History

The destruction of cultural property was one of the priority goals of the Nazis, it was supposed to break the cultural backbone of the Polish nation. It is estimated that Poland lost over 500,000 works of art during the war, and over 20 million valuable volumes.

On June 17th, 2023, at 2 PM, a ceremonial dedication of the graves of veterans of the Blue Army will take place at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Southfield, Michigan.

After World War I, the United States provided the countries of devastated Europe with multi-million dollar aid transferred as financial aid, food, clothing, or technical advice. Poland was affected not only by the effects of the Great War (1914-1918) as its major battleground, but also by the consequences of the Bolshevik invasion and infectious disease epidemics ravaging Poland at the time. It was one of the countries receiving help.

According to sources collected and analyzed by the author of "Polish History in America" ​​Wacław Kruszka, the first Pole who set foot in Wisconsin was Wincenty Serafin Dziewanowski. His story is quite typical of the character of Poles and the development of the United States.

Penal camps have a centuries-old "tradition". Many of them were established in isolated and unhealthy places of the world, where it was not possible to encourage free emigrants to settle. These were places where labor was needed to build roads and fortifications, to work on plantations, fell trees and extract natural resources.

Do Poles today remember about the huge sacrifice and participation of the American Polonia to make Poland appear again on the world map as a sovereign and independent state? It is difficult to answer this question today. The rapidly changing geopolitical reality brings many new and unfavorable circumstances for our homeland, which make us reconsider the fate of Poland.

In 1917, Jan Ignacy Paderewski composed and wrote the words of the song Hej, Orle Biały! The song was to be the battle anthem of the Polish Army in France, known as the Blue Army. On the New York first edition of the song from 1918, the composer ordered a note reading: "all proceeds from the sale of this anthem are intended for national purposes".

After inflicting unprecedented death and destruction on Poland and its people during World War II, Germany arrogantly spurns Poland’s demand for reparations.

Despite the threat of loss of life and the destruction of their works, over two thousand nuns during the German occupation of Poland became involved in saving Jewish fellow citizens. The sisters gave them food, medicines, and sheltered them. They risked it because the Gospel and the sense of universal solidarity dictated it.

This work appeared in connection with the centennial of Poland’s rebirth as an independent state in 2018. Its focus is Poland-United States diplomatic relations. Several highly respected individuals contributed to it.

Poland was devastated during WWI (1914-1918). Poles living in America initiated the Polish White Cross and Polish Gray Samaritans of YWCA, which recruited nurses to support Polish soldiers and families. These actions were critical to Poland's postwar rebuilding efforts. Sadly, their stories have been forgotten.