News from Polish Archives and Collections in America

Jerzy Skwarek's Polish American Photographic Collection at the Polish Museum of America

The Polish Museum of America in Chicago, Il, is pleased to announce adding a photographic collection by Jerzy “George” Skwarek to its permanent collection. Mr. Skwarek grew up in German-occupied Poland and spent his youth in Soviet-occupied Poland after WWII. After emigrating to the U.S. and settling in Chicago in 1971, he became a photographer and journalist documenting Polish American life. Since moving to Chicago, Skwarek worked as an author and travel guide; he published Polish-language travel books on the National Parks, Florida and an “Around The World” guide. As photographer and journalist for the Polish Daily News, Skwarek was given an opportunity to document major events in cultural and social life of Polish Americans.

Pope John Paul II’s Mass in Brighton Park 1979, Skwarek’s photo (Polish Museum of America, Chicago, Il.)

The Polish Museum of America was established in 1935 as the “Museum and Archives of the Polish Roman Catholic Union of America.” The first public display area opened on January 12, 1937 in a specially designed and constructed room within the headquarters building of the PRCUA. From that date the Museum’s collection and importance grew very rapidly and quickly gained autonomous status as “The Polish Museum of America” with its own governing board of directors. There were two events that caused the rapid expansion of the Museum’s collections. The first originated from the 1939 World’s Fair in New York City, New York. Unfortunately, in September of 1939 Poland was invaded and war had gripped Europe. At the close of the World’s Fair, it became clear that the Polish exhibits could not return to Poland and their disposition was uncertain. In order to preserve at least a portion of the exhibits the directors of the Museum determined to purchase from the government of Poland nearly three fourths of the exhibits.The second significant event was the donation to the Museum of the personal possessions of Ignacy Jan Paderewski following his death in June 1941. Both Ignacy Paderewski and his sister, Antonina Paderewska Wilkonska, were enthusiastic supporters and generous sponsors of the Museum. Antonina, executor of Ignacy’s will, decided to donate these personal possessions to the Museum. In addition, the management of the Buckingham Hotel in New York City, where Ignacy spent the last months of his life, allowed Antonina to obtain the furnishings from the suite of rooms he had occupied.
More information about PMA: https://www.polishmuseumofamerica.org/about-pma/

Alfred Szebla's Historic Donation to the Pilsudski Institute

In September 2019, The Pilsudski Institute was pleased to announce that a letter of King Sigismund I (1467-1548) from Vilnius, dated October 17, 1513 was donated to the Pisudski Institute. The letter, whose originality has already been pre-confirmed, is addressed to Jan Mikołajewicz Radziwiłł, land marshal in the then Duchy of Lithuania, and concerns the land of Bogusz Bohovalnowicz in the Słonim poviat. The letter is signed "Zygmunt". This unique document from the Jagiellonian era is a gift from Alfred Szebel, a famous collector from Chicago, who has been working with the Pilsudski Institute and supporting the Institute for many years.

The Jozef Pilsudski Institute of America was established on July 4, 1943 in New York City as a major research archival and science institution for research of modern history of Poland. It was founded by a group of Polish-American community leaders, prominent Polish statesmen, and political expatriates.The Institute houses a rich collection of primary sources covering the period from the 1863 Insurrection to the present day. The collection includes documents, photographs, films, posters, periodicals, books, personal memoirs of diplomats, and political and military leaders. The archival collection contains over one million documents, or 150 linear meters of shelf space.  It is one of the largest and most important archives outside of Poland. The most important documents relate to the following subjects: the Polish-Bolshevik War of 1919-1922, Marshal Jozef Piłsudski, the Silesian Uprisings of 1919-1921 and more. 

The Library contains about twenty thousand books and many rare manuscripts mainly related to the modern history of Poland. The Institute also houses 20,000 photographs covering the period from the beginning of twentieth century related to Polish and European political, military and cultural institutions, events, and personalities. The collection includes 2,450 maps from the second half of the nineteenth century through 1999. An art gallery with more than 240 items features oil paintings, watercolors, drawings and illustrations by such artists as Jan Matejko, Józef Chełmoński, Juliusz Kossak, Tadeusz Styka, Alfred Wierusz-Kowalski, Leon Wyczólkowski, Aleksander Gierymski, and Jacek Malczewski. https://www.pilsudski.org

New Polish-American Composers' Collections at Polish Music Center, California

Manuscripts by Witold Lutoslawski at PMC since 1985.

Located at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, the Polish Music Center collects items pertaining to Polish music and culture. The PMC Archives began when the Polish Manuscript Collection was established in 1985 with a gift of five original manuscripts from Witold Lutosławski (with Mi-Parti, Paroles tissées, Preludes and Fugue, and Novelette). Works by Grażyna Bacewicz, Tadeusz Baird, Joanna Bruzdowicz, Marta Ptaszyńska and Stanisław Skrowaczewski created the core of the collection, enlarged in 2000-2002 by gifts from over 30 Polish composers (Rafał Augustyn, Zbigniew Bujarski, Krzysztof Knittel, Zygmunt Krauze, Hanna Kulenty, Szymon Laks, Roman Maciejewski, Krystyna Moszumanska-Nazar, Krzysztof Meyer, Krzysztof Penderecki, Elżbieta Sikora, Edward Sielicki, Aleksander Tansman, Romuald Twardowski, Tadeusz Wielecki, Lidia Zielińska, and many others). Recent additions include the Ludomir Różycki Collection

 From the core of the Manuscript Collection, the PMC Archival Collection has grown with the addition of full collections held by several important composers. Encompassing not only original musical manuscripts, but also rare printed scores, letters, photographs, books, personal items and much more, these collections are:

• Henryk Wars [Henry Vars] Collection (donated by the Vars family in 2005) – featuring the composer’s newly discovered symphonic music
• Zygmunt and Luisa Stojowski Collection (donated by Alfred and Henry Stojowski in 2006) – featuring Zygmunt Stojowski’s manuscripts and first editions of scores, as well as articles, personal notes and a portion of his private library
• Bronisław Kaper Collection (donated by his former agent in 2007) – featuring his film scores and popular songs
• Paderewski Archive—the Paso Robles Collection (donated by related persons and collectors in 2008) – featuring items relating to his travels in the US, visits in California, and his life in Switzerland, illustrated by rare photographs, documents and personal memorabilia
• Roman Ryterband Collection (donated by the Ryterband and Eisele families in 2016) – featuring manuscript scores, drafts of compositions, correspondence, photographs, artwork and personal items

https://polishmusic.usc.edu/research/pmc-archives/


The Polish Room at SUNY Buffalo's Lockwood Library


The Polish Room, room 517 in the State University of New York at Buffalo’s Lockwood Library, is open by appointment to the general public as well as to the UB community. The collection includes over 12,000 volumes. Its website notes: “Its strengths are in literature and history, but the genealogical literature and the language sections are very strong for a collection of this size.

