February/March 2016

February/March 2016
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Remembering
Polish Catholic Heroes of WWII
February/March 2016
of Suffering and Salvation, and
swear loyalty to Poland….” It
is worth recalling three Polish
resistance fighters who can inspire present-day Catholics.
Jan Karski (1914-2000) was
born in multicultural Lodz. His
childhood friends were Poles,
Jews and Germans. The young
Karski (real name Kozielewski)
was a devout Catholic active in
the Sodality of Our Lady, a lay
movement encouraging Marian
averted the genocide of millions. Yet who had genuine reasons for feeling guilty: Karski
or Roosevelt?
If Jan Karski was fortunate
to not see the Katyn massacres,
Zdzisław Peszkowski (19182007) was one of the few who
survived to say they did. Born
into an aristocratic, patriotic
family, Peszkowski enlisted in
the Polish Army. Having miraculously escaped a Soviet POW
the Allies of what was going on
there (as in the case of Karski,
his hopes they would bomb the
camp were in vain). Pilecki also
began to organize a resistance
movement within Auschwitz.
In 1943, Witold Pilecki
achieved a feat few succeeded
in doing: he escaped Auschwitz.
He then worked to inform the
outside world of what was happening in the death factory he
voluntarily entered. In 1944, he
took part in the Warsaw Uprising, in which the city’s people
rose up against their German
occupiers. Despite the insurgents’ heroism, 200,000 people
died and Warsaw was razed to
the ground.
Zdzisław Peszkowski
Jan Karski
Witold Pilecki
devotion. Although growing
numbers of Catholics became
infected by nationalist tendencies in interwar Poland, Jan’s
mother taught him that in Christ’s eyes, all regardless of ethnicity are equal.
After the 1939 Nazi-Soviet
invasion of Poland, Karski was
drafted into the Polish Army.
He narrowly avoided the fate
of 22,000 Polish reserve officers shot by the NKVD in the
Katyn Forest. Karski rallied
several intelligence reports to
the Polish government-in-exile in London. In 1942, Jewish
leaders smuggled him into the
Warsaw Ghetto twice. Disguised as an Estonian guard,
Karski later visited a concentration camp. Horrified by what
he saw, he reported on the destruction of European Jewry to
the Polish government-in-exile,
which informed the Western
Allies and appealed for them
to act. Tragically, Karski’s pleas fell on deaf ears. A greater
disappointment befell him in
1943, when he personally told
President Roosevelt about the
horrors he saw. Although he
had the military capabilities to
bomb concentration camp crematoria, Roosevelt responded
to Karski’s plea with incredulity and skepticism, instead
asking him about Polish horses.
After the war, Karski settled
in Washington, where he became a professor at Georgetown.
For years he felt depressed, frequently awakened at night by
pangs of guilt for not having
camp for Polish soldiers, Peszkowski joined the 2nd Polish
Corps. After the war, he escaped to the West, studying at
Oxford and becoming a priest
in the United States.
It wasn’t until Gorbachev
that the Soviets admitted their
culpability for Katyn, for decades blaming the crime on
Germany. When the wartime
Polish
government-in-exile
asked for the Red Cross to investigate Katyn, the American
and British governments, who
needed Stalin to defeat the Nazis, chastised the Poles. As a
priest, Peszkowski traveled far
and wide lecturing on Katyn.
He authored many books on the
topic and fought for a dignified
burial place for Katyn victims.
Whereas the Soviets and their
Western admirers spread propaganda against Peszkowski,
he prayed for forgiveness for
the Soviets. Since Peszkowski’s death, there have been calls
for opening his cause for beatification.
Another morally victorious
Catholic war hero was Witold
Pilecki (1901-1948), a rittmeister in the Polish cavalry.
During the Nazi occupation of
Warsaw, the local population
was terrorized through frequent
roundups, or łapanki, resulting
in concentration camp deportations. In 1940, Pilecki purposely went out on the street
to be caught. This was because
he wanted to go to Auschwitz.
His intention was to gather intelligence in order to inform
Pilecki’s bravery inspires
awe. However, Poland’s new
Stalinist masters thought otherwise. Due to his connections
to the anti-communist Home
Army, he was sentenced to death on trumped-up charges of
espionage for the West. Despite being tortured, he never sold
his soul to the communists.
Like Karski and Peszkowski, Witold Pilecki was a devout Catholic. His faith inspired
his struggle against Nazism and
communism. In recent years,
a group of Catholics has been
Filip Mazurczak
Although even secularist
historians admit that Pope St.
