Poetry of Milosz Featured at Colombia
By Raymond Rolak
New York — An evening of poetry and remembrance will be held at Columbia Universityon Saturday, October 27, 2011 at 5:30 pm., in the Butler Library. It will be a celebration of the memorabilia and poems of Czeslaw Milosz.
He died in 2004 at the age of 93 and had previously been a professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of California-Berkley from 1961 to 1998.
Milosz, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature in 1980, has an exhibition of artifacts opening at the Butler Library. Controversy always followed him. He refused to categorically identify himself as either a Pole or a Lithuanian. He defected to France in 1951 and immigrated to the United States in 1960.
The commemorated author will be honored with comments by Professor Helen Vendler of Harvard University. The event will coincide with other multilingual readings of his poetry by members of the Colombia University community. Also featured will be Colombia’s Alan Timberlake and Dr. Anna Frajlich, who will both do readings.
Another celebration of the centennial of his birth will be the academic poetry conference at Claremont McKenna College in Los Angeles, October 19-21. Readings by Polish and American Poets including Piotr Florczyk, Jacek Gutorow and Joanna Treciak will be featured on Thursday, October 20th at 3:00 PM.
Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom; and when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, but supposing him to be in the company they went a day’s journey, and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintances; and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions; and all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. And when they saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been looking for you anxiously.” And he said to them, “How is it that you sought me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” And they did not understand the saying which he spoke to them. And he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and man. — Luke 2:41-52
Please contact your Senators and Representatives asking that they include Poland in the Visa Waiver Program by co-sponsoring and supporting House Bill H.R. 959 and Senate Bill S. 497.
From Alex Storozynski, President of The Kosciuszko Foundation, The U.S. Must Respect Its Allies
Polish-Americans [marched] up Fifth Avenue on Sunday, [October 2nd] in honor of Gen. Casimir Pulaski, a hero who saved George Washington’s life at the Battle of Brandywine. Yet ironically, if he were alive today, Pulaski would not be allowed to march in the parade without paying $140 and applying for a visa. However, Lafayette and Von Steuben would be able to visit the United States for free because France and Germany are included in the Visa Waiver Program.
The Nowy Dziennik-Polish Daily News, The Kosciuszko Foundation and the Polish community in America urge the United States Congress to include Poland in the VWP, which allows citizens of 36 foreign countries to travel to the U.S. for up to 90 days without a visa.
Poland is one of America’s closest and steadfast allies, sending its soldiers to shed their blood for freedom in Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon and other war zones. Polish troops have fought side by side with American troops, going wherever the United States asks them to go. So far, 29 Polish soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan, and 30 Polish soldiers have been killed in Iraq.
Like Pulaski, many Polish soldiers have served with distinction at the behest of the U.S. military. Gen. Roman Polko, former commander of the Polish Special Forces unit, GROM, (Thunderbolt), led the capture of a heavily guarded oil platform in the port of Umm Qasr during Operation Iraqi Freedom. The U.S. Army awarded Gen. Polko the Commendation Medal and the Legion of Merit Medal. But when I invited Polko to attend an event at the Kosciuszko Foundation in the spring, he told me that he could not come to New York because he did not have a valid American visa.
While Polko and other Polish soldiers can fight for American freedom, they cannot come see the Statue of Liberty without a visa.
Is this how America treats its allies?
President George W. Bush acknowledged that Poland is one of America’s closest allies and promised to include Poland in the VWP. Poland meets all of the criteria for the VWP, except one – the number of citizens denied visas after they pay the $140 fee.
American consulates around the world interview foreign citizens who apply for tourist visas to visit the United States. These consulates deny visas to people they think might overstay their 90 day visas or work illegally in America.In 2008, President Bush announced that the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and South Korea would become part of the VWP because these countries had a visa refusal rate lower than 10%. Poland was excluded because at the time its visa refusal rate was slightly higher than that. Today, Poland’s refusal rate is 9%. But after these other countries were added, Congress said that no new countries would be allowed into the VWP unless their visa refusal rate was less than 3%.
The only reason Poland has a 9% refusal rate is that American consulates count the same people over and over as they are denied visas several times. The true percentage of Poles who are denied visas is actually lower. And fewer than 3% of the Poles who do come to America stay longer than the 90 days allowed on their visas.