In addition to the book collection, the Polish Room possesses a number of unique materials, which include 21 manuscripts of the Polish kings from the 16th to 18th centuries, by Sigismund August (1548-1572), Stefan Batory (1576-1586), Sigismund Third Vasa (1587-1632),  Ladislaus Fourth Vasa (1632-1648), John Casimir (1648-1668), John Third Sobieski (1674-1696), August Second of Saxony (1697-1733) and 

Stanislaus August Poniatowski (1764-1795). The collection also holds letters and other signed documents of important people of the 20th century, including writers such as: Stefan żeromski, Maria Konopnicka, and Maria Dąbrowska. Other items include hundreds of video recordings, some Solidarność documents; 135 underground press books on microfiche, along other microfische documents.

https://library.buffalo.edu/polish-room/

Anna Jaroszynska Kirchmann about Polish American Studies 75/1

In the year when Polish American Historical Association celebrates 75 years of its work, it is highly satisfying to see how our journal Polish American Studies reflects the development of our scholarly field. The Spring 2018 issue of PAS (Vol. 75, no. 1) features on the cover a photograph taken during the very first meeting of what became PAHA in New York in 1943. Although to the contemporary observer it is now striking that the group does not include any women, the first issue of PAS did feature an article by Rev. Sister M. Ligouri, Ph.D., from St. Mary's High School in Worcester, Mass. If you are interested in the history of those early years of PAHA and PAS, pick up the recently published book, edited by James S. Pula, which discusses various directions and areas of development of our organization over the last 75 years.

The Spring 2018 issue of PAS brings together three articles, posing questions about Polish American experience seen in three different and little known contexts. James S. Pula examines antislavery arguments promoted by the early immigrants from the Polish lands to America. Thomas Hollowak describes various aspects of the unique experience of Polish immigrants who found employment in oyster dredging in the Chesapeake Bay. Kathleen Urbanic and Thomas Duszak present a history of Polish Baptists in the United States, as seen through the activities of the parishes in Rochester, NY, and Wilmington, DE.

The issue features also books by Anna Rudek-Smiechowska, Sylvie Aprive, Rachel Feldhay Brenner, Joshua Blank, Tara Zahra, Czeslaw Karkowski, and Marek Liszka.

Subscription to PAS comes as part of the membership in PAHA. To join, visit the website of University of Illinois Press, the publisher of our journal.

To find out more about the journal, about its editorial board, and submissions, visit PAS page on PAHA Website: http://polishamericanstudies.org/text/13/polish-american-studies.html. The website also features tables of contents of earlier issues of PAS. These articles are available as PDF downloads from JSTOR.

Interview with Professor James S. Pula by Aleksandra Ziółkowska-Boehm

Interview with Professor James S. Pula of Purdue University - 

Historian, Professor, Author, and Polonia Activist

by Aleksandra Ziółkowska-Boehm

1
Aleksandra Ziółkowska-Boehm: You grew up in a small village, New York Mills, in central New York State where 75percent people were of Polish heritage. Both your father’s parents came to America from Poland. Your father born in America but spoke Polish. On your mother side you are French origin. Since you mother did not speak Polish and your father did not understand French, the language was used home was English. Do you have a little knowledge of French and Polish?

James S. Pula: Since so many people in our village knew Polish, it was never offered as a language until after I had already graduated from high school, and it was not offered at any of the colleges I attended. In graduate school I studied French to pass a reading test for research purposes since that was a requirement of my PhD in history. However, I have rarely used it since then so I have lost most of my facility with it.

2
Ziółkowska-Boehm: You are the author of many books, specializing in ethnic and immigration studies and 19th-century American history. Your first book titled “The French in America” (1975) was published in series on American ethnic group. What is the unique about French Americans?

Prof. Pula: There were small communities of French in Philadelphia (PA), Charleston (SC), and of course New Orleans (LA) since colonial times. French influence in Louisiana remains strong even today. Unlike all of the other states, its basic legal code derives from the French Code Napoleon. My mother’s ancestors came down from Québec to work in the logging camps in the Adirondack Mountains in New York. Quite a few people of French ancestry were prominent in the Revolutionary War and early American history, but I think the most unique feature of the French is how quickly they appear to have assimilated into American society regardless of when they arrived.

Prof. Pula with PAHA President, Anna Mazurkiewicz, 2015.

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Ziółkowska-Boehm: You write that you remember from childhood years there were differences between Poles coming from “Austria” and “Russia” during the time of the partitions when Poland lost its independence. At that time Polish immigrants coming to America were registered as from Austria, Germany, or Russia. You write that you also remember that in your village the Poles were divided between those attending the Roman Catholic Church and those who attended the Polish National Catholic Church (Kosciol Narodowy). How much were those differences visible in everyday lives?

Prof. Pula: There were differences of association. Since many of the organizations in town were either based in the parishes, or loosely affiliated with them, membership in these was dictated by whether one was Roman Catholic or National Catholic. The groups even had different cemeteries. The two did not mix, except in the Polish National Alliance and in the local textile union which were open to people regardless of religious affiliation. So as adults social activities were often a dividing factor. For children it was much the same. Most Polish children, like my father, went to the Roman Catholic parochial school until they graduated and then had to attend the public school beginning in eighth grade. National Catholic children could not attend the Roman Catholic school so some attended National Catholic schools in nearby Utica while others went directly into the public schools at an early age. Naturally these divisions meant that children were often not able to take part in each other’s social activities. Once in high school, these divisions largely ended when it came to attending school-related activities, but persisted for anything sponsored by the parishes.

4
Ziółkowska-Boehm: As a student you were fascinated with the subject of the American Revolution. You graduated from SUNY –Albany, and your interest build up. Your second book was dedicated to General Włodzimierz Bonawentura Krzyżanowski who took part in the Civil War. He was eulogized by president Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1937 at Arlington. His life was so interesting I believe he deserves a movie. Tell us more about the hero of your book For Liberty and Justice: The Life and Times of Wladimir Krzyzanowski.

Prof. Pula: He was indeed a very fascinating figure. He came from a poor gentry family and was involved in the planning for the Mierosławski uprising in 1846. The Prussians placed him on trial but he escaped before being captured and came to the US. He apparently worked as an engineer for a while, then married an American woman named Caroline Burnett and opened a pottery business in Washington, DC. When the Civil War broke out he volunteered in the local militia as a private and quickly rose to captain. After receiving permission to recruit his own regiment, he was promoted to colonel of the 58th New York, which later adopted the nickname “Polish Legion.” Krzyżanowski fought in many of the largest battles of the war at Cross Keys, Second Bull Run, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, and Chattanooga. In all of these he gained praise from his commanders, eventually earning promotion to brigadier general.

Following the war he was a successful agent for the US Treasury Department where he was responsible for tracking down smugglers in Louisiana and later the Washington Territory, Alaska, and Panama. When he moved to San Francisco he met Helena Modjeska when she came to America and was instrumental in scheduling her debut in California. He also knew Henryk Sienkiewicz who frequented the tavern Krzyżanowski owned. It was there that Sienkiewicz observed some of the personality traits of the patrons that he later used in his writings.

Quite a career for someone forced to leave his homeland for a new country whose language he did not even know. In 1937 his remains were reburied in Arlington National Cemetery.

Prof. Pula at the gates to the University of Warsaw, Poland.

5
Ziółkowska-Boehm: After graduation you taught for two years in South Carolina at a mostly black college. Later you moved to the University of Maryland and you were sent overseas to participate in their programs in Japan, Korea, Germany, and Italy. You experienced a lot of multi-ethnic human diversity with different origin people. Please tell more about it.

