November 2007

President Mirecki on the dais of the Speaker of the Polish Parliament

Dear Members:

In late September, I was in Poland for the Third Convention of World-Wide Polonia, organized by Wspólnota Polska, a government agency formed by the Polish Senate to maintain contacts with the Polish diaspora world-wide. In attendance were over 250 representatives of Polonian organizations from over 50 countries. The opening session in the large chamber of the lower house of parliament was addressed by President Lech Kaczyński, last President of the Government-in-Exile Ryszard Kaczorowski, and former ACPC President Walter Zachariasiewicz, who gave a brilliant presentation on the contributions of American Polonia to Poland’s regaining of independence. Also, Frank Spula, President of the Polish National Alliance and Polish American Congress, gave brief off-the-cuff remarks.

Subsequent sessions were held in various committee rooms within the parliament buildings, and one day was spent at Pułtusk, at the castle owned by Wspólnota. The topics discussed at plenary and break-out sessions included:

• Building a positive image of Polonia and Poland in the countries of residence
• Promoting Polish culture and preserving Polish heritage abroad
• Protection of Polish ethnic minorities
• Pastoral care of Polonia
• Education of Polonian youth
• Defending Poland’s reputation against falsifications of history
• Problems of the new wave of immigrants in the EU
• Building cooperation between Polonia and the mother country.

At the end of many sessions, a representative of an appropriate government ministry or agency took the floor to respond to the points raised in discussion. Represented were the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, of Culture and National Heritage, of Education, and of Tourism and Sport.

The closing session, held in Warsaw’s Royal Castle, was addressed by Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński. Resolutions passed by the various committees were read, including one submitted by me in the session on falsifications of history, congratulating the Polish government on its successful effort to have UNESCO establish the official name "Former German NAZI death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau."

At the end, Wspólnota presented awards called "Polonian Laurels" to several deserving individuals from around the world, including one to our own Walter Zachariasiewicz, whose work on behalf of world-wide Polonia goes back to the 1930’s, when he worked in the pre-war predecessor to Wspólnota Polska. Another was awarded posthumously to Edward Moskal, late president of the Polish American Congress.

The previous such conventions were held in 1934, after Poland regained independence after the partitions, and 2001, after the fall of Communism.