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The future is in our hands

Polish American
Strategic Initiative

Building a Better America Through Inclusion and Honesty

NOV 12, 2024
THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVE PASSED H.R. 82 WITH HISTORIC 327 VOTES IN FAVOR

The results of voting on H.R. 82

From the left to right: Pam Aleksandroff( National Task Force to Repeal WEP/ GPO and PASI member) , Susan Dixon ( National Task Force to Repeal WEP/ GPO and PASI member) , Abbie Holland( Rep. Spanberger’s staffer), Gene Sokolowski Ph. D. ( President of PASI EDU)
On November 12, 2024 our members together with The National Task to Repeal WEP/GPO members visited the House of Representative building in Washington D.C. to secure votes on H.R. 82.

From left to right: Patrice Earnest, Aging Specialist and Consultant Bette Marafino, President of the Connecticut Alliance for Retired Americans (ARA) Mary Moninger, Lois Fields-Carson, Ohio State President of OAPSE/AFSCME Mary Elia, Past President of the West Haven Federation of Teachers and Connecticut ARA Activist Gene Sokolowski, EDU President Polish American Strategic Initiative (PASI) Pam Alexandroff, Janis Mickles Hernandez, Past President of the Louisiana Retired Teachers Association (LRTA); Current – Legislative Co-Chair of Federal Legislation Susan Dixon, President of the California Retired Teachers Association (CalRTA) Sandra Meinsen, Retired Connecticut Educator and WEP/GPO Advocate

Members of the National Task Force to Repeal WEP/GPO during a lobbying campaign on behalf of those wronged by the law retirees in the U.S. Congress on November 12, 2024

ATTENTION POLONIA!!!! CALL TO ACTION

On November 12, Congress is scheduled to vote on H.R. 82 !!!!!!!
There will be two bills put to the vote that day;

H.R. 82 Social Security Fairness Act OF 2023

H.R. 5342 (known as "THE Arrington bill") OR H.R. 5342 - Equal Treatment of Public Servants Act of 2023.

ONLY H.R. 82 WILL ELIMINATE WEP/GPO PENALTIES FOREVER - THAT IS WHY WE REQUIRE ALL POLISH-AMERICANS TO CALL THEIR REPRESENTATIVES AND CONVINCE THEM TO VOTE EXCLUSIVELY FOR H.R. 82!!!!

PLEASE ALSO STARTING SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 10, THROUGH MONDAY AND TUESDAY, USE SOCIAL MEDIA AND SEND CONGRESS MEMBERS A MESSAGE WITH THE FOLLOWING CONTENT: PLEASE vote exclusively on H.R.82!!!

EXTREMELY URGENT!


PLEASE TAKE THE THREE ACTIONS BELOW IN GREEN


From Now Until 15 November


The more letters you send, the better!



ACTION 1: Thank your Senator for cosponsoring S 597 and urge him/her to vote yea when S 597 is brought to the Senate floor for a vote.


ACTION 2: Thank your Representative for cosponsoring HR 82 and urge him/her to vote yea when HR 82 is brought to the House floor for a vote.


ACTION 3: Thank your Representative for signing the HR 82 Discharge Petition and urge him/her to vote yea when HR 82 is brought to the House floor for a vote.

From August 26 th to September 10 th, 2024

PASI CALL TO ACTION – 2 ACTIONS

1st ACTION: URGE YOUR REPRESENTATIVE TO SIGN THE DISCHARGE PETITION FOR H.R. 82!

2nd ACTION: URGE 10 SENATORS TO COSPONSOR S. 597!

NEW ACTION

Call to Action for American Polonia!!


        We must now get the Senate to bring S. 597, Social Security Fairness Act, to the Senate floor for a vote. Once passed, it will be sent to the House for a floor vote.


With Senator Menendez’s recent conviction, this reduced the number of Senators who cosponsored S. 597 from 60 to 59 cosponsors. We need 60 or more Senate cosponsors for S. 597 to pass. Therefore, we are emailing a letter to each of 40 Senators who have not cosponsored S. 597.


We begin on July 23 and continue every day to July 31.


This is what you have to do: Click on the Action tab and take action listed under URGE TO 40 SENS TO COSPONS S.597 EVERYDAY FROM JULY 23 TO JULY 31.


On the next page you will see the message “Urge 40 Senators to cosponsor S 597, Social Security Fairness Act, to fully repeal the WEP and GPO”. Please click on the green button “Send Emails to Senators”.


On the next page, a prepared letter will appear. Please fill in your name, email (if you have one), and occupation. Then click on the green button “Send Emails to 40 Senators”.


EVERYONE PLEASE HELP AND EMAIL THE 40 SENATORS. Thank you for your support!


TIME IS NOW!!!!!! hearing on WEP/GPO
IMPORTANT!!!!
LET'S ALL WATCH ONLINE!!!
OUR PRESIDENT PASI edu DR. GENE SOKOŁOWSKI WILL BE PRESENT IN THE COURT DURING THIS HEARING.
The SUBCOMMITTEE ON SOCIAL SECURITY will hold a hearing on WEP/GPO on Tuesday, April 16, 2024.
The viewing link will go live at exactly 3 pm EST on Tuesday, April 16, 2024!!!
https://waysandmeans.house.gov
3pm EST, 2pm Central, 12pm Pacific time,

Call to Action for American Polonia

We BEGIN action on APRIL 10 and continue every day TILL APRIL 26

Wezwanie do działania dla Polonii amerykańskiej!!!!!!

ROZPOCZYNAMY akcję 10 KWIETNIA i kontynuujemy codziennie AŻ DO 26 KWIETNIA



Help end the unfair reduction of Social Security pensions earned by Polish Americans who also earned a Polish pension.

Please urge 10 selected Representatives to cosponsor HR 82.
Please urge 12 selected Senators to cosponsor S 597.

Please try to email our letter to them, Wednesday through Friday, from 10 to 26 April.

TO EMAIL THE 10 REPRESENTATIVES:

 

Click on the ACTION tab above. Then click on URGE REPS TO COSPONSOR HR 82.

 

The next page says “Urge 10 Representatives to cosponsor HR 82, Social Security Fairness Act of 2023, to fully repeal the WEP and GPO”. Click on the green button that says Take Action.

 

On the next page, please insert the requested information and click on the green button that says Send Emails to 10 Representatives. Your email letter will be sent to all 10 Representatives at once.

TO EMAIL THE 12 SENATORS:

 

Click on the ACTION tab above. Then click on URGE SENS TO COSPONSOR S 597.

 

The next page says “Urge 12 Senators to cosponsor S 597, Social Security Fairness Act, to fully repeal the WEP and GPO”. Click on the green button that says Take Action.

 

On the next page, please insert the requested information and click on the green button that says Send Email to 12 Senators. Your email letter will be sent to all 12 Senators at once

.

Because this is an election year, we need everyone’s help to get the WEP and GPO repealed before the end of the 118th Congress. Thank you for your support!

Open Letter against Poland’s military engagement in Ukraine

February 29, 2024

Andrzej Duda, President of Poland – [email protected]
Donald Tusk, Prime Minister of Poland – [email protected]
Radoslaw Sikorski, Minister of Foreign Affairs – [email protected]
Malgorzata Kidawa-Blonska, Marshal of the Senate – [email protected] and [email protected]
Szymon Hołownia, Marshal of the Sejm – [email protected]
c/o Ambassador Marek Magierowski – [email protected]
Embassy of the Republic of Poland
2640 16th St NW, Washington, DC 20009


Open Letter against Poland’s military engagement in Ukraine


American Polonia welcomes Poland’s President Duda and Prime Minister Tusk in Washington, DC, as they meet with President Biden on March 12th. We hope that this critical visit will advance Poland’s image as a key advocate of normalizing European relations and steadfast proponent of a new security architecture through peace and cooperation in Europe.

As we approach the 10th anniversary of the military conflict in Ukraine, we hope Poland will lead the world on the path to de-escalation of the conflict and a negotiated settlement. We strongly believe that Europe needs not war but peace. All the differences of interests must be negotiated and resolved peacefully.

Many within the Polish American community strongly believe that NATO should remain a defense alliance and not an instrument of unrestrained geopolitical ambitions of its most dominant members. Poland must not allow itself to be drawn or forced into military engagement(s) outside of Polish borders unless attacked.

The trajectory of future developments is not easy to predict nor is it predetermined. However, it is a given that the future political and military decisions of the Russian Federation will depend on the actions of its adversaries. Escalatory behaviors will be predictably met with escalatory reactions. Russia’s conviction of facing an existential threat and its clearly signaled determination to use all its capabilities in the conflict need to be seriously considered before any escalatory steps are taken.

The consequences of conflict escalation advocated by some European leaders might lead to highly tragic outcomes in Poland and globally. We urge Polish politicians to refrain from offensive rhetorical excesses and empty threats, which regrettably indicate an inability to realistically assess Poland’s capabilities in a situation of actual military confrontation.

Polish Americans stand ready to support and assist President Duda and Prime Minister Tusk as they work together to strengthen and maintain Poland’s deterrence capabilities but remain adamantly opposed to engaging Poland deeper in a war that cannot be won, and which would ultimately lead to the destruction of Poland. We appeal to Poland’s leaders to align with those European leaders who call for a peaceful resolution of the war.



Edward Wojciech Jeśman, President Dr. Gene Sokolowski, President
Polish American Strategic Initiative (PASI) and Polish American Strategic Initiative
Polish American Congress of So. California Educational Organization (PASI EDU)
([email protected]“) ([email protected]“)
   
Andrzej Burghard, President Bozena Celina Urbankowski, President
Polish American Congress, New Jersey Division Polish American Congress Northern New Jersey Div
   
Les A. Sosnowski, J.D., Ph.D. Edward Swiderski, President
Attorney, Illinois Polish National Alliance Lodge 113
  Amsterdam, NY
   
Marek Rudnicki, MD, PhD, FACS, Dr hc Dr. Marek Kierlańczyk
Chicago, Illinois Chicago, Illinois
   
Adam Bąk, Entrepreneur & Philanthropist Dr. Krystyna Zamorska, Independent Scholar
New York / New Jersey West Hartford, Connecticut
   
Edward Dusza, Publisher/Author Marek Bober, Journalist
Stevens Point, Wisconsin Chicago, Illinois
   
John T. Szymkowicz, J.D Urszula Oleksyn, Educator
Washington, D.C. Fullerton, California
   
Andrew Brylowski, M.D. Prof. Andrzej Targowski
Diplomate & Fellow Honorowy Prezes Stowarzyszenia Dzieci PW 1944
American Board of Psychiatry & Neurology b. Prezes Światowej Rady ds. Badań Polonii
American Psychiatric Association Honorowy Prezes Stowarzyszenia PESEL
Dallas, Texas Los Angeles, California
   
Fr. Marek Stroba, OMI Henryk Feliks Marciniak, President & CEO
Precious Blood Church Road to Peace Foundation, Illinois
Chula Vista, California Road to Peace Inc., Canada
   
Leszek Szałek, vice-President Aleksander Janowski, Publisher
Polish American Engineers Club Literary Magazine “Przypływ”
of Silicon Valley, California Deerfield Beach, Florida
   
Bogumila Gladysz, Fr. President Bart Habrowski
Polish American Business & Professional Past President District Toronto
Association Inc. Canadian Polish Congress
Plainville, Connecticut Acting president Branch 1
  Polish National Union of Canada
   
Mikołaj Sawicki, Ph.D., D.Sc. Róża Wójcik, Ph.D.
Retired Prof. of Physics Richland, WA
Boulder, Colorado  
   
Anna Maria Russell, Ph.D., Scientist Jan Peczkis, Educator and Writer
San Diego, California Chicago, Illinois
   
Andrzej Raczy Benedykt Zajaczkowski
Hamtramck, Michigan Toronto, Ontario
   
Ryszard Kwiecinski Richard Zawisny
Kirkland, Washington Staten Island, New York
   
Stanislaw Frej Ela-Honorata Wysoczanska-Bretland
London, Ontario, Kanada Delft, Netherlands
   
Andrzej Kozak Anthony Litwinowicz
El Cajon, California Maybrook, New York
   
Maria Kozlowska-Marszalek Benon Kolibabka
Rochester, New York Cheshire, Connecticut
   
Lucinda Kondrat, Retired Teacher Anna Leja
Riverside, California Hickory Hills, Illinois
   
Jerzy Menclewicz, MBA Damian Sokolowski
Laguna Hills, California Denver, Colorado
   
Jan Baginski Andrzej Woroniecki
Hackensack, New Jersey Fair Oaks, California
   
Zdzislaw Filipkowski Dariusz Zelek
Middle Village, New York Scottsdale, Arizona
   
Maria Koleda Mitch & Grace Nocula
West Chester, Pensylvania Schaumburg, Illinois
   
Stanislav Wliszczak Andrzej Kabat
Macungie, Pennsylvania Oslo, Norway
   
Adam Bałusz David L. Blatt
Chicago, Illinois Chicago, Illinois
   
Karolina Zatorska Barbara Kieca
Newport Beach, California Chicago, Illinois
   
Ben Chapinski Iwona Johnson
St Petersburg, Florida Chicago, Illinois
   
Agnieszka J. Ferens, RN-BSN Andrzej Porwit
San Diego, California Placerville, California
   
Ewa & Michal Milewscy Stanislaw Kuszel
  Kenosha, Wisconsin
   
Alicja Towster Christine Brycki
Overland Park, Kansas Mt. Laurel, New Jersey
   

Let’s defend our Social Security- we earned it: WEP/GPO must go!

