Newsletter

2023 May 3rd

POLISH CONSTITUTION DAY
Polish Flag Day and Day of Polonia

The main events held in Milwaukee and Chicago:

May 2 at 12pm Polish Flag Day and Polish Diaspora Day Celebration (Uroczystości Dnia Flagi RP oraz Dnia Polonii i Polaków za Granicą), Daley Plaza in Chicago, IL.

May 2 at 7pm The 1791 Constitution Celebrated through Words, Music and Imagery (Konstytucja 1791 świętowana słowem, muzyką i obrazem), Veterans Room, Polish Center of Wisconsin in Franklin, WI.

All are invited to this free event sponsored by the Milwaukee Society of the Polish National Alliance in cooperation with the Polish Center of Wisconsin and support of the Polish American Congress – Wisconsin Division. Speaking at the event will be David R. Zepecki and Donald Pienkos, Prof. Emeritus of Political Science. Highlights will include the music of Fryderyk Chopin performed by well known Pianist Mary Ellen Burrescia and display of posters created by the Polish Center to tell the May 3rd Constitution story. (click on the image to download the flyer)

From the 1999 Senate Joint Resolution 11: Whereas, the democratic and Western−oriented ideals inherent in the first Polish Constitution live on today within a citizenry that has played a leading role in bringing an end to Communism in Eastern Europe and in the country that was the Soviet Union and whose elected representatives are presently at work building a new societal system based on the precepts of political liberty linked in spirit to Poland’s historic values as embodied in the Polish Constitution of 1791; now, therefore, be it Resolved by the senate, the assembly concurring, That the legislature of the state of Wisconsin recognizes the contribution of the Polish Constitution to the advancement of democracy and freedom by proclaiming May 3rd of every year, “Trzeciego Maja Day” in the state of Wisconsin and invites all citizens to join their fellow Wisconsinites of Polish descent in celebrating Polish Constitution Day, “Trzeciego Maja”.

HOSTED IN THE POLISH CENTER OF WISCONSIN
6941 S. 68th Street Franklin, WI 53132-8237
► Map of Location ◄

Monday, May 1st, 2023 Newsletter No Comments

2023 Lecture on Polish Borders by Prof. Don Pienkos

ALL ARE INVITED TO THE UPCOMING LECTURE
HOSTED IN THE POLISH CENTER OF WISCONSIN

Polish Borders
April 20 at 6:30 pm

LOOKING AT POLAND’S
EVER CHANGING BORDERS
through History and their impact
– on Poland and on us too.

Presented by Professor Donald Pienkos

Perhaps more than practically any other country, Poland’s fate over its first 1000 years has been shaped by its border situation, or more accurately, by the absence of readily defined and defensible borders.

In my talk, which I illustrate with vivid maps of Poland over the centuries, I discuss how Poland’s fate has been very much defined by its leaders’ ability to defend the Country from powerful enemies – from the west, the East, even the North. Indeed Poland’s profound border situation is a core reason why so many people from Poland emigrated elsewhere – to western Europe, Canada, Brazil, and of course, the United Sy les and to Milwaukee and Wisconsin.

About the Speaker: Donald Fienkos is Professor Emeritus (Political Science) at the University of Wisconsin-Milwukee. At UW-M Don was a founder of the Polish Studies and the Russian and East European Studies programs. A long time PHA supporter, its Polish Fest and the Polish Center, Don is a member of the Milwaukee Society of the PNA and the Polish American Congress. He is the author of the Congress’ official history For Your Freedom Through Ours.

Free and open to the public, no registration required

HOSTED IN THE POLISH CENTER OF WISCONSIN
6941 S. 68th Street Franklin, WI 53132-8237
► Map of Location ◄

Thursday, April 13th, 2023 Newsletter No Comments

2023 REMEMBER THIS: Jan Karski movie premieres on PBS Wisconsin

2023 Karski Remember ThisREMEMBER THIS

A Cinematic Adaptation of the Original Stage Production Remember This: The Lesson of Jan Karski,
Produced by Sobremesa Media in association with The Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics at Georgetown University

Premiering on PBS Wisconsin
February 13, 2023 at 8 pm

Clips on the PBS website
Official trailer
 

From the Jan Karski Educational Foundation website: “All I can say is that I saw it, and it is the truth.” In a virtuoso solo performance, Academy Award nominee David Strathairn (Good Night, and Good Luck, Lincoln, Nomadland) portrays Jan Karski in this genre-defying true story of a reluctant World War II hero and Holocaust witness. After surviving the devastation of the Blitzkrieg, Karski swears allegiance to the Polish Underground and risks his life to carry the first eyewitness reports of war-torn Poland to the Western world, and ultimately, the Oval Office. Escaping a Gestapo prison, bearing witness to the despair of the Warsaw ghetto and confronted by the inhumanity of a death camp, Karski endures unspeakable mental anguish and physical torture to stand tall in the halls of power and speak the truth. Strathairn captures the complexity and legacy of this self-described “insignificant, little man” whose timely story of moral courage and individual responsibility can still shake the conscience of the world.