Prof. Pula: Teaching overseas was a life-changing experience in so many ways. Living in other cultures, especially in places like Japan and Korea with very different historical and cultural traditions, makes one much more aware of what immigrants face when they arrive in a new country. For someone teaching immigration history, this was an invaluable experience.

One also learns that there are “good” and “bad” people everywhere and that just because something is different does not mean it is less valuable. I think no matter where we come from we all tend unconsciously to judge things by the norms and values of the society in which we grew up. Living in all of these different countries gives one a different perspective. Cultures and ways of doing things may be different, but there is not necessarily any hierarchy — what is accepted and works within a given society is just as valid as what works and is accepted in another society.

And the human variety is amazing. All of the different foods, music, religions, art, and so much else. Spending time in these different cultures was the best education I could ever have hoped to obtain, and a lot more interesting than sitting in a classroom.

6 
Ziółkowska-Boehm: You stated in Polish American Studies (Autumn, 2017) that your early life experiences led you to: “professional lines of research and teaching” that also “have taught you the most valuable of all lessons, that people in all groups are much more alike than they are different…. People, both the ‘good’ and the ‘bad,’ are largely the same everywhere.” What can you add to this beautiful statement?

Prof. Pula: Only that it is unfortunate that individual people cannot be viewed and accepted for what they are — individuals. We always want to place labels on people, to put them into groups, when in fact everyone is unique with individual strengths and weaknesses and should be seen as an individual. If we judged each other by, as Martin Luther King said, the “content of their character,” instead of trying to place them in groups or categories the world would be a better place.

Prof. Pula at PAHA's 75th Annual Meeting in Washington D.C. January 2018

7
Ziółkowska-Boehm: Publishing papers, articles, books chapters - you presented your own experience on comparative work - on Germans, Italians, Hispanics, Asian, and others group. It is very interesting and mind-opening reading about diversities and perceptions of different ethnic group in the USA. If asked, I believe, all of the groups would have their - more or less - “songs of complains.”

Prof. Pula: That is an interesting observation. Every group that has come in large numbers to the US has left its own country for specific reasons, and often these reasons are essentially the same for many groups — political or religious persecution, lack of economic opportunity, famine or other natural disaster, and so on. When they arrive in the United States, if there are large numbers they draw attention and sometimes a negative reaction from people already there. The Irish and German immigrants faced a backlash against them in between 1830 and 1860; Poles, Italians, and Jews were often discriminated against in 1880-1920; Asians met opposition in 1880-1900; and more recently Mexican and other Hispanic immigrants have faced the same problems. One of the things one learns is that for each large wave of people, the experience is much the same. If the group is large enough to be perceived as a threat by those already in the US (that is, a competition), especially if there is an economic recession, the group is perceived as a “problem.” In the second and third generations they begin to assimilate and some other group takes their place as the unfamiliar newcomers.

A good example is a pair of editorials I ran across while doing research a couple of decades ago. In the 1830s a newspaper in St. Louis complained in an editorial that the city was being overrun with Irish immigrants who were uneducated, had different customs, and were on top of all that Catholic! Twenty years later the exact same newspaper ran a similar editorial bemoaning the fact that so many German immigrants were arriving and they has strange customs like having picnics on Sunday where they drank beer, spoke in a different language, and kept too much to themselves. The editorial ended with the sentence “Where have all the noble Irish gone?” All of a sudden the Irish were now “noble.” What happened to elevate them? A combination of assimilation and familiarity. So fear of the newcomer was transferred to a newer group, the Germans. It is a process that continually changes only in the names of the groups that are involved.

Cover of the Polish American Encyclopedia edited by Prof. Pula

http://polishamericanstudies.org/text/40/encyclopedia.html

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Ziółkowska-Boehm: You were giving courses at the university in ethnic and immigration studies, also about U.S. immigrations policy. I value your interest in the Polish presence in America – before the Great Migration. Quite a few of your books are dedicated to Polish American ethnic subjects, like United We Stand: The Role of Organized Labor in a Polish American Community, 1910-1916 (1990). In your book Ethnic Utica (1994) you present the mosaic of American society. Twelve essays are dedicated to Welsh, Irish, Polish, German, Italian, Syrian/Lebanese, Jewish, African-American, Ukrainian, Oneida Indian, Bosnians. Do you write about immigrants from South America?

Prof. Pula: The book on Polish labor strikes was particularly enjoyable to write since it focused on the town in which I grew up. It is an amazing story of a group of Polish factory workers who organized in the face of opposition from a major textile company and overcame all adversity to win their strikes. They later took these organizational skills into the political arena to literally take over the village government by electing a mayor and a majority of the village board.

Ethnic Utica was a book I edited so the chapters were written by several different authors. The topics were selected by looking at the census for the area and selecting the largest of the groups in the county. Since then Hispanic immigration has increased and the same people that published my book just published one on the Hispanic community as well. Aside from Ethnic Utica, I have written articles on Hispanics for encyclopedias and recently published an article titled “Is the New Immigration Really New? A Comparison of 1910 and 2010” in which I compare the demographic and assimilation of Poles and Italians in the US in 1910 with Mexicans in 2010. It was published in Agnieszka Małek and Dorota Praszałowicz, eds., The United States Immigration Policy and Immigrants’ Responses: Past and Present (Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 2017). Actually, the data suggest that Mexican immigrants are progressing toward assimilation faster today than were Poles and Italians a century ago.

9
Ziółkowska-Boehm: You earned both a M.A. and Ph.D. from Purdue University with a major in American history. As part of your interest you wrote a book dedicated to Kosciuszko: Thaddeus Kościuszko: The Purest Son of Liberty (1998). Is Kosciuszko your favorite Polish origin hero? What is the subject you are working on now?

Prof. Pula: Yes, I have admired Kościuszko for some time, actually since I first became aware of him in high school. He really made important contributions to the American Revolution at Saratoga where his engineering skills helped to win a battle that brought the French and Spanish into the war on the side of the rebellious colonials. He went on to build the first fortification at West Point where the US Military Academic is today, to serve with distinction in the Carolinas, and then to return to Poland to lead an unsuccessful revolution to free his own nation. More importantly, as I learned more about him I have been exceptionally impressed by his humanity. In America he befriended the poor, slaves, and indigenous peoples. In Poland he emancipated the peasants on his own land and during the Kościuszko Uprising he proposed citizenship rights for peasants, Jews, and others. His continual support for the less fortunate classes of people is truly commendable. Thomas Jefferson once wrote that the Pole was the “purest son of liberty” he ever met, and of that liberty that went to everyone, not just the rich and powerful.

Right now I am finishing a two-volume publication on the American Civil War that focuses on German immigrants and, to a lesser extent, other immigrants from central and Eastern Europe who fought in the Civil War. I am also editing a 75th anniversary history of the Polish American Historical Association which should be finished next month.

PAHA's Anniversary History at the 75th Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.

http://pahanews.blogspot.com/2018/01/paha-75th-anniversary-history-by-james.html

10
Ziółkowska-Boehm: You wrote numerous essays, lectures, papers, and book reviews on Polish subjects. Quite a few of your books are dedicated to Polish American subjects. Together with historian Professor M.B. Biskupski you have published essays and documents titled Polish Democratic Thought from the Renaissance to the Great Emigration: Essays and Documents (1990). Please, tell us about that volume.