John Paul II inspired the rise
of Solidarity and dealt a death
blow to the Soviet Empire, the
pivotal role Polish Catholicism
played in anti-Nazi and anti-Soviet resistance is less well-known. The 70th anniversary of the end of World War II
last year is a fitting time to remember three Polish Catholics
whose faith led them to courageously resist totalitarianism.
Their moral victory can inspire
today’s Catholics, who again
face a hostile world dominated
by perverted ideologies.
For Western Europeans,
the surrender of Nazi Germany
on May 8, 1945, was a time of
jubilation. Americans, meanwhile, consider the capitulation
of Japan (which, depending on
one’s point of view, occurred
on August 14 or September 2)
to be the end of the war.
However, for most Poles
1945 was not quite as jubilant.
Poland was the first Ally and
endured the harshest occupation of any country during the
war, losing one-fifth of its population (half Jewish and half
Gentile). Nonetheless, Poland
had the fourth largest Allied
army (larger than the Free
French). Polish mathematicians
cracked the Enigma code before Alan Turing, and Polish
airmen killed the most German
planes during the Battle of Britain. Yet Poland’s contribution
to the Allied cause went unrewarded. While in the post-war
era West Europeans and North
Americans enjoyed prosperous
decades marked by blue jeans,
Coca-Cola and convertibles,
censorship, ration cards and
political prisoners dominated
post-war Poland after the country was overrun by Red Army
tanks and sold out to Stalin by
her Allies.
Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned Poland
in 1939. Stalin and Hitler both
knew that their dream of eradicating Polish culture could
only be possible by destroying
Polish Catholicism. Thus half
of all Polish priests were sent to
concentration camps. Yet this
did not extinguish the Catholic faith of the Polish people,
which played a key role in the
Polish resistance. While the
Home Army, the largest underground military organization
in Nazi-occupied Europe, featured diverse political groups
from socialists to nationalists,
its members undertook the following oath: “Before Almighty God and the Virgin Mary,
Queen of Poland, I take in my
hands this Holy Cross, the sign
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POLISH HERITAGE SOCIETY
lobbying for an opening of his
beatification cause.
From a human perspective,
all three Catholic heroes failed.
Jan Karski did not persuade
the Western Allies to stop the
Holocaust, Witold Pilecki was
sentenced to the gallows and
for decades Father Peszkowski’s telling of the truth about
Katyn were ignored for years.
Yet all three triumphed morally. They did not give in to lies
and indifference. In the long
term, Karski and Pilecki can
inspire other witnesses to evil
ideologies to not remain silent.
Meanwhile, the Soviet system
collapsed in part thanks to people like Zdzisław Peszkowski,
Blessed Jerzy Popiełuszko and
St. John Paul II who confronted
the lies of communism instead
of accommodating to them. Although defeated militarily and
politically, the Polish nation
remained faithfully Catholic.
As a result, Solidarity exploded
in 1980 and Poland became the
first nation to break the shackles of communism nine years
later.
Today’s Church again faces
an adverse world. In many regions, Christians face violent
persecutions; in the case of Iraq
and Syria, it would be no exaggeration to speak of genocide.
Although not bloody and less
tangible, Catholics in Western
democracies are faced with an
increasingly aggressive “dictatorship of relativism,” to quote Pope Benedict XVI, that
threatens religious liberty and
spreads lies about human anthropology.
May the example of Polish
Catholic heroes of World War
II, who never accommodated to
evil and achieved moral victory, inspire today’s Church.
Published with a permission of John
M. Vella from Crisis Magazine (http://
www.crisismagazine.com/)
Upcoming events
PHS Fat Tuesday Party
Please join us on Monday, February 8th at 6:00 pm, at the Rock
Garden Banquet & Conference Center in Green Bay, 1951 Bond
Street for delicious food at our fun-filled annual Fat Tuesday Celebration. As always this is going to be a buffet style dinner, and it will
include: broasted chicken, BBQ ribs, pierogi (cottage cheese, apple,
prune), cabbage rolls, polish sausage, sauerkraut, kiszka, mashed
potatoes, gravy, rolls and butter, coffee and milk. This year we are
also featuring John and Linda Koenings and the Party Band KNX.
The cost is: adults $21.95, children $9.00. Tax and trip is included. Please call Dave@920-621-3464 with reservations before
February 3rd, 2016. See you all there to celebrate the end of the 2016
carnival season!
Arti-Gras 2016
Mark your calendars for Arti Gras coming March 5th and 6th at
Shopko Hall in Green Bay (across from Lambeau Field). Hours for
the show are Saturday and Sunday from 10 AM to 5 PM.
