Summer 2012

EMBASSY OF THE REPUBLIC OF POLAND • OTTAWA
eNewsletter No. 10
Summer 2012
In This Issue
Poland sent a delegation of 218 athletes to London to take part in the Summer
Olympic games which ran from July 27 to August 12, 2012. 10 athletes won medals, two of them being gold. While this was not the strongest showing in recent
memory, a round of congratulations to all the participating athletes is deserved.
The gold medalists were Tomasz Majewski in the men’s shot put and Adrian
Zieliński in the men’s 85kg weightlifting. Meanwhile Sylwia Bogacka took a fast
silver medal in the second day of competitions in the women's 10 metre air rifle
and Anita Włodarczyk won silver in the women's hammer throw. Poland would
rank 30th in the overall medal count when the games finally came to a close.
Poland’s Paralympic squad amassed an impressive 36 medals including 14 gold
medals which placed Poland in 9th position in the medal rankings.
The 2012 UEFA European Soccer Championship or better known to everyone as
EURO 2012 has come to an end. Poland and the Ukraine co-hosted the event as
the best teams from around Europe took part. The end result was a superbly
organized and well managed tournament for fans, spectators and players alike.
It turns out that just over seven million supporters spent time in the eight fan
zones in the host cities during UEFA EURO 2012, with millions of others watching
the event from all around the world cheering on their team. The final match was
played between Spain and Italy where Spain took the victory with an impressive
4-0 score in the end. The Spanish team overpowered Italy and defended their
UEFA EURO title.
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News
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Political Affairs
2
Economy & Science
3
Polish Cities: Białystok
4
Famous Poles
5
Warsaw Uprising
6
Media & Contact
7
Political Affairs
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eNewsletter No. 10
July 2011
Summer
2012
On 1 July, 2012, Poland took over the presidency of the Visegrad
Group. For the last year the V4 was lead by the Czech Republic. On
the 4 and 5 July the Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski visited
Bratislava, Prague and Budapest. In Bratislava Sikorski took part in a
meeting of Slovak ambassadors. The Polish Foreign Minister and his
Hungarian counterpart János Martonyi gave a lecture titled, “The
European Union at Crossroads. A Central European Perspective.”
According to Polish authorities, the main goal of Polish presidency
of the Visegrad Group will be to still strengthen the position of V4
countries within the international forums and to consolidate the
achievements of EU enlargement. Also very important thing to do Former U.S Secretary of State Henry Kissinger
will be to find a common ground in negotiating the new European and Poland’s Foreign Minister, Radoslaw Sikorski, discussed Europe’s strategic challenges
Union budget for 2014-2020.
during a public discussion, which took place in
Warsaw on June 27, 2012. Henry Kissinger is
considered to be the person who said the famous sentence “Who do I call if I want to call
Europe”. The telephone number anecdote has
been used very often to underline the lack of
single foreign policy across the EU which is
made up of many nations sometimes with
very different interests. Despite the fact that
Brussels created a foreign policy chief, a role
now held by Catherine Ashton, Europe is still
struggling to find common ground on a lot of
issues. "Europe has the capacity to be a superFrom August 16 to 19, 2012, the head of the Russian Orthodox
power, but Europe has neither the organizaChurch, the Patriarch of Moscow and All-Russia, Cyril I, paid an imtion, nor, so far, the concept, to be a superportant and historical visit to Poland. In Warsaw’s Royal Castle Cril I
power", said Kissinger. Sikorski agreed with
and Archbishop Jozef Michalik called for forgiveness and underhis interlocutor that Europe should seek
standing. “ ‘We call upon our faithful to pray for the forgiveness of
agreement on foreign policy and defense.
injustices and all the wrongs committed against one another,’ said
the text. ‘The events of our common, often difficult and tragic history sometimes raise grievances and accusations that do not allow old
wounds to heal.’ The memorandum, a historical first for the Russian
Orthodox Church, has already been likened to a historic 1965 letter
on forgiveness from Polish bishops to their German counterparts
that paved the way for a new era of relations between Poland and
Germany after the horrors of the Second World War.”
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Economy & Science
eNewsletter No. 10
Summer 2012
The International Monetary Fund published a report surveying the
state of the Polish economy concluding that while the Polish economy is
strong, having "performed better than peers throughout the crisis despite the challenging environment in Europe," it does need to remain
flexible in the face of certain risks. The report notes that, "the Polish
economy grew by a solid 4¼ percent in 2011 despite a substantial decline in public spending." The risks faced by the Polish economy include
the worsening of the eurozone crisis as, "nearly 60 percent of Poland’s
exports are to core euro area countries and Poland is heavily integrated
into the German manufacturing supply chain." The report suggests three
near term policy priorities: tightening fiscal policy which will reduce public debt over the medium term, refrain from raising interest rates, and
curtailing risks in mortgage portfolios denominated in foreign currency.