Prof. Pula: In that book we brought together a group of prominent historians to write essays on the development of democratic thought in Poland during various eras and supplemented this with the publication of English translations of important documents to make them available to English-speaking scholars. We followed it up with a second volume that begins where the first one left off and continues on through the eventual regaining of Polish independence from Soviet influence. The title of the second volume is The Origins of Modern Polish Democracy (Athens, OH: Ohio University Press, 2010).

11
Ziółkowska-Boehm: You are also very active in the Polish American intellectual community. You were president of The Polish American Historical Association (PAHA), editor of Polish American Studies for 33 years, associate editor of The Polish Review, and an active member of the Board of The Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences in America (PIASA). Among others awards you received the Amicus Poloniae Award, the Mieczysław Haiman Award, and the Krzyż Oficerski Orderu Zasługi Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej [Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland]. You are a great treasure for Polish culture and history. What do you think can be done for better understanding of the Polish Americans?

Prof. Pula: There is, fortunately, a great wealth of scholarship in both English and Polish on a broad range of Polish American topics. Today, more comparative studies are appearing which is also positive. I think the main problem is integrating these scholarly studies into the mainstream of academic publishing. Both Polish American Studies and The Polish Review are now members of JSTOR, a full-text academic database that makes them available to scholars at more than 6,000 libraries, archives, and other organizations around the world. This is a tremendous advance in placing these materials before scholars writing textbooks, comparative studies, and other publications that will reach a very broad audience. It would be very helpful if some of the Polish journals such as Studia Migracyjne-Przegląd Polonijny could also be made available this way because they contain some excellent studies that would benefit from a wider audience.

Another thing we can do, as academics, is to focus more of our attention on the general public. We often spend all of our time talking to each other in very stimulating conferences, but the results of these are shared in written form in academic journals and seldom if ever reach the general public. This is good for us as individual academics as we build a portfolio for tenure and promotion, but it has no influence on public perceptions. We need to spend more time giving public lectures, working with local community education projects and teachers, and reaching out to deliver our message about the history and culture of Poles and Polish Americans to newspapers, community groups, and other public forums.

NOTE: This interview was conducted in English in November 2017 and published in Polish translation in the journal Odra, April 2018.

Easter Workshop at the Pilsudski Institute and Our Favorite Things

  

Easter Workshop at the Pilsudski Institute 

On March 24, at 3 p.m. the Pilsudski Institute of America invites all children with parents to an Easter Art Workshop dedicated to making Easter Palms.  Under the guidance of Jola Szczepkowska the workshop's participants will make their own, traditional Easter Palms used in liturgy on Palm Sunday (a week before Easter), and as Easter decorations at home.   Registration: 212-505-9077 or office@pilsudski.org. The institute is located at: 138 Greenpoint Ave., Brooklyn NY 11222.

These hand-made Easter Palms may become, in time, cherished objects that are associated with fond memories of family, childhood, togetherness, celebration... in other words, Objects that Speak.

Objects that Speak

The Polish American Historical Association has designated a portion of its website to documenting Polish American experience through objects brought by immigrants from Poland and cherished by their descendants.  Moderated by Prof. Anna Muller, this section includes already several such objects - photographs accompanied by stories - and we are always looking for more. In the site's introduction, Prof. Muller writes:

Old furniture, books, dolls, pottery, so much old stuff… all these various objects encircle us and take up crucial living space. Do they add anything to our lives? We often treat them as an addition to our lives, as a sign of prestige and possession. They tell the story of who we are, the hobbies we have, sometimes the fear or ambition that consume us. Perhaps they simply pollute the space around un with unnecessary memories of various moments we experienced, people we used to know, journeys we took or only dreamt of taking, things that symbolize fulfilled or unfulfilled potential or dreams. They do participate in our lives, they are elements of material culture, they help sustain our social lives, but do they perhaps also live separate lives from us?

Here are some pictures and stories gathered so far.  To submit your idea please contact
Prof. Muller (anmuller@umich.edu), or
PAHA Executive Director, Dr. Pien Versteegh (pien.v@polishamericanstudies.org), or
PAHA Communications Director, Dr. Maja Trochimczyk (maja@polishamericanstudies.org).

SEWING MACHINE AND SHEEP WITH PYSANKY
Theresa Veltri (with the help of Anna Muller and Talylorann Lenze)

A Singer sewing machine may have been a staple of many 1900s women’s households, but for Janina Andrzejczak, it was also a way to maintain and pass on culture. “My mom used to make all of our Polish dance costumes,” the Janina’s daughter, Theresa Veltri remembers. “Three of the four of us kids used to take Polish dance lessons every Saturday, ending the year each May with a dance recital.  We were even in the Hamtramck Parade one year with our Polish costumes.” [...]

The clothing wasn’t Janina’s only effort to pass on her Polish culture to her children. “My mom… was also a fantastic cook always making traditional Polish food like pierogi, gołąbki, soups, and other foods…. She would always cook lamb for Easter,” Veltri notes. [...] Around Easter, Veltri remembers always seeing an Easter lamb statuette surrounded with pysanky. She and her siblings didn’t paint the colorful eggs themselves but were aware that the delicate art came from Poland.
To read more, visit PAHA Website.

STORY OF THE MORTAR AND PESTLE
Czesław Blechinger (with the help of Anna Muller and Talylorann Lenze)

During World War II, young Czeslaw Blechinger and his family were brought to Germany as forced laborers. They departed from Otynia Poland, a town south of Lwow, with only essentials and a decoratively wrought mortar and pestle.  The two brass pieces were intended to prove Blechinger's father’s technical craftsmanship competence, so they were not used on a daily basis. Blechinger explains that his father had “worked in the shop area, where railroad cars were maintained. A foundry was also in the shop, that’s where the mortar and pestle were made.”

When WWII ended, the mortar and pestle came with the Blechinger family to the displaced persons (DP) camp, called Bergen-Belsen. It was a former Nazi concentration camp where thousands of prisoners died including Margo and Anne Frank. ... To read more, visit the PAHA Website.


THE WEDDING RING
Karen Walczyk Prescott

The 10K gold ring inlaid with rubies and pearls has the initial J inscribed on it. It traveled from Przasnysz, Poland in 1908 to the United States, shortly after my grandmother, Henryka Kolakowska Bulawa was born. Originally the ring had belonged to her great-grandmother, Jozefa. Henryka's mother, (Jozefa's daughter), had returned to Poland after only a year of lliving in the US in order to honor her beloved mother's death. Jozefa's will stipulated that the ring would be passed on to her first grandchild, whoever that might be. Already pregnant, Stanislawa would save the ring for Henryka and bring it back to the US....
To read more,visit the PAHA Website.

Call for Papers for PAHA's 76th Meeting in Chicago Il, due April 15, 2018

Chicago from Public Domain Images website

The 76th annual meeting of the Polish American Historical Association will be held in Chicago as part of the 133rd yearly meeting of the American Historical Association, January 3–6, 2019.