Hearing in Louisiana with House Ways and Means Committee:
Social Security's Disservice to Public Servants

PASI Statement on recent actions of the new Polish Government
January 31, 2024

We view with great concern the contentious actions recently taken by the new Polish Government, ostensibly to restore liberal democracy in Poland.

The new Administration’s firings of the CEOs and boards at TVP, Polskie Radio, and the Polish Press Agency raise serious questions about its intentions and long-term commitment to media freedom. The dramatic arrest of two opposition lawmakers under controversial circumstances and the questionable dismissal of the head of the National Public Prosecutor’s Office raise doubts about the Government’s adherence to the law’s letter and the pledge to restore its rule. The revised process by which members of the National Council of the Judiciary are appointed also causes concern.

These and other reportedly corrective actions that the new Administration has taken, whether right or wrong, have regrettably caused widespread political and social turmoil, mainly because of the Prime Minister’s “iron broom” approach.

Equally concerning are signals that suggest significant slowing or abandonment of strategically essential investments such as the Świnoujście Port, the construction of a nuclear power plant, and the building of the Central Communication Port.

We, therefore, call on the new Polish Government to work in unison with the President and opposition party members to heal the current political divide and mitigate the consequent chaos by achieving common solutions to the issues that affect the Polish people. We further implore the Administration to continue implementing the planned infrastructure projects that will carry Poland into the next critically needed stage of national development.

PASI speaks at Washington D.C. Press Conference and Advocacy Summit with the National WEP/GPO Repeal Task Force

On 13 September 2023, Republican Representative Garrett Graves of Louisiana and Democratic Representative Abigail Spanberger of Virginia held a press conference near the Capitol steps in which speakers from various organizations explained why the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) penalties are unfair to nearly three million retirees. In addition to Representatives Graves and Spanberger, six members of the National WEP/GPO Repeal Task Force spoke at the press conference, including PASI’s Gene Sokolowski.
Republican Representative Garrett Graves of Louisiana – Sponsor of H.R. 82, Social Security Fairness Act of 2023
Democrat Representative Abigail Spanberger of Virginia – Co-sponsor of H.R. 82
PASI member Gene Sokolowski speaking at the press conference
Susie Dixon – Vice Chair, National WEP/GPO Repeal Task Force, speaking at the press conference
The National WEP/GPO Repeal Task Force is a coalition of organizations and individuals that support the immediate repeal of the WEP and GPO. The main goals are to educate elected officials, gain cosponsors for the two WEP and GPO legislative bills, move the two bills to a floor vote, and finally repeal the unjust WEP and GPO penalties.

Directly after the press conference, the National WEP/GPO Repeal Task Force held an Advocacy Summit nearby on the Capitol grounds, which included speakers from a wide array of organizations who represented retirees that are penalized by the WEP and GPO. Some of the featured speakers included Randi Weingarten of the American Federation of Teachers, Republican State Representative Mike Johnson, Ed Kelly of the International Association of Fire Fighters, and Dan Toth of the National Association of Letter Carriers. PASI’s Vice President, Jacek Marczynski, also attended.
Bette Marafino, Chair of the National WEP/GPO Repeal Task Force, speaking at the Advocacy Summit
PASI member Gene Sokolowski speaking at the Advocacy Summit
Gene spoke at both events and represented Foreign Pension Recipients, which is the fourth largest group of retirees among the 50 states that are affected by the WEP. Foreign Pension Recipients are Americans who first worked abroad, earned a foreign pension, returned to the States, and earned a Social Security pension. Foreign Pension Recipients are also foreign nationals who earned a pension in their home country, legally immigrated to the States, and then earned a Social Security pension. PASI’s focus is on the WEP because the WEP adversely affects many members of the Polish American community who immigrated to the United States.
PASI member Jacek Marczynski (L) and Chicago’s Józef Krutul (R) with PASI’s banner at the Advocacy Summit
In addition to Foreign Pension Recipients, the WEP penalizes the Social Security pensions of many public sector workers, which include educators, firefighters, police, municipal workers, and various others who earned a second, non-Social Security pension. The WEP’s harmful twin is the GPO, which unfairly penalizes the Spousal and Survivor benefits of these same public sector workers. In some cases, the Survivor benefit of a widow/widower is eliminated entirely when their spouse dies even though their spouse had paid for that benefit. It should be noted that, because the Social Security Administration does not have access to the foreign earnings of Foreign Pension Recipients, they are not affected by the GPO.

Gene pointed out that, in 2023, the WEP withholds up to $557.50 from each monthly Social Security pension check of Foreign Pension Recipients and public sector workers because they earned a second, non-Social Security pension. Withholding this monthly sum hits low-wage earners the hardest because they can least afford it and causes many to fall into low-income and even poverty status. He also noted that, in 2023, the Chief Actuary of the Social Security Administration estimates that $14 Billion dollars will be withheld from retirees’ checks because of the WEP and GPO. Because this has been going on for the past 40 years and many hundreds of billions of dollars have been unfairly withheld, he stressed the fact that it is time to end this longstanding injustice.

Gene further pointed out that ending this longstanding injustice is exactly what Representative Graves and Representative Spanberger are doing with their bill, H.R. 82, called the “Social Security Fairness Act of 2023”. H.R. 82 is a strongly bipartisan bill and currently has 294 cosponsors. The Senate companion bill is S. 597, which is called the “Social Security Fairness Act”, and is sponsored by Democratic Senator Sharrod Brown of Ohio and Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine. S. 597 is also a strongly bipartisan bill and currently has 46 cosponsors.

Readers of this article are asked to email their Representatives and urge them to cosponsor H.R. 82. Readers are also asked to email their Senators and urge them to cosponsor S. 597. Both actions can be done with the emails PASI has prepared on its website, which will then be sent to their Member of Congress.

For emails to Representatives, click on “ACTION” on the menu bar of PASI’s Home page. A dropdown list will then appear; click on “HR82”. A second page will appear; click on “Take Action”. A third page will appear; click on “Send Email”. A form will then appear. Enter the requested information and click on “Find Congressman” at the bottom of the page. If your Representative has cosponsored H.R. 82, this will be stated on the page. If your Representative has not cosponsored H.R. 82, an email to your Representative will appear with your name and address and the prepared text of the email. At that point, click on “Send Email”.

For letters to Senators, click on “ACTION” on the menu bar of PASI’s Home page. A dropdown list will then appear; click on “S597”. A second page will appear; click on “Take Action”. A third page will appear; click on “Send Email”. The next page will show which of your two Senators have or have not cosponsored S. 597. If a Senator has not cosponsored the bill, an email to your Senator will appear with your name and address and the prepared text of the email. At that point, click on “Send Email”.

PRESS RELEASE
JUNE 2, 2023

JUNE 2, 2023

PRESS RELEASE BY POLISH AMERICAN STRATEGIC INITIATIVE (PASI) REGARDING THE U.S. GOVERNMENT CONCERN OVER THE POTENTIAL USE OF NEW POLISH LEGISLATION ESTABLISHING STATE COMMISSION FOR THE STUDY OF RUSSIAN INFLUENCE TO TARGET OPPOSITION.

The May 29, 2023, statement issued by the United States Department of State regarding the new Polish law establishing the state commission for the study of Russian influence expresses concern over the Polish government’s passage of the legislation claiming that it “could be misused to interfere with Poland’s free and fair elections.” True or false, we and other Polish American organizations view this statement as another direct intrusion of the United States government in Poland’s internal affairs, of which we disapprove and admonish. We also note the recent history of election interference in the United States, which irrefutably confirms that the State Department cannot instruct Poland on the subject.

Letter to the State Department
June 5, 2023

June 5, 2023

Honorable Dereck J. Hogan
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary
Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs
2201 C St NW, Washington, DC 20520

RE: The State Department Concerns Over Potential Use of New Polish Legislation to Target Opposition


Dear Mr. Hogan,

We note with concern the May 29, 2023, press statements from the Department of State and the American Embassy in Warsaw claiming – true or false – that the proposed creation of a commission to investigate Russian influences on the internal security of Poland during 2007-2022 “could be misused to interfere with Poland’s free and fair elections.”

Without taking sides in the Polish political debates, we view your statement as another direct intrusion of the United States government in Poland’s internal affairs. The foreign influences in Polish politics are diverse and many, but very few amount to the level of open and direct interference presented by the U.S. State Department statements. Also, considering our recent history of election interference, the State Department is in no position to instruct Poland on the subject.

As there are many recent noteworthy examples of U.S. interference in Poland’s internal affairs, we respectfully request the opportunity to provide our perspective on matters of concern to prevent their recurrence in the future. We believe our counsel will help avoid unnecessary stress in U.S.-Polish relations.

Sincerely,

Edward Jeśman, President Gene Sokolowski, Ph.D., President
Polish American Strategic Initiative (PASI) PASI Education Organization (PASI EDU)
[email protected] [email protected]
(310) 291-2681
Phone: (703) 966-5109
   
Andrzej Burghardt, President Wieslaw Wierzbowski, President
Polish American Congress, Polish American Congress,
New Jersey Division Eastern Massachusetts Division
   
Walter Golebiewski, President Marek Waniolka, President
Polish American Congress, Polish American Congress,
Florida Western Division Missouri Division
   
Bozena Celina Urbankowski, President Jerzy Bogdziewicz, President
Polish American Congress, Polish American Congress,
Northern New Jersey Division Florida

Letter to the Constitutional Tribunal in Poland
regarding its pending Sovereign Immunity ruling
(May 23, 2023 - Case K25/20)

May 8, 2023

Trybunał Konstytucyjny
c/o  Prezes Julia Przyłębska
al. Jana Chrystiana Szucha 12A
00-918 Warszawa
Via email: [email protected]

Statement


On May 23, 2023, the Constitutional Tribunal in Warsaw is scheduled to hear case K 25/20 and consider whether applying the Foreign Sovereign Immunity principle in civil lawsuits related to war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide is constitutional within the Polish judicial system.

The potential decision in favor of change that would allow lawsuits against foreign sovereigns to move forward in Polish courts might provide a venue for compensation claims for many victims of World War II. However, the change would also create a dangerous legal precedent with serious international ramifications that would, in turn, have an impact, based on principles of legal symmetry and reciprocity, on lawsuits against the Republic of Poland in foreign jurisdictions, especially in the United States.

Taking into consideration these ramifications is essential and the decision to introduce change should not be treated lightly. Throughout the years, United States courts have routinely dismissed civil lawsuits against the Republic of Poland and held that the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act shields Poland from such actions.

The ruling in favor of change might inadvertently end Poland’s ability to assert a sovereign immunity defense and open a virtual floodgate of lawsuits against the Republic of Poland from individuals or legal entities seeking restitution or compensation for the losses, real or fictitious, suffered during World War II and as an effect of postwar Communist-era nationalizations. Such a development might ultimately cost Poland billions of dollars in foreign judgments.

Sincerely,


Edward Wojciech Jeśman, President
Polish American Strategic Initiative (PASI)
[email protected]
Phone: (310) 291-2681



Gene Sokolowski, Ph.D., President
PASI Educational Organization
[email protected]
Phone: (703) 966-5109

The Polish American Strategic Initiative congratulates Dr Dorota A. Grejner-Brzezinska
on her nomination to the National Science Board


         Dr. Dorota A. Grejner-Brzezinska is a Distinguished University Professor, Lowber B. Strange Endowed Chair and Professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engineering at The Ohio State University (OSU), where she serves as Vice President for the Knowledge Enterprise. She is also a co-Director of the Satellite Positioning and Inertial Navigation Laboratory. Her research interests cover Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) algorithms and applications, GNSS and other sensor integration for navigation in GNSS-challenged environments, sensors and algorithms for collaborative navigation, and image-based navigation with Artificial Intelligence.

         Brzezinska is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, Fellow of the Institute of Navigation (ION), Fellow of the Royal Institute of Navigation, Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the recipient of the 2016 ION Johannes Kepler Award, the 2005 ION Thomas Thurlow Award, the 2005 and 2015 US Geospatial Information Foundation Academic Research Award, and the 2018 International Association of the Institutes of Navigation John Harrison Award. She has served as the ION President, and President of the International Association of Geodesy Commission 4, Positioning and Applications, and is an IAG Fellow. Brzezinska serves as Principal Investigator for the NSF Engineering Research Visioning Alliance and is a member of the National Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Advisory Board, and served on the U.S. President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Brzezinska holds an M.S. and a Ph.D. in Geodetic Science from OSU, and an M.S. in Surveying Engineering and Land Management Systems from the University of Warmia and Mazury, Poland.

Source: White House Press Release, 13 January 2023

Stop Penalizing Americans and Legal Immigrants Who Receive Foreign Pensions
Repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision Now

To:  THE  UNITED  STATES  CONGRESS

Action Congress Must Take: Repeal the unfair Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP)
What Congress Must Do: Pass House Bill H.R. 82 and Senate Bill S. 597
Why Congress Must Repeal the WEP: The WEP unfairly reduces the U.S. Social Security benefits of not only U.S. government workers but also of those who have worked both in the United States and another country.