Five state controlled Polish companies, including the natural gas
giant PGNiG and mining firm KGHM, have agreed to join forces to
bolster the exploration for shale gas in North-East Poland. The five
firms have agreed to invest up to 1.72 billion zlotys ($515 million) in
cooperation on the Wejherowo concession, an area of about 160
square kilometers. Polish Treasury Minister Mikolaj Budzanowski said
the efforts would focus on the goal of opening three shale gas mines
by 2015. In its own study published this year, Poland pegged its recoverable shale gas reserves at 346 billion to 768 billion cubic metres.The five companies—all listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange—
will take up to four months to agree on the details of their cooperation, they said. The government has urged the companies to invest in
shale gas exploration as it seeks to reduce its dependence on coal.
German utility RWE has launched operations
at a 14-megawatt windfarm in Poland, increasing its Polish wind energy portfolio to 122 MW.
RWE also said on Monday it still planned to
increase its wind power capacity in Poland to
300 megawatts by end-2015. Poland has
around 1,900 MW of wind energy installed,
which represents 6 percent of the power system's total capacity. According to EU requirements, in 2020 at least 15 percent of Polish
energy is to come from renewable sources.
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Polish Cities: Białystok
eNewsletter No. 10
Summer 2012
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1. Białowieża National Park 2. Branicki Palace 3. Albert Sabin 4. Medical University of Białystok 5. Lipowa Street
A
6. Rynek Kościuszki
rchaeological discoveries show that the first settlements in the area of present day Białystok occurred
during the Stone Age. More recently however, the city boasts a population of well over a quarter million
individuals and is located in what is known as the Green Lungs of Poland in the North-East of the country.
Long frosty winters and warm continental summers define this gorgeous city. In the 18th century Białystok was
known as the Versailles of Poland when Jan Klemens Branicki, a wealthy Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth hetman constructed a palace complex with gardens, pavillons and sculptures known as the Branicki Palace.
Branicki's influence does not stop there as it was his money that saw the construction of the town square and townhall in the middle of the 18th century, this is known as the Rynek Kościuszki today. Lipowa (Linden) street derives its
name from the 18th century when a row of linden trees was planted on that street. Today it is the main street of
the city as it extends from the Rynek Kościuszki to the Square of Independence. Over the course of history this
street went through many name revisions including: Choroszcz, Nowolipie, Lipowa, Jozef Pilsudski, Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler and again Joseph Stalin and finally back again to Lipowa. One of the city's most prominent residents
was Albert Sabin who co-developed an oral polio vaccine in the middle of the 20th century. No visit to Białystok
would be complete without seeing the wonders of Białowieża National Park. The park is located about 62km southeast of the city an straddles the border of Poland and Belarus. The forest is home to the 800 wisent, continental
Europe's heaviest land animal.Guided tours into the strictly controlled areas of the park can be arranged on foot or
by horse-drawn carriage. Finally, for those seeking some wisdom there is the Medical University of Białystok which
was established in 1950 and since 2005 provides a 6 year MD program in English. Białystok really is the perfect city
to discover all sorts of history and natural wonders!
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Famous Poles
eNewsletter No. 10
Summer 2012
J
anusz Zurakowski, an unassuming man who
also happened to be one of the world's most
accomplished pilots and certainly Canada's
most famous pilot. Zurakowski was born to Polish parents in Ryzawka, Russia and immigrated to Poland in
1921 after the Bolshevik revolution. Żurakowski was
educated in Lublin and while at high school, he learned
to fly gliders.
sound barrier on 18 December 1952, diving the CF-100
fighter, the first straight-winged jet aircraft to achieve
this feat.
In 1953 AVRO Canada started the design studies for a
new high performance supersonic interceptor. In turn
this resulted in the CF-105 Arrow aircraft. The story of
the Arrow has become well known to Canadians, and its
cancellation continues to be a hot topic even 40 years
later. The plane was 50 years head of its time and came
to an unfortunate and abrupt end due to political pressures. Recently, the 50+ year old aircraft was even suggested as a replacement for the acquisition of the F-35.
In 1934, Żurakowski joined the Polish Air Force and entered the Polish Air Force Officers' School. After learning
to fly powered aircraft in 1935, and graduating as a SubLieutenant, he went on to serve as a fighter pilot posted
to 161 Fighter Squadron in Lwów, and later, in 1939, as a
In 1973 Janusz Zurakowski was inducted into Canada's
flying instructor at Deblin.
