kaczorowski too. He did not escape death in Russia a second time.

Contrary to some reports, there was not an unusual number of VIPs on board, given that it was the president’s plane, and given where it was going, and there were no members of the cabinet. Nevertheless, there were many people whose names appear halfway through newspaper articles, people whom “everybody knows” in political circles – people like Ryszard Kaczorowski who had played important symbolic roles in public life, people who do the groundwork for the politicians whose names are more familiar.

I knew or had met about a dozen people on the plane. My husband —“ the Polish foreign minister, Radek Sikorski – knew almost all of them, stewardesses included. Among them were people like Stanislaw Komorowski, the deputy defence minister and former ambassador to London. He recently negotiated a defence treaty with the United States, and he also laid the diplomatic groundwork for Poland’s presence in Afghanistan. I last saw him a few weeks ago at the opera, with his wife.

Andrzej Kremer, my husband’s deputy, was also on the plane. Kremer helped organise the joint visit of the Russian prime minister, Vladimir Putin, and the Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk, to Katyn 11 days ago, just shortly before the President was due to visit. I met him several times at dinners and parties.

Another passenger was Andrzej Przewoznik, whose job it was to look after Polish cemeteries and monuments in places where awful things had happened.

The Katyn memorial, being the most awful of them all, was his organisation’s responsibility. I saw him recently at a conference in Budapest, where he explained his work to a crowd of Hungarians.

All of these people were civil servants, politicians and public activists, the sorts of professional who, in both Anglo-Saxon and Polish political culture, do not always receive much respect. We make fun of them (Yes, Minister) or we investigate them, usually starting from the assumption that they have something to hide.

Yet when a large group of them tragically die, one suddenly realises how much, as group, they had accomplished, and how valuable to the nation they are. Not only Komorowski, Kremer and Przewoznik, but also Arkadiusz Rybicki, the MP who fought for a better understanding of autistic children; General Franciszek Gagor, who prepared the Polish army for Nato accession; Janusz Kochanowski, the ombudsman for civil rights. These men and women were working hard on behalf of the country, and not necessarily gaining much money or glory in recompense.

The loss of such people —“ and so many of them, all it once —“ explains part of why Poland has been in deep mourning since the plane crash last weekend…

Poland - Polish - Polonia, , ,

Praying for the dead in Bethlehem, PA

From The Morning Call: Polish church in Bethlehem holds service in memory of plane crash victims

 

From the ashes of tragedy, the Polish people might well rekindle the sense of solidarity they lost in the years since uniting to throw off the yoke of Soviet control, the Rev. Bogdan Jurczyszyn believes.

Jurczyszyn celebrated a special Mass Sunday at Our Lord’s Ascension, a Polish National Catholic Church in Bethlehem, to honor Polish President Lech Kaczynski, his wife and 94 others — largely high-ranking officials — who died April 10 in a plane crash in Russia.

”The government was divided, there were a lot of parties and they make trouble, you know,” Jurczyszyn said before the Mass. ”But this event changed most in the government and they are ready to talk and unite the parties and move forward if the decision is good for the country.”

The service began with the blessing of the Polish flag, which was carried by Hank Kudzik, the son of Polish immigrants and a World War II submariner who lives in Allen Township. Jurczyszyn led about 20 people in Polish prayers and hymns but gave the homily in English.

In searching for meaning to the tragedy, Jurczyszyn said before the service that he was heartened by Russia’s response to Poland’s loss. The two nations have had a tense relationship for years but Russian leaders have reached out to their grieving neighbor.

Kaczynski and the Polish delegation were on their way to a service commemorating the 1940 Soviet massacre of about 22,000 Polish officers and civilians in Katyn, Russia, during World War II. Jurczyszyn hopes Russia will open its archives to the Polish people so they can learn more about what happened to their countrymen at Katyn.

”Looking at Russia right now, we see very positive movements,” said Jurczyszyn, whose wife, Anna, is Russian.

…

Losing half of a government in an instant would test any country, much less a young democracy like Poland’s. But Jurczyszyn said so far Poles have passed that test, keeping the peace and responding with a renewed purpose.

Contributing to Jurczyszyn’s optimism is the fact that he once had the new acting president of Poland, Bronislaw Komorowski, for a high school history teacher and has faith in him as leader.

”He never used the book, only his head, you know,” the priest said. ”Every class with him was so interesting.”

Attending the Mass, Karen Amate of Northampton said she came to honor the Polish people and show support for Jurczyszyn.