Why This Is Important:
• U.S. citizens who have worked outside the U.S., naturalized U.S. citizens who have worked in their country of birth, and legal immigrants all have their monthly Social Security pension significantly reduced because they receive a foreign pension.
• For 2023, their Social Security pension can be reduced by up to $557.50 each month.
• The WEP disproportionately affects lower income earners and a large number of these earners are foreign pension recipients whose combined income is often at or near the poverty level.

CALL TO ACTION!
Why should hard-working people be penalized simply because they earned a foreign pension?

Please sign our WEP Repeal Petition so that Congress will see that this longstanding injustice adversely affects many and must be repealed now!

THE MEMORY OF THOSE WHO DIED FOR OUR FREEDOM
DESERVES THE DEFENSE FROM THE LIVING
FIGHT OVER THE KATYN MEMORIAL IN JERSEY CITY CONTINUES

Katyn Monument in Jersey City, NJ in January 2019
The Katyn Monument in Exchange Place Plaza in Jersey City, commissioned in 1986, and installed in 1991, is by far the most important Polish American Memorial and the most potent symbol in the United States of the Polish WWII genocide. Regretfully, the Memorial is subjected to an unending barrage of assaults by the Exchange Place Alliance District Management Corporation, a public/private entity led by luxury developers with holdings on or near Exchange Place Plaza. In 2018, Jersey City mayor Steven Fulop and the Exchange Place Alliance president Michael DeMarco colluded trying to evict the Katyn Memorial from where it had stood for 22 years. Receiving international condemnation, the mayor and Mr. DeMarco then attempted to move the Memorial one block south to York Street, a narrow, dark street sitting on top of a toxic, rancid, combined sewer/outflow exchange. With the financial support of Polish Americans throughout the United States, the pro-Monument groups collected over 6,000 signatures from Jersey City residents and forced a city-wide referendum on the matter. The Katyn Memorial stands in Exchange Place to this date because of the referendum and the combined efforts of many.

Today, the same forces that failed in 2018 to remove/relocate the Monument are engaged in a new assault on the Katyn Memorial. Under the guise of a plaza “renovation,” the Exchange Place Alliance will heedlessly attempt to convert forty percent of the Plaza’s public space into a private roadway servicing buildings owned by corporations of the board members of the Alliance itself. Further, the new Plaza designs reveal an aggressive attack on the Katyn Memorial yet again. Because Jersey City’s 2018 referendum brought about an ordinance guaranteeing that the Katyn Memorial will remain in Exchange Place Plaza in perpetuity, a new tactic is employed: it aims to obscure, scar, confine, deny access, degrade, and conceal the Memorial from view.

The Exchange Place Alliance has led this “Monument wrecking crew” since its president, Michael DeMarco, the arch-foe of the Katyn Memorial and a Polonophobe, publicly declared the Monument to be “gruesome” and demanded its removal from Exchange Place Plaza. His collaborator Mayor Steven Fulop – another Polonophobe – added insult to injury, causing international scandal and outrage in 2018 when he called Stanislaw Karczewski, Speaker of Poland’s Senate, who protested the scandalous plans to remove the Monument “a joke, anti-Semite, white nationalist, and Holocaust denier.”

The Exchange Place Alliance’s actions and the unlawful process in which the approval of the Exchange Place Plaza renovation was obtained caused significant and understandable opposition within the community. Left with no options – due to the intransigence of the Exchange Place Alliance District Management Corporation and its unwillingness to open access to the Monument – the Polish American Strategic Initiative (PASI), Polish American Strategic Initiative Educational Organization (PASI EDU), and Jeanne Daly, a local Jersey City resident, filed in June 2022 a court action against the Jersey City Planning Board and Exchange Place Alliance. Simultaneously, fundraising was initiated – as was done in 2018 – to support the legal challenge.

The plaintiffs argue that the approval of the Plaza renovation issued by the Jersey City Planning Board was unlawful, and the case should be remanded back to the Planning Board for reconsideration to allow for previously banned public input. The plaintiffs want to keep the surroundings of the Monument open, access to the Monument unimpeded on all sides, and the iconic views of the Memorial with the panorama of Manhattan in the background preserved. The lawsuit rejects the Alliance’s attempts to hide the Monument, minimize its visual impact, and ultimately degrade its importance. As we remember, the Jersey City Planning Board initially rejected the Exchange Place Alliance District Management Corporation’s renovation plans; the decision was unlawfully reversed two weeks later when the Jersey City Planning Board succumbed to political pressures exerted – as it is alleged – by Steven Fulop, mayor of Jersey City and another Katyn Monument foe. Did Mr. DeMarco’s Mack-Cali past political donation of $250K to the mayor’s election fund have anything to do with the reversal? Any answers? We are curious.

Regrettably, the PASI litigation and fundraising have been attacked and criticized extensively in social media by Wojciech Mazur, vice president of a group known as the Committee for the Conservation of the Katyn Memorial and other Historic Objects, also known as CCKHMO. The group has aligned itself with the views of the Exchange Place Alliance District Management Corporation. The CCKHMO supports and defends the actions of the Exchange Place Alliance, even though they clash with, and are rejected by, the majority of the Polish American community. The Exchange Place Alliance has used and exploited the public support of CCKHMO to erroneously claim that the Polish American community supports the reconstruction of the Plaza in the form proposed by the Alliance.

Marek Bober’s interview with Wojciech Mazur, published in Gwiazda Polarna, and reprinted by Waldemar Biniecki in Kuryer Polski, sadly fails to provide truthful and factual information about the Katyn Monument developments and neglects to fact-check Mr. Mazur’s assertions. These include erroneous statements regarding PASI and Ms. Krystyna Piórkowska, one of the most active, engaged, and best-informed defenders of the Monument. Many statements made by Mr. Mazur do not align with reality and are utterly self-serving. They seriously misrepresent and exaggerate his role, attack and mischaracterize the roles played by others, especially by Ms. Piórkowska, to finally segue to an absurd claim that the PASI litigation somehow contributed to the disappointing outcomes of the U.S. elections. Furthermore, PASI is blamed for ruining the CCKHMO’s relationship with the Exchange Place Alliance. According to Mr. Mazur, the PASI litigation forced CCKHMO to sign an official statement confirming its loyalty to the Exchange Place Alliance District Management Corporation. A truly bizarre and revealing admission!

THE FACTS: The Exchange Place renovation project removes approximately forty percent of the Plaza, a public property, from public use and converts it into a private roadway benefiting only private interests. The project unacceptably congests the space surrounding the Monument, restricts frontal and side access to it, and unreasonably constrains the area around it, drastically limiting the number of participants in future Katyn commemorations. The only access to the Monument left relatively unimpeded remains in the back of the Monument. The plans amount to a land grab and a calculated insult to the memory of the victims and the living.

If allowed, the changes being implemented to Exchange Place by the Alliance will seriously impact the Katyn Monument. As a result, the Katyn Memorial will stand close to the newly established private roadway and be confined to a small oval area separated from the Plaza, making it barely visible. The approach to the Monument would be obstructed on two sides with long benches with absurd, almost six-foot-tall reclining backs and serving no purpose other than obstruction of access. A twenty-one-foot-long and over-five-foot-high masonry wall will be installed directly in front of the Monument. This wall and the high-backed benches are gratuitous and only serve to confine and separate the Monument from the Plaza, restrict access to it, obstruct the view of the Memorial, and arbitrarily limit the size of commemorations taking place at the Memorial. Fifteen trees planted around the Monument and growing bigger every year will ensure further restriction of its view. An approximately eleven-foot distance between the base of the Monument and the benches, created as an effect of the planned changes, will constraint access to, and movement around the Monument: it will result in a “suffocatingly” small, cordoned off, isolated area, which intentionally separates the Monument from the open space of the Plaza, of which it should continue to be an integral part, and enjoy an unimpeded access from all sides.

Furthermore, the redesign of the Plaza with its walls, bushes, and trees obstructs views not only of the Monument but also of Manhattan across the Hudson River, which violates the New Jersey Public Trust Doctrine, a state law enacted to guard and preserve the unspoiled views of New Jersey shorelines and waterfronts.

Considering all the above, one must sadly conclude that there is no other reasonable explanation for limiting access to and obstructing the view of the Katyn Memorial than the Polonophobic biases of the decision-makers. The CCKMHO’s and Mr. Mazur’s willingness to betray the Memorial of the Polish WWII genocide for a few handshakes and a photo op with Jersey City Polonophobes intent on degrading the Memorial is undignified and truly regrettable.

The innocent victims of the Katyn genocide, who were shot with hands tied behind their backs, could not fight for their lives. But we can and should defend their memory, honor, and dignity. Please join our legal challenge and contribute to the Katyn Monument legal defense. Please make a check out to “PASI Educational Organization” or wire your donation directly, bank to bank. Please write “Katyn Monument Litigation” in the memo section. The PASI Educational Organization is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and all donations are tax deductible. Your contribution is greatly appreciated, and we thank you for your support.

Mail your check to:
PASI Educational Organization
c/o Gene Sokolowski, Ph.D.
13952 Greendale Drive
Woodbridge, VA 22191

Donate using Paypal: Click Here

Wire transfer your contribution to:
Bank Name: TD Bank
Account Name: PASI Educational Organization
Account Number: 4407889687
Routing Number: 054001725

To see the court documentation and the report in support of the litigation written by a licensed New Jersey city planner, please visit the PASI website at www.joinpasi.org.

Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions you might have.


Edward Wojciech Jeśman, President
Polish American Strategic Initiative
[email protected]
(310) 291-2681(310) 291-2681

COURT ACTION IN DEFENSE OF THE KATYN MONUMENT IN JERSEY CITY.
JOIN US! DONATE! TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!

Dear PASI Members, Friends, and Supporters of Polish American and Polish Causes,

The Jersey City Katyn Monument landmark, an important symbol of the WW2 genocide of Poles, is under attack again by local groups with evident commercial and political interests. Their previous attempts to dismantle the monument and relocate it to the middle of a smelly storm drain were successfully thwarted. Unfortunately, they are now pushing forward with a new plan that obstructs the monument’s view and restricts the public’s access to it. Their planned removal of the decorative apron not only defiles the integrity of the artistic vision of Andrzej Pitynski, the monument’s creator, it also threatens the monument’s structural integrity and stability. The removal of the apron was irresponsibly approved by the Jersey City Planning Board without any structural calculations or requisite discussion. If the worst scenario is realized and the monument shifts to one side, however minimal it might be, the city will likely be forced to condemn it because it would threaten public safety. Also, the lack of proper ingress and egress raises public safety concerns. Furthermore, the arrogant and dismissive behavior of the Exchange Place Alliance’s representatives toward the public adds needless insult to injury.

We are asking for your help in defending the venerated Katyn Memorial which stands prominently in Exchange Place, Jersey City, NJ. This 34-foot-tall monument is dedicated to the victims of the horrific WW2 Katyn Forest genocidal mass murder. For over 30 years this monument has hosted memorial ceremonies, wreath layings, and visits by numerous dignitaries including President of Poland, Andrzej Duda and his wife. Ironically, this monument also witnessed the attack on the World Trade Center in 2001, which produced the now iconic images of the Katyn Memorial in the foreground while the Twin Towers on the opposite side of the Hudson River burned and collapsed. A plaque commemorating the victims of 9/11 was created by Andrzej Pitynski and added to the memorial’s granite plinth.

Now in 2022, a new attack on the Katyn Memorial has begun. A 7-foot-high physical and visual barrier is to be installed on its three sides, thereby permanently restricting all gatherings and ceremonies formerly held in front of the monument while facing east over the Hudson River to the New York City skyline. This barrier design is a blatant assault and insult to the Polish community, the memory of those who were murdered in the Katyn Forest, and the lives lost in the 9/11 tragedy. Equally egregious, this obstruction defiles Andrzej Pitynski’s artistic vision and intent.

On June 24, 2022, PASI and PASI EDU, together with Jersey City resident and ally Jeanne Daly, filed a court action in defense of the Katyn Monument. This action is against both the Jersey City Planning Board and the Exchange Place Alliance, the same “non-profit” shell entity consisting of corporate developers and Jersey City major, Steven Fulop’s campaign donors who initiated the removal of the Katyn Memorial in 2018. We are seeking to overturn May 10, 2022, Jersey City Planning Board’s approval of the current plans submitted by the Exchange Place Alliance and send them back to the Planning Board for a thorough review based on unrestricted public input.

Time is of the essence! On July 16, 2022, the Monument was suddenly enclosed with a chain link fence that was erected without publicly-announced justification or the required permits. Join us in opposing the vengeful destruction of the Katyn Monument! Contact Jersey City Council members and express your disapproval of the Exchange Place Alliance’s deceitful actions! Support the court action and join our political action group!

Your tax-deductible, financial contribution to the Katyn Monument litigation fund will be greatly appreciated. Please make a check out to “PASI Educational Organization” or wire or Zelle your donation directly, bank to bank. Please do not forget to write “Katyn Monument Litigation” in the memo section. The PASI Educational Organization is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. All donations to the PASI Educational Organization are tax deductible.