The theme for the AHA conference is “Loyalties.” As explained in the general CFP “… loyalties function on multiple levels. Individually, or in groups, humans commit themselves to communities, loved ones, principles, a leader, a nation, a religion, an ideology, or an identity.”

https://www.historians.org/publications-and-directories/perspectives-on-history/october-2017/loyalties-the-theme-of-the-133rd-annual-meeting

The multivalent and rich nature of the concept of‘loyalty’ and ‘loyalties’ is a fitting theme for the PAHA conference as 2018 is a year when PAHA celebrates its 75th anniversary and Poland celebrates the 100th anniversary of 1918 – the year when after 123 years of political partitions, Poland regained its independence.

The conference thus offers a unique chance to reflect on various levels of loyalties (individuals, family, traditions, old and new communities) and how they change over time and space. What contributes to the sense of loyalty and duty that came with it? What forms did they take? And how did the Polish Americans of different generations and social standing deal with the conflicting, changing, or perhaps double loyalties to the old and new country?

We invite scholars who study the Polish American communities or the greater Polish diaspora as well as those who deal with migration, ethnic, and regional studies and would like to join the discussions related (but not limited) to the following topics:

• Polish Americans and the restoration of Poland’s independence, 1918
• 1918 and Polish migration, new understandings of citizenship, settlement, and assimilation patterns
• Intersections of ethnicity, class, gender and race
• Ethnic lobbying and occurrences of ethnic mobilization
• Rituals, imagery, and symbols of continued loyalty 
• The relationships between different loyalties – loyalty to the old country vs. new country
• Immigration to the USA and state building in Poland 
• Diplomacy, outreach, and relationships between Poles in the country and abroad 
• Polish American experience and various forms of nostalgia for the old country 
• Polish American experience 

We invite proposals for sessions as well as individual papers related to all aspects of the Polish American experience (in history, sociology, literature, art, music, etc.) on both American continents.

The deadline for submissions is April 15, 2018.

Abstracts for papers and panel proposals are now being accepted and should be submitted to:

PAHA Chair of the Program Committee
Anna Muller, Ph.D.
anmuller@umich.edu
University of Michigan-Dearborn
4901 Evergreen, SSB 2192
Dearborn, MI 48128
(313) 583-6539 (phone)
(313) 593-5645 (fax)

Electronic proposals in email and word format are strongly preferred.

Individuals and session organizers should include the following information when submitting a proposal:
• Paper/Session title(s) (of no more than 20 words)
• Paper/Session abstract(s) (up to 300/500 words, respectively)
• Biographical paragraph (up to 250 words) for each participant
• Mailing and e-mail address for each participant
• Chair (required) and commentator (optional) for the session
• Audiovisual needs, if any.

Please be advised that it is not always possible for PAHA to provide AV equipment for all sessions due to the high cost of mandatory rental from AHA. All presenters are encouraged to consider submission of their papers for publication in PAHA's peer-reviewed journal: “Polish American Studies."

For more information please see PAHA's website: www.polishamericanstudies.org

Ambassador Piotr Wilczek Welcomes PAHA at 2017 Awards Ceremony in Washington D.C.

The 75th Annual Meeting of the Polish American Historical Association in Washington D.C. featured PAHA's Awards Ceremony held on January 6, 2018 at the Residence of the Ambassador of the Republic of Poland, Prof. Piotr Wilczek.  The event began with a welcome by the Ambassador himself, reproduced below, with his permission. The list of awards and awardees may be found on this blog.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Friends,

Let me start by saying that I am very happy to be the host this evening of the annual Polish American Historical Association Gala dinner. As a Professor of the history of literature, I am both honored and pleased to welcome for the first time PAHA members to my residence.

We are meeting today to present the Polish American Historical Association’s Prizes and Awards. These include: the Haiman Award for sustained scholarly effort in the field of Polish American Studies, the Halecki Prize for the best book on a Polish American topic, and the annual Swastek Prize for the best article appearing in Polish American Studies, which are all widely recognized in the community of Academic Historians.

Events such as today offer us an opportunity to celebrate all that PAHA and its members accomplished this past year, and to recommit ourselves to work even harder for our common good in the year to come. I would personally like to take a moment to thank all those gathered here this evening, as well as those who could not make it but who nevertheless have contributed to the storied history of the Polish American Historical Association. Your dedication and hard work are known, appreciated, and very important for the Polish-American community.

Since its founding during the tumultuous and uncertain days of World War II to today, PAHA has become a modern, interdisciplinary academic and professional organization with a diverse, international membership of individuals and institutions. As a scholar and Ambassador, I can attest that PAHA is an organization that all of Polonia can be proud of, and should appreciate for their important work.

Ladies and gentlemen, all of you here in the audience need no reminder that we have just inaugurated our centennial year of Poland’s rebirth, and what an incredible opportunity this presents for Poles everywhere to celebrate our history. As the Ambassador in Washington, D.C. I look forward to this centennial not only to celebrate with Polonia, but also to remind our American friends and partners the rich history of our relations. I am sure that many of you know that Monday is the anniversary of Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points Address. Anniversaries such as this present scholars, teachers, but also diplomats and journalists opportunities to reinvigorate public memory of these momentous events and their lasting ramifications.  Throughout the year and years to come we will celebrate those great heroes on whose shoulders we stand today, especially those with ties also to the United States. Here specifically I am thinking  about Ignacy Jan Paderewski – a great pianist, composer, statesman, prime minister, close friend of President Woodrow Wilson. I am pleased that PAHA has also decided to commemorate Him this evening.

In closing, I wish you a memorable evening and very productive meeting tomorrow. I hope that when you return home from this 75th jubilee conference in Washington you will again take up the challenge of uncovering Polish American history and bringing Poland and the United States closer together.

On the beginning of a new year I wish you all the best in your personal and professional life. I believe that your professional successes are the best possible way to promote Polish history and culture, and to shape the image of Poland – a country which is worth visiting, getting to know, and cooperating with.

Madame President Mazurkiewicz, the floor is yours.

AMBASSADOR OF THE REPUBLIC OF POLAND

PROFESSOR PIOTR WILCZEK

Ambassador Piotr Wilczek

Photo: Karolina Siemion-Bielska/MSZ

Ambassador Piotr Wilczek was born on 26 April 1962, in Chorzów, Poland. A prolific literary scholar, intellectual historian, writer, and translator, he graduated in 1986 from the University of Silesia in Katowice, where he also received his Ph.D. (1992) and Habilitation (2001). Recruited by his Alma Mater, he remained there until 2008 as a professor and Faculty Dean. His interests include comparative literature, philology, and intellectual history that form the culture and geography of knowledge across time. In 2006, he received the title of Professor of the Humanities from the President of the Republic of Poland.

In 2008, he joined the University of Warsaw faculty at the new, experimental Artes Liberales program. He became the Founding Director of Collegium Artes Liberales (College of Liberal Arts and Sciences) where he helped establish and chaired Centre for the Study of the Reformation and Intellectual Culture in Early-Modern Europe. Since 2010, he has also been at the helm of the Artes Liberales Doctoral Studies Program. An international scholar active in Europe and the United States, he has been promoting liberal arts education, which breaks the existing barriers between narrow fields of specialization traditionally favored in the continental Europe.