While you are there, please stop at our booth and say hello. If
you would like to help with the sale, please call Malgosia at 920 327
3195. See you there!
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POLISH HERITAGE SOCIETY
POLISH NEWSBYTES
COMPILED BY ROBERT STRYBEL
New government
working on
“good changes”
The Law and Justice (PiS)
government that came to power
last November is now working
to fulfill its “good changes”
campaign pledges. That includes a 500 złoty ($125) monthly allowance for every second
child and further children and
the restoration of 65 as men’s
and 60 as women’s retirement
which the previous government
had raised to 67. Children will
no longer be taken from their
parents and sent to orphanages just because their families
are poor, and 75-year-olds will
be entitled to free prescription
drugs. Foreign control of the
banking and broadcasting sector
is to be reduced. The government also wants to upgrade the
teaching of Polish history and
culture in schools and improve
the cultural level of public television. Whether, how and when
the ruling party succeeds remains to be seen.
Poland against ISIS?
Poland’s foreign minister
Witold Waszczykowski spoke to
US secretary of state John Kerry
during NATO’s latest ministerial meeting at the Alliance’s headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.
Both ministers agreed on the importance of intensifying the anti-Islamic State coalition’s efforts
against Muslim terrorists. “If
there are some concrete proposals and we are able to provide
technical support, then we will
help,” Waszczykowski said, adding that at present Poland cannot directly involve its armed
forces because of the conflict in
Ukraine.
Refugees or
economic migrants?
Poland has reluctantly agreed to accept 7,000 refugees but
only after the non-refugee economic migrants get screened
out prior to arrival. Streams of
bedraggled refugees trudging
across Europe were a heart-rending sight shown on TV worldwide. Syrian Christians fleeing
their war-torn country and religious persecution at the hands of
Muslim fanatics evoked particular sympathy and were initially
welcomed by cheering crowds
with gifts at the German border
But among the genuine refugees
2016 – A good PolAm Year!
America is a cultural mosaic comprising St, Patrick’s Day celebrations, Italian tenors and espresso, Cajun cookery, Mexican
Mariachi bands and piñatas, Afro-American jazz, blues, swing
and Motown, Jewish Klezmer music and Kosher dill pickles, the
French Mardi Gras, German Oktoberfest, Scottish bagpipes playing “Amazing Grace” at funerals and much, much more. Rather
than sitting things out and passively watching the passing show,
maybe 2016 is a good time to help enrich ourselves and the American landscape with a few of our own Polish cultural contributions.
We begin this list of suggested activities with trips to Poland which
require advance planning and should be considered in the early
part of the year:
VISIT POLAND THIS YEAR: To those who have never been
to Poland, that first visit is usually a powerful, eye-opening experience that topples many preconceived stereotypes and instills healthy ethnic pride. Observations have shown that most PolAms return
home more interested and eager to become more involved in their
heritage than ever before. This is something worth considering in
the early part of the year to allow enough time to plan ahead. If you
are unaware of any organization, parish or travel bureau in your area
organizing such a tour, contact one of America’s most experienced
Polonian travel bureaus: Polish-American Tours, 1285 Riverdale
Street, West Springfield, MA 01089; tel: 1-800-388-0988; http://
www.pattours.com
THANK YOU RENEWING MEMBERS & DONORS!
The Polish Heritage Society of Northeastern Wisconsin is pleased to welcome new members: Kay & Linda Patoka, Robert
Palzewicz, Ed & Denise Plonka, Terry & Ann Hegeman, and
Heidi & James Ozminkowski.
Dziękujemy bardzo to Ed & Denise Plonka, Cyril Cieslewicz,
John Mihalko, Allen & Linda Urbaniak, and a Polish patron of
our booth at Green Bay’s Artstreet who included donations!
We are also pleased to recognize members renewing since our last issue’s deadline: Quintin Adamski Family, Gerald
Smurawa, Małgosia Daugherty, Victoria Frederiksen, Tera
Hesse Family, Shirley Kegel, Cyril Cieslewicz, Mary Zipp,
Michael & Harriet Wichowski Family, John Mihalko, Allen &
Linda Urbaniak Family, Robert Sobieck, Marian Zajac, and
Jadwiga Caine.
Thank you for your support and interest in our Polish Heritage! If you are unsure or have any questions or concerns about
your membership, please feel free to contact me. Also, your board of directors’ contact information is listed on the phsofnew.
org website.
Paul M. Zwicker, Treasurer, [email protected]
was a majority of tough young
economic migrants, mainly Muslim males from countries such
as Albania, Kosovo and Pakistan which are not threatened by
war or religious persecution.