Aviation Hall of Fame. The citation reads: "The dedicaOn September 1, 1939, World War II broke out, and over tion of his aeronautical skills to the successful flight
the next 17 days the might of the German Luftwaffe was testing of Canada's first supersonic aircraft resulted in
unleashed against Poland. On 2 September, Jan, had his outstanding benefit to Canadian aviation." In summer
baptism of fire, as a flight of 7 Dornier 17's attacked 2003 the community of Barry's Bay built the Zurakowski
Deblin. Following the defeat of Poland, Żurakowski made Park and Museum in his honour. Janusz Zurakowski his way to England via Romania and France. Like many of ZURA died at "Kartuzy Lodge" on February 9, 2004 folhis compatriots, he was smuggled out of the war zone lowing a two-year battle with leukemia.
with false documents and a new identity as a forester.
In 1996 a 20$ commemorative coin was minted in his
Thousands of the Polish Air Force pilots who had made
honour.
their way to France fought against Luftwaffe forces in
the Battle of France.
In 1942, now Flying Officer In August '40, just as the
Battle of Britain was starting, Janusz was posted as a
Pilot Officer to No. 234 Squadron, which was operating
at the time from St. Eval in Cornwall. It moved to Middle
Wallop in the Portsmouth-Southampton sector to be
closer to the action. He was flying a Spitfire Mk1. After
the war, Poland's Soviet-imposed communist government exiled all of the Polish fighter pilots who had flown
with the RAF as part of a ploy to downplay Polish patriotism In April 1952, Żurakowski and his family left for
Canada where he became a test pilot for A.V. Roe Canada, concentrating on experimental testing. He broke the
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Janusz Zurakowski 1998.
Warsaw Uprising
eNewsletter No. 10
Summer 2012
On August 1, 1944, the most fierce internal resistance of any Nazi occupied country began in Warsaw, Poland
at 5:00pm in the evening. For 63 days a heroic struggle was put up by the Home Army to liberate Warsaw from
the Nazi German occupation. The uprising was timed to coincide with the Soviet Union’s Red Army approach to
the east of the city. However, the Red Army stopped just on the outskirts of the city and denied the use of an
airport base a few kilometers away to other allies to aid the Poles. Ultimately the Nazi’s would defeat the brave
resistance and continue to bombard the city leaving it almost totally levelled by 1945. Up to 200,000 civilians lost
their lives while about 16,000 resistance fighters perished. August 1, is now a celebrated anniversary in Poland.
On August 1, 2012 in Ottawa,
Polish veterans, the Polish
military attaché and economic
attaché along with representatives of the Royal Canadian
Forces took part in a commemoration of the 1944 Warsaw Uprising against the Nazi
regime.
The Warsaw Uprising Museum is located in the Wola district
of Warsaw, Poland and is dedicated to the Warsaw Uprising of
1944. The museum was officially opened only on July 31, 2004,
which marks the 60th anniversary of the Uprising. The museum
is dedicated to all facets of the Warsaw Uprising. Exhibits are
full of photographs, written accounts and other testimonies of
how life was during 1944. One of the main attractions is a replica of the bomber Liberator B-24J. Check it out when in Warsaw!
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Recommended Media
eNewsletter No. 10
Summer 2012
Wonder what it was like
to queue for hours for
toilet paper or sausages in
communist-era
Poland?
Well, if you are brave
enough to find out, try
Kolejka (Queue), the new
Polish “history-in-a-box”
board game launched by
the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN). While Monopoly has
taught the rules of capitalism to generations of players, Kolejka shows
them how to survive in a planned economy where shortages were
chronic, meat a rarity, oranges exotic and queuing up for hours, even
days, was all too common. Tensions are bound to rise as you compete
as you try to come home with all the goods. Are you brave enough to
confront the everyday life of 1980s Poland?
In the summer of 1940 Britain faced its
darkest hours. Faced with the onslaught
of the German Luftwaffe, arguably the
most powerful air force in the world at
the time, it was brave Polish pilots that
would come to Britain’s rescue. Formed
on August 1, 1940, No. 303 Squadron was
the highest scoring fighter squadron engaged in the Battle of Britain and it was
primarily composed of exiled Polish pilots. In the first seven days of combat the
squadron claimed nearly 40 enemy aircraft. The author of this book, Arkady
Fiedler, brings the real life thrilling action story of 303 Squadron to life
once again. The pilots of 303 Squadron were lionized by the British
press, congratulated by the King, and adored by the British public. Pick
this book up and read into the untold story of one of the most important groups of individuals to save Europe from total darkness.
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Comments? Suggestions? Get in
touch with the editorial board:
Andrzej Fąfara
Tomasz Trembowski
Patryk Połeć
Maciej Wójcik
[email protected]
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