Countries with an overstay rate of less than 3% should be included in the VWP. The Secure Travel and Counterterrorism Partnership Act of 2011, H.R. 959, would do just that. The bill must pass both houses before President Obama can sign it.
The bill is sponsored in the House by Rep. Mike Quigley of Illinois, and the co-sponsors of the bill that are friendly towards Polonia include: Rep. Shelley Berkley [D-NV], Rep. Brian Higgins [D-NY], Rep. Duncan Hunter [R-CA], Rep. Marcy Kaptur [D-OH], Rep. Daniel Lipinski [D-IL], Rep. William (Bill) Pascrell, Jr. [D-NJ], Rep. Jared Polis [D-CO], Rep. Janice (Jan) Schakowsky [D-IL], Rep. John Shimkus [R-IL].
The Senate Bill S. 497 is sponsored by Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, and co-sponsored by Senators Mark Kirk of Illinois, Mark Begich of Alaska, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota.
President Obama has written to Congress in “strong support” of the bill, but it must first pass both houses of Congress before it can be signed into law.
The key to passing this bill lies with New York Senator Charles Schumer, Chairman of the Immigration, Refugee and Border Security subcommittee in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Senator Schumer can influence the outcome of this bill in the Senate. It’s time for Sen. Schumer to take action on this bill and show that he cares about the one million people of Polish descent in New York State. He must become a co-sponsor.
In the House of Represenatives, the key is Rep. Elton Gallegly of California, Chairman of the Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement. Both committees must pass the bill before it can go to the Senate and full House for a vote.
The arguments for including Poland in the VWP are strong. In addition to being one of America’s greatest allies, a productive member of NATO, and the European Union, the notion that Poles need to come to America to work is just flat out wrong. In fact, many Poles who have Green Cards have returned to Poland in recent years because the economy in their own country has grown faster than the U.S. economy.
Those Poles who do want to seek employment elsewhere can work in various countries across Europe. Poland is part of the “Schengen Area” of 25 European nations that allows passport-free travel across borders. Poles do not need to come here to work. They only want to come here to shop, visit relatives and see tourist sites, just like other Europeans.
It’s estimated that 7,000 Poles will be denied visas to the U.S. this year. Many more don’t even apply because the process offends them. I have several relatives and friends in Poland that have professional careers, and they refuse to come here and spend money because of the visa issue. Instead, they travel to tourist sites in Africa, Asia and South America to spend their vacation money.
Poland presently holds the rotating Presidency of the European Union, but incredibly, its President, Bronislaw Komorowski, had to apply for visa prior to his trip to the United States. By refusing visa free travel for Poles, the United States is pushing away an ally, and taking Poland for granted.
Poles pose no terrorist threat to America, and allowing Poles to visit the United States as tourists would encourage international trade and pump tourism dollars into our economy.
While the United States requires Poles to have visas when traveling to America, Poland waived visas for Americans more than 20 years ago.Allowing Poles to travel without visas will add to our security and enhances law enforcement and crime-fighting efforts through data-sharing agreements between our respective countries.
There are 10 million Polish-Americans in the United States and they have been actively trying to include their fatherland in the VWP. As we march down Fifth Avenue today, we will not just be celebrating Polish culture, we will be handing out letters that Polish Americans can send to their Representative and Senators.
This is not a partisan issue, Republican or Democrat. It is an issue of respect. It is respect for the millions of Poles that helped build this country. It is respect for the millions of Poles who helped overturn Communism and bring down the Berlin Wall and the Soviet Union thanks to the actions of the Solidarity movement and Pope John Paul II.
If, like Gen. Polko, Gen. Pulaski were turned away from America’s shores because he did not have a visa, he would not have saved George Washington’s life at the Battle of Brandywine. If Gen. Thaddeus Kosciuszko had been kept out of America because of the visa issue, he would not have built West Point, or drafted the winning plans for the Battle of Saratoga. The American Revolution would have turned out much different.
For too long, the United States has treated our friends and families in Poland as second class citizens requiring them to pay hefty fees to apply for visas to visit this country, while Europeans from other countries travel here without visas.
The BBC Program, Who Do You Think You Are speaks with Strictly Come Dancing (BBC1)/Dancing With the Stars (ABC) judge Len Goodman. Mr. Goodman discovers the role his Polish great great grandfather had in 1830 November Uprising.