No global warming
say 24% of Poles
A recent survey by Newsweek Polska has shown that 24%
of the respondents deny the existence of global warming. Some
16% percent of those surveyed
said they were unsure if global
warming was taking place, but
a 60% majority described it as
a real threat. Droughts, frequent
flooding, tornadoes, unseasonably mild, snowless winters and
record hot summers are seen by
Poles as symptoms of climate
change. Greenpeace spokesperson Katarzyna Guzek feels Polish society needs to be better
educated about global warming.
The small sampling used in the
survey (800 respondents aged
16 to 64) may cast some doubt
over its accuracy.
HIV/AIDS on
the increase
A growing number of people
in Poland are surprised to learn
they are carriers of the AIDS
virus. According to Poland’s
Public Health Institute, 179 new
cases of HIV were registered in
February/March 2016
the first half of 2015, up from 46
in the same period of 2014. The
largest number of infections are
encountered among Poles aged
20-39. Today’s advanced treatment methods mean that being a
HIV carrier or actually contracting AIDS no longer spells imminent degeneration and death.
IVF funding only until
mid-2016
A controversial infertility-treatment program, referred
to in short as “in vitro,” will
be funded by the government
only until mid-2016, Konstanty Radziwiłł, health minister in
Poland’s new conservative government, has announced. The
program was launched in 2013
and shortly before leaving office the previous government
led by the more liberal Civic
Platform (PO) had extended it
to 2019. The program is opposed by many Catholic circles
who say many human embryos
get destroyed to create a single
test-tube baby. Radziwiłł said
the termination of the program
was motivated by budgetary
concerns and far more pressing
health problems.
Poles are top 10
in English
According to the Swedish-based EF (Education First)
SUMMER CAMP IN POLAND: That first trip to Poland makes the greatest impression on young people of formative age. They
are still forming opinions about the world and are naturally more
receptive to new sights and experiences than us older folk. Many
PolAm teens will surely find the prospect of vacationing in Europe a
far more exciting alternative than hanging around home or going to
the same old summer cottage. In addition to all the typical camp activities – sports, games, campfires – campers also take part in Polish
language lessons. Information is available at: http://www.polonica.
edu.pl/polish_language_camp.html
WORLD YOUTH DAYS IN KRAKÓW: Inaugurated by St
John Paul II, World Youth Day this year will be held in Kraków,
Poland on July 25 – 31 2016. It’s a unique opportunity to join Pope
Francis, bishops, priests and young Catholics from around the globe in prayers, hymns, catechetical experiences and cultural events.
There will be numerous sightseeing opportunities, and participants
will be hosted by Polish families for a unique taste of daily life in
present-day Poland. See if your parish is not organizing a WYD group and visit: http://worldyouthday.com/krakow-2016
POLAM ACTIVITIES: Whether it is a social or sporting event
sponsored by your local PolAm lodge, a pączki party, parish supper,
a May 3rd celebration or whatever, make it a point to attend, preferably with a group of relatives, neighbors or friends. If you regularly
attend such events, this year why not add a new one to your list. You
will not only culturally enrich yourself but will provide the support
needed to insure that such activities continue in the future.
Robert Strybel
Language School, Poles rank in
the top 10 of the world’s most
proficient speakers of English
as a Foreign Language (EFL).
Poland scored 62.95 in the study
ranking it in ninth place world-wide. Sweden captured first
place with a score of 70.94,
followed closely by the Netherlands (70.58) and Denmark
(70.05). It’s obvious that Germanic-speaking countries usually fare the best so it may come
as a surprise that Poland came in
a tad above both Germany and
Austria.
Justin Bieber
coming to Poland
Internationally famous Canadian pop star Justin Bieber
will perform in Poland later this
year. The singer will kick off
his European tour in Berlin on
September 14th and give over
30 concerts across the continent
including such venues as Stockholm, Copenhagen, Antwerp,
Prague, Vienna, London, Zurich, Madrid and Lisbon. Bieber’s performance at Kraków’s
Tauron Arena has been scheduled to coincide with Polish
Independence Day (November
11th). Opened in 2014, the arena
has hosted numerous sporting
events as well as such performers as José Carreras, Elton
John, Slash, Robbie Williams
and Ennio Morricone.