1) Mail your check to:
PASI Educational Organization
c/o Gene Sokolowski, Ph.D.
13952 Greendale Drive
Woodbridge, VA 22191

2) Wire transfer your contribution to:
Bank Name: TD Bank
Account Name: PASI Educational Organization
Account Number: 4407889687
Routing Number: 054001725

3) Transfer funds electronically, bank to bank, with Zelle.
Please contact us with any questions you might have.
We thank you for your support in this critically important matter.

/s/ Gene Sokolowski, Ph.D., President
Polish American Strategic Initiative Educational Organization (PASI EDU)
[email protected]
(703) 966-5109

/s/ Edward Wojciech Jesman, President
Polish American Strategic Initiative (PASI)
[email protected]
(310) 291-2681

/s/ Jeanne Daly
Resident, Jersey City NJ

Rally in Washington D.C.

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18 May 2022 – PASI as a part of National Task Force organized the rally in Washington D.C. to repeal unjust WEP/GPO provisions

Request for Removal of Article

April 15, 2022

Dear Mr. Pignataro,

I am writing in response to the 22 August 2019 CTPost article by Lisa Backus titled “Outcry over Holocaust denier’s speech in CT city’s ‘Little Poland’”.

Ms. Backus writes that New Britain City Council members Carlo Carlozzi and Kate Breslin accused Mr. Edward Reid of being an “anti-Semite” and “well-known Holocaust denier”. These are serious accusations that are false and maliciously defamatory. Ms. Backus presents no evidence to support these accusations.

Two principles of journalism are pursuit of the truth and accuracy of the facts. Journalists can’t always guarantee truth but getting the facts right is the cardinal principle of journalism. Rather than require Mr. Carlozzi and Ms. Breslin to provide supporting evidence for their baseless and slanderous accusations, Ms. Backus instead parroted them in the article’s headline and text. This is an egregious violation of journalistic principles.

Ms. Backus further writes that Mr. Adrian Baron called Mr. Reid’s scheduled presentation a “fringe event”, which conveys a notably negative connotation. However, no effort was made to have Mr. Baron explain his term “fringe event”. Once again, Ms. Backus committed an egregious violation of journalistic principles. Moreover, the CTPost editors who approved the article’s publication committed the same deplorable violation.

As I’m sure you will surmise by my letter, I know Mr. Reid personally. I can confirm that the disparaging accusations made by Mr. Carlozzi and Ms. Breslin, irresponsibly parroted by Ms. Backus, and senselessly published by your editors, are baseless and false. As empirical evidence that validates my statement, I ask that you vist Mr. Reid’s website at https://polishtruth.com/. Thorough examination of his website, which Ms. Backus and your editors could have easily done, will confirm that the accusations of “anti-Semite”, “well-known Holocaust denier”, and “fringe event” are not only categorically false but further question the underlying motives of the accusers.

I would like you to know that this article, and the many antagonistic responses directed against Mr. Reid because of it, continue to weigh on him. Because the article was, and continues to be blatantly false, malicious, and undeserved, I ask that you place yourself in his position and consider how you would react to such unwarranted animus and recurring hostility. I therefore respectfully request that you permanently remove the article from the archives of the CTPost. I further ask for your reply to my request and the action you have taken or will take. If you disagree with my request for the article’s removal, I ask that you provide your justification for your disagreement.

Cordially,


Gene Sokolowski, PhD

President, Polish American Strategic Initiative Education Organization

Letter of the Elimination of the Unfair GPO and WEP Provisions of the Social Security Act

March 28, 2022

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
House Ways and Means Committee
Subcommittee on Social Security
1102 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable John B. Larson, Honorable Members Mr. Bill Pascrell, Jr., Ms. Terri A. Sewell, Ms. Gwen Moore, Ranking Member Mr. Tom Reed, Mr. Tom Rice, Mr. Jodey C. Arrington, Mr. Ron Estes, Mr. Kevin Hern.

Dear Chairman Larson and Subcommittee Members:

Since many Polish Americans are among your loyal constituents, we are writing in unity with them to ask you to co-sponsor H.R. 82, “Social Security Fairness Act of 2021”, which your colleagues Representatives Linda Sánchez, Brian Higgins, Steven Horsford, and Earl Blumenauer have done. Additionally, we ask that you vote to report your findings to the House Ways and Means Committee so that it may be brought to the House Floor and voted on.

As you know, H.R. 82 permanently repeals the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO), both of which unfairly, and too often drastically, reduce the Social Security benefits of numerous government workers and legal immigrants. As a result, many fall into low-income and poverty status.

The GPO and WEP provisions are especially unjust towards legal immigrants whose small retirement pensions come from their native countries. Many of your constituents, including a considerable number of Polish Americans, fled persecution under repressive governments and are adversely affected by these provisions. These constituents are primarily first-generation immigrants who retire with a very modest income that combines Social Security benefits with a foreign pension. Their combined income frequently falls below the poverty threshold. Because these immigrants did not have an option to work in jobs covered by Social Security in their native country, reducing their benefits is discriminatory and unjust. Their foreign pension can in no way be called a “windfall”, which is commonly defined as an “unexpected gain” and “piece of good fortune”.

H.R. 5723 is, most commendably, a major overhaul of the Social Security system; however, Section 110, paragraph (c)(1) only repeals the WEP and GPO restrictions within the years 2022 to 2026. Offering temporary rather than permanent relief to 2.5 million retired Americans who are adversely affected by these provisions appears to be counterintuitive. Furthermore, because H.R. 82 currently has 267 bipartisan cosponsors and will be easily passed, withholding it from a House Floor vote appears to be equally counterintuitive.

Because H.R. 82 will quickly provide these Americans with much-needed, permanent economic relief as well as correct a longstanding injustice, it is imperative that these restrictions be repealed immediately. We respectfully implore you to vote with your four Subcommittee colleagues and report your findings to the House Ways and Means Committee so that H.R. 82 can be brought to the House Floor and voted on.

Sincerely,


Edward W. Jesman, President
Polish American Strategic Initiative
[email protected]
(310) 291-2681(310) 291-2681
  cc:

Chairman Richard Neal (Ways & Means)

Representative Linda Sánchez

Representative Brian Higgins

Representative Steven Horsford

Representative Earl Blumenauer

Statement on Ukraine

Polish American Strategic Initiative (PASI) joins all organizations, political bodies and people of good will in condemnation of the Russian Federation’s attack on Ukraine. We stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine as they defend their country, their desire for liberty, and freedom. We hope for the fast de-escalation and end to this tragic conflict.

Letter To US Congressmen

March 23, 2022

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
House Committee on Education and Labor
Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education Subcommittee
2176 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515-6100

The Honorable Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan, Honorable Members Mr. Robert C. “Bobby” Scott, Ranking Member Mr. Burgess Owens, Ms. Jahana Hayes, Mr. Raúl M. Grijalva, Ms. Frederica S. Wilson, Mr. Mark DeSaulnier, Mr. Joseph D. Morelle, Ms. Lucy McBath, Mr. Andy Levin, Ms. Kathy E. Manning, Mr. Jamaal Bowman, Mr. Glenn Grothman, Mr. Rick W. Allen, Mr. Fred Keller, Ms. Mary E. Miller, Mr. Madison Cawthorn, Ms. Michelle Steel, Ms. Julia Letlow.

Dear Chairman Sablan and Subcommittee Members:

As a coalition of Polish American organizations nationwide, we wish to inform you of our position on the comic book MAUS, which the McMinn County School Board in Tennessee recently removed from its curriculum because of violence, inappropriate language, and nudity. We applaud the decision; however, we wish to point out five additional, essential reasons that justify the book’s removal from school curricula in the United States.

First, the book is not ethically suitable for educational instruction. Ethical writing requires accurate and unbiased accounts; however, MAUS is a historically inaccurate expression of the author’s prejudice against Poles as a nation. In The Norton Anthology of American Literature, editors Jerome Klinkowitz and Patricia B. Wallace describe Spiegelman’s representation of Poles as pigs as “a calculated insult” against Poles. Pigs in popular culture are viewed as disgusting, filthy animals, while in Jewish culture, pigs and pork are unclean in a way that other animals are not. MAUS employs the same imagery of Poles found in Nazi German propaganda, where they were routinely referred to as “Polish pigs.” The highly offensive depiction of Poles as “pigs”, with all the derisive and racist connotations, forms a mental image that cannot be easily erased from the impressionable minds of young students whose knowledge of World War II history and the genocide perpetrated against Poles by the German and Soviet occupiers is minimal at best.

Second, the book is not suitable as a historical account because it falsifies the facts through distortions and material omissions. Poles are portrayed as Nazi German sympathizers, which was never the case. Civil resistance among Poles was universal and the underground Home Army fought the Germans at every turn. Unlike other German-occupied and Axis -allied countries, Poles never formed a collaborationist government, never formed a militia to round up or execute Jews, and never formed SS units. Spiegelman portrays all Auschwitz kapos as Poles, which is complete fiction as there are many eyewitness testimonies by Auschwitz Jews who detail the cruelties inflicted on them by Jewish kapos. He omits the fact that only in Poland those helping Jews, in any way, faced the death penalty together with immediate family. Instead, Poles helping Jews are depicted as greedy and deceitful. Spiegelman also omits the fact that the Germans often relied on Jewish Gestapo agents to hunt down Jewish ghetto escapees. This role is assigned exclusively to Poles, which is egregiously false.

Third, the book is not suitable from an educational perspective because few readers, especially elementary and high school students, have enough historical knowledge to recognize the falsified depiction of Poles. To have educational value, the treatment of historical context must strive for accuracy and objectivity. Hitler’s attempted destruction of Europe’s Jews is a historical event that is rightly considered an important historical topic. However, it is essential that other national groups who were subjected to German genocidal policies are presented fairly. Although Hitler’s policy for European Jews was comprehensive genocide, his policy for Poles was also comprehensive genocide but over a longer time period. As historian Richard C. Lukas describes in his book Forgotten Holocaust, the secret protocol in the 1939 German-Soviet nonaggression pact prescribed the destruction of the Polish people and the annihilation of the Polish state. Polish deaths during World War II were proportionately by far the greatest of any nation participating in the war. For Poland, the deaths of Poles and Polish Jews was a double genocide.

Fourth, MAUS does not teach students about the complexities of the Holocaust but instead falsifies and oversimplifies them. The reality is that neither students nor their teachers possess the necessary tools to assess the book’s flaws properly. For example, the portrayal of Poles contains serious falsehoods and misrepresentations regarding their alleged role in the Holocaust. Such rewriting of history is deplorable and unacceptable by any standard. The notion that teachers can and will expose the author’s biases and misrepresentations is doubtful. Since there is a choice of educational materials that may be used to teach a factual history of World War II and the Holocaust, it is imperative to choose books that are historically accurate and respectful of all the victims of Hitler’s genocidal policies. By contrast, MAUS clearly cannot be treated as an accurate historical record. Nevertheless, after Pulitzer Prize jurors designated the book in 1992 as nonfiction and gave it the Special Award in Letters, it wrongly continues to be considered as such.

Fifth, school children of Polish background who are required to study this book justifiably feel that their identity and cultural heritage has been diminished and are understandably humiliated by this experience. One should be aware that grandparents of these children may have been inmates of German concentration and death camps. Their family members may have been tortured, executed, forced to work as slave laborers, or subjected to medical experiments. Portraying Poles as a nation of pigs is egregiously offensive and constitutes willful harm to the memory of millions of Poles who died at the hands of the Germans. The victims of the Germans’ premeditated genocide included many: Jews, Poles, Russians and Roma. Choosing a book that addresses Hitler’s genocidal policies and respects the memory of all those who perished is necessary for advancing students’ knowledge and understanding of this important historical subject. The purpose of education is not to distort the facts and cause distress and division among students.

Based on reasons outlined above, we consider MAUS to be highly defamatory, a form of hate speech against Poles and, therefore, unsuitable, and unacceptable as a teaching material. Spiegelman’s comic book falsifies history and deeply offends on many levels. No book in any school curriculum targets another group for derision in this way; it is abusive and psychologically damaging. The bigoted stereotype of Poles should have no place in education. Spiegelman’s Polonophobic slurs, falsely considered a work of historical nonfiction, should be promptly and permanently removed from school curricula and school libraries. No child should be forced to study a book that treats his or her national group or community in the dishonest and prejudiced way that Poles are portrayed in MAUS.

Depiction of the entire Polish ethnic group as pigs offends the people of Polish descent and is racist in its nature. Title VI, 42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq., prohibits discrimination based on race, color, and national origin in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance. The use of MAUS – a prime example of anti-Polish hate speech – as educational material constitutes discrimination and abuse of Polish American students. It forces them not only to study biased educational materials but also imposes on them a bigoted stereotype of brutish, primitive, and dishonest “Polacks”. Such treatment causes great pain and suffering to the youth of Polish descent and subjects them to bullying. For many Polish American students forced to study MAUS, the psychological impact is traumatizing and, at a minimum, adversely affects their self-confidence and academic performance. Furthermore, the exclusion of materials that truthfully present all the victims of Hitler’s genocidal policies is discriminatory and violates states’ educational standards of historical accuracy.

We respectfully ask the Subcommittee to instruct the Department of Education and Department of Justice to send “Dear Colleague” letters to state directors of public education requiring them to instruct their local school districts that the use of MAUS should be promptly discontinued. We further ask that the letters recommend using World War II educational materials that are historically accurate and address all victims of Hitler’s genocidal policies.