What’s special about Poland? Together with Val Kilmer, Natalie Portman, Russell Crowe, many more world celebrities discover the uniqueness of Poland!
The Battle of Warsaw 1920
The Battle of Warsaw 1920, a new film by Jerzy Hoffman released this week. The movie tells the story of Polish – Bolshevik War of 1920 and the Battle of Warsaw, the pivotal moment in the war which stopped the spread of communism in Central and Western Europe.
The first world war is over; people are enjoying peace. But the Red Army is approaching and Lenin has ideas of world revolution. The Polish unite to resist and stop the Red Army outside Warsaw. In part this is a love story as well as a history lesson. We follow two newly married people caught up in the conflict. We sway back and forth from the front-lines, back to Warsaw, as the Red Army pushes east.
Wojtek The Bear That Went to War
Screening of Polish-British documentary about the bear who fought in World War Two: Wojtek The Bear That Went to War on Tuesday, November 15th, 6.30pm at Riverside Studios, Crisp Road, London W6 9RL
Wojtek The Bear That Went to War, directed by Will Hood and Adam Lavis, Narrated by Brian Blessed, and produced by Animal Monday and Braidmade Films, is the story of Wojtek the Soldier Bear – a magnificent 500lb military bear who fought in World War Two alongside a band of Polish soldiers, shared their beer and cigarettes – and eventually their fate. Told by those that knew him, his story will capture the imagination and provide a very different perspective of the Polish war story.
The screening will be followed by a Q&A with the director and veterans who knew Wojtek
Tickets: £8.50/7.50 cons.
More from BBC Scotland: Wojtek: the Polish soldier bear who lived at Edinburgh Zoo
In his own lifetime, Wojtek, a Syrian brown bear adopted by Polish soldiers in the Second World War, was a celebrity among his comrades. Seven decades on, in Scotland, his legend is undergoing a renaissance thanks to the efforts both of the Polish community itself and of local artists and writers.
Acquired as an orphaned cub in Iran, the young Wojtek was soon well-travelled: with the Artillery Supply Command of the Polish Second Corps he saw fighting in the deserts of north Africa, where the Second Corps joined the British fight against Rommel’s forces, and in Italy…
The Polish Americans on PBS
The Polish Americans applauds the spirit, determination and solidarity of an immigrant success story like no other. Using vintage film footage, family photos, personal recollections and experiences, this documentary special embodies Polish pride in a televised “family album” of the Polish-American experience.
The Polish Americans takes viewers to the bastions of Polonia across the United States, from New York City and Schenectady to Cleveland and Chicago, where parents instill in their children the virtues and values of their native land and a love of its traditions, like the pierogi so many mothers filled and pinched just right.
While strongly American and part of the larger culture, Polish Americans maintained a desire to keep their heritage alive — with rewarding results. The Polish Americans celebrates these proud achievements.
The Officer’s Wife
The Officer’s Wife was screened in Chicago on Friday, October 7th at the Copernicus Center. The screening was sponsored by the Polish American Congress.
Piotr Uzarowicz’s grandfather was one of the nearly 22,000 Polish prisoners of war executed in the Katyn massacre of 1940. Piotr recently completed “The Officer’s Wife,” a documentary about Katyn and the far-reaching effects the massacre – and its cover-up – had on the Uzarowicz family. The film is an ode not just to Piotr’s grandfather: Piotr’s grandmother and father, deported to Siberia during the war, are also key players – as is Piotr himself, who journeys to Poland, Russia, England, Canada, Ukraine and the U.S. on his film-making and personal odyssey. “The Officer’s Wife” was first previewed in May at the Kosciuszko Foundation in New York.
Warsaw Jewish Film Festival
The Warsaw Jewish Film Festival will take place in Warsaw, Poland from November 8-13. Screenings will be at the Kinoteka and Świt Theaters. This year’s Honorary David Camera is dedicated to Polish film and TV director and screenwriter Mrs. Agnieszka Holland.
Among the films competing, David, about the unlikely friendship between a Jewish and Muslim boy in Brooklyn, directed by Joel Fendelman.
“David” trailer from Joel Fendelman on Vimeo.
Into the Wind
Into the Wind is Steven Hatton’s first feature length documentary, capturing the life and wartime experiences of former Bomber Command veterans from the Second World War. As well as a document of unique historical value and significance, Into the Wind is a record of deeply personal stories, tales of friendships gained and lost, the perpetual possibility and proximity of death, the importance of love and family, the shared passion for flying and the moral implications of warfare.