POLISH
HERITAGE
SOCIETY
OFFICERS 2015-2016
PRESIDENT
Dave Wentland
[email protected]
1st VICE-PRESIDENT
Malgosia Daugherty
[email protected]
SECRETARY
Bob Wozniak
[email protected]
TREASURER
Paul Zwicker
[email protected]
BOARD MEMBERS-AT-LARGE
Aliosha Alexandrov, Frank Czarnecki,
Clare Ann Gaouette, John Laka, Kasia
Miaskowski, Jan Zylkowski
ART EDITOR
submit articles, photos,
and advertising to:
Monika Pawlak, 2804 Post Road
Stevens Point, WI 54481-6452
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 715-345-0744
MEMBERSHIP
FORM
PAUL ZWICKER, 255 TERRAVIEW DRIVE, GREEN BAY, WI 54301
Name: ___________________________________________________ Phone No.: _______________________________
Address: ___________________________________________________________________________________________
City: _____________________________________ State: _______ Zip: ____________ Email*: ____________________
MEMBERSHIP:  Individual per year $20
PAYMENT:
 Cash
 Couple/Family per year $25
 Lifetime Member $200
 Check No.: __________ New Exp. Date: ____________ Donations to the organization: $ ___________
 Your date of birth  Where in Poland are you from: City ______________ Area _____________I don’t know _____
What articles do you like to read the most:  Polish News  Events in WI  Recipes  Traditions/History
 Famous Poles  Language info  News from the Board  Polish stories  Other _______________
For any address changes
please contact:
PAUL ZWICKER
255 TERRAVIEW DRIVE
GREEN BAY, WI 54301
Please indicate the types of activities in which you might enjoy participating:
 Arti Gras (Feb)
 Paczki Day Party (Feb)
 Easter Party
 Public Relations
 Board Membership
 Polish Music event
 Website Design
 Art Street (Aug)
 Input to Newsletter
 Polish Mass (Oct)
 Christmas Party
 Other talents to share:
______________________________
* for PHS use only to send event reminders
February/March 2016
LEttER FRoM tHE pREsiDEnt
to share my thoughts with you
through our newsletter forum.
Your comments are encouraged
and welcome. Here is the essence of what I wrote.
Membership
Our organization is only as
strong as the value we provide
Hania (3)
a NOVElla
BY HENrYk SiENkiEWicz
CHAPTER FOUR:
Henry did not go home at
Easter. His father wanted him
to stay at school and continue
preparing for the maturitas
examination as well as the entrance exam for the University.
He and Selim took private lessons from a student who had
recently entered the University.
The young student was a radical in every way. He believed
that one who was soon to enter
the influential position of student at the University should be
free of all „prejudices” and not
look on anything save with the
compassion of a genuine philosopher. In general he was of
the opinion that a man is best
between the eighteenth and
twenty-third year of his life, for
later he becomes gradually an
idiot or a conservative.
From him Henry learned
of the conquests of science in
recent times, of great truths
which the blind superstitious
past had avoided. While uttering these opinions he shook his
thick, curly hair and smoked an
incredible number of cigarettes,
assuring his students that it was
all one to him whether he let the
smoke out through his mouth or
his nostrils. After the lesson the
student put on his cloak which
lacked half its buttons and declared he had to hurry, for he
had another „little meeting.”
He winked mysteriously and
added that Selim’s and Henry’s age did not permit him to
share more information about
this „little meeting,” but that
later they would understand its
meaning without his explanation. Dazzled by the new truths
he learned, Henry did not have
our members, and opportunities we can provide prospective
members. Our dues are $20/
yr for an individual membership, $25 for a couple/family,
and $200 for a lifetime membership. We believe these are
very reasonable fees but do the
benefits our organization provides meet or exceed expectations? Are we (you and me)
getting our monies worth?
And how can our Polish
heritage society continue
to do better?
Can we become
a member and renew
membership online?
Today I joined the Polish
American Cultural Institute of
Minnesota (PolAm). I completed the application process
and paid my membership fee
online. I seldom write a check
any longer for any goods and
services I buy. I believe we
should consider providing the
same service for our members
to renew their membership, and
prospective members to join.
We will be looking at options.
many thoughts and fancies to
devote to Hania.
When he first returned to
school, Henry had thought
about Hania. The letters she
sent to him fed the fire in his
heart; but compared with the
ocean of ideas of his tutor, his
village world, so
calm and quiet,
began at once to
diminish in his
eyes. Hania’s form
did not vanish, but
was enwrapped, as
it were, in a light
mist.
At last came
the days of examination. Selim and he passed the
final examination of the gymnasium (high school) and the one
for entrance into the University.
They were now free as birds
and decided to remain three
more days in Warsaw. They
used the time to get their uniforms and for a solemnity their
tutor considered indispensable
– a feast at the first wine-cellar
they came to. As the wine took
its toll on their thinking, they
discussed philosophy, science,
and women.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
My Vision
Today I sent an email to our
board members about topics I
propose to discuss and possibly act on in 2016. I would like
3
POLISH HERITAGE SOCIETY
CHAPTER FIVE:
The next day they left early
in the morning. It was a long,
two day ride to Selim’s village. When they arrived, Henry
was invited to stay overnight.