Sincerely,

List of signatories as of 03/23/2022

• Gene Sokolowski, Ph.D., President, Polish American Strategic Initiative Educational Organization [email protected], (703) 966-5109(703) 966-5109
• Edward Wojciech Jeśman, President, PASI – Polish American Strategic Initiative [email protected], (310) 291-2681(310) 291-2681
• James J. Robaczewski, National President, Polish Roman Catholic Union of America
• Dorota Andraka, Ph.D., President, Polish Supplementary School Council of America, NY
• Michael Niedzinski, President, Polish American Congress Illinois Div., IL
• Andrzej Prokopczuk Ph.D., M.D., President, Polish American Congress Northern California Div., CA
• Prof. Jim Mazurkiewicz, Ph.D., Texas A&M University, President, Polish American Council of Texas, TX
• Anna Bankowska, President, Polish American Congress Michigan Div., MI
• Blanka Rosenstiel, Chairman, American Institute of Polish Culture (AIPC), FL
• Prof. Witold Lukaszewski, Professor Emeritus at Sam Houston State University, TX
• Agata Marriott, M.D., President, Polonia Institute, CA
• Maria Szonert Binienda, President, Libra Institute, OH
• Richard Widerynski, Vice President, Polish American Congress of Southern California, CA
• Wieslaw Wierzbowski, President, Polish American Congress Eastern Massachusetts Div., MA
• Andrzej Burghardt, President, Polish American Congress, New Jersey Division, NJ
• Miroslawa Dulczewska-Miller, M.D., Honorary President, Polonia for Poland, Chicago, IL
• Walter Wieslaw Golebiewski, President, Polish American Congress Western Florida Div., FL
• Jerzy Bogdziewicz, President, Polish American Congress of Florida, FL
• Richard Brzozowski, President, Polish American Congress, New York Long Island Div., NY
• Marek Waniołka, President, Polish American Congress, Missouri Div., MO
• Tomasz Mroczek, President, Polish American Congress Central New York Div., NY
• Christopher J. Gajda, President, Polish Association in Texas, Dallas, TX
• Jan Malek, President, Polish American Foundation for Research and Education, Torrance, CA
• Leszek Pawlik, President, Coalition of Polish Americans, NJ
• James Lawicki II, President, Polish American Congress Western New York Div., NY
• Walter Wieslaw Golebiewski, President, World Research Council on Poles Abroad, FL
• Dan Zamoyski, Head of Polish Media Issues, Worldwide
• Maja Trochimczyk, Ph.D., President, Helena Modjeska Art and Culture Club, Los Angeles, CA
• Elzbieta Rudzinska, President, Polish American Teachers West Coast Forum, Los Angeles, CA
• Alexander M. Jablonski, Ph.D., President, Oskar Halecki Institute in Canada, CANADA
• Boguslaw Niemczewski, President, Polonia for Poland, IL
• Krystyna Zamorska, Ph.D., American Historical Association and Polish American Historical Association (PAHA), New Britain, CT
• Andrzej Hac, President, Polish American Business and Professional Assoc., New Britain, CT
• Patricia Stepniak, President, General Pulaski Memorial Parade Committee in Jersey City, NJ
• Boguslawa Huang, Principal, Joseph Pilsudski Polish Supplementary School in Jersey City, NJ
• Lucyna Synal, President, John Paul II Catholic Discussion Club, NY
• Walter Brzozowski, President, Polish National Alliance Lodge 1684, Cohoes, NY
• Tadeusz Kulawiak, Trustee, Polish American Citizen Club, Albany, NY
• Marie Glowacki, Secretary, Polish Community Center, Albany, NY
• Marian Wiercioch, Commissioner of District III, Polish National Alliance, Cohoes, NY
• Susan Gorga, President, Ladies Auxiliary, Polish Community Center, Albany, NY
• George Sykala, Commander, Polish American Veterans Inc, Schenectady, NY
• Henry Matala, President, St. Michaels Polish Community Center, Cohoes, NY
• Maria Swieton, President, St. Michaels Rosary Society, Cohoes, NY
• Edward Swiderski, President, Polish National Alliance Lodge 113, Amsterdam, NY
• Marek Maciolowski, President, Historical Conservation Foundation, Chapel Hill, NC
• Pawel Dworak, Treasurer, White Eagle Association, Utica, NY
• Andrzej Cierkosz, President, Dobra Polska Szkola Foundation, New York, NY
• Kazimiera Kmak, Principal, Polish School in Yorba Linda, CA
• Mariola Beresniewicz-Kopcinski, Ph.D., President, Polish American Club of Triangle, NC
• Robert Szydłowski, President, Polish American Cultural Society of Metropolitan St Louis, MO
• Thomas Washock, Polish American Club Inc., Troy, NY
• Jolanta Chorazy, Principal, Nicholas Copernicus Polish School, Mahwah, NJ
• Wanda Urbanska, Former President, Jan Karski Educational Foundation, FL
• Alicja Jachna, Principal, Polish School of Jagiellonians, Passaic, NJ
• Agnieszka Pogorzelska, Principal, Casimir Pulaski Polish Supplementary School in Garfield, NJ
• Jerzy Majcherczyk, President, Polish American Travelers Club in NJ
• Hanna Czuma, Principal, John Paul II Polish School in the Pocono, PA
• Aniela Baj-Thant, President, Adam Mickiewicz Library & Dramatic Circle, Buffalo, NY
• Joyce Troyer, President, Polish American Social Club of San Diego County, CA
• Vince Boshchik, President, Polonia United, San Diego, CA
• Miroslaw Gorny, President, House of Poland, San Diego, CA
• Barbara Brys, Director, Polish Amateur Theatre of Boston, MA
• David Gizara, Polish American Veterans Inc., Amsterdam, NY
• Richard J. Noga, President, The Kopernik Memorial Association, Utica, NY
• Marcin Waszkiewicz, President, Polonia Society of Korona, Bunnell, FL
• James P. Jóźwiak, National President, Polish Union of America, Buffalo, NY
• Jozef Luczaj, President, Polish American Sea League Inc., Rockaway Beach, NY
• Aleksandra Urban, Rector, Polish School at Saint Hedwig Parish, Trenton, NJ
• Monika Kowara, Principal, St. John Cantius Polish Language School, Philadelphia, NJ
• Donald Norkoski, President, Polish Club, Aberdeen, WA
• Andrew Kozlowski, President, Polish Center, Los Angeles, CA
• Darek Swiatkowski, President, Polish American Performing Arts Club, Yorba Linda, CA
• Jan Mroczek, President, Polish Combatants of World War II, Utica, NY
• Hanna Skowronska-Jekal, Principal, Polish Supplementary School of the United Poles in America, Perth Amboy, NJ
• Monika Zarzycka, Principal, Polish School “Ogniwo”, Morrisville, PA
• Piotr Kwidzinski, President, Polonian Pastoral and Cultural Center, Sacramento, CA
• Danuta Eichler, Principal, St. Adalbert Polish Language School, Philadelphia, PA
• Maria Hejnosz, President, Polish Heritage Society of Philadelphia, PA
• Henryka Lazarz, Principal, Polish Alma Mater, Los Angeles, CA
• Karolina Badura, Principal, Janusz Korczak Polish Language School, Providence, RI
• William Spangola, President, Plains Polish American Veterans, Wilkes Barre, PA
• Alicja Ruszala, President, Polish American Club of North Jersey, Paramus, NJ
• Anna Kubicka, Principal, Henryk Sienkiewicz Polish Supplementary School, Brooklyn, NY
• Elżbieta Złotnik, Principal, John Paul II Polish Language School, New Britain, CT
• Beata Popowska, Fr. Augustine Kordecki Polish Supplementary School, New York, NY
• Jan Kozak, Principal, John Paul II Polish Language School, Boston, MA
• Marta Borowski, Principal, John Paul II Polish Saturday School, New Haven, CT
• Wioletta Jusinska, Director, Blessed Jerzy Popieluszko Polish Saturday School, Derby, CT
• Charles Balcer, President, Committee for the Conservation of the Katyn Monument & Historical Objects, Jersey City, NJ
• Aleksandra Ziolkowska-Boehm, Ph.D., author, PEN America, Wilmington, DE
• Boguslawa Doerr, President, Friends of JPII Foundation, Los Angeles, CA
• Ronald A. Lipinski, Commander, Polish American War Veterans, Caseyville, IL
• Malgorzata Starzec, Director, St. Queen Jadwiga Polish Language School, Ridgewood, NY
• Malgorzata Czajkowski, Director, Polish Language School by Parish of Holy Czestochowa Mary, Brooklyn, NY
• Paul Breza, President, Polish Cultural Institute & Museum, Winona, MN
• Jolanta Gmurowski, Director, Adam Mickiewicz Polish Language School, Sterling, MI
• Barbara Swierkowski, President, Polish American Social Club Inc, Port Saint Lucie, FL
• Mary Lou Wyrobek, President, The Polish Singers Alliance of America, NY
• Ted Day, Past President, Polish American Society of Greater Cincinnati, OH
• Jerzy W. Rozalski, Polish Varieties Radio, WNZK 690AM, Detroit, MI
• Richard Walawender, Chairman of the Board, Polish Institute of Culture & Research, Orchard Lake, MI
• Anna Nikadon, Principal, St. Joseph Polish School, Jamaica, NY
• Iwona Podzorski, President, Polish American Social Club of Las Vegas, NV
• Renata Fracz, Polish Lobby, West Bloomfield, MI
• Grazyna Stanowska, Principal, Father Dabrowski Polish Language Center, Orchard Lake, MI
• Urszula Mejza, Principal, Saint John Paul II Polish Language School, Hamtramck, MI
• Halina Szeligowski, President, Pulaski Parade Committee, Stamford, CT
• Veronica Kearns, President, Polish Society of Westchester, Pelham, NY
• Artur Lalik, Principal, Saint Michael Polish School in Lyndhurst, NJ
• Anna Tracz, Principal, Polish Language Academy in Manchester, NJ
• Henry Pakosz, Vice-President, Polish Falcons of America Nest 946, NJ
• Elizabeth Laskowski, Principal, Polish Supplementary School of Polish Falcons Nest 946, Manville, NJ
• Walter Szuba, Vice-President, Polish Falcons of America, District 1, Hillsborough, NJ
• Urszula Gora, Principal, St. Casimir Polish School in Newark, NJ
• Ewa Sadowska, Principal, Polish Educational Organization in Garfield, NJ
• Boguslawa Borkowska, Principal, Casimir Pulaski Supplementary School, Brooklyn, NY
• Anna Ciesluk, Principal, Maria Sklodowska-Curie Polish Supplementary School, Irvington, NJ
• Agata Stopa, Principal, Educational Polish Corporation, Allamuchy, NJ
• Dorota Zaniewska, Principal, St. John Paul II Polish Supplementary School, Staten Island, NY
• Hanna Tomaszkiewicz, Principal, Nicolaus Copernicus Polish School in Houston, TX
• Ewa Zalusinska, Principal, St. Maximillian Kolbe Polish Supplementary School, Riverhead, NY
• Jacek Kawczynski, Commander, Katyn Rally Society-Memory and Identity, Palatine, IL
• Grazyna Wiacek, President, Polish American Retirement Foundation, Los Angeles, CA
• Margaret Meub, President, Austin Polish Society, Austin, TX
• Alicja Karlic Ph.D., Editor in Chief, The Polish Weekly, Detroit, MI
• Mark Kohan, Editor, Polish American Journal, Buffalo, NY
• Richard Zawisny, President General, Pulaski Memorial Parade Committee, Inc. New York, NY
• Roman Zawadzki, Chairman, Polish American Defense Committee, Los Angeles, CA
• Theresa Kuziara-Bonk, Past President, Polish American Congress, Central New York Div, NY
• Marek J. Druzdzel, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, School of Computing and Information, University of Pittsburgh, PA
• Piotr Nowinski, Ph.D., President, Polish National Alliance Lodge 3821, Las Vegas, NV
• Elzbieta Youngman, Principal, St. John Paul II Polish School, Las Vegas, NV
• Leopold Wierzbicki, Ph.D., Polish National Alliance, Pulaski Lodge, Fresno, CA
• Mira Modelska-Creech, Professor Emeritus, Georgetown University, Washington, DC
• Marek Rudnicki, M.D., Professor of Surgery, Chicago, IL
• Iwona Filipiak, President, Polish American Chamber of Commerce, Chicago, IL
• Malgorzata Grondalski, Principal, Polish School, Denver, CO
• Jan Peczkis, Author and Educator, Chicago, IL
• Aleksander Janta-Polczynski, Principal, Polish Supplementary School, Lakewood, NJ
• Andrew Brylowski, M.D., Fellow American Psychiatric Association, TX
• Renata Dajnowska, Principal of Polish-Cultural Enrichment Program, Portland, OR
• Kazimierz Braun, Professor Emeritus, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Buffalo, NY
• Wendy Higgings, President, Polish Cadets of Buffalo, NY
• Stanislaw W. Sarna, President, Polish Highlanders Alliance of America, Chicago, IL
• Anna Brodziewska, Principal, Wislawa Szymborska Polish Language School, Port Chester, NY
• Stanislaw Purc, Vice President, Polish American Association of Pensioners, Chicago, IL
• Theresa Romanowski, Director, Polish American Cultural Center, Philadelphia, PA
• Michael R. Blicharz, President, Polish American Congress Eastern Pennsylvania Div., PA
• Jacek Hilgier, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, “Gwiazda Polarna”, Stevens Point, WI
• Arlene Walbert, President, Polish American Association, Cohoes, NY
• Ewa Koch, President, Polish Teacher Association in America, Chicago, IL
• Alina Gauza, Principal, The Polish Supplementary School of Maria Konopnicka, Yonkers, NY
• Kamila Domanski, Principal, The Polish Supplementary School of Wladyslaw Reymont, Bayonne, NJ
• Renata Ochocka, Principal, St. Faustina Polish School in Ozone Park, NY
• Teresa Ochocka, Former Principal, Nicholas Copernicus Polish School, Mahwah, NJ
• Debbie Majka, Principal, Adam Mickiewicz Polish Language School, Philadelphia, PA,
• Bozena Jaroszewska, Principal, Maria Konopnicka Polish Saturday School, Webster, MA
• Edyta Hamala-Tanzi, Principal, St. John Paul II School of Polish Language and Culture, Poughkeepsie/Monroe, NY
• Malgorzata Matuszewska, Principal, St. John Paul II School of Polish Language and Culture, Bridgeport, CT
• Anna Smerdel-Gromaya, Ph.D., President, Hartford Saturday School, CT
• Caria Tomczykowska, President, The Polish Arts and Culture Foundation, San Francisco, CA
• Waldemar Biniecki, Publisher & Editor, Kuryer Polski, WI
• Małgorzata M. Zaleska, Ph.D., President, Polish People’s University, Philadelphia, PA
• Debbie Bonnell, President, American Citizenship Club for Polish Descendents, Newmarket, NH
• Barbara Musiał, Principal, St. Faustyna Polish School, Lombard, IL
• Edmund Lewandowski, Co-Founder, Coalition of Polish Americans, San Francisco, CA
• Adam Konopka, President, Chicago Society PNA, Chicago, IL
• Lucja Mirowska-Kopec, Ed. D., President, Alliance of Polish Clubs in the USA, Chicago, IL
• Jolanta Harrison, Director, Józefa Piłsudski Academy of Polish Language and Culture, Bartlett, IL
• Marzena Klimek, Principal, Albert Chmielowski Polish School, Chicago, IL
• Małgorzata Stępień, President, Polish Cultural Foundation, Clark, NJ
• Barbara Ilnicka, Polish American Radio, Philadelphia, PA
• Zofia Mularczyk, Director, Polish Theatre Company, Philadelphia, PA
• Antonina Ofiara, Director, Polish Language School, Salt Lake City, UT
• Irena Wozniak, Director, The School of Polish Language and Culture, Palos Heights, IL
• Ted Fiszer, President, Polish Library Building Association, Portland, OR
• Barbara Stamberg, Principal, Polish Saturday School, San Jose, CA
• Robert Szydłowski, President, Polish American Cultural Society of Metropolitan St Louis, MO
• Grzegorz Koltuniak, President, Friends of John Paul II Foundation, St. Louis, MO
• Robert Bednarz, President, Polish Heritage Society of Nebraska, Inc. Omaha, NE
• Ilona Sobiech, Vice President ZNP, Henryk Sienkiewicz Polish School, Romeoville, IL
• Teresa Makowski, President, Z114 FCSLA Life, Chicago, IL
• Ryszard Makowski, Member, Polish American Engineers Assoc., Chicago, IL
• Anna Siek, Director, Feliks Konarski Polish Language School, Des Plaines, IL
• Helena Knapczyk, Ladies’ Auxiliary Corps at SWAP, New York, NY
• Tom Jodlowski, Manager, Polish Home, Omaha, NE
• Małgorzata Tys, Principal, St. Blase Polish Catholic School, Summit, IL
• Jay Crepo, Commander, Polish American Veterans Club, New London, CT
• Ewa Pawlik, President Kościuszko Polish Language Foundation, Salem, MA
• Wojciech M. Bolko, President, Foundation of the Polish Supplementary School of Long Island, Hicksville, NY
• Zdzislaw Klazuk, President, Polish Falcons Nest 17, Newark, NJ
• Anna Szeliga, Vice Principal, Polish Supplementary School of Long Island, Hicksville, NY
• Anna Lisowski, Principal, Maria Konopnicka Polish Saturday School, Bunnell, FL
• Andrzej Pronczuk, D.Sc., Past President, Polish Culture Foundation, Boston, MA
• Halina Olszewski, Principal, Saturday Polish Language School, Worcester, MA
• Ewa Pawlik, Principal, Thaddeus Kosciusko Polish Supplementary School, Salem, MA
• Walter Szaflarski, President, The Circle of Highlanders & Lovers of the Mountains of the State of Michigan, Rochester, MI
• Mira Szramel, Principal, Msgr. Peter Adamski Polish Saturday School, Buffalo, NY
• Barbara Tarsoly, President, Polish American Club of Sacramento, Inc., Sacramento, CA
• Heather Gravel, Director, Pilsudski Polish American Citizen Club, Southbridge, MA
• Ewa O’Neal, President, Polish University Club of Los Angeles, CA
• Elzbieta Ostrowski, Polish School of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI
• Steve Graus, Chairman, National Polish American Sports Hall of Fame, Troy, MI
• Raymond Glebocki, President, American Council for Polish Culture, Grosse Pointe Park, MI
• Peter Sroczynski, President, NoCodeX, LLC., Austin, TX
• Hanna Gracz, Principal, Polish School for Children, Raleigh, NC
• Piotr Golabek, President, Polish American Soccer Association, Wallington, NJ
• Katarzyna Włodek, President, Jan Karski Polish School of Dallas, TX
• Urszula Gawlik, Director, Tadeusz Kosciuszko Polish Language School, Chicago, IL
• Izabela Przybyla, Director, Polish School of King Casimir the Great, Orland Hills, IL
• Anna Cholewinska, Principal, Jan Twardowski Polish School, Bellevue, WA
• Anna Szpindor, MD, Former President, Polish American Medical Society, Chicago, IL
• Tomasz Skotnicki, Honorary Consul of the Republic of Poland in Colorado, CO
• Jan Cytowski, Vice President, Canadian Polish Congress District Toronto, CANADA
• Matt Zajac, Polish Society of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI
• Edward Cyran, President, Tadeusz Kosciuszko Association of Friends of the Polish Lancers in Chicago Il.