The documentary features interviews with former aircrew originating from Poland, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago and the United Kingdom, all of whom share the weight and responsibility of having helped change the course of history.
See the BBC Article
Into the Wind: The story of Bomber Command.
From Polskie Radio: Deportee Day [September 17th] recalls forgotten WW II exodus
Saturday sees the 7th World Day of the Siberian, saluting the hundreds of thousands of Polish citizens who were deported to far-flung corners of the Soviet Union during World War II.
Following tradition, the event is held on 17 September, marking the anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Poland in 1939.
Survivors from across the world are expected in Poland. Ceremonies will take place in the northern city of Gdansk, as well as in the nearby village of Szymbark, site of the extensive Siberian House Museum.
Deportees, including the elderly and children, were dispatched from Poland’s Eastern territories following the division of Poland between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union in September 1939.
The four transports began in February 1940, primarily to Siberia and Kazakhstan. Many perished during the cramped train journeys, as more did while working in forced labour camps or on collective farms.
The deportations dealt a heavy blow to Poland’s professional elite, but the transports included citizens of all classes and ethnic backgrounds.
Historians are still divided as to the numbers of those deported. Contemporary Moscow figures cited 330,000, yet Poland’s wartime government-in-exile claimed over a million.
The matter became a source of embarrassment to the Soviet Union, after Hitler reneged on his non-aggression pact with Stalin and invaded Moscow-held territory in 1941, thus prompting Stalin to turn to Great Britain – and by default its Polish ally – for support.
An amnesty was declared, and General Wladyslaw Anders, one of the thousands of Polish internees in the Soviet Union, was allowed to raise an army from among the prisoners.
The so-called Polish Second Corps journeyed to Iran, where it regrouped and joined the fight against the Nazis, as part of the British 8th Army.However, thousands did not make it out of Soviet territory. Historian Andrzej Paczkowski puts the mortality rate at 8-10 percent.
Noted deportees included the writer Gustaw Herling-Grudzinski, whose post-war book A World Apart was cited by historian Anne Applebaum as one of the finest accounts of life in the Soviet Gulag.
Likewise, Poland’s most celebrated pre-war film star, Eugeniusz Bodo, was among those who perished in the Soviet Union.
Oscar-nominated Polish-Jewish film-maker Jerzy Hoffman survived the ordeal as a child. He is currently preparing to release Poland’s first 3D film, The Battle for Warsaw, this month.
As it was, the vast majority of Anders’ Army did not return to the Soviet-dominated Poland that emerged after the war.
Ryszard Kaczorowski (1919-2010), the last president of the government-in-exile in London, was himself a survivor of both Siberia and the Italian campaign.
Although the wartime deportations were devastating in Poland, they were by no means unique. In May 1944, Moscow launched the deportation of the entire Tatar population of the Crimea. Activists are calling for the action, known as Surgun, to be classified as genocide.
From the Libra Institute: Report from the Capitol Hill Conference, “Katyń: Unfinished Inquiry”
On the eve of the 72nd anniversary of the Soviet aggression on Poland, an important conference took place on the Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. The conference entitled “Katyń – Unfinished Inquiry” was co-sponsored by fifteen civic and academic organizations from all over the United States, including organizations representing Katyń families and Siberian deportees such as the Katyń Forest Massacre Memorial Committee of New Jersey, Kresy-Siberia Foundation USA, National Katyń Memorial Foundation of Maryland, Polish Legacy Project of Buffalo, New York, Siberian Society USA, Siberian Society of Florida, the Poles of Santa Rosa in Chicago, the Polish Army Veterans Association in America and the Polish American Congress. The conference was co-organized by Libra Institute and the Institute of World Politics with the support of Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur.
While commemorating the Polish victims of the Soviet aggression of September 17, 1939, the participants deliberated how to achieve healing of the wounds and genuine reconciliation between the people of Russia and Poland in the twenty first century. The participants acknowledged that the path to reconciliation leads through revealing the full truth.
