KaroliNa (Naziemiec) and Robert Lewandowski at the PAHA Awards Ceremony in Denver, CO, January 7, 2017

Karolina Naziemiec

On behalf of PAHA Board and the 74th Annual Meeting organizers, we are thrilled to announce that the Awards Ceremony at the end of the Meeting in Denver, Colorado, will include two wonderful Polish musicians, Karolina Naziemiec, jazz singer and viola player, with Robert Lewandowski, pianist, in a program of jazz standards and improvisations.

The PAHA Awards will be presented on Saturday, January 7, 2017 at 7 p.m., at the Polish Club of Denver, located at 3121 W Alameda Ave, Denver, CO 80219.  The Registration Fee for the Awards Reception is $50 and you can register on PAHA Website's Registration page.  

The list of Awards and Prizes as well as the names of Awardees is as follows:

• The Oskar Halecki Prize - Prof. Mieczysław B. Biskupski, for his book The Most Dangerous German Agent in America (NIU Press, 2015).
• The Amicus Poloniae Award - Dr. Alvin Mark Fountain II and Brenda Bruce who co-founded the Paderewski Festival in Raleigh, North Carolina in 2014 (paderewski-festival.org). 
• The Distinguished Service Award - Dr. Stephen Leahy of Shantou University, China 
• The Swastek Prize  for the Best Article -  Prof. Paweł Ziętara of Warsaw, Poland for “Troubles with ‘Mela’: A Polish American Reporter, the Secret Services of People’s Poland, and the FBI” (PAS 72, No 1, Spring 2015). 
• The Creative Arts Prize - Dr. Maja Trochimczyk, for her achievements as a poet, especially in her two books dedicated to Polish victims of WWII, Slicing the Bread (Finishing Line Press, 2014), and The Rainy Bread, (Moonrise Press, 2016). 
• The Skalny Civic Achievement Awards - Marta Alicja Swica of Minneapolis, MN; Tomasz Skotnicki, Honorary Consul of the Republic of Poland in Denver, CO; Katarzyna Zak, President of the Polish Club in Denver; Elizabeth Kanski, President of the Polish American Film Society, and Artistic Director of the Polish Film Festival in Los Angeles, Vladek Juszkiewicz
• The Graduate Student Research Paper Award -  Joanna Kulpińska, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland for her paper “Multigenerational Migration Chains of Families from Babica: An Attempt at Typology.” 
• The  Graduate Student/ Young Scholar Travel Grant - Aleksandra Kurowska-Susdorf, University of Gdańsk, Poland, for her paper “Creating Identity: Discussion around Kashubian and Polish Identity in Canada and Poland.”

The biographies of awardees have been published in the previous post on this blog.  The program of the Annual Meeting is also included there. 

KAROLINA NAZIEMIEC

KaroliNa (Naziemiec) is a Polish vocalist and a violist who has been training, teaching and performing in the United States since 2001. She was granted an artistic visa on the recommendation of the American Federation of Musicians, who cited her as being “a violist of extraordinary ability.” Ms. Naziemiec earned her Masters in viola performance from USC while studying concurrently at the Henry Mancini Institute in Los Angeles.

She has performed with many orchestras in Poland, Germany, France, Belgium, Japan, and USA and participated in numerous music festivals throughout the world. As a teacher Ms. Naziemiec was on the faculty at California State University, Northridge 2007-09 while also teaching at the Idyllwild Summer Festival as a viola coach. For the past ten years she has run a private studio and coached students in Santa Monica and the Malibu district.

She has recorded in scoring sessions at studios such as Warner Brothers, Fox, Sony and Paramount.
KaroliNa is an accomplished jazz vocalist who has performed in both the United States and Poland. Her artistry and talent can be heard on two beautiful CDs, Introduction, and her latest, Songs of Hope, dedicated to the heroes of World War II. Songs of Hope is receiving wonderful reviews and acknowledgement throughout the musical world. Learn more about KaroliNa at www.karolinanaziemiec.com.

ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI

Robert Lewandowski is a pianist and composer of modern contemporary music. His work has been performed by renowned ensembles around the world including the Metropole Orchestra, Sinfonia Varsovia, and the Norwegian Radio Orchestra. He's also known for his collaborations with Polish recording artists as both instrumentalist and writer.

Cover of KaroliNa's CD "Songs of Hope"

PAHA Presents its 2016 Awards at the 74th Annual Meeting, in Denver, Colorado, January 5-7, 2017

AWARDS

 At the 74^th Annual Meeting at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, CO (January 5-7, 2017), the Polish American Historical Association will announce the winners of its Annual Awards. The PAHA Annual Meeting will also include many scholarly presentations held in conjunction with the 131^st annual Meeting of the American Historical Association.

The Oskar 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 will be presented to Prof. Mieczysław B. Biskupski, for his book The Most Dangerous German Agent in America (NIU Press, 2015).

The Amicus Poloniae Award recognizes significant contributions enhancing knowledge of Polish and Polish-American heritage by individuals not belonging to the Polish-American community. It will be presented to Dr. Alvin Mark Fountain II and Brenda Bruce who co-founded the Paderewski Festival in Raleigh, North Carolina in 2014 (paderewski-festival.org). Dr. Fountain, the President of the Festival, is a former administrator with the State of North Carolina and for more than 25 years he taught history at North Carolina State University. In 2008, Dr. Fountain was appointed as an Honorary Consul of the Republic of Poland. The Vice-President and Secretary of the Festival, Brenda Bruce is an accomplished pianist, harpsichordist, acclaimed teacher, and accompanist dedicated to the promotion of classical piano performance of the highest quality.

Dr. Stephen Leahy of Shantou University, China, will receive the Distinguished Service Award, given occasionally to a member of PAHA who has rendered valuable and sustained service to the organization.  Dr.  Leahy’s crucial role as the co-founder and moderator of PAHA’s Facebook group is just one of his many achievements as a long-time PAHA Board member, dedicated to the promotion of the association and its research interests world-wide.

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 PAHA. The Editorial Board of Polish American Studies recommended that the Swastek Prize be presented to Prof. Paweł Ziętara of Warsaw, Poland for “Troubles with ‘Mela’: A Polish American Reporter, the Secret Services of People’s Poland, and the FBI” (PAS 72, No 1, Spring 2015). Ziętara’s article assembles massive, painstaking research and presents a portrait of communist activity in the USA in the postwar period that is not well known. It brings to light a subject both significant and fascinating, and is based almost entirely on original archival sources.

The Creative Arts Prize will be bestowed on Dr. Maja Trochimczyk, for her achievements as a poet, especially in her two books dedicated to Polish victims of WWII, Slicing the Bread (Finishing Line Press, 2014), and The Rainy Bread, (Moonrise Press, 2016). Her books of poetry include Rose Always, 2008; Miriam’s Iris, 2008; Into Light, 2016; and two anthologies, Chopin with Cherries, 2010, and Meditations on Divine Names, 2012. Dr. Trochimczyk served as Poet Laureate of Sunland-Tujunga, Los Angeles in 2010-2012 and was nominated for the Pushcart Prize in 2016.

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 2016 Skalny Awards will honor the following individuals:

Marta Alicja Swica of Minneapolis, MN, former Business Manager, Scholarship Program Chair, and member of the Executive Board of the Polanie Club Minneapolis and St. Paul, an important cultural association of Polish women, active since the 1927 and distinguished through their vast publishing activities. After the dissolution of the Club, Ms. Swica led the effort to secure its historical records and successfully negotiated their placement at the Immigration History Research Center, University of Minnesota, and the Polish Museum of America in Chicago. 

Tomasz Skotnicki, Honorary Consul of the Republic of Poland in Denver, CO,  since 2005, is strongly linked to local Polonia communities, first in Santa Barbara where he organized Polish community events to celebrate national holidays. In Colorado, he co-organizes visits of representatives of Polish government including President Lech Walesa, organizes consular events, cooperates with the Polish Club and the Kosciuszko Foundation. Mr. Skotnicki actively promotes Polish culture and history and helps Poles who are in need.

