Deputy head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Arkadiusz Mularczyk visited the USA at the turn of January and February. In Washington, he met with representatives of the State Department and Congress, including Democrat Marcy Kaptur, a member of the House of Representatives, and Ted Cruz, a Republican senator. The talks concerned e.g. war reparations from Germany and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
"The Polish American Congress is in the process of gathering information and drawing up a plan for appropriate action," said a statement from the PAC executive committee. In total, there are 60 million of us scattered around the world, and the largest concentrations of the Polish community are here in the United States. There are about 10 million of us in the US, at least 9 million of us no longer speak Polish.
In my articles and articles written with other representatives of the Polish community, we often repeat: "The fact that we emotionally talk in Polish in our media has no consequence for the world." To overcome divisions, one voice is needed on fundamental issues. That matter is, beyond any doubt, the issue of reparations from Germany.
At the Munich Security Conference (MSC), US vice-president Kamala Harris officially submitted a motion to include Russia in the group of countries that committed crimes against humanity in Ukraine. This is an important event from the point of view of international law and the concept of crimes against humanity, which in Central and Eastern Europe date back hundreds of years. Western historiography does not pay much attention to this region of the world, considering us savages who need to be constantly taught something, be it democracy or respect for human rights.
Warsaw in 1944 (Source: Wikipedia)
It's time for Poland, with the participation of its diaspora, to lead an effective campaign entitled, for example, "Historical Justice for Poland". In a conversation with my colleague from Texas, we came up with an idea how to run such a campaign with the participation of a large American partner.
There is an organization dealing with international affairs in the United States that has a huge organizational network in the largest states of America. I myself was a member of this organization in Wisconsin for 10 years, because my wife was one of its directors. I was involved in it during this period, implementing many programs concerning Poland. This organization is called: World Affairs Councils.
With the help of the Polish embassy and consulates, with the influence of the American and Polish press, Polish documentaries, feature films, theatrical performances, expert panels and exhibitions, focusing on the American elites, it would be possible to create a positive story about Poland, destroyed by two barbaric totalitarianisms that changed her unrecognizable.
The Commonwealth suffered losses that are difficult to estimate: 6 million Polish citizens died, nearly half of its pre-war territory was taken away. During the German and Soviet occupation, our country lost: 57 percent of lawyers, 39 percent of doctors, 30 percent of clergymen, almost a third of the academic staff. Most of the elite who emigrated from Poland after the outbreak of war did not return, including many intellectuals, artists, politicians, officials and officers.
The destroyed Warsaw, January 1945 (Source: Wkipedia)
Today, Poland, a member of the EU and NATO, is a place of great economic success, it is also effectively involved in humanitarian and military aid for Ukraine without looking back at the help of the more affluent.
In order to talk about Polish-German reconciliation and good neighborly relations, it is necessary to carefully and honestly look at the wrongs suffered by Poles during the Second World War. All Poles and the entire Polish diaspora must be involved in this great campaign. The talks between Polonia and Warsaw on this subject have started, so we try to join the discussion by bringing our know-how, Kuryer Polski, as a bilingual medium read by Americans, and most importantly — a network of hundreds of professionals operating in the United States.
After President Biden's visit to Warsaw, we have an extremely favorable press in the USA. We have a wonderful Polish nation, Polonia scattered around the world, great works of Polish intellect, from Paweł Włodkowic to Karol Wojtyła. It's time to put all these resources to good use. Such a chance for Poland happens once in 300 years. Let's build a Polish lobby in countries that are strategic for us. Let's build and address a narrative based on Pax Polonica — a country of solidarity and love of freedom.