His commitment to interdisciplinary approach to learning draws on his own engagement with international studies, scholarly exchanges, and cultural diplomacy. A recipient of numerous grants and scholarships, he conducted postgraduate research in intellectual history at Oxford’s St Anne’s College in 1988 and completed two postdoctoral projects at the Warburg Institute, University of London, in 1996 and 1998. Twice, he was visiting translator at The British Centre for Literary Translation, University of East Anglia. In the United States from 1998 to 2001, he taught Polish literature and language as a visiting professor at Rice University, the University of Illinois, and the University of Chicago. He was invited to give public lectures at Harvard University and the University of Texas at Austin and conducted research as a visiting scholar at Boston College and Cleveland State University.

Piotr Wilczek is an active member of the Warsaw-based non-partisan American Study Group at the Polish Institute of International Affairs, which brings together experts, journalist, and academics who comment on political and cultural developments in the United States and analyze their implications for Poland, Europe, and the trans-Atlantic alliance. Until his diplomatic appointment in the US, he was Representative in Poland of the New York-based Kosciuszko Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to educational, cultural, and artistic exchange between the United States and Poland. He also served as President of the Foundation’s affiliate in Warsaw.

Piotr Wilczek authored and edited 22 published monographs and more than 100 journal articles which appeared in Poland, the UK, and the United States, both in English and Polish. He belongs to a number of professional groups and associations and is a board member of various international scholarly journals, book series, advisory councils, and academic and educational initiatives in Europe and the United States.

On 21 October 2016 the President of the Republic of Poland nominated him Ambassador to the United States and the Commonwealth of the Bahamas.

"PAHA: A 75th Anniversary History" by James S. Pula

PAHA: A 75th Anniversary History of the Polish American Historical Association

Edited by James S. Pula (PAHA, 2017). 212 Pages. Available on Amazon.com

In 2018, PAHA is celebrating its 75th Anniversary.  Established in 1943 as a Commission for Research on Polish Immigration within the newly formed Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences in America, the organization assumed its current name and incorporated as an autonomous nonprofit scholarly association in 1948.  PAHA's Mission is described as follows:

• To promote the study of Polish American history and culture as part of the greater Polish diaspora.

• To encourage and disseminate scholarly research and publication on the Polish American experience in the fields of history, the social sciences, the humanities and the arts, and advance scholarly collaboration across disciplines

• To support collection and preservation of historical sources regarding the Polish past in America

In order to fulfill this mission, PAHA publishes a scholarly journal, Polish American Studies, and a semiannual newsletter, sponsors books on Polish American experience, organizes annual conferences, and researches the activities of the American Polonia and the Polish diaspora on other continents.

ABOUT THIS BOOK

The PAHA 75th Anniversary History was edited by James S. Pula to commemorate the history, changing goals and lasting achievements of the organization. The volume contains reprints of earlier histories of PAHA published in the Polish American Studies by Konstantin Symmons-Symonolewicz, Anthony F. Turhollow, John J. Bukowczyk, Anna D. Jaroszynska-Kirchmann. These histories are   complemented with the update bringing the account to the present era by James S. Pula.  A valuable section of the Anniversary History consists of appendices listing PAHA founding members, presidents, and award winners. 

PAHA 75th Anniversary History and Books by PAHA Members

CONTENTS

Preface, by Anna Mazurkiewicz, PAHA President (2017-18) - p. vii
Introduction, by James S. Pula - p. xi
A Special “Thank You” to the Skalny Family - p. xv

CHAPTERS

1. Polish American Studies, 1942-1970: An Overview, by Konstantin Symmons-Symonolewicz - p.1

2. The Polish American Historical Association: An Act of Faith, by Anthony F. Turhollow - p.17

3. “Harness for Posterity the Values of a Nation”: Fifty Years of the Polish American Historical Association and Polish American Studies, by John J. Bukowczyk - p. 25

4. The Polish American Historical Association: Looking Back, Looking Forward, by Anna D. Jaroszyńska-Kirchmann - p. 129

5. Celebrating the Past, Preparing for the Future, by James S. Pula - p. 155

APPENDICES

6. Appendix A: List of Members of the Commission for Research on Polish Immigration - p. 181
7. Appendix B: The Polish-American Historical Commission - p.182
8. Appendix C: Presidents of the Polish American Historical Association  -p.  183
9. Appendix D: Editors of Polish American Studies - p. 184
10. Appendix E: The Mieczysław Haiman Award - p.184
11. Appendix F: The Oskar Halecki Prize  - p. 185
12. Appendix G: The Joseph Swastek Prize - p. 189
13. Appendix H: The Distinguished Service Award - p. 191
14. Appendix I: The Skalny Civic Achievement Award - p. 192
15. Appendix J: The Creative Arts Prize - p. 194
16. Appendix K; The Amicus Poloniae Award  - p. 194
17. Appendix L: The Graduate Student Award - p. 195
18. Appendix M: The Kulczycki Prize - p. 195
19. Officers and Council for 2017-2018 - p. 196

THE EDITOR

James S. Pula is Professor of History at Purdue University North Central. The author and editor of more than a dozen books on the Polish diaspora and the American Civil War, he served as editor-in-chief of The Polish American Encyclopedia and was the editor of the academic journal Polish American Studies for some 33 years. He has for many years been a member of the Boards of Directors of the Polish American Historical Association and the Polish Institute of Arts & Sciences of America. His work has been honored with the Mieczysław Haiman Award for sustained scholarly contributions (1988), the Distinguished Service Award from the American Council for Polish Culture, and three Oskar Halecki Prizes for: The Polish American Encyclopedia (Editor, 2011), Polish Americans: An Ethnic Community (1995), and United We Stand: The Role of Polish Workers in the New Mills Textile Strikes , 1912 and 1916, co-authored with Eugene E. Dziedzic (1991). He is the recipient of the Rudewicz Medal, and the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland (2014).

PAHA's 2017 Awards Presented at its 75th Annual Meeting in Washington D.C.

The Ambassador Prof. Piotr Wilczek welcomes guests, Photo by Marcin Szerle.

The 75th Annual Meeting of the Polish American Historical Association in Washington D.C. featured PAHA's Awards Ceremony held on January 6, 2018 at the Residence of the Ambassador of the Republic of Poland, Prof. Piotr Wilczek.  The event began with a welcome by the Ambassador himself who praised PAHA for its contributions to scholarly research and promotion of Polish American history and culture.  Ambassador Wilczek reminded the audience that the year 2018 marks the centennial of Poland's independence.

Ambassador Wilczek with  art installation honoring Paderewski

PAHA President, Prof. Anna Mazurkiewicz of the University of Gdansk, presented the rich and fruitful history of PAHA and its role in stimulating and expanding the field of research into Polish American topics - history, culture, sociology, politics, and more.  Prof. Mazurkiewicz stated: "2018 is a very special year – it marks the centennial of Poland’s rebirth. It also marks 75 years since the establishment of PAHA. During our meeting tonight we shall begin to celebrate both. In my capacity as PAHA’s President I would now like to officially inaugurate the observance of the 75th Anniversary of PAHA’s founding. That is, the founding of the oldest, continuously existing, scholarly organization devoted to the study and promotion of the Polish American experience."