But, he was excited to return
home and left that evening.
He arrived at his home late at
night. It took repeated knocking before someone answered
the door. When Franek, the
servant, opened the door, he
greeted Henry warmly. There
soon appeared his two little
sisters dressed in their sleeping clothes. Then Father Ludvik, followed closely by Pani
d’Yves, appeared. Pani d’Yves,
Let me know your thoughts on
this and if you would prefer a
particular method. Ease of use
and security are key. I paid my
PolAm membership dues using
PayPal.
Connected with
our Members
How do we stay connected
with and engage our members?
I believe we need to use today’s technology to stay in contact
with our members, keep them
informed, as well as have a
good presence in this electronic age to engage our members
and grow our membership. I am
not a “social media” guru but I
believe email, our website, Facebook,
Twitter are the key electronic forums today. If you have
not visited our website recently
please do so. www.phsofnew.
org. Let me know what you
think. Please include your email address when you renew your
membership. Or email it to me.
Let me know what are the best
electronic forums you use to
stay informed and engaged in
things that interest you. Strengthen Our Connections with
Other Polish and Cross-cultural
Organizations
of course, had negative comments to make to the two sisters
for their “inappropriate” dress
in public. Henry timidly asked
about Hania. Pani d’Yves commented that she had grown and
matured and would be present
soon.
When Hania
came into the
room, Henry could
not believe his
eyes. She was no
longer the slender, thin orphan.
Before him stood
an almost mature
young lady. Her
form had grown
full. She had a delicate, healthy
complexion. Henry noticed that
she looked at him curiously with
her large, blue eyes. She must
have understood his admiration
and the impression she made on
him because a kind of indescribable smile wandered at the corners of her mouth. How beautiful she was! She had ceased
to be a child in every respect.
Henry quickly noticed she had a
certain superiority over him. Although he had more training in
learning, in life, in understanding every position, every word,
he was still a little boy. Hania
was freer with him than he with
her. Henry was emotionally unable to ask any of the questions
he had intended to ask her. Instead it was she who asked him
about his life and activities.
After an hour’s conversation, they all retired to their
chambers to rest. Henry went
to his room a little drowsy, a
little astonished, a little deceived and downcast. Love began to rise again. Then simply
Hania’s form, that maiden figure, rich, full of charm, moved
into his imagination. He fell
asleep with her image under
his eyelids.
(to be continued)
How can we benefit from
and strengthen other organizations that offer a vibrant
and rich diversity of cultures
and heritages from around the
world? We all have a story to
tell and a heritage we are proud of. How can we nurture and
grow that part of our lives?
Expand
Membership Benefits
Why do people join our organization and what benefits
would they like us to provide?
Every newsletter has a list of
Upcoming Events. Check out
what is coming up in the next
couple months in that section
of our newsletter. We also want
to hear your story of your Polish heritage or interest and invite any member to write an
article for the newsletter. We
would love to hear your story.
My dad’s grandparents came
from Dąbrówka Dolna, Poland.
My wife’s great-grandparents
came from Grunwald, Prussia,
which is now Mieszałki, Poland. Both are small villages in
eastern Poland. We rented a car
and traveled to both places last
year. It was an amazing adventure. Some of our members were
born and raised in Poland. Many
have traveled there. Our members gave us suggestions on places to visit and people to meet.
This was priceless information.
How about
learning Polish?
Malgosia Daugherty teaches Polish at St. Norberts
College and you are welcome
to enroll in her classes. Or would you be interested in knowing about Polish festivities
throughout the Midwest, trips
to Poland, or going as a group
to events. We do that. And what
we can consider doing is as broad as your imagination.
So that is my vision.
We have a great group of
members, and an amazing board. We meet the 2nd Tuesday
of every month in Green Bay
and you are welcome to attend
our board meetings. Thank you
for your interest in the Polish
Heritage Society of Northeastern Wisconsin. This is a
great organization. And 2016
will be another great year as we
explore and share our Polish
heritage.
Dave Wentland, President
920-621-3464
[email protected]
January 7, 2016
UpcoMing EvEnts
January 19th – May 6th – UW Madison Class
The Culture of Dissent in Czechoslovakia and Poland (1960s-1980s).
January 30th – 31st – Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra’s concert includes Witold Lutosławski’s Music funebre/Muzyka żalobna
Marcus Center for the Performing Arts, 929 North Water St, Milwaukee.