”I haven’t been to a Polish Mass in a long time,” said Amate, whose father was a Polish immigrant. ”When I hear it, it brings back memories of growing up and it does remind me of our heritage.”

That was true too for Bethlehem resident Nicolette Stavrovsky, who grew up in the church and learned some Polish from performing songs in traditional costumes as a child in a church group called The Children of Mary.

”As you get older, you appreciate the traditions more,” she said.

Daniel Broczkowski of Bethlehem, whose grandfather was a founding member of the parish in 1927, said his family’s ”love for Poland and our sympathy for the Polish people are deep rooted.”

The sudden loss of so many government leaders is almost unimaginable, he said. ”It’s hard to fathom that in America and have the country go on. It would certainly be a blow aÂ… to the spirit of the country and make people look to each other and say, ‘How do we go on from here?”’

Poland - Polish - Polonia

Watching

Today’s Funeral service from St. Mary’s Basilica and Wawel via TV Polonia. Purple vestments as appropriate. The glory of faithful Poland.

  • A large contingent of political and religious leaders despite the dangers presented by the ash cloud.
  • Processional to Mozarts Requiem.
  • The deacon did a beautiful job chanting the Gospel. The music – beautiful and sentimental.
  • Changing of the guard prior to the homily.
  • Scanning the crowd in the Market Square (Rynek Główny) in Kraków. Soldiers, scouts, clergy, the leadership from the Jagiellonian University in academic regalia, ludzie góralskie (a contingent of mountaineers), the entire people of Poland.
  • The Creed and petitions. The petitions were offered in Polish, English, Russian, and French.
  • Changing of the guard.
  • Offertory and an Easter Hymn – Otrzyjcie już łzy płaczący.
  • Preface and Canon
  • At the Canon, the leadership of Poland’s interim government kneeling on the floor.
  • Commemorating the B.V. Mary, the Martyrs, St. Stanisław and Adalbert
  • Lord, I am not worthy that Thou shouldst enter under my roof…
  • …and no “communion in the hand.”
  • Post communion hymn – Zwycięzca śmierci. From the grave on the morning of the third day. Alleluia! The grave will not hold Him. Pan zmartwychwstał! He stood up from death.
  • Boże, coś Polskę
  • The Acting President of Poland, Pan Bronisław Komorowski – ‘St. Mary’s, witness to Poland’s moments of greatness and tragedy…’
  • The head of NSZZ Solidarność, Janusz Śniadek, speaking – heartfelt. “Lechu, my dear friend…” “There is no solidarity without love.” “Without solidarity we will not have a better world.”
  • The Primate of Poland, Archbishop Henryk Józef Muszyński speaking.
  • Archbishop of Warsawa, Kazimierz Nycz, conducts the commendation (in the PNCC the absolution of the dead).
  • In Slavonic by, I believe by Metropoloitan Sawa (not sure). I think rather Bishop Wlodzimierz (Juszczak), Greek Catholic Eparch of Wrocław and Gdańsk.
  • Recessional and awaiting transfer of the bodies to the crypt in Wawel. Archbishop Stanisław Dziwisz has changed to a purple cope.
  • The bishops process before the two gun carriages carrying the bodies.
  • The crowd breaks out into the national anthem.
  • Notice the blue and white flags – the colors of Kraków.
  • The bells at Wawel have begun to ring, including the tolling of the Royal Sigismund Bell (Dzwon Zygmunta).
  • Outside the Cathedral Basilica of ŚŚw. Stanisław and Wacław.
  • Entering.
  • I am the resurrection and the life… Let us pray for our brother and sister…
  • Our Father…
  • Removal of the bodies to the crypt at Wawel.

Wieczne odpoczynek racz im dać Panie, a światłość wiekuista niechaj im świeci.
Niech odpoczywają w pokoju, Amen.

Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord and may the perpetual light shine upon them.
May their soul and the souls of all the faithful departed rest in peace. Amen.

Current Events, Poland - Polish - Polonia, Political, , ,

The undelivered speech of President Kaczyński

Dear Representatives of the Katyn Families. Ladies and Gentlemen.

In April 1940 over twenty-one thousand Polish prisoners from the NKVD camps and prisons were killed. The genocide was committed at Stalin’s will and at the Soviet Union’s highest authority’s command.