Prof. Anna Mazurkewicz, PAHA President. Photo by Marcin Szerle.

Prof. Mazurkewicz also reminded the listeners that "The membership in PAHA is not restricted to historians. One does not have to be an academic. One does not have to be of Polish origin to join. Polish language is not required either. What is required is the passion for the study, preservation and promotion of the Polish experience in the Americas."

Prof. Mazurkiewicz  presents PAHA History edited by James S. Pula. Photo by Marcin Szerle

Finally, she discussed current PAHA projects and the ways the organization will celebrate its 75th Anniversary: "Among the anniversary celebrations we have planned for 2018 there is: a conference at Loyola University in Chicago which will be held on September 7-9, 2018. There is also a special Anniversary publication initiated and edited by James Pula, published with the support of the PAHA Board that covers the entire history of PAHA . The 75th years described in this volume are presented through the eyes of PAHA members at various periods of Association’s history – including texts by former presidents who continue their work for PAHA, Prof. John Bukowczyk, Prof. Anna Jaroszynska-Kirchmann and the editor of the volume Prof. James S. Pula. Together with appendices listing the former officials and awardees – for the first time gathered in a single publication, I am not shy to say, we have a complete account of the 75-year long history with all the historical flavors of the times and phases this organization went through."

Dr. Maja Trochimczyk reads Paderewski-themed poems, with Paderewski piano rolls as decoration.

Prior to presenting PAHA Awards and Awardees, Prof. Mazurkiewicz invited Dr. Maja Trochimczyk, PAHA Board Secretary and Communications Director to present a program: "Poland 1918-2018: Remembering Ignacy Jan Paderewski." The presentation featured Paderewski playing Paderewski on piano rolls recorded on CD and in a fragment of "The Moonlight Sonata" film of 1937, a display of Paderewski piano rolls and vintage postcards, and a recitation of Paderewski-themed poetry celebrating his advocacy on behalf of Poland that resulted in adding Poland's independence as point 13 to President Woodrow Wilson's 14 Points for the Paris Peace Conference in 1918. Poignantly, Paderewski's last composition was the 1917 hymn for the Polish troops gathered in Canada and the U.S., "Hej Orle Bialy!" He sacrifices his musical talents to serve the Polish cause. His role as Poland's "savior" was praised by American poets Robert Underwood Johnson, John Huston Finley and Charles Phillips. (See the images and full text of this presentation on Trochimczyk's Chopin with Cherries blog, or watch Paderewski play in  the film The Moonlight Sonata of 1937).

Assisted by PAHA's Executive Director, Prof. Pien Versteegh, PAHA President presented the following Awards and Prizes to distinguished individuals selected by the Awards Committee chaired by PAHA's Second Vice-President and Executive Director of the Pilsudski Institute, Dr. Iwona Drag-Korga.

Katalin Kadar Lynn accepts Halecki Prize for Joanna Wojdon. Photo by Maja Trochimczyk.

1. OSKAR HALECKI PRIZE - DR. JOANNA WOJDON

The Halecki Prize recognizes an important book or monograph on the Polish experience in the United States.  Eligibility  is  limited  to  works  of  historical  and/or  cultural  interest,  including  those  in the  social sciences or humanities, published in the two years prior to the award.  The 2017 Halecki Prize was presented to Joanna Wojdon for White and Red Umbrella: The Polish American Congress in the Cold War Era 1944-1988 (Helena History Press, 2017). The award was received by the publisher, Katalin Kadar Lynn, Publisher of Helena History Press and faculty member at Eotvos Lorand University. (For the list of past winners visit this page of PAHANews blog)

The White and Red Umbrella recounts the goals and everyday activities of the Polish American Congress under the presidencies of Charles Rozmarek (1944-1968) and Aloysius Mazewski (1968-1988) who shaped the organization's image in the Cold War era. It deals with the issues of both the effectiveness and ineffectiveness of the PAC in representing Polish American interests, as a coordinator of various Polish American endeavors, as a lobbying organization, and as an institution providing cultural and social unity for Americans of Polish descent in America. It discusses internal and external factors that influenced the Congress and portrays the personalities of it’s activists and examines the PAC’s achievements and failures.

Joanna Wojdon is an Associate Professor at the Institute of History, University of Wroclaw. The history of Polish Americans after World War II is one of her major research interests, alongside the history of education under communism. Her research in the Polish American archives was made possible thanks to a Kosciuszko Foundation Fellowship(2003) and a Fulbright Senior Award (2014).

2. MIECISLAUS HAIMAN AWARD - DR. JOANNA WOJDON

The Miecislaus Haiman Award of the Polish American Historical Association is "offered annually to an American scholar for sustained contribution to the study of Polish Americans."  These Awards commemorate a historian, writer, journalist, translator and Polonia activist, Mieczyslaw Haiman (1888-1949), who was the first director of the Polish Museum of America, and the first historian of American Polonia. (For the list of past winners visit this page of PAHANews blog).

The Haiman Award Joanna Wojdon's seminal works on the Polish American Congress ["W imieniu sześciu milionów..." Kongres Polonii Amerykańskiej w latach 1944-1968 (Toruń: Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek, 2005) and "W jedności siła!" Kongres Polonii Amerykańskiej w latach 1968-1988 (Toruń: Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek, 2008)] have both been reviewed positively and are major contributions to the understanding of that organization. In addition, some of her other works over the years have also addressed with excellently documented research issues essential to understanding the Polish American experience. Not the least of these is “Polish Americans in the Press of the People's Republic of Poland (1952-1989) [Polish American Studies, Vol. LIX (2002), No. 2] which reverses the usual view of studying the Polonia press in order to see how Polonia was actually portrayed abroad, and “The Image of Tadeusz Kościuszko in Postwar Polish Education” (The Polish Review, 2014).

Dr. Marta Cieslak accepts her Swastek Prize from Dr. Anna Mazurkiewicz

Photo by Marcin Szerle.

3. JOSEPH SWASTEK PRIZE - DR. MARTA CIESLAK

The Swastek Prize is awarded annually for the best article published in a given volume of Polish American Studies, the journal of the Polish American Historical Association. This award, established in 1981, is named in honor of Rev. Joseph V. Swastek (1913-1977), the editor of Polish American Studies for many years, and a past president of the Polish American Historical Association. (Read the list of past winners posted on this blog).

For the Swastek Prize for the best article in volume 73 (2016) of Polish American Studies, the Editorial Board nominated Marta Cieślak's "Crossing the Boundaries of Modernity: The Post-Abolition Journey of Polish Peasants to the United States." As some of the board members noted, this original piece is based on the author's 2014 dissertation and does not only reflect extensive archival research but also a thorough understanding of the social and economic conditions in mid-19th century Poland, of the transatlantic migration, and the social and economic situation of emancipated slaves in the postbellum South. Cieślak's argument is original and compelling, and constitutes a historiographically significant project.

Dr. Kozaczka with Dr. Mazurkiewicz and her Award, Photo by Marcin Szerle.