Katarzyna Zak, President of the Polish Club in Denver, has made numerous contributions to the promotion of Polish culture and activities of local Polish society, including numerous events, support for the Polish library, and more. She is a member of the Polonia Council convened by the Consul General of Poland in Los Angeles. 

President of the Polish American Film Society, Elizabeth Kanski and Artistic Director of the Polish Film Festival in Los Angeles, Vladek Juszkiewicz are recognized by the 2016 Skalny Award for their work as organizers of the Film Festival, held in Los Angeles for the past 16 years and promoting Polish cinema and international film collaborations (www.polishfilmla.org) through hundreds of screenings, lectures, and panel presentations in Los Angeles and Orange County, in collaboration with CSUN, USC, UCLA and other partners.

The Graduate Student Research Paper Award will be presented to Joanna Kulpińska from the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland for her paper “Multigenerational Migration Chains of Families from Babica: An Attempt at Typology.” 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 and consists of a travel grant and presentation at the Annual Meeting.

The newly instituted Graduate Student/ Young Scholar Travel Grant will be presented to Aleksandra Kurowska-Susdorf from the University of Gdańsk, Poland, for her paper “Creating Identity: Discussion around Kashubian and Polish Identity in Canada and Poland.”

Dr. Iwona Drag Korga, Executive Director of the Pilsudski Institute in New York City, has served as the Chair of the Awards Committee for 2017. The Awards Reception will be held on Saturday, January 7, 2017, starting at 7 p.m., at the Polish Club of Denver (3121 West Alameda Ave. Denver, CO 80219). Award winners are invited to attend free of charge, all other guests and conference participants should register, $50.00 per person.

The Program of PAHA’s 74th Annual Meeting includes eight sessions on diverse aspects of Polonia’s culture, presented from historical, sociological, anthropological, and literary perspectives with a focus on immigration issues. Sessions include: immigrant and Ethnic Identity, Constructing Ethnicity in Polish American Literature, Narrating Migration: Subjectivities and Communities in Poland and the United States; Prominent Poles in America; Between Europe and North America: (Im)migration and Social Justice; East Central Europe: What's in the Name? The View from Exile. An “Author Meets Critic Session” will explore The Polish Hearst: Ameryka-Echo and the Public Role of the Immigrant Press by Anna Jaroszyńska-Kirchmann. Papers on architect Thomas Lewinski, pianist-composer-statesman Ignacy Jan Paderewski, and writer Anthony Bukoski will study eminent individuals and the meeting will conclude with a Roundtable Discussion on “Progressive: Polish-Americans for Social Progress, Jamestown through the 21st Century.” See the attached full program for further details.

 PROGRAM

OF THE 74th ANNUAL MEETING, JANUARY 5-7, 2017

COLORADO CONVENTION CENTER, DENVER

THURSDAY, JANUARY 5, 2017, 1:30 PM-5:00 PM

PAHA Annual Board Meeting, Colorado Convention Center, Room 204

FRIDAY, JANUARY 6, 2017, 8:30 AM-10:00 AM

Session 1: Immigrant and Ethnic Identity, CCC, Room 304

Chair: Thomas Napierkowski, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs

·        Creating Identity: Discussion around Kashubian and Polish Identity in Canada and Poland - Aleksandra Kurowska-Susdorf, University of Gdańsk

·        The "Other" Patriot: The Gothic Nature of the Polish Catholic Immigrant Other in the Mid-19th-Century United States - Jill Noel Walker Gonzalez, La Sierra University

FRIDAY, JANUARY 6, 2017, 10:30 AM-12:00 PM

Session 2: Constructing Ethnicity in Polish American Literature, Colorado Convention Center, Room 304

Chair: BożenaNowicka McLees, Loyola University Chicago

·        Our Little Polish Cousin and the Stara Imigracja - Thomas Napierkowski, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs

·        "What Are Little (Polish) Girls Made Of?" Performing Gender in World War II Novels for Young Adults By Immigrant and Ethnic Writers - Grażyna Kozaczka, Cazenovia College

·        Anthony Bukoski: Writing from an Outpost of Polishness - John Merchant, Loyola University Chicago

FRIDAY, JANUARY 6, 2017, 1:30 PM-3:00 PM

SESSION 3: Narrating Migration: Subjectivities and Communities in Poland and the United States, Colorado Convention Center, Room 304

Chair: Anna Mazurkiewicz, University of Gdańsk

·        Narrating a New "American": Polish Holocaust Survivors in the United States in the 1950s - Anna Cichopek-Gajraj, Arizona State University

·        The People of Hamtramck: What Does It Mean to be Polish American in a Small Midwestern Town? - Anna Muller, University of Michigan-Dearborn

·        What Polish Peasants Said about Capitalism: Narrating Urban Subjectivity in Late 19th- and Early 20th-Century America - Kathleen Wroblewski, University of Michigan

FRIDAY, JANUARY 6, 2017, 3:30 PM-5:00 PM

SESSION 4: Prominent Poles in America, Colorado Convention Center, Room 304

·        Chair: Pien Versteegh, Avans University of Applied Sciences

·        Thomas Lewinski: America's Forgotten Architect - James Pula, Purdue University Northwest-North Central

·        The Pele of Chicago: Janusz Kowalik and the Beginnings of Professional Soccer in the United States - Neal Pease, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

·        Following Paderewski: An Album of Autographs and Clippings from Brighton, England, 1890-1914 - Maja Trochimczyk, Moonrise Press, Los Angeles

·        That Day in Raleigh, January 23, 1917; Paderewski, Wilson, and a Provincial Capital - Alvin M. Fountain II, Honorary Consul, Republic of Poland, President, Paderewski Festival, Raleigh, NC

SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 2017, 8:30 AM-10:00 AM

SESSION 5: Between Europe and North America: (Im)migration and Social Justice,  Colorado Convention Center, Room 304

Chair: Grażyna Kozaczka, Cazenovia College

·        Polish Migrants on the Move: Miners in the Ruhr Area, 1920-30 - Pien Versteegh, Avans University of Applied Sciences

·        Multigenerational Migration Chains of Families from Babica: An Attempt at Typology - Joanna Kulpińska, Jagiellonian University, Kraków

·        Political Participation of Persons with Disabilities in the USA and Poland: From History to Modern Trends - Andrey Sergeevich Tikhonov, Kirkland Scholarship Program, University of Wrocław

SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 2017, 10:30 AM-12:00 PM

SESSION 6: East Central Europe: What's in the Name? The View from Exile; Colorado Convention Center, Room 304

Chair: Neal Pease, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

·        Regional Self-Representation of Polish Political Exiles in the US during the Cold War - Anna Mazurkiewicz, University of Gdańsk

·        Imagining a Separate Slovakia: Anti-Communist Slovak Exiles' Hopes and Dreams - Ellen L. Paul, Fort Lewis College

·        Milan Kundera's Concept of Central Europe and the Ensuing Discussion Among Czechoslovak Exiles and Dissidents - Francis D. Raska, Charles University

·        "Not Real Germans at All": The East-Central "Othering" of GDR-Refugees during the Revolution of 1989 - Bethany E. Hicks, Ouachita Baptist University

SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 2017, 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM

SESSION 7: Author Meets Critic Session for The Polish Hearst: Ameryka-Echo and the Public Role of the Immigrant Press  by Anna Jaroszyńska-Kirchmann

Chair: Mary Patrice Erdmans, Case Western Reserve University

Comments: David A. Gerber, State University of New York at Buffalo; Jon Bekken, Albright College; Robert M. Zecker, St. Francis Xavier University; and Anna D. Jaroszyńska-Kirchmann, Eastern Connecticut State University

SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 2017, 3:30 PM - 5:00 PM

SESSION 8. Roundtable Discussion: Progressive: Polish-Americans for Social Progress, Jamestown through the 21st Century; Colorado Convention Center, Room 304

