History

Thinking with John Paul II is the key to understanding the challenges of the modern world and the role that Poland and Poles have to play not only in constructing their own world, but also the broader one.

April 10, 2025 marks 500 years since Albert of Hohenzollern, the last Grand Master of the Teutonic Order and the first secular prince of the Prussian state, paid homage to the Polish King Sigismund I the Old.

Scientists are still trying to decipher the mysterious manuscript, which was found in 1912 by a Polish antiquarian in London, Wilfrid Wojnicz. His life is no less mysterious and fascinating than the manuscript itself.

The Congress of Gniezno, held in 1000, was a key political and religious event in Polish history. Emperor Otto III visited the tomb of St. Adalbert in Gniezno and met with Bolesław the Brave. During the congress, Poland's independence was symbolically recognized, and the metropolis of Gniezno was established.

On April 2, 2005, at 9:37 p.m., Pope John Paul II died at the age of 84. Thus ended the pontificate of the 264th Pope, the successor of St. Peter, who held his office for 26 years.

The Silent Unseen (pol. Cichociemni) were the elite of the Polish Armed Forces, designated for special tasks. They were among the best trained soldiers in the ranks of the Allies during World War II.

This year marks 203 years since the birth (8 or 23 March 1822) of Ignacy Łukasiewicz. He is an exemplary inventor and social activist. Those who know him associate him with the invention of the kerosene lamp. However, he is a much more complex and interesting figure. And curiously, in his area he was known for something completely different.

Tamara Łempicka - a painter born in Warsaw, is one of the most outstanding artists of the 20th century. Despite living and working abroad, she felt Polish until the end of her days and was able to express her emotions only in Polish. March 18 marks the 45th anniversary of her death.

The tragedy of Poland, and of the Home Army generation, was that the Republic of Poland, attacked by two totalitarian powers bound by an agreement – ​​Germany and the Soviet Union – did not regain independence after the end of World War II.

Under the yoke of brutal occupation, Poles managed to create the Home Army – a well-organised armed force that served the entire free world.

Editor Katarzyna Murawska was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland by President Andrzej Duda for her outstanding services to the Polish diaspora in the USA and the promotion of Polish culture. The awards ceremony took place on March 2, 2025 at the Copernicus Center in Chicago.