4. JAMES  S. PULA DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD - DR. GRAZYNA KOZACZKA

Given occasionally to a member of PAHA who has rendered valuable and sustained service to the organization, the Distinguished Service Award was renamed in 2017 to honor Prof. James S. Pula, a long-time editor of the Polish American Studies, PAHA's past president, current treasurer, awards recipient, and the editor of two PAHA flagship publications, the critically acclaimed Polish American Encyclopedia (McFarland, 2011) and PAHA: The 75th Anniversary of the Polish American Historical Association (PAHA, 2017). (For the list of past winners visit this page of PAHANews blog).

Professor of English at Cazenovia College in New York state, Dr. Kozaczka is a long-time PAHA Board Member, PAHA  President in 2015-2016 and a faculty member at Cazenovia College since 1984. She currently directs the college-wide Honors Program and took a leadership role in securing trademarks for PAHA's logo and name, organizing many PAHA conferences, and representing the organization at international events, especially in Poland. Dr. Kozaczka's research interests include ethnic American literature, women's literature, literature of the Holocaust as well as traditional Polish folk dress and adornment. She has published scholarly essays, short fiction and popular articles in both English and Polish. She is currently working on a monograph devoted to the representation of immigrant and ethnic women in Polish American literature after World War II.

Robert Synakowski discusses his award with Dr. Mazurkiewicz. Photo by Marcin Szerle

5. SKALNY CIVIC ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS - JERALD RACHFAL AND ROBERT SYNAKOWSKI

The Skalny Civic Achievement Awards honor individuals or groups who advance PAHA's goals of promoting research and awareness of the Polish-American experience and/or have made significant contributions to Polish or Polish-American community and culture. The two 2017 Skalny Awards were presented to Jerald Rachfal and Robert Synakowski. (For a list of past winners visit this page).

5a. SKALNY AWARD - JERALD RACHFAL

For many years now, Jerry Rachfal has been a recognized leader of the Rochester, NY Polonia. He has been associated with the  Polish Historical Society of Rochester, NY and currently serves as board member of this organization taking an active role in promoting Polish history and culture. As a close associate of Dr. Frederic Skalny, he has also been associated with the Skalny Foundation and Charitable trust. Jerry Rachfal's commitment to serving others goes beyond his involvement with the Polish American organization. He is a former member of Boler School of Business Advisory Committee at his Alma Mater, John Carrol University and together with his wife Janice Rachfal, works with the Flower City Habitat for Humanity in Rochester, NY.

Robert Synakowski (center) with Prof. Neal Pease. Dr. Ewa Barczyk, Prof. Grazyna Kozaczka, Dr. Maja Trochimczyk, Mr. Stanley Kozaczka. Photo by Marcin Szerle.

5b. SKALNY AWARD - ROBERT SYNAKOWSKI

Robert Synakowski has dedicated his life to promoting Polish American culture and serving Polish American communities in New York State and nationwide. As the President of The Polish Home in Syracuse, NY he works tirelessly to both secure the physical well- being of this historic home and to make it into a welcoming educational space for Polish Americans and their friends. Under the directorship of Robert Synakowski, The Polish Home became a new location for the Polish Heritage Society of Syracuse which Robert also leads as its president. His focus on education is also evidenced in his involvement with The Polish Scholarship Fund which annually awards college scholarships to students of Polish descent. Robert Synakowski also serves his second term as a PAHA board member and as the First Vice-president of American Council for Polish Culture, a national organization uniting groups and individuals in cities across the United States in promoting Polish culture, heritage and history, and intercultural understanding.

Therese Clarke receives Amicus Poloniae Award from Dr. Mazurkiewicz. Photo by Marcin Szerle.

6. AMICUS POLONIAE AWARD - THERESE CLARKE

The Amicus Poloniae Award recognizes significant contributions enhancing knowledge of Polish and Polish-American heritage by individuals not belonging to the Polish-American community.  (For a list of past winners visit this page of PAHANews blog).

Therese Clarke was born in Buffalo NY to an Irish Father and French Mother. Therese graduated from D’Youville College with Honors in Buffalo NY and Majored in French Education. She was a career French Teacher in the Williamsville NY School District. A founding member, (the only original member actively involved since 1990) of the 1990 creation of Pomost International, a local organization which has been sending volunteers annually to Rzeszów, Poland, Buffalo's Sister City. Therese went to Rzeszów alone (not knowing any Polish) to make the arrangements. She returned 15 times as leader of the program. Since 1991 more than 125 Americans (many non-Poles) have gone to Poland to facilitate a two-week Intensive English Language and American Culture. Therese regularly attends the Chopin Singing Society Concerts, UB Polish Student’s Association, Polish American Congress of WNY & Polish Arts Club of Buffalo Wigilias and Swieconkas. Dyngus Day, Paczki Day, Dożynki, Kosciusko Foundation of Buffalo, Orchard Lake Seminary Fundraising, Polish Businesswomen's Association, Casimir Pulaski Association, Polish Genealogy Associations.

7. CREATIVE ARTS PRIZE - DR. CZESLAW KARKOWSKI

PAHA's Creative Arts Prize, established in 1999, "recognizes contributions in the field of creative arts by individuals or groups who have promoted an awareness of the Polish experience in the Americas."(For a list of past winners visit this page of PAHANews blog).

Czeslaw Karkowski  philosopher, journalist, novelist and an academic, has been a prolific writer authoring novels, memoirs, collections of essays, and creative nonfiction. His long and distinguished career as a journalist began in the early 1980s in Berlin where he found himself with other political exiles of the Solidarity era, and was followed up by many years in the editorial offices  of the New York City's Polish language newspaper, Nowy Dziennik. His publications include contemporary interpretations of The Iliad by Homer , a historical novel entitled Drugi w Sztuce, as well as a novel of immigrant experience Kamienna Drabina. This immigrant experience returns in his Dziennik Jednego Roku and Na Emigracji. Czeslaw Karkowski using his own emigrant/immigrant experiences provides a sensitive commentary on immigrant identity and the immigrant connection to the home country.

Sarah Moxy Moczygemba receives Travel Grant from Dr. Mazurkiewicz. Photo by Marcin Szerle

8.  GRADUATE STUDENT TRAVEL GRANT - MS. SARAH 'MOXY' MOCZYGEMBA

Established in 2008, the Graduate Student Research Paper Award recognizes outstanding research into Polish-American history and culture by a young scholar in the humanities or social sciences. In 2017, it was replaced by the the Graduate Student/Young Scholar Travel Grant. The winner receives a travel grant to present the paper at the PAHA Annual Meeting. (For a list of past awardees see this page).

Sarah “Moxy” Moczygemba is a Religious Studies doctoral student at the University of Florida. Her dissertation will focus on ethnic identity, historical memory, and Catholicism in the Silesian Polish Texan community. Ms. Moczygemba presented a lecture during PAHA conference in Washigton DC in January 2018 exploring the relationship between space and memory in the contemporary Polish American Catholic community in South Texas associated with the Panna Maria settlement, focusing on efforts to remember and commemorate the experience of immigration by emphasizing its historical and present-day ties to Roman Catholicism.

Dr. Grazyna Zebrowska of the Polish Embassy and Dr. Maja Trochimczyk. Photo by Marcin Szerle

Attendees with award winners or their representatives at the Awards Ceremony. Residence of Ambassador Wilczek, Washington. D.C.