Chair: Anna Muller, University of Michigan-Dearborn

Comment: The Audience

SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 2017, 7:00- 9:00 PM, AWARDS RECEPTION

The Awards Reception will be held on Saturday, January 7, 2017, starting at 7 p.m., at the Polish Club of Denver (3121 West Alameda Ave. Denver, CO 80219). Award winners are invited to attend free of charge, all other guests and conference participants should register, $50.00 per person. www.polishamericanstudies.org/registration.html

Invitation to the 74th Annual Meeting in Denver, Colorado, January 5-7, 2017

COME TO THE 74th ANNUAL MEETING, DENVER, JANUARY 5-7, 2017

During the 74th Annual Meeting of the Polish American Historical Association at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, Colorado, eight sessions will explore a variety of topics associated with the Polish American and Polish emigre experience, from migration patterns, to ways of establishing and cultivating national identity surrounded by different cultures and languages. PAHA's annual award winners will also be announced. The meeting is held in association with the American Historical Association's 131st Annual Meeting on the subject of "Historical Scale; Linking Levels of Experience" (www.historians.org).

REGISTRATION FOR THE 74th ANNUAL MEETING, JANUARY 5-7, 2017 

Registration for the 74th Annual Meeting of the Polish American Historical Association is NOW OPEN. The Awards Reception will be held on Saturday, January 7, 2017, starting at 7 p.m., at the Polish Club of Denver (3121 West Alameda Ave. Denver, CO 80219). Award winners are invited to attend free of charge. All other guests and conference participants should register for the Awards Reception by December 30, 2016. Tickets are $50.00 per person and the number of seats is limited.

PROGRAM OF THE 74th ANNUAL MEETING

THURSDAY, JANUARY 5, 2017
PAHA Annual Board Meeting
Thursday, January 5, 2017: 1:30 PM-5:00 PM
Colorado Convention Center, Room 204

FRIDAY, JANUARY 6, 2017
Session 1. Immigrant and Ethnic Identity
Friday, January 6, 2017: 8:30 AM-10:00 AM
Colorado Convention Center, Room 304
Chair: Thomas Napierkowski, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs

Papers:

• Creating Identity: Discussion around Kashubian and Polish Identity in Canada and Poland - Aleksandra Kurowska-Susdorf, University of Gdansk
• The "Other" Patriot: The Gothic Nature of the Polish Catholic Immigrant Other in the Mid-19th-Century United States - Jill Noel Walker Gonzalez, La Sierra University

Comment: The Audience


FRIDAY, JANUARY 6, 2017
Session 2. Constructing Ethnicity in Polish American Literature
Friday, January 6, 2017: 10:30 AM-12:00 PM
Colorado Convention Center, Room 304
Chair: Bozena Nowicka McLees, Loyola University Chicago

Papers:

• Our Little Polish Cousin and the Stara Imigracja - Thomas Napierkowski, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
• "What Are Little (Polish) Girls Made Of?" Performing Gender in World War II Novels for Young Adults By Immigrant and Ethnic Writers - Grazyna Kozaczka, Cazenovia College
• The Pele of Chicago: Janusz Kowalik and the Beginnings of Professional Soccer in the United States Neal Pease, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
• Anthony Bukoski: Writing from an Outpost of Polishness - John Merchant, Loyola University Chicago

Comment: The Audience

FRIDAY, JANUARY 6, 2017
Session 3. Narrating Migration: Subjectivities and Communities in Poland and the United States
Friday, January 6, 2017: 1:30 PM-3:00 PM
Colorado Convention Center, Room 304
Chair: Anna Mazurkiewicz, University of Gdansk

Papers:

• Narrating a New "American": Polish Holocaust Survivors in the United States in the 1950s Anna Cichopek-Gajraj, Arizona State University
• The People of Hamtramck: What Does It Mean to be Polish American in a Small Midwestern Town? Anna Muller, University of Michigan-Dearborn
• What Polish Peasants Said about Capitalism: Narrating Urban Subjectivity in Late 19th- and Early 20th-Century America - Kathleen Wroblewski, University of Michigan