February 2nd, 6:00 P.M. – PHS Board Meeting
Perkins, 2800 S Oneida, Green Bay, WI. Public welcome!
February 8th, 6:00 P.M. – Fat Tuesday Paczki Party
See page 1 for details.
February 21st, 5:00 P.M. – A Common Heritage: Music from Poland
and Latin America Elena Abend (piano), O. Pimentel (clarinet).
Polish Center of Wisconsin, 6941 S 68thSt, Franklin, WI.
March 5th & 6th, 10:00 A.M. – 5:00 P.M. – Arti Gras 2016
See page 1 for details.
March 11th – Newspaper article deadline
Submit articles to Malgosia at [email protected]
March 22nd, 6:30 P.M. – Newspaper distribution meeting
255 Terraview Dr, Green Bay, WI.
CZARNUSZKA SOUP BAR
9922 Water St. #7F, Ephraim, WI (Behind Leroy’s)
Mowimy po Polsku.
POLISH HERITAGE SOCIETY
Screening of the Brutal Tale
of the Warsaw Uprising
Drew Crowds in Madison
They were equipped with few
weapons, whatever the Home
Army (Armia Krajowa) and
other underground organizations had managed to hide or
smuggled in. Although described by many historians as horribly-calculated, the signal to
the uprising, which came from
the Polish-government-in-exile
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
It has become a tradition of
the Annual Polish Film Festival
at UW-Madison to bring the
most controversial and significant Polish films to the American public, but only a handful
had been as long-awaited as
Warsaw 44 (2014, Polish title:
Miasto 44). This grand production, with the total budget
estimated at $24.5 million, was screened at
the Marquee Theater
on December 6, 2015
at 3:00pm as the final
installment of the 25th
edition of the festival,
supported by the UW-Madison Polish Student
Association, Center for
Russia, Eastern Europe,
and Central Asia (CREECA), Department of
Slavic Languages and
Literature, the Associated Students of Madison
(ASM), the Wisconsin Union Directorate
(WUD), as well as the
Polish Heritage Club.
Warsaw 44 was shown
alongside the movie Gods
(2014, Bogowie) on the last
day of the festival, preceded by
Call Me Marianna (November
18) as well as These Daughters
of Mine and The Photographer
(November 22). The film drew
large crowds and made an impact on the audience, with most
viewers leaving the room in
contemplative silence.
Dealing with the traumatic
subject matter of the doomed
1944 Warsaw Uprising directed
against the occupying German
force, the movie has had a mostly cathartic impact in Poland,
where this historical event has
been commemorated as the
most tragic and heroic example
of the national pathos of the Second World War. The uprising
broke out in the Polish capital
after five years of bloody Nazi
German occupation. On August
1, the insurgents, mostly young
men and women, took streetcars to join their friends and
wage war against the enemy.
in London, had been craved for.
The residents of the oppressed
city wanted to vent their uncontainable hatred for the Germans
and counted on the help of the
approaching Soviet troops.
The Russians subsequently
watched the Polish insurgents
perish in the struggle, assuming
the anti-communist character of
most of the Warsaw underground. Many Nazi subsidiaries,
especially Ukrainian nationalists, took part in the massacre
and rape of civilians in the two
months of the bloody conflict.
(Unfortunately, one Ukrainian
criminal, Petro Dyachenko, has
recently been decorated by the
new Ukrainian government in
2015.) When the uprising finally ended on October 2, the death toll was staggering. In total,
about 200,000 Polish soldiers
and civilians perished and the
city was dynamited and razed
to the ground on Hitler’s personal order. On the German side,
the casualties equaled about
MEEt tHE MEMBER
I am a retired physician but
teach part time in Silicon Valley. Native Californian with my
parents moving from Chicago in 1954. My dad was from
southern Poland near Morskie
Oko South of Kraków.
My Dad came to US In the
1930s with his family. My mother is from Dubno which is
now part of Ukraine but was
the Galatian part of Poland before WWII. My mother and her
family were taken to Siberia to
camps by Stalin when war started. When Stalin became Allied
to the West they we released
from the camps and walked
on foot to Persia now Iran. My
grandfather died of starvation.
My Uncles joined the Allied
Forces.
20,000, alongside hundreds of
tanks and armored trucks as
well as dozens of artillery pieces.
While certainly not avoiding to convey the brutality
and hopelessness of the uprising, interweaved with moments of heroism and euphoria,
the young director of the film,
Jan Komasa, centers the film’s
plot on the story of three teenagers caught in the accelerating
speed of events. Stefan (Józef
Pawłowski) is a young volunteer to the Home Army, enlisting
against the wishes of his caring mother. The timid
Ala (Zofia Wichłacz)
and the dashing Kama
(Anna Próchniak), on
the other hand, are nurses and liaisons, both
in love with Stefan and
competing for the attention of the boy mostly
interested in taking revenge on the Germans.