The alliance between the Third Reich and the Soviet Union, the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact and the Soviet attack on Poland on 17 September 1939 reached a terrifying climax in the Katyn massacre. Not only in the Katyn forest, but also in Tver, Kcharkiv and other known, and unknown, execution sites citizens of the Second Republic of Poland, people who formed the foundation of our statehood, who adamantly served the motherland, were killed.

At the same time families of the murdered and thousands of citizens of the eastern territory of the pre-war Poland were sent into exile deep into the Soviet Union, where their indescribable suffering marked the path of the Polish Golgotha of the East.

The most tragic station on that path was Katyn. Polish officers, priests, officials, police officers, border and prison guards were killed without a trial or sentence. They fell victims to an unspeakable war. Their murder was a violation of the rights and conventions of the civilized world. Their dignity as soldiers, Poles and people, was insulted. Pits of death were supposed to hide the bodies of the murdered and the truth about the crime for ever.

The world was supposed to never find out. The families of the victims were deprived of the right to mourn publicly, to proudly commemorate their relatives. Ground covered the traces of crime and the lie was supposed to erase it from people’s memory.

An attempt to hide the truth about Katyn —“ a result of a decision taken by those who masterminded the crime —“ became one of the foundations of the communists’ policy in an after-war Poland: a founding lie of the People’s Republic of Poland.

It was the time when people had to pay a high price for knowing and remembering the truth about Katyn. However, the relatives of the murdered and other courageous people kept the memory, defended it and passed it on to next generations of Poles. They managed to preserve the memory of Katyn in the times of communism and spread it in the times of free and independent Poland. Therefore, we owe respect and gratitude to all of them, especially to the Katyn Families. On behalf of the Polish state, I offer sincere thanks to you, that by defending the memory of your relatives you managed to save a highly important dimension of our Polish consciousness and identity.

Katyn became a painful wound of Polish history, which poisoned relations between Poles and Russians for decades. Let’s make the Katyn wound finally heal and cicatrize. We are already on the way to do it. We, Poles, appreciate what Russians have done in the past years. We should follow the path which brings our nations closer, we should not stop or go back.

All circumstances of the Katyn crime need to be investigated and revealed. It is important that innocence of the victims is officially confirmed and that all files concerning the crime are open so that the Katyn lie could disappear for ever. We demand it, first of all, for the sake of the memory of the victims and respect for their families’ suffering. We also demand it in the name of common values, which are necessary to form a foundation of trust and partnership between the neighbouring nations in the whole Europe.

Let’s pay homage to the murdered and pray upon their bodies.

Glory to the Heroes!

Hail their memory!

Current Events, Poland - Polish - Polonia, , , , , , ,

In Albany last night

From WRGB:

The ceremony was attended by the diversity of the Polish community, with members from the Polish National Catholic, Roman Catholic, and Ukrainian Catholic communities. Prayers were offered by each, including a beautiful panikhida by the Rev. Mikhail Myshchuk. Reflections were offered by the leaders of Polonian organizations as well as area political leaders. Greetings and marks of condolence were read from the Capital Region’s Jewish community.

From the Schenectady Gazette: Capital Region Poles unite to honor plane crash victims

More than 200 members of the Polish community in the Capital Region attended a memorial service Friday night honoring the president of Poland and 95 other members of that country’s political, military and religious elite killed when their jet crashed April 10 in Russia….

From YNN: Polish community honors crash victims

The local Polish-American community came together to remember and honor the Polish leaders who died in last week’s plane crash.

The memorial service was hosted by Albany’s Polish Community Center. There, people heard prayer readings and a speech that Polish President Lech Kaczynski was supposed to give at a ceremony before he was killed in the crash.

The Polish President and First Lady were among 97 of the country’s dignitaries killed in that crash one week ago. They were flying to Russia for a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the Katyn Forest massacre where more than 20,000 Polish prisoners of war were killed by soviet agents.

Those who attended the memorial service say they are not surprised by the large turnout.

“It shows the deep emotion and feelings people have. It’s also indicative of the large numbers that we have in the Capital District area of people from Poland in the recent past and from Polish heritage background,” said Fr. Carl Urban.

Mourners also tell us that the most positive thing to come out of the plane crash is that many people are now aware of the Katyn massacre.

Christian Witness, Current Events, PNCC, Poland - Polish - Polonia, , ,

Capital District Memorial Service

A Memorial Service for the deceased Polish President Lech Kaczynski, his wife and Polish delegation that perished in the plane crash in Smolensk, Russia will be held at Albany’s Polish Community Center, 225 Washington Ave Ext., Albany, NY 12205 on Friday, April 16, 2010. Doors will open at 7pm and the Service will begin at 7:30pm. This event is open to the entire Capital District community. Please join us.