Comment: The Audience


FRIDAY, JANUARY 6, 2017
Session 4. Prominent Poles in the Americas
Friday, January 6, 2017: 3:30 PM-5:00 PM
Colorado Convention Center, Room 304
Chair: Pien Versteegh, Avans University of Applied Sciences

Papers:

• Thomas Lewinski: America's Forgotten Architect - James Pula, Purdue University Northwest-North Central
• Following Paderewski: An Album of Autographs and Clippings from Brighton, England, 1890-1914 - Maja Trochimczyk, Moonrise Press
• That Day in Raleigh, January 23, 1917; Paderewski, Wilson, and a Provincial Capital - Alvin M. Fountain II, Honorary Consul, Republic of Poland, President, Paderewski Festival, Raleigh, NC

Comment: The Audience


SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 2017
Session 5. Between Europe and North America: (Im)migration and Social Justice
Saturday, January 7, 2017: 8:30 AM-10:00 AM
Colorado Convention Center, Room 304
Chair: Grazyna Kozaczka, Cazenovia College

Papers:

• Polish Migrants on the Move: Miners in the Ruhr Area, 1920-30 - Pien Versteegh, Avans University of Applied Sciences
• Multigenerational Migration Chains of Families from Babica: An Attempt at Typology - Joanna Kulpinska, Jagiellonian University, Krakow
• Political Participation of Persons with Disabilities in the USA and Poland: From History to Modern Trends - Andrey Sergeevich Tikhonov, Kirkland Scholarship Program, University of Wroclaw

Comment: The Audience


SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 2017
Session 6: East Central Europe: What's in the Name? The View from Exile
Saturday, January 7, 2017: 10:30 AM-12:00 PM
Colorado Convention Center, Room 304
Chair: Neal Pease, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Papers:

• Regional Self-Representation of Polish Political Exiles in the US during the Cold War - Anna Mazurkiewicz, University of Gdansk
• Imagining a Separate Slovakia: Anti-Communist Slovak Exiles' Hopes and Dreams - Ellen L. Paul, Fort Lewis College
• Milan Kundera's Concept of Central Europe and the Ensuing Discussion Among Czechoslovak Exiles and Dissidents - Francis D. Raska, Charles University
• "Not Real Germans at All": The East-Central "Othering" of GDR-Refugees during the Revolution of 1989 - Bethany E. Hicks, Ouachita Baptist University

SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 2017
Session 7. Author Meets Critic Session for The Polish Hearst: Ameryka-Echo and the Public Role of the Immigrant Press by Anna Jaroszynska-Kirchmann
Saturday, January 7, 2017: 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM
Colorado Convention Center, Room 304
Chair: Mary Patrice Erdmans, Case Western Reserve University

Comments: David A. Gerber, State University of New York at Buffalo; Jon Bekken, Albright College; Robert M. Zecker, St. Francis Xavier University; and Anna D. Jaroszynska-Kirchmann, Eastern Connecticut State University


SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 2017
Session 8. Roundtable Discussion: Progressive: Polish-Americans for Social Progress, Jamestown through the 21st Century
Saturday, January 7, 2017: 3:30 PM - 5:00 PM
Colorado Convention Center, Room 304
Chairs: Anna Muller, University of Michigan-Dearborn and Wojciech Sawa, film director and visual artist

Comment: The Audience


SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 2017
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM AWARDS RECEPTION 

The Awards Reception will be held on Saturday, January 7, 2017, starting at 7 p.m., at the Polish Club of Denver (3121 West Alameda Ave. Denver, CO 80219). Award winners are invited to attend free all charge, all other guests and conference participants should register on the Registration page - tickets are $50.00 per person and the number of seats is limited.

