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).