USA

The XXIV Winter Olympics concluded in Beijing yesterday. It is no coincidence, we argue, that, like clockwork, just after the games are finished, things are starting to happen in the world. The pace of world events suddenly accelerated significantly. Is anyone really surprised?

We talk little about it, but it is our national trait to be a humble and proud nation, while others promote their own actions, even if they are irrelevant. With some disbelief, I listen to the words that Great Britain has always helped Poland. I listen with fear to the words about the "second Afghanistan," and about the new alliance Great Britain-Poland-Ukraine, which is perhaps supposed to force France and Germany to be more active.

Kuryer Polski has great news to share with the Polish American Community. Ernest Litynski has been appointed to Major General in the U.S. Army Reserve.

Fat Thursday is a tradition in many countries. For example, in the Rhineland, Germany, Weiberfastnacht (Women's Carnival Night) is the day when women take over town halls, symbolically cutting off... the gentlemen's ties — in exchange for a kiss on the cheek. Giovedì grasso is also celebrated in Italy, and jueves lardero (also called Día de la Tortilla, or Tortilla Day) in Spain. In Poland, this day is celebrated rather sweetly, by eating mainly pączki and faworki (angel wings). This year, Fat Thursday falls on February 24.

It is with real pleasure that I study the latest research entitled "Polish Americans Today," about the American Polonia, sent to me by their author, Dr. Dominik Stecula — a professor of political science at the Colorado State University.

Poland’s rebirth as an independent nation in 1918 is one of the most remarkable events of modern history. One of the forgotten elements of Polish independence is the role played by Polish Americans in Poland’s restoration. Polonia’s contribution was overlooked due to the passage of time, interwar political divisions, and the impact of World War II and the subsequent communist takeover.

At the moment, a danger is approaching the Polish borders and our families there on the Vistula River. So it is time for joint, coordinated action on this issue.

In today's interview Kuryer Polski hosts prof. Donald Pienkos. Donald Edward Pienkos is Emeritus Professor of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. He is a Polish American historian specializing in political science and the history of the Polish American community. He was a witness and the creator of history, especially involved in the cause of Poland's accession to NATO.

In the 1930s, the Warner Brothers film studio produced films in the spirit of social realism, covering less appealing themes in modern America, such as crime, poverty, and a clumsy legal system. In these films, Poles were presented as criminals and negative characters. In one of those films, The Life of Jimmy Dolan, the evil character was called Pulaski. In another film, How Many More Knights, a gangster and murderer was a man named Kościuszko.

In August 2021, a new Polish Studies Program was launched at the St. John Paul II Institute at the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas. The St. John Paul II Institute was founded in 2019 in order to facilitate the understanding of the life and work of St. John Paul II in the context of Polish history and culture.

On November 28 – December 1, 1943 in Tehran a meeting of the leaders of the anti-Nazi coalition (the so-called Big Three): US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, was held. Key decisions were made there to end World War II, and Central and Eastern Europe was sold there for a promise to support America in the war with Japan.