October Events - King Jagiello in Central Park and Latin America in Gdynia

Unveiling of King Jagiełło Statue in NY Central Park, October 29-30, 2016

   

On 29 – 30 October 2016, The King Jagiełło Monument Working Group is organizing The King Jagiełło Monument Unveiling Ceremony in Central Park and a Symposium entitled: “King Jagiełło in New York 1939-2016”, in Polish Consulate in New York. The King Jagiełło Monument Working Group was established by: Józef Piłsudski Institute, Polish American Congress – Long Island Division, Nowodworski Foundation, Association Polonia Technica, Consulate of the Republic of Poland in New York, St. Stanislaus B&M Parish in Manhattan, Prof. Krzysztof Wodiczko of Harvard University, and historian Krystyna Piórkowska.

The statue of King Jagiełło, was originally installed in the Polish Pavilion during the World’s Fair in 1939, and remains in New York City at the location in Central Park since 1945 till now. Currently, overall conservation work is performed, which is scheduled to be completed by mid-October. The Working Group promotes the legacy of King Władysław Jagiełło a symbol of Polish Victory for centuries by organizing symposium in Polish Consulate and monument unveiling ceremony in Central Park.  Their goal is to address this historic topic to the US Polonia and American historic community. The Symposium is scheduled on October 29th (Saturday) between 10:00 am and 5:30pm and will consist of four panels:  Stanisław Kazimierz Ostrowski and Polish Art Deco /  King Jagiełło and his Concept of a Unified Europe / Historical Sculptures in the Public Domain / Conservation work on the King Jagiełło Statue/ Polish Conservators in the World. All the proceedings will be in English. Registration is required.

On October 30, 2016 (Sunday) the unveiling ceremony of the King Władysław Jagiełło Monument is scheduled for Central Park, New York. The ceremony is planned as follows: Around 80 people will stay at the monument circle, at walkway and square in front of Turtle Pond. There will a banner informing about the event, together with another banner depicting the Battle of Grunwald as a backdrop for children’s performance. The schedule of the event: 1:00 pm – Welcome address, Consul of Republic of Poland and Jerzy Lesniak, President Nowodworski Fundation; 1:00 pm – A brief historical background and history of the monument and the history of King Jagiełło Swords – Wojciech Budzynski; 1:10 pm– Symbolic ceremony of King Jagiełło Monument unveiling; 1:20 pm – Speech by Marie R. Warsh, the Central Park Conservancy; 1:30 pm – Dedication of the Monument by Father Tadeusz Lizińczyk; 1:40 pm – “Battle of Grunwald” presentation by a school theater troupe (approx. 10 students) at the monument plinth, with choir; 2:30 pm – Placing flowers at the base of the monument and a Photo-op; 2:40 pm- Ballads sung with guitar at the monument.

   Poles and Polish Diaspora in Latin America, October 27-28, 2016   

The Emigration Museum in Gdynia presents a two-day international conference on Poles and Polish Diaspora in Latin America: Past and Present. The following papers will be presented. 

October 27: Opening Session with papers by 

• Adam Walaszek (Emigration from Poland and Portugal: two cases. Are they different? 1500-1939); 
• Andrzej Chodubski (Cultural and civilisation image of Poles in Latin America); 
• Renata Siuda Ambroziak (The problem of leadership among the Brazilian Polish diaspora), and 
• Rafał Raczyński (Latin American Polish diaspora at the Emigration Museum in Gdynia). 

The second session on historical aspects of Polish presence in Latin America includes papers by: 

• Jerzy Mazurek (Polish colonial and settlement projects in Latin American countries in the interwar period); 
• Thaís Janaina Wenczenovicz (History and historiography: interpretative views on the Polish immigration in the south of Brazil); 
• Claudia Stefanetti Kojrowicz (When the Allies Closed the Doors, General Perón Accepted Two Thousand Italian-Polish Marriages in the Post-War Era); 
• Teresa Sońta-Jaroszewicz (Wandering life of the refugees of Polish descent from Marseille to South America during World War II); 
• Aleksandra Pajek (Brasil in the imagina-tion – hopes and fears of Polish refugees right before leaving Europe during World War II) and 
• Karolina Baraniak (Polish diaspora in Chile). 