Professor David Crane who served as Chief Prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone presented Expert Report from the Katyń Symposium that took place at Case Western Reserve School of Law in February 2011. Referring to the Expert Report, he pointed out that genuine reconciliation must be built on truthful accountability through full disclosure, atonement, contrition and compensation. He also stated that although various experts offer different classifications of the Katyń crime, according to him Katyń qualified as genocide. Prof. Crane also stated that the United States should consider forwarding the evidence, findings and recommendations of the Madden Committee to the General Assembly of the United Nations with the recommendations that the United Nations take appropriate steps to have the case forwarded to the International Court of Justice and/or seek the establishment of an international commission that will investigate this case. The other ways in which the United States could assist in seeking justice for the Katyń crime would be the full disclosure of documents related to Katyń that are in the possession of the US Government and adopting legislation that would recognize the wrong that has been done by the United States as a result of the suppression of evidence. The United States should also consider issuing an apology to the Katyń victims and the Polish people, providing compensation to the Katyń families who are US citizens either directly or through the establishment of the Katyń Truth and Reconciliation Institute, and should sponsor an educational outreach program on the Katyń crime and the cover-up.
Dr. John Lenczowski, President of the Institute of World Politics, in his opening remarks pointed out that the Katyń crime aimed at eliminating the leadership class of Poland. He criticized the Russian anti-Katyń strategy by pointing out that the Soviet soldiers taken as prisoners of war by Poland as a result of the 1920 Polish-Russian War represented the invading army and died of communicable diseases. He also elaborated on the role of the US Government in covering up the Katyń crime and suppressing all Katyń related information, including the destruction of the key eyewitness reports by the top US Military Intelligence Officer, in order not to upset Moscow. He pointed out that the key Katyń-related documents have never been released by the US Government. Apparently, there is never a good time to do so, especially when the USA aims at resetting relations with Russia.
Frank Spula, President of the Polish-American Congress, spoke about the significance of the Katyń crime for the Polish-American community. He stated that he was honored to be in this congressional office building and participate in such a historical event, especially considering that this building was named after Sam Rayburn who initiated the original investigation into the Katyń crime sixty years ago. Back then Roman Pucinski, the Chief Investigator of the Madden Committee led the struggle for truth and justice. Today his daughter, Aurelia Pucinski, came to this congressional building to continue her father’s struggle for justice. Katyń has a special significance to the Americans of Polish heritage.
…
The closing remarks belonged to Wesley Adamczyk, Son of the Polish Officer imprisoned in Starobelsk, murdered in Kharkov and buried in the Piatichatki forest. Having searched for his father’s burial site for six decades, finally in June of 1998, while accompanied by his American-born son, Mr. Adamczyk had an opportunity to pay last respects to his father at the Piatichatki cemetery. Upon leaving, he appealed to his son never to forget that even the grinding of the bones and planting of the trees over the graves does not stop the truth from coming to the surface. Mr. Adamczyk stressed that today, nearly seventy years later, there still exist a “universal cover-up” of the Katyń crime in its entirety. He also explained that the origin of the cover-up of the Katyń crime, referred to as “conspiracy of silence”, began by the Big Four during the London meeting in the summer of 1945. The purpose of that meeting was to establish procedures for prosecution of major war criminals during the upcoming trials by the International Military Tribunal to be held in Nuremberg. It was there that the Big Four agreed that the Soviets would handle the indictment and prosecution of the Katyń crime, even though the Western Allies knew that all arrows pointed to the Soviet guilt. The Western Allies won the war against Nazi Germany but justice for the victims of the Katyń crime was never sought. In closing, Mr. Adamczyk appealed to the Government of the United States to undertake pro-active steps towards full disclosure and dissemination of all documents related to the Katyń atrocity in the possession of the US Government because without revealing full truth justice cannot be served.
More from the Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law: Katyń Conference Papers.
Kresy-Siberia Group and Foundation Resources:
Research, Remembrance and Recognition of Polish citizens’ struggles in the Eastern Borderlands and in Exile during World War 2. Kresy-Siberia is the premiere “one-stop” location on the internet providing information sources on the Kresy, the persecutions and deportations of Poles, and Polonian life in exile during and after World War II.
Their resources include:
- Research resources
- An on-line discussion site
- A Virtual Museum
- A Memorial gallery
- Information on Kresy property claims
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Maps and Shadows
A two part interview on Zita Christian’s show “Full Bloom” with Krysia Jopek. Ms. Jopek discusses her book “Maps and Shadows” and the story of two of the four survivors of the Polish deportation to Siberia in 1940, her father and aunt.
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