From the Jewish Film Festival website: Professor Jan Karski’s secret past as a member of the Polish underground was uncovered in 1978 by filmmaker Claude Lanzmann, who included his emotional testimony in Shoah (1985), after 35 years of near-obscurity and silence. Starring the brilliant David Strathairn (Good Night, and Good Luck; Nomadland), who reprises his original role from the highly acclaimed one-man stage play, Karski’s life is recounted in harrowing, mesmerizing detail. Faithfully adherent to the experience of the original one-man show, this cinematic adaptation of Remember This recreates the pared-down, abstract staging of “one table and two chairs.” Yet they become a professor’s lectern, a devastated Warsaw, a Nazi train, the Oval Office.” Other bold formal decisions dramatically heighten the intimacy of this experience, such as the use of a single camera with a 50mm lens, the closest equivalent to the normal human field of vision, and the film’s black and white palette. The stylistic flourish of shooting in widescreen almost dares us to look away from Strathairn, only to find emptiness. These stark visuals allow the virtuosity of Strathairn’s performance and his dynamic, shape-shifting presence to take center stage in creating a world for us out of only his face and his voice, to captivating and haunting effect.

Check also the REMEMBER THIS website

Wednesday, March 8th, 2023 Newsletter No Comments

2023 Upcoming lectures in the Polish Center of Wisconsin

THE FEBRUARY 16th LECTURE HAS BEEN POSTPONED
due to projected winter storm
The new date will be posted here when it becomes available.

BOTH EVENTS HOSTED IN THE POLISH CENTER OF WISCONSIN
6941 S. 68th Street Franklin, WI 53132-8237
► Map of Location ◄


February 16 at 6:30 pm

LOOKING AT POLAND’S
EVER CHANGING BORDERS
through History and their impact
– on Poland and on us too.

Presented by Professor Donald Pienkos

Perhaps more than practically any other country, Poland’s fate over its first 1000 years has been shaped by its border situation, or more accurately, by the absence of readily defined and defensible borders.

In my talk, which I illustrate with vivid maps of Poland over the centuries, I discuss how Poland’s fate has been very much defined by its leaders’ ability to defend the Country from powerful enemies – from the west, the East, even the North. Indeed Poland’s profound border situation is a core reason why so many people from Poland emigrated elsewhere – to western Europe, Canada, Brazil, and of course, the United Sy les and to Milwaukee and Wisconsin.

About the Speaker: Donald Fienkos is Professor Emeritus (Political Science) at the University of Wisconsin-Milwukee. At UW-M Don was a founder of the Polish Studies and the Russian and East European Studies programs. A long time PHA supporter, its Polish Fest and the Polish Center, Don is a member of the Milwaukee Society of the PNA and the Polish American Congress. He is the author of the Congress’ official history For Your Freedom Through Ours .

Free and open to the public, no registration required

3seasJanuary 26 at 6:30 pm

POLISH RESCUERS
during the Holocaust

Presented by Michael A. Morris

On September 1, 1939, Nazi Germany invaded Poland and immediately instituted their violent and antisemitic policies. In the face of this persecution, some Poles risked their lives to help Jews, and today over 7,000 Poles are honored by Yad Vashem as Righteous Among the Nations, non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust.

In honor of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the Nathan and Esther Pelz Holocaust Education Resource (HERC) will highlight a number of Poles who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust. Attendees will also learn about how HERC brings Holocaust education to every part of Wisconsin.

About the Speaker: Michael A. Morris, HERC’s Community Engagement Manager, has an M.A. in Holocaust and Genocide Studies from Stockton University and an M.A. in Experiential Education and Jewish Cultural Arts from the George Washington University.

Free and open to the public but registration recommended – register HERE

Sponsored by the Polish Center of Wisconsin in partnership with
the Nathan and Esther Pelz Holocaust Education Resource Center

Thursday, January 19th, 2023 Newsletter No Comments

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