A session on the Polish community in the State of Parana, features papers by: 

• Mariléia Gärtner and Luciane Trennephol da Costa (The presence of Slavic culture in the interior of Parana state in Brazil), 
• Lenny A. Ureña Valerio (Creating a Polish nation from colonies: analysis of the settling colonialism and creating Polish colonies in Parana), 
• Rodrigo Augusto (Sustainable territorial development with the cultural identity in the Parana state), 
• Ancelmo Schörner (Polish immigration in Palmeiras (PR): the colony of Santa Barbara in the memories of Helena Orchanhenka), 
• Nelsi Antonia Pabis (Education and culture: the Polish immigrants' schools in the south of Parana), 
• Elisabeth Sylvia Janik (A story of success: Sebastian Woś Saporski and Polish immigration to Curitiba), and 
• Sonia Eliane Niewiadomski (Today's panorama of the Polish-Brazilian community in the southern and central parts of Parana). 

The evening session is dedicated to Latin American Polish diaspora as a research area, with papers by: 

• Maria Skoczek and  Bogumiła Lisocka-Jaegermann (Poles in Latin American research centres and universities),  
• Krzysztof Smolana (About new sources in the history of the Latino American Polish Diaspora), 
• Joanna Łuba with Dominik Czapigo ("Developing sources" – presentation of the documentation project by the KARTA Centre and the Ignacy Domeyko Polish Library in Argentina), 
• Michalina Petelska (From Guatemala to Gdynia) .

On October 28th the morning session is dedicated to Poles' contribution to the social and cultural development of the Latin American countries, with papers by: 

• Henryk Siewierski ("Doutor Magico": Piotr Ludwik Napoleon Czerniewicz and his position in the history of medicine and Brazilian culture); 
• Katarzyna Krzywicka (Missionary activity of the Congregation of Saint Michael the Archangel in Latin America); 
• Zdzisław Malczewski (Polish missionaries in Brazil); Aleksandra Pluta (Polish artists' contribution for the cultural life of Brazil and Chile); 
• Rhuan Targino Zaleski Trindade (Polish scientist among settlers: Czesław Bieżanko and Poles in the south of Brazil); 
• Beata Bereza (Ludwik Margules – triumph of the theatrical style); Justyna Łapaj (Polish diaspora and Poles in selected countries of Latin America).  

The second session of the day is dedicated to the literary aspects of Polish presence in Latin America, with papers by: 

• Silvia Dapía (New subjectivity after World War II in The Marriage by Witold Gombrowicz);
• Elżbieta Budakowska (Polish ethnic literature in Brazil in the sociological perspective); 
• Anna Jamrozek-Sowa (Successful immigrants. Protagonists of Aleksandra Pluta's tales); 
• Kalina Sobierajska (Female traveller, emigrant and cosmopolitan - the portrait of Maria Bochdan- iedenthal). 

The afternoon session is dedicated to the language and identity of the Polish communities, with papers by 

• Władysław T. Miodunka (Polish language in the perspective of Polish-Spanish and Polish-Portuguese bilingualism); 
• Izabela Stąpor (Szakier, fiżon i trokować – on the lexis of Polishsettlers in Parana); 
• Anna Kaganiec-Kamieńska (Polish language and identity in Argentinian Polish diaspora), 
• Karolina Bielenin-Lenczowska (Cultural heritage of Brazilians of Polish descent - linguistic and culinary practices); 
• Katarzyna Rawska (In search of Argentinian Polish diaspora's national identity). 

The conference ends with an evening session on Jewish people from Polish territories in Latin America, including papers by: 

• Maria Luiza Tucci Carneiro (Accounts of Polish Jews who have survived the Holocaust); 
• Alicja Głuszek (Polish Jews in Mexico - origin, memory and identity); 
• Mariusz Kałczewiak (Jewish polacos. The meaning and function of Polish identity among the Polish Jews in Argentina, 1915-1939) and 
• Magdalena Szkwarek ("You'll end up in Buenos Aires!"- Jews and prostitution. Another aspect of Jewish migration to Argentina at the turn of 19th and 20th century).