Christian Witness, Current Events, Poland - Polish - Polonia, , ,

Orthodox Church in Poland Mourns

The Orthodox Ordinary for the Polish Armed Forces, Ś.P. +Archbishop Miron, was among those killed in the tragic air crash near Smolensk in Russia. Metropolitan Sawa has assumed the role of Ordinary for the Armed Forces. Metropolitan Sawa appointed a commission to make funeral arrangements for Ś.P. +Archbishop Miron and conducted a panikhida service in memory of Ś.P. +Archbishop Miron and all those killed.

More from Cerkiew.

Christian Witness, Current Events, PNCC, Poland - Polish - Polonia

More PNCC Reflections on Poland’s Tragedy

Edwardsville, PA

From WBRE-TV: Polish Church Honors Those Lost in Plane Crash

Sadness over the tragic plan crash that killed Poland’s President and nearly 100 other people is reaching around the globe, even to our area.

The Polish National Catholic Church Resurrection of the Lord Parish in Edwardsville remembered the crash victims Sunday.

Reverend Pawel Filip and his family arrived at church wearing black clothes and black ribbons.They’re in mourning for the people of their native Poland.

He led the congregation in a prayer for the families they left behind and for the people of Poland. He said, I think all the polish nation lost the light of the Polish people.”

The pastor heard about the crash from a family member in Poland. It was night here. And the terrible phone call woke him up. He recalled,”I couldn’t believe that it happened.”

He left his home country just two years ago – and still feels strong ties to his homeland – it’s people and it’s leaders. He sighed,”It’s very hard to replace these kinds of people – especially the president.”

Even parishioners who never lived in Poland say this tragedy impacts them. Margaret Garvin of Edwardsville said,”It just brings everything right to you. Right to your heart.” Her grandparents came to the United States from Poland. She explained,”When it is your family like – polish it really means a lot.”

The reverend said the Polish are strong. And they will recover from this tragedy. Thanks in part to strong support from around the world. He said, “When something like this happens all the nations join together – we have the same spirit – the same thinking – we are very close.”

Frackville and Shenandoah, PA

Local Polish Pastor Remembers Friend Killed in Crash

FRACKVILLE, SCHUYLKILL COUNTY — A special memorial sits in front of St. John the Baptist Church in Frackville. It pays tribute to victims of a plane crash in Russia that killed the Polish President and Maciej Plazynski, a friend of St. John’s Pastor Robert Plichta.

“He was very dedicated man to his family, to the church and of course, to the country,” he said.

Pastor Plichta moved to the states 7 years ago. He’s responsible for polish catholic congregations in Frackville and Shenandoah.

Before Plichta moved to America, Plazynski was a parishoner of Plichta’s church in his hometown of Gdansk, Poland.

The former chief of Poland’s parliament, Plazynski was as friendly as they come says Plictha. “It was a blessing for me to know him personally,” he said.

But now Pastor Plichta, like the rest of his home country of Poland, is mourning a terrible tragedy. Plazynski was on a plane with several high ranking polish officials including the country’s president when it crashed.

Plichta hopes to help Polish-American communities in Schuylkill County cope with the loss. “The first question could appear, why. And there is no answer,” he said.

A special Monday mass is scheduled in honor of the crash victims. “Gods message, maybe for the Polish community, maybe for this entire world, Eastern Europe, Western Europe to live together and we have to realize that we are not masters of this earth, we are merely passing through,” he added.

Brooklyn, NY

From the AP: Polish immigrants worldwide mourn crash victims

Polish immigrants and their descendants around the world shared the anguish of their mother country on Sunday, mourning the 96 victims of a devastating plane crash as they crowded into Polish-language Masses.

Millions of Poles have emigrated over nearly two centuries, establishing large communities in the United States and Britain. They coped with Saturday’s death of Polish President Lech Kaczynski and dozens of other military, church and government officials through vigils, prayer and writing…

Maria Balcer, 65, a recent immigrant, sat in a pew at Polish National Catholic Church in Brooklyn and cried. She had been up until 2 a.m. watching television coverage of the crash, she said.

“The tragedy is terrible, a horrible feeling in my heart,” she said…

Hamtramck, MI

From Freep.com: Poles in metro Detroit share their shock, hurt

The death of Polish President Lech Kaczynski in a plane crash Saturday stunned metro Detroit’s Polish community.