The love triangle follows the conventional
trajectory of the Warsaw insurgents: firing
at Nazi soldiers from
behind the barricades,
running away from the
overwhelming forces,
moving under the city
through the deadly sewers, and making love amidst
flying bullets and exploding
grenades. Komasa’s approach –
aimed at showing the universal,
human nature of this monumental historical event – has been
widely acclaimed in Poland and
will continue to win the hearts
of American viewers, even though many surviving insurgents
and conservative commentators
complained about the “kitschy”
dubstep music accompanying
certain fighting and sex scenes.
Whether praised for its
departure from the heroic canon or criticized for historical impiety, however, Warsaw
44 undoubtedly moved many
Wisconsin viewers to consider the bestiality of some and
the unwavering resistance of
others. In the words of the Latin proverb Homo homini lupus
est: “A man is a wolf to another
man.”
Piotr Puchalski
Graduate Student
History Department
One died in Italy at the
Battle of Monte Casino. Other
Uncle flew a Spitfire for the
RAF and recently died in Wales where he settled. My mother
and Grandmother immigrated
to Mexico. After several years
they immigrated to Chicago.
My parents met in Chicago. My
dad worked for Johnson and
Johnson. They sent him to California to start a plant for Ethicon which manufactures surgical sutures. I was lucky to grow
up in the Bay Area when it was
primarily agriculture and Military research. The research and
good weather created Silicon
Valley. I have traveled to Poland and the Ukraine multiple
times to visit the birth villages
of my parents.
We have friends who live in
Old Town Kraków.
My wife Denise who is part
Polish grew up in Wisconsin.
She is a Registered Nurse and
Marriage and Family Therapist.
Her family lives in Green Bay,
Wisconsin. Her Mother is 93.
Denise travels to Green Bay to
help out.
We now both spend time in
Green Bay on a regular basis. I
grew up speaking Polish. The
San Francisco Bay Area has a
large Polish community and we
have a Catholic Polish Parish as
well.
My wife brought me your
Newsletter. I am hopeful that
when we are in Green Bay we
could attend some of your festivals and share some stories.
Gratefully,
Ed and Denise Plonka
February/March 2016
Joseph Tykocinski-Tykociner was a pioneer in using
sound-in-film. He was the first
to demonstrate that it was possible to record a sound track
directly on a film strip. He
demonstrated his invention
by filming his wife saying “I
will ring” and then ringing a
bell. Unfortunately his patents
were subjected to an ownership dispute and consequently
his work did not make it commercially. After inventing the
sound-in-film technique, he
began researching antenna de-
signs which eventually became
the precursor to radar.
Joseph was born in Włocławek, Poland in 1877 before immigrating to the USA in 1895.
It was there that he met famed
inventor Nikola Tesla and became an expert in short wave
radio.
(taken from PAL-PAC.org, 1-21-14)
tHE poLisH cHEF
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
4
Chrust
•
•
•
2 cups flour, sifted
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons sugar
•
•
•
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vinegar
1/2 cup sour cream
Combine the flour, butter, sugar and eggs. Gradually stir in the
vinegar and sour cream and knead until solid enough to roll (extra
flour may be necessary). Roll out thin and cut into 4x1 inch strips.
Make a short lengthwise slit in the center of each strip, and pass
the other end of the strip through the slit. Repeat until all the dough
has been used. Deep fry until golden brown. Drain and serve with
powdered sugar.
Note: a piece of raw potato placed in the hot oil will eliminate
much of the smell of frying and prevent fat burning.
Kasia Miaskowski
poLisH sURnAME coRnER
What does your Polish
last name mean?
If you have ever wondered, now you can find out what your
Polish surname means, how it originated, how many people use it,
where they live and whether a coat of arms goes with it. If one is
found, you will receive a color illustration thereof.
Also included is a useful genealogical contact chart which has
helped many Polish Americans find out about their Polish roots. The
organizations and individual genealogists listed are experts at researching public records, drawing up family trees and may be able
to help track down and/or photograph or videotape ancestral homesteads, family graves and possibly even turn up living lost-long
relations in Poland.
If interested, please airmail a $19 check or money order (adding
a cut-rate $12 for each additional name you wish to have researched) to:
ROBERT STRYBEL
UL. KANIOWSKA 24 • 01-529 WARSAW, POLAND
For additional information please contact:
[email protected]