Aid for Poland

March 16, 2022

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
House Committee on Foreign Affairs
2170 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Gregory Meeks, Ranking Member Michael McCaul, Honorable Members Tom Malinowski, Brad Sherman, Albio Sires, Gerald Connolly, Theodore Deutch, Karen Bass, William Keating, David Cicilline, Ami Bera, Joaquin Castro, Dina Titus, Ted Lieu, Susan Wild, Dean Phillips, Ilhan Omar, Colin Allred, Andy Levin, Abigail Spanberger, Chrissy Houlahan, Andy Kim, Sara Jacobs, Kathy Manning, Jim Costa, Juan Vargas, Vincente Gonzales, Brad Schneider, Brian Mast, Christopher Smith, Steve Chabot, Joe Wilson, Scott Perry, Darrell Issa, Adam Kinzinger, Lee Zeldin, Ann Wagner, Brian Fitzpatrick, Ken Buck, Tim Burchett, Mark Green, Andy Barr, Greg Steube, Dan Meuser, Claudia Tenney, August Pfluger, Peter Meijer, Nicole Malliotakis, Ronny Jackson, Young Kim, Maria Elvira Salazar

Dear Chairman Meeks and Committee Members:

We are writing in response to the devastation caused by war in Ukraine and its significant impact on neighboring countries that strive to provide essential support to fleeing refugees. In view of this, we are grateful that the 2022 Consolidated Appropriations Act provides critically-needed humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and the five refugee-hosting countries of Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Moldova, and Romania.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reports that, as of 15 March, 2.86 million Ukrainians have fled to the five refugee-hosting countries. Of these, Poland has received the largest number of refugees, 1.83 million (64 percent), and Poles have responded with outstanding generosity and compassion. Of this number, approximately 625,000 are children and of these, about 500,000 are of school age who need to be enrolled in Polish schools. The Minister of Education reports that about 42,500 children are now enrolled and tens of thousands more are expected. Additionally, and most importantly, the Polish government has formally obligated itself to provide requisite aid and support to all refugees for an 18-month period with likely extensions.

However, while private and government efforts have been exceptionally laudable, Poland is now struggling to adequately support the unceasing influx of refugees. There is a continuous need for beds, meals, medical supplies, psychologists, interpreters, teachers, and a range of other critical resources and services. Poland is rapidly approaching its reception capacity and this will soon be the case for Slovakia, Hungary, Moldova, and Romania.

The 2022 Consolidated Appropriations Act states that the purpose of the $2.65 billion allocated for International Disaster Assistance is “to respond to humanitarian needs in Ukraine and in countries impacted by the situation in Ukraine, including the provision of emergency food and shelter”.

Additionally, the $1.4 billion for Migration and Refugee Assistance has been allocated to “assist refugees from Ukraine”, most of whom have fled to Poland.

As Polish Americans, we are well aware of the serious impact this crisis continues to have on Poland and want to ensure that adequate levels of funding from the combined humanitarian aid total of $4.05 billion are provided.

We therefore respectfully request the following:

1. We ask that you direct the immediate disbursement of these funds to the governments and humanitarian agencies of Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Moldova, and Romania.

2. Because Poland has received over 64 percent of Ukraine’s refugees and will most assuredly continue to receive this share or more, we ask that you ensure at least 64 percent of the funding is provided to the government and humanitarian agencies of Poland.

3. As there is no end in sight to the destruction in Ukraine, and as there is no end in sight to the flow of refugees into Poland, we ask that this funding serve as a first tranche that will be successively supplemented in response to changing conditions.

Sincerely,


Edward W. Jesman, President
Polish American Strategic Initiative
[email protected]
(310) 291-2681(310) 291-2681



POLISH AMERICAN STRATEGIC INITIATIVE
P.O. Box 2771, New Britain, CT 06050
(844) 650-7274(844) 650-7274 // [email protected]
joinpasi.org

Joint Statement of Polish American Organizations

December 19, 2021

Statement

On December 17, 2021, the U.S. State Department issued a press statement titled “Weakened Media Freedom in Poland” that accuses the Polish Government of undermining freedom of expression and weakening media freedom because of a recently passed TV broadcasting law that limits foreign ownership of a broadcasting company in Poland to 49 percent.

This statement is blatantly hypocritical as Section 310b of the Communications Act of 1934 limits foreign ownership of a broadcasting company in the U.S. to 25 percent.

It is unacceptable for the United States to claim that Poland’s 49 percent limit on foreign ownership undermines freedom of expression and weakens media freedom within the context of its own much more restrictive 25 percent limit on foreign ownership.

We request that the State Department correct or remove its factually false statement from its website and direct Mr. B. Bix Aliu, Chargé d’Affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw, to remove his statements on Twitter.

We further insist that the U.S. State Department explain why it employs an obvious double standard in its baseless accusations against Poland since this clearly undermines the bilateral relationship between Poland and the U.S.


Leszek Pawlik, President
Coalition of Polish Americans
[email protected]

Edward Wojciech Jeśman, President
Polish American Strategic Initiative
[email protected]

Maria Szonert-Binienda, President
Libra Institute, Inc.

Ann Bankowski, President
Polish American Congress, Michigan Division

Richard Brzozowski, President
Polish American Congress, Long Island Division New York, Inc.

Andrzej Burghardt, President
Polish American Congress, New Jersey Division, Inc.

Wiesław Wierzbowski, President
Polish American Congress, Eastern Massachusetts Division, Inc.

Letter to Congressmen concerning hearing

“Innovative Municipal Leadership in Central Europe: Founding Members of the Pact of Free Cities”

conducted by the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on Europe, Energy, the Environment and Cyber

Dear Representative,

As representatives of the Polish American community, we want to express our disappointment with the way the leadership of the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on Europe, Energy, the Environment and Cyber conducted the hearing titled “Innovative Municipal Leadership in Central Europe: Founding Members of the Pact of Free Cities” that was held on December 1, 2021.

The United States has been the steadfast and welcomed leader of the free world and champion of democracy because its foreign policy was based on our shared values, not politics. Unfortunately, this traditional approach seems to be a thing of the past. There were several problems with the hearing. The witnesses consisted of four liberal mayors who opposed their current conservative governments. The Subcommittee did not invite any witnesses that could provide differing perspectives and respond to the criticisms voiced during the hearing. The testimonies of the witnesses were one-sided. The four mayors presented various accusations against their current governments, which the Subcommittee accepted at face value and made no attempt to verify the factual accuracy of the testimony. The testimony appeared to be a partisan attempt to gain political sympathy from Democratic Party leaders.

The questions asked to the witnesses were unmistakably leading. No impartial viewer would conclude that they intended to provide the audience with a balanced discussion about issues in Central Europe. Instead, the questions conveyed a partisan message about who is correct and who is not. Several loaded phrases, such as “backsliding on democracy” and “authoritarian tendencies” that were used throughout the hearing were presented as established facts. They left the audience with a notably distorted view of what is occurring in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia. In our opinion, the image presented was entirely subjective and maliciously false.

Consequently, we deplore the fact that Subcommittee members of the party that prides itself as the champion of fairness, diversity, and inclusion instead conducted a hearing that contradicted these principles. There are over 10 million U.S. citizens with Polish roots and our community embraces a broad diversity of political views. However, we also know that fairness and balance are essential to democratic discourse. This hearing was unfair, lacked diversity of thought, and was exceptionally exclusive. Rather than conduct a balanced and fair discussion of the issues in these four countries, the Subcommittee instead presented a singularly partisan position, which not only misrepresents the facts but also constitutes blatant intellectual fraud. Notably, a number of Polish American organizations submitted relevant questions to the Subcommittee before the hearing. None of them were brought up in the hearing or even alluded to. As a result, we believe the hearing disregarded the voices of our community and needlessly and gratuitously discriminated against the many Polish Americans who do not share the views expressed by the four “witnesses.”

A foundational element of democracy is the sovereignty of a democratic society. Therefore, it is disappointingly ironic that Subcommittee members came distressingly close to interfering in the internal affairs of four Central European countries and infringing on their sovereignty by presenting a distorted picture of their national matters. We remain hopeful that future House hearings on Central Europe and particularly Poland will be conducted in a fair and balanced way so that factual realities rather than biased narratives are presented.

Sincerely,

Leszek Pawlik, President
Coalition of Polish Americans (CPA)
Email: [email protected]

Edward Wojciech Jesman, President
Polish American Strategic Initiative (PASI)
Email: [email protected]

Andrzej Prokopczuk, President
Polish American Congress of Northern California

Jerzy Bogdziewicz, President
Polish American Congress of Florida

Wieslaw Wierzbowski, President
Polish American Congress of Eastern Massachusetts

Andrzej Burhardt, President
Polish American Congress, New Jersey Division

Mirek Gorny, President
Polish American Social Club of San Diego

Zbigniew Koralewski, VP
Polish American Congress, Long Island Division NY

Ann Bankowski, President
Polish American Congress, Michigan Division

Project of the Kurtyka Foundation in cooperation with PASI's educational arm (PASI EDU).

"Witnesses to the truth on Katyn:
Heroism behind the iron curtain".

This was a joint project by PASI and the Kurtyka Foundation that took place on December 4
at 11 am EST.
This whole meeting can be heard in two languages: Polish and English.
Polish American Strategic Initiative EDU and the Janusz Kurtyka Foundation presented a meeting with Polish historian Professor Tadeusz Wolsza, entitled „Witnesses to the truth on Katyn: Heroism behind the iron curtain”. The discussion was based on Prof. Tadeusz Wolsza’s book „Encounter with Katyn”.

The meeting was held online on Zoom on December 4th, 2021, at 11.00 am (EST)

It was moderated by the President of PASI Edward Wojciech Jesman.

The event was held within the framework of the Kurtyka Foundation’s „The Seeds of history” project.


PROGRAM:

    1. Introduction was done by Gene Sokolowski, PhD – PASI EDU President

    2. Presentation of the book “Encounter with Katyn” was by Mr. Damian Bębnowski,
         Vice President of the Board of the Janusz Kurtyka Foundation
         (Promotional trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXVHlGwm3j4)

    3. Lecture was by Professor Tadeusz Wolsza

    4. A questions and answers session followed.



Zoom Link to the meeting in English
can be found here:
https://youtu.be/9m2t95rnrdg

We need your support.

CALL TO ACTION

regarding Tom R. Suozzi’s U.S. House of Representatives resolution H.Res. 664 titled: “Commemorating the Anniversary of the Invasion of Poland and recognizing the importance of the United States alliance with the Republic of Poland.”

How can you help?

Please call, email, or fax your U.S. Representative and convey the following message to him or her.

To Find YOUR U.S. REPRESENTATIVE CLICK HERE

Purpose of the call or subject line if you are communicating through electronic means:

Please co-sponsor Representative Tom R. Suozzi’s resolution H.Res. 664 “Commemorating the Anniversary of the Invasion of Poland and recognizing the importance of the United States alliance with the Republic of Poland.”

Why your U.S. Representative should co-sponsor the resolution?

This month, Polish Americans remember the 20th anniversary of 9/11 and the 72nd anniversary of the aggression against Poland by Germany and the Soviet Union. The attack against Poland ignited World War II. The war caused tens of millions of deaths worldwide, six million resulting from the genocides committed against the Polish citizens, Poles, and Jews.

As your constituent, I request that you co-sponsor Representative Thomas R. Suozzi’s resolution “Commemorating the Anniversary of the Invasion of Poland and recognizing the importance of the United States alliance with the Republic of Poland.”

Remembering and understanding history, including the past mistakes and their consequences, should guide foreign policies for the current unstable world.

The role and position of the United States are questioned and challenged. The United States needs steadfast and proven allies. Poland has always been such an ally.

The adoption of the resolution would show that the United States remains engaged and committed to play its traditional, stabilizing role in European politics.

To support and co-sponsor this resolution or have any questions answered, please email Steven Peterson ([email protected]). Would you please let me know about your decision?

Thank you,

RESOLUTION (see below)

Commemorating the anniversary of the Invasion of Poland and recognizing the importance of the United States alliance with the Republic of Poland

Whereas on September 1, 1939, German forces led by Adolf Hitler attacked the Republic of Poland;

Whereas on September 17, 1939, Soviet forces led by Joseph Stalin attacked the Republic of Poland;

Whereas subsequent to the completion of the invasion, the Republic of Poland was divided under the terms of the Secret Protocol of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, which was signed on August 23, 1939;

Whereas Adolf Hitler issued the command to invade with orders “to send to death mercilessly and without compassion, men, women, and children of Polish derivation and language”;

Whereas in Poland, a traditionally tolerant country that was home to Europe’s largest Jewish population, German occupying forces established death camps where millions were murdered;

Whereas Poland lost a higher percentage of its population than any other nation in World War II due to the genocide perpetrated by occupying forces;

Whereas an estimated 6 million Poles were killed, roughly half of whom were Jewish;

Whereas relations between the United States and Poland date back several centuries;

Whereas Polish settlers first arrived in Jamestown in 1608;

Whereas the current relationship between the United States and the Republic of Poland is deep and mutually beneficial to both countries;

Whereas since the collapse of communism in Europe, the Republic of Poland’s prosperity and integration into Western institutions has provided a model for other countries in the region;

Whereas the addition of the Republic of Poland to NATO in 1999 has strengthened the alliance and provided a crucial bulwark against aggression by Russia;

Whereas the Department of State describes the Republic of Poland as “a stalwart ally in Central Europe and one of the United States’ strongest partners in fostering security and prosperity regionally, throughout Europe, and the world’;

Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives—

(1) honors the millions of Poles who lost their lives during the invasion and occupation of Poland;

(2) encourages increased education about the atrocities committed by occupying forces against the Poles;

(3) recognizes the critical role that the Republic of Poland plays in maintaining stability and security in Europe;

(4) calls for the strengthening and broadening of diplomatic, economic, and security ties between the United States and the Republic of Poland.

PASI ACTION

Town Hall Meeting took place on August 22, 2021. Below You can see the Video Presentation shown during the meeting.

Please sign The Declaration of Support:    https://joinpasi.org/index.php/appeal

PASI works on your behalf to:

Promote the common good and welfare of Polish Americans

Lobby politicians
and candidates for office

Serve as an educational resource on the present status and history of Polish Americans

0

MILLION PEOPLE

Self-identified Polish Americans (about 3% of the U.S. population)
0

ORGANIZATIONS

Active Polish American clubs, associations in the United States
0

PROJECTED

PASI Members in the first year

Vision and Mission

The Polish American Strategic Initiative seeks to became a well-recognized voice for Polish American interests at the federal, state, and local levels in order to elevate sensitivity towards and appreciation of Polish Americans’ needs, ambitions, aspirations and history. PASI strives to secure the fair representation of Polish American interests in our countries’ political system.

Edward W. Jesman

President

President’s Message

We are here to promote and advance the political and economic interests of Polish Americans.

We pay close attention to the bills, resolutions, and policies originating on Capitol Hill and strive to be a valued and assertive voice in Washington, D.C.

We provide needed guidance and unifying leadership while advancing ideas of peace and prosperity. We hope to inspire a new generation of Polish American leaders.

Join us! Together we can improve the political and economic standing of all Polish Americans and build a better America and a better Poland. The future is in our hands!

Edward W Jesman, President PASI
Polish American Strategic Initiative, Inc.
844-650-PASI (Toll-free)
310-291-2681 (Cell)
[email protected]

Combating Holocaust ignorance – with facts.

The letter below, written by G. Sokolowski, Ph.D., is in response to the article that appeared in the Los Angeles Times, June 24, 2021, entitled “In Germany, Blinken joins initiative to combat Holocaust denial and ignorance.” The Los Angeles Times article is a commentary on the statements made by Mr. Antony Blinken, the US Secretary of State, at the Berlin Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe.

The article suggests the need to recognize the wrongs suffered by European Jews, with a particular need to acknowledge the facts surrounding the role of such countries as Austria and Poland in the plight of European Jews during the Second World War. It states: “Scholars say Germany has led the way in accepting responsibility for the Holocaust while other countries, such as Austria and Poland, remain more evasive about their roles in the Nazi-ordered genocide.”

Indeed, there seems to be an urgent need to recognize the role of Poland and Austria in the history of the II World War. In the case of Poland, shut off from the rest of the world behind the Iron Curtain for over forty years and unable to present its history uncensored by its post-war Soviet oppressors, this need is especially acute. Dr. Sokolowski’s article fills this gap in historical knowledge. Given the sentiments expressed in the Los Angeles Times, it seems to be long overdue.

Dear Ms. Wilkinson,

I am writing in response to your June 24 article in the Los Angeles Times titled “In Germany, Blinken joins initiative to combat Holocaust denial and ignorance”. I realize your knowledge of what occurred in Poland during World War II is limited, as is the case with most Americans, and I’d like to assist by providing relevant facts.

The last sentence of your fourth paragraph states: “Scholars say Germany has led the way in accepting responsibility for the Holocaust while other countries, such as Austria and Poland, remain more evasive about their roles in the Nazi-ordered genocide.” Outlined below is why this sentence, which asserts that Poland is one of the countries responsible for the Holocaust, is both false and offensive.

First, consider the definition of “the Holocaust”. The US Holocaust Memorial Museum defines it as “the systematic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of six million Jews by the Nazi regime and its allies and collaborators.” This means that the Polish state, as it existed during World War II under German and Soviet occupation, was either an ally of Germany or established a collaborationist government controlled by Germany. This was never the case. The Polish state during the war consisted of the Polish government-in-exile in London and the Polish Underground State. The Polish Underground State, together with its military arm, the Home Army (Armia Krajowa), fought the occupying Germans at every turn. No historian has asserted that this Polish state, systematically and at the direction of the occupying Germans, sponsored and engaged in the persecution and murder of Poland’s Jews.

It is also important to understand which German-allied and German-occupied states persecuted, (i.e., rounded up and interned their Jews in ghettos and transit camps for transport to labor, concentration, and extermination camps), and in some cases, murdered their Jews. The Polish state never established a collaborationist government (as did France’s Petain, Norway’s Quisling, Slovakia’s Tiso, Croatia’s Pavelic, Hungary’s Horthy, and Romania’s Antonescu); never established a militia to round up and deport Jews to the camps or kill them outright (as did Belgium’s Degrelle, Holland’s Mussert, France’s Petain, Norway’s Quisling, Slovakia’s Hlinka Guard, Croatia’s Ustase, Hungary’s Arrow Cross, and Romania’s Iron Guard); and never established SS units to fight under German command (as did Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Latvia, Hungary, Estonia, Italy, France, Holland, Albania, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Croatia, and others), which prolonged the war and Hitler’s campaign of racist mass murder. In contrast to the actions of these German-allied and German-occupied states, neither Poles nor the Polish state were elements of Hitler’s mass-murder apparatus and the proposition that Poland “needs to accept responsibility for the Holocaust” is clearly absurd. Because Poles were also rounded up by the Germans and died in Hitler’s concentration and extermination camps, this proposition is equally offensive. Note that in February 2018, Chancellor Merkel publicly admitted on several occasions that the full responsibility for the Holocaust lies with Germany.

It is further important to understand why World War II in Europe occurred. Hitler and Stalin initiated the war to divide Europe between them and the secret protocol in their 1939 nonaggression pact prescribed the destruction of the Polish people and annihilation of the Polish state. In the first two years of the war, Poles were the primary target of a coordinated German and Soviet extermination process designed to annihilate them on both sides of the Ribbentrop-Molotov line. Hitler’s racial doctrine dictated that Poles and other Slavs were racially inferior Untermenschen deserving of enslavement and extermination. During the war’s first two years, virtually all of Poland’s Jews were imprisoned in German-operated ghettos. The Germans immediately established Jewish Councils (Judenräte), who ceased all contact with Polish authorities and negotiated the conditions of Jewish governance of the ghettos. Within months following Germany’s attack, nearly half of Poland’s Jews lived under Judenrat regimes. The Judenräte gathered up Jews from small towns and concentrated them in the ghettos of the larger cities. They further kept ghetto Jews convinced they were being deported to work in German-designated areas in the East. Beginning in early 1942, they directed the Jewish Ghetto Police to forcibly round up ghetto Jews and load them onto the trains destined for the death camps.

While nearly all of Poland’s Jews were imprisoned in the ghettos, Poles were in a day-to-day struggle for survival because of the brutalities and severe conditions exacted by the occupiers. The Germans imposed near-starvation rations, enforced onerous quotas on farmers, confiscated crops and livestock, conducted daily executions to terrorize the populace, randomly arrested and tortured Poles to extract intelligence on the Polish underground, and conducted recurrent round-ups for deportation to concentration and labor camps. Over two million Poles were sent to the camps while up to 200,000 Polish children were abducted for Germanization under Himmler’s Lebensborn program.

As evidenced by his Generalplan Ost and Lebensraum program, Hitler did not attack Poland to eradicate Polish Jews. His objective was to annihilate the Poles, take over their land, and settle it with Germans. He began by immediately arresting and murdering up to 100,000 Polish elite, expelling approximately 1.5 million Poles from occupied Polish territory, and resettling ethnic Germans into vacated Polish properties. Stalin’s policy was to annihilate Poland’s elites, destroy Polish societal structure, and Sovietize dispossessed Poles into compliant subjects of Stalin’s totalitarian Communist regime. As the Red Army occupied eastern Poland, up to 1.6 million Poles were deported to the Gulag camps, which resulted in an estimated death rate of 60 percent. Stalin’s barbarity was further evidenced by his Katyn Massacre, a series of executions encompassing 22,000 captured Polish officers. Poland’s population losses during World War II were proportionately the greatest of any nation in the war. Of its prewar 35 million people, Poland lost approximately 6.5 million. An estimated 664,000 were battlefield deaths and the remainder, about 3 million Polish Jews and 2.8 million Poles, were civilians of all ages. Note also that Hitler annexed western Poland to Germany while Stalin annexed eastern Poland to the Soviet Union, which is why Poland ceased to exist as a nation state.

Often overlooked are Polish efforts to rescue fugitive Jews who hid by not moving into or escaping from the ghettos. Only in Poland did the Germans have a standing order that anyone aiding a Jew in any way would be executed together with immediate family. Despite this death penalty, the largest number by far of any country honored as Righteous Among the Nations by Israel (over 7,000) are Poles, many of whom were killed for aiding Jews. While these are known to Israel’s Yad Vashem, thousands more are known only to God. Estimates of Poles who aided Jews range from 300,000 to 1 million and estimates of those killed for doing so approach 50,000. Note also that German death squads carried out mass executions of entire villages that aided Jews and some of the annihilated villages became extinct. Note further that in no other occupied country or in Germany itself were there such large-scale round-ups, searches with dogs, and blockades of whole districts in all of the larger cities that were conducted by the Germans to find fugitive Jews. Ask yourself, Ms. Wilkinson, if you would risk your life and the lives of your family to save one or more persons in similar circumstances. Many Poles did so because they believed it was the Christian thing to do. Also, two Polish institutions were critically instrumental in rescuing Jews. The first, Żegota, was the only government organization in the German-occupied countries established to rescue Jews. Estimates of Jews saved by Żegota range from 30,000 to 60, 000. The second was the Catholic Church, which rescued Jewish children on a massive scale by hiding them in convents, orphanages, and rectories. No German-occupied country had such an organizational infrastructure that aided tens of thousands of Jews.

Also overlooked are the significant Polish efforts that warned the West about the mass murder of Jews in occupied Poland. Witold Pilecki voluntarily walked into a German round-up for Auschwitz prisoners and then sent reports to the Polish Underground headquarters in Warsaw. These comprised the first record that convinced the Allies the Germans were engaged in murder on an unprecedented scale. Jan Karski was a secret courier who travelled between the Polish government-in-exile in London and the Polish Underground in occupied Poland. He was twice smuggled into the Warsaw Ghetto by Jewish underground leaders to observe the horrifying conditions and also entered the Izbica Lubelska transit camp, where Jews were confined in appalling conditions awaiting transport to the Bełżec and Sobibór death camps. Karski carried out of Poland a microfilm with this information and it became one of the earliest and most accurate accounts of the beginning of the Holocaust. He was also the first eyewitness to personally meet with FDR and British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden and gave a detailed statement on what he had seen, which sadly fell on deaf ears. On December 10, 1942, the Polish government-in-exile published a document titled The Mass Extermination of Jews in German Occupied Poland, which was addressed to the Governments of the United Nations and was the first international publication of Hitler’s mass murders.

In the case of Austria, I offer the following facts. There had been strong support from Austrians and Germans to unify the two countries. On 12 March 1938, the German Wehrmacht crossed the border into Austria, unopposed by the Austrian military. The Germans were greeted with great enthusiasm and a plebiscite was held on 10 April, which officially ratified Austria’s annexation by Germany, called the “Anschluss”. With the Anschluss, Austria ceased to exist as an independent state. Austrians loyally supported Germany during the early years of the war. The initial German military victories and Austria’s geographic location beyond the reach of Allied bombers shielded the Austrian population from the full impact of the war. Only after the German defeat at the Battle of Stalingrad in early 1943, when the course of the war increasingly turned against Germany, did popular support for the war and for the Anschluss begin to erode. Some 800,000 Austrians were drafted into the German army (Wehrmacht) and another 150,000 served in the Waffen SS, an elite military unit that managed the concentration and extermination camps. Because the Austrians were integrated into German units, no Austrian military units were formed. The majority of the bureaucrats who implemented the Final Solution were Austrian. David Art of Tufts University states that 40 per cent of the staff and 75 per cent of commanders at death camps were Austrian. Austrians who played key roles in the Final Solution include Adolf Eichmann and his aide, Alois Brunner; SS General Ernst Kaltenbrunner, Chief of the Reich Security Main Office (RSHA); Arthur Seyss-Inquart, Reich Commissioner for Holland; and Odilo Globocnik, who had a leading role in Operation Reinhard. Operation Reinhard organized the murder of around one and a half million mostly Polish Jews at the Treblinka, Sobibór, and Bełżec extermination camps. Globocnik was also responsible for the deaths at the Majdanek extermination camp. Austrians also conducted mass murder in Hartheim Castle near Linz, where the killing program Action T4, i.e., involuntary euthanasia, took place, and in Am Spiegelgrund clinic in Vienna, where more than 700 handicapped children were murdered.

From the above, it should be evident why the sentence in question is not only false but also offensive to Poles and Polish Americans. I would ask that, if in the future you write about Poland, kindly conduct the necessary research as this should negate the likelihood of misstating the facts.

Cordially,
Gene Sokolowski, PhD
Polish Media Issues Group

Current Concerns

Legally flawed and morally offensive Act based on a double standard.

ACT S.447 (JUST ACT OF 2017),

“Justice for Uncompensated Survivors Today (JUST) Act of 2017”
Introduced by Sen. Tammy Baldwin of WI on February 27, 2017

Signed into law by President Donald Trump on May 9, 2018

The law requires the US Department of State to assess the national laws and policies of countries participating in the 2009 Terezin Holocaust Era Assets Conference, concerning the identification and return of, or restitution of assets allegedly wrongfully seized from Jews during World War II, including the so-called “HEIRLESS PROPERTY”. PASI considers Act S.447 to be legally flawed, discriminatory, unjust, and its language deceiving.

There is no such thing as “heirless property.” In all countries, the United States included, heirless properties escheat to the state. The private Jewish American organizations make legally unfounded demands for billions of dollars without any evidence of title. The so-called “heirless properties” are legal property of the Polish state, the only legal successor of all Polish citizens regardless of their ethnic or religious background. The transfer of such property would only amount to a massive property giveaway.

Law 115-171 is morally offensive because it is based on an apparent double standard, which advocates an extralegal solution, which would not be acceptable in the United States. Furthermore, there are no uncompensated Jewish Holocaust survivors. Jewish organizations, state of Israel and individual Jews received untold billions of dollars from Germany for all human and property losses suffered by European Jews during World War II. The “JUST” law distorts the history of World War II and eliminates Millions of ethnic Polish victims from the definition of Genocide.

Poland must not be held responsible for the Genocide and property expropriations conducted by her German and Soviet occupiers, and for the political, social, and economic ramifications of the Yalta Agreement imposed on Poland by the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union in 1944.

Act restricts the teaching of the WW2 exclusively to the extermination of Jews

Act H.R.943

(Never Again Education Act) Introduced by Rep. Carolyn Maloney of NY. on January 31, 2019 Signed into law by President Donald Trump on May 29, 2020 The Never Again Education Act introduced in the US Senate as S.2085 by Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Marco Rubio (R-FL), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and in the House of Representatives as HR 943 by Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Elise Stefanik (R-NY) is designed to increase the allegedly diminishing awareness of the Holocaust in the United States. The Never Again Education Act calls to establish a public-private funding mechanism at the US Department of Education to allow the introduction of various new Holocaust education programs, which would target teachers in all 50 states. The law expands US Holocaust Memorial Museum education programming and tasks it with developing and disseminating fitting resources. PASI continues to oppose the Never Again Education Act, because it fails to acknowledge and include in the envisioned new programs the Genocide committed by Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia against millions of Poles. This Act is now a law, yet it unacceptably restricts the meaning and teaching of the WW2 Genocide exclusively to the extermination of Jews.

Historically erroneous and politically careless Resolution with legal consequences.

Senate Resolution 566

(Introduced by Sen. Menendez of NJ. on May 7, 2020) While PASI supports the idea of the resolution commemorating 22,000 victims of the Katyń Genocide, PASI strongly opposes specific fragments of the proposed resolution. As is, Senate Resolution 566 strips Polish citizens – most of them Prisoners-of-War murdered by Soviet Russia in 1940 – of their citizenship and falsely merges them with a vaguely defined mass of political crimes committed by the Communists worldwide. The present version of the resolution resembles an attempt at Genocide Denial rather than an accurate characterization of the nature of the horrific mass murders confirmed by the 952 Report of the US Rep. Ray J. Madden Commission. The proposed text of the resolution is not only historically erroneous, but it also creates specific political and legal consequences, which prejudice and disaffirm the rights of thousands of Polish families to the legal inquests and proper compensation. Despite the 80 years which have passed, the world is still waiting for the official Genocide recognition by the US government of the brutal mass murders and deportations of millions of Polish citizens. The United States Congress owes the world a clear and straightforward declaration. The US government’s suppression of the Katyń Genocide needs to end today! link to PASI letter to Senators Menendez Durbin and Risch

OFFICERS

Edward W. Jesman

President (California)

Jacek Bernard Marczynski

Vice President (Virginia)

Mariusz Bielski

Treasurer (Connecticut)

Irena Guillon

Secretary (California)

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Dr. Malgorzata Stys

New York

Mark Belcarz

Connecticut

Daniel M Zamoyski

Great Britain

Susan Gorga

New York

Suzanne Mazurczyk

New Jersey

Jerzy Fiedziukiewicz

Connecticut

Dr. Margaret Niznikiewicz

Massachusetts

Marie Glowacki

New York

Videos

Why PASI?

We are here to promote and advance the political and economic interests of Polish Americans.

We pay close attention to the bills, resolutions, and policies originating on Capitol Hill and strive to be a valued and assertive voice in Washington, D.C.

We provide needed guidance and unifying leadership while advancing ideas of peace and prosperity. We hope to inspire a new generation of Polish American leaders.

Join us! Together we can improve the political and economic standing of all Polish Americans and build a better America and a better Poland. The future is in our hands!

Edward W Jesman, President PASI
Polish American Strategic Initiative, Inc.
844-650-PASI (Toll-free)
310-291-2681 (Cell)
[email protected]

President Welcome
Edward W. Jesman
PASI President

Hollywood’s War with Poland, 1939-1945 (Speech / The International Historical Conference “Poland First to Fight,” )

MIECZYSLAW B. BISKUPSKI (USA) - Keynote speaker. A Professor of History Stanislaus A. Blejwas Endowed Chair in Polish and Polish American Studies, Coordinator of Polish Studies Program at the Central Connecticut State University (CCSU), United States

Join PASI

Events

December 4, 2021

Project of the Kurtyka Foundation and PASI's educational arm "Weaknesses to the truth on Katyn. Heroism behind the iron curtain", which took place online. Link to the meeting: https://youtu.be/9m2t95rnrdg

November 11, 2021

On the occasion of Poland's Independence Day celebration, we, as Poles living in the United States and Americans of Polish descent, aware of, and appreciating our ties with the Motherland, proud of her achievements, of our own ancestry, and knowing Poland's turbulent history, would like to extend our best wishes to the Honorable President of Poland, to the entire Polish Nation, and to all Poles scattered all over the world.

Polish American Strategic Initiative

June 17, 2020

A letter of protest sent to Senators Menendez, Risch, and Durbin, opposing a misleading language of the proposed Senate Resolution 566. The letter recommends the elimination of the erroneous statements, which distort historical events as documented by the 1952 Rep. Ray J. Madden Report prepared for the U.S. Congress. The United States government owes the world a clear and unequivocal declaration that the mass murder of 22,000 Polish POWs committed by the Soviet NKVD in April and May 1940 was an act of Genocide. The letter was signed by Edward W. Jeśman (PASI), Janusz Sporek (Committee for the Conservation of the Katyń Monument & Historical Objects), Richard Boggiano​, Councilman (City of Jersey