Thank you for never forgetting about Poland, for carrying Polishness in your hearts, for passing it on and for being proud of it. You teach young people what it means to be Polish.
— President Andrzej Duda, Chicago, March 2, 2025
It is with great joy that we would like to share with you the news that Ms. Katarzyna Murawska has been awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland by the President of the Republic of Poland, Andrzej Duda, for her outstanding contribution to the activities of the Polish diaspora in the United States of America, and for popularizing Polish culture and national traditions.
The awards ceremony took place at Chicago's Copernicus Center on Sunday, March 2, 2025.
Ms. Katarzyna has definitely deserved this award for a long time. Katarzyna Murawska is a graduate of the Faculty of Polish Studies at the University of Warsaw. She is the author of many articles and book publications on Polish emigration, including:
- "Purple at Sunset" (Purpurowe o zachodzie) shows the bumpy road of emigrants to the profession of a doctor learned in Poland.
- "In the Shadow of Great Events" (W cieniu wielkich wydarzeń) is the saga of the Dziewanowski family in Poland and some members of this family, which made great contributions to Poland, in America.
- "Digging Up History" (Wyorywanie historii) – the fate of a soldier from General Anders' army, Major Leonard Jędrzejczak.
- "The Armored Comrade of Gen. Maczek" (Towarzysz pancerny gen. Maczka) - the fate of Antoni Rogoziński, an officer of the 1st Armored Division, later a Polish activist, patron of the Logos Schools in Piotrków Trybunalski.
Ms. Katarzyna Murawska is a member of the Polish Writers' Association in Chicago. She has collaborated with Polonia and Polish media such as: Polish News, Dziennik Związkowy, Nowy Dziennik and Tygodnik Solidarność in Warsaw.
She collects and documents materials relating to the history of Polish emigration.
Awarded with the "Świętokrzyski Gustaw" statuette (Gustav Herling Grudziński Award, granted by the Świętokrzyskie Culture Society). Decorated with the Golden Cross of Merit, the Jan Ignacy Paderewski Medal and the Cross of Freedom awarded by the Free Poland organization.
Ms. Katarzyna is the Co-Founder and Editorial Secretary of Kuryer Polski, Milwaukee, USA, and a member of the Editorial Board of Gwiazda Polarna — one of the oldest newspapers published in Wisconsin, and now in Michigan.
Selected articles by Katarzyna Murawska from Kuryer Polski and Gwiazda Polarna:
- The Spirit to God, the Body to Italy, and the Heart to Poland
- The Constitution of May 3
- Captain Witold Pilecki — One of the Greatest Heroes of the 20th Century, According to the New York Times
- Lt. Col. Edmund Banasikowski — Steadfast Emigration Soldiers
- Kaliningrad Fortress
- 15th day of war in Ukraine - Own correspondence from Wrocław
- Wrocław helps Ukrainian war refugees - Own correspondence from Wrocław
- Ryszard Kaczorowski - The Last President of the Second Polish Republic in Exile
- Father Dr. Bolesław Domański - Outstanding Priest-Patriot
- Tadeusz Cisek - A Hero's Farewell
- He was born for music, he lived for the affairs of Polonia - Memories of Janusz Sporek
- The Blue Army and General Józef Haller - The Foundations of the Identity of the American Polish Community
- Felix Andrzej Wardziński — Polish Hero of Texas
- The Association of Poles in Germany under the Rodło banner - Geopolitical analysis
- Elżbieta Róża Czacka
- Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński - Primate of the Millennium
- In Memory of Mrs. Ada Dziewanowska
- Marian Kamil Dziewanowski - author of "a book that no one in Poland has heard of
- All roads led them to a free Poland — General Maczek's tank comrades
- Polish General in Milwaukee
- KATYŃ - Crime, Truth and Memory
John Paul II said during a meeting with Polonia in Hamtramck in 1981:
The more you are aware of your identity, your spirituality, your history and the Christian culture in which your parents, ancestors and yourself were raised, the better you will be able to serve your country and the more you will contribute to the common good of the United States.
Homeland is not just the land we live on, but an idea we carry in our hearts, especially here abroad. True patriots are those who not only love their country, but also fight for its freedom, truth and dignity – not with weapons, but with their hearts, wisdom, unwavering spirit and pen.
Such a person is undoubtedly our editorial colleague, Katarzyna Murawska – one of the last propagators of Polishness in Wisconsin. We believe that her energy and persistence in promoting Polish culture and the Polish language abroad will inspire many Americans of Polish origin and Poles living in the US and around the world.
— Editor-in-Chief of Gwiazda Polarna Edward Dusza,
— Editor-in-Chief of Kuryer Polski Waldemar Biniecki
Translation from Polish by Andrew Wozniewicz.