At the Polish Market on Jos Campau in Hamtramck, all shoppers wanted to talk about was the crash. Overhead, loud speakers piped in a news broadcast from a Polish language radio station.

“Basically, that’s all we talk about all day,” said Sebastian Poweska, an employee and an immigrant who came to the United States five years ago from Stalowa Wola, Poland.

“It’s been really slow — only half the people who normally come in,” said Poweska, 24, of Sterling Heights. “It’s the same thing as 9/11. People just sitting around at home watching TV all day.”

He learned about the crash when his father woke him at 6 a.m. Saturday and told him.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Poweska said.

…

On Pulaski Street in Hamtramck at the Holy Cross Polish National Catholic Church, three women were cleaning up after serving a meal at the congregation’s soup kitchen.

They said they expected the priest would say special prayers during mass today for Poland and those who died in the plane crash.

Jolanta Nowak, 38, of Hamtramck, who emigrated 10 years ago from Katowice, Poland, a town an hour west of Kraków, said she was praying “for healing. For the future of the people because they will be thinking about what happened.”

Stephanie Marsh, 71, of Shelby Township said, “I was thinking what would happen to us if something like this were to happen in the United States. It’s just going to rip everything apart for them.”

Rochester, NY

From the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Local Polish community grieves after tragedy that killed Poland’s president

The plane crash Saturday that killed Poland’s president and several members of his country’s elite was a tragedy not only for Poles, but for their relatives and descendants here in the United States.

During services today at St. Casimir Polish National Catholic Church in Irondequoit, the Rev. Melvin Walczak will lead congregants in prayers for those who have suffered.

—We will be praying for all of the people in Poland,— Walczak said. —We will be praying for the members of our congregation who have family members that are connected to Poland.—

Walczak, whose grandparents emigrated from Poland, was saddened by the loss of President Lech Kaczynski and other leaders.

—I can only imagine what we would feel if Air Force One crashed,— Walczak said. —That’s the parallel for American people to try to look at.—

The Polish leaders were heading to a ceremony to mark the 70th anniversary of the slaughter of Polish military officers by Soviet secret police.

The massacre in the Katyn forest —is a very, very important moment historically for every single Pole, wherever we are,— said Maria Weldy of Irondequoit, a native of the Krakow area. —It’s just so, so sad.—

Adam Urbanski, president of the Rochester Teachers Association, added that the timing of the crash was —so tragic and so ironic.—

—The impact of this is really felt in Poland,— said Urbanski, who grew up in Nowa Huta, Poland.

Despite the tragedy, Urbanski said he believes Poland will recover.

—I think the country will survive this tragedy,— he said. —The Poles, like the Irish, are used to tragedy.—

Christian Witness, Current Events, PNCC, Poland - Polish - Polonia

Albany area Poles in mourning

Updated News: There will be a service of memory held at Albany’s Polish Community Center, 225 Washington Ave. Ext., Albany, NY on Friday, April 16th at 7pm. All are invited to attend.

From the Albany Times Union: Stunning news from homeland: Plane crash in which leaders die shakes local Polish community

COLONIE — Saturday’s fatal plane crash jolted members of the Capital Region’s Polish community, some of whom follow politics there and are lamenting the loss of a substantial part of that nation’s leadership.

“I was devastated,” said Wojciech Adamus of Albany, who came to Saturday evening Mass at the Blessed Virgin Mary of Czestochowa Polish National Catholic Church.

Adamus, 63, grew up in Poland. He came to the U.S. in 1984 when the Reagan administration allowed in Poles who had been arrested in crackdowns against the anti-Soviet Solidarity movement.

Adamus has never been back, but has watched Poland develop into a democracy from afar, occasionally watching Polish language broadcasts on friends’ satellite stations.

The Siena College graduate, who worked as a teacher, said that like many emigres he supported President Lech Kaczynski’s hard-line stand against Russia.

He compared Kaczynski’s conservative and nationalistic Law and Justice Party to the Republicans here in the U.S. That party is in an ongoing tug of war with another major party, the Civic Platform.

“I am very sad. I liked his politics,” added the Rev. Adam Czarnecki, the priest at Amsterdam’s Good Shepherd [PNCC] church.

Both men said they wondered why so many top officials would be on the same plane, a Soviet-designed aircraft that was two decades old.

“In every country there is a move to save money,” Adamus said.

From WRGB-TV: Poland Plane Crash Reaction

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