Polish Constitution Day 

Polish Constitution of May 3rd, 1791 was the first written national constitution in Europe and the world’s second, after the Constitution of the United States.

Jan Matejko’s (1838-1893) painting shows Polish King Stanislaus Augustus, members of the Polish Parliament (Sejm) and Warsaw inhabitants entering
St. John’s Cathedral for swearing in the newly adopted constitution.

Kościuszko: A Man Ahead of His Time

In celebration of Polish Constitution Day there will be a special program
and film shown entitled “Kościuszko: A Man Ahead of His Time”
on Thursday, May 3, 2018 at 7:00 p.m.
at the Polish Center of Wisconsin.

Dr. Don Pienkos will provide some brief introductory comments
on the Constitution of 1791, and after the movie screening
Dr. Neal Pease will speak about the film and answer any questions.

There will be a complimentary Wine & Cheese Reception sponsored
by the Milwaukee Society of the Polish National Alliance.

This event is free and open to the public.

Donald Pienkos
Prof. Emeritus, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Neal Pease
Professor of History, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

HOSTED IN POLISH CENTER OF WISCONSIN

► Map of Location ◄

Poland 1979-1989
Living through Poland’s Extraordinary Decade
Memories from Members of Our Community

On April 22, 2018 the Wisconsin Polish American Congress sponsored an extraordinary panel discussion that focused on the period between two electrifying events – the extraordinary first visit of the newly elected Pope, John Paul II, to his native land in June 1979 and the incredible victory of the Solidarity movement in the parliamentary election of June 4, 1989. In between came ten immensely difficult and stressful years for the courageous Polish people.

In the panel discussion at the beautiful Polish Center of Wisconsin, six residents of the Milwaukee community recounted and shared their varying experiences of that momentous time. Four – Irena Frączek, Derek Zarzeczny, Katarzyna Murawska, and Jarek Mielczarek lived through those years as citizens of Poland. Two – Poland-born Jadwiga (Heddy) Moskaluk and Milwaukee native, attorney Eugene Kaluzny were active in southeast Wisconsin working on behalf of Poland’s people. Moskaluk labored to ship parcels of food, clothing and medical supplies to families of Milwaukee Poles and Polish Americans who were enduring great hardships in Poland. Kaluzny, then president of the Wisconsin Polish American Congress, was deeply involved in sending needed goods to Poland through the auspices of the Polish American Congress Charitable Foundation and Catholic Charities.

Their comments drew many questions from the audience in the Q & A that followed.

Below are two more photos of the event, along with a most impressive slide show presentation of the Polish crisis of the time that Mr. Zarzeczny presented (to the right).

This program is just the most recent of the many the Wisconsin Division of Polish American Congress continually organizes to inform the public about Poland and its People’s experience – in cooperation with the Polish Center of Wisconsin, other Polish American organizations, and the Polish Studies Committee of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Text provided by the panel moderator, Dr. Donald Pienkos, Professor Emeritus and Chair of the Polish Studies Committee, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Photos courtesy of Diane Holytz from the Polish Center of Wisconsin.

More information from the stopacthr1226 website:

Paul Ryan, Speaker of the House of Representatives, intends to suspend the usual congressional procedures and allow voting not on his own bill H.R.1226, but on the Senate Bill S.447! Voting can take place this Tuesday (April 24, 2018). This vote probably happen under “suspension of the rules”, ie the debate may be limited to 40 minutes and congressmen will not be able to propose any amendments. In order for the Bill to be approved, a 2/3 majority of all votes will be required. To become a law the Bill would also have to be signed by the President of the United States.

KEY ARGUMENTS: Act S.447 is a complex legislation with broad and far-reaching domestic and international ramifications which involve and encroach into multiple areas: national security, national defense, breach of the existing international treaties, undermining of the geopolitical allies, creation of dangerous precedence, and ultimate corruption of the existing legal system. Postpone scheduled vote! Conduct proper hearings!

Message suggested on the national Polish American Congress website:

As a member of the POLISH AMERICAN CONGRESS and constituent of Congressman/ Congresswoman _______________, I request that on April 24 he/she should vote against S. 447, because it is unfair to Poland, an important and dependable NATO ally, which was a victim of Nazi Germany, and not a villain. Moreover, I request a roll call vote on this bill that calls on Poland to pay extravagant compensation for crimes against private property on conquered Polish territory perpetrated by Nazi Germany and the communists during the World War II era. Compensation for these crimes against private property should be paid by Berlin, and Moscow, not by Warsaw. Furthermore, Poland sent a low level delegation to the Prague Conference and never considered herself bound by the Terezin Declaration.

NOTE:The Terezin Declaration is a nonbinding declaration.

Join our efforts to stop the unjust bill making its way through the United States Congress under the name
Justice for Uncompensated Survivors Today
(JUST) Act of 2017

Both the Senate version (S.447) and the House of Representatives version (H.R. 1226) of the bill were introduced in their respective chambers on 2/27/2017. By unanimous consent, S.447 has already passed the Senate, while H.R.1226 awaits now evaluation in the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

After H.R.1226 passes the House and gets the president’s signature, the “JUST” act will become the U.S. Law. But despite its reassuring name, this law will be grossly unjust to Poland – always the loyal ally of the United States and country that suffered the most horrific devastation in the World War II (see the video ending this post).

If enacted, the law will use the power of U.S. government to “monitor” the “identification, return, or restitution of wrongfully seized or transferred Holocaust era assets and compliance with the goals of the Terezin Declaration” in countries that signed it in conclusion of the 2009 Holocaust Era Assets Conference.

This wording appears to be high-minded at first but the bill actually represents an effort to circumvent or overwrite national laws existing in sovereign states with purpose of legitimizing compensation demands that cannot be substantiated under legal procedures and requirements already in effect and creating a new mechanism for exerting political pressure to achieve these goals.

As argued in related appeals, letters and other documents (see the box to the left), the bill is logically and legally misguided. Its application to Poland is also particularly insensitive given a variety of historical, political and moral considerations. Here is a summary of main points articulated in reactions to the pending legislation:

…..1. In compliance with the 1960 Bilateral Agreement with the United States, Poland has already compensated all claims submitted by U.S. citizens (and their heirs) who owned property in Poland before the WWII. Based on this agreement, Poland also received indemnity from the United States protecting it from any further private property claims. Poland has also paid nearly four times the amount it originally agreed (see the Final Report of the Polish Claims Program). In contrast, some countries paid only partial restitution amounts (e.g. only 10% in Hungary or Slovakia) while some have never made any payments of this type (e.g. Denmark or Norway). Additionally, with new laws enacted in 1989 and later, any person with legitimate claims can pursue them in Polish courts that decide them on case by case basis.

…..2. The “JUST” bill names “uncompensated survivors” in its title, but one of its provisions refers to the “restitution of heirless property,” which obviously cannot be restituted to its rightful owners. The solution used under the common law in most countries, including Poland and the United States, heirless property automatically transfers to the state – in this case to Poland because regardless of their ethnicity, the heirless owners were Polish citizens. The “hairless survivors” provision also specifies that in addition to assisting Holocaust survivors, restitutions can be used “for other purposes.” This means that the bill seeks to robe Polish people – who also suffered monstrous devastation perpetrated by German occupiers (Poland lost in the war about 3 millions of ethnic Jews and almost 3 millions of ethnic Poles) – in and use proceeds for purposes totally unrelated to Holocaust

…..3. For Poland in particular, this bill constitutes an existential threat because over 20% of property that could be potentially claimed under the “JUST” law is located within Polish borders. Using figures quoted in related materials, even the lowest estimate of potential claim easily exceed Poland’s annual budget and paying them would destroy Polish economy and utterly harm its population

YOUR VOICE IN NEEDED TO STOP THIS UNJUST BILL

To stop its enactment, or to exclude Poland from its scope, members of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs need to know how strongly we oppose H.R.1226. The bill is in their hands now and voicing our opposition can prevent it from ever reaching the House floor. Sponsors & cosponsors of S.447 should also become aware of the outrage drawn by their role in the bill’s passage and hear strong reasons for withdrawing their support to the bill.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE LEAFLET WITH ADDRESSES AND OTHER USEFUL INFORMATION

THE CITY OF RUINS: Warsaw 1945 from the “Liberator” 1536 Polish Special Regiment, stationed in Brindisi (Italy). Warsaw had 1,300,000 inhabitants as of September 1, 1939. About one third of them were Jews. After the fall of Warsaw Uprising War (10/2/1944), only about 1,000 people remained in the ruins. Germans deliberately destroyed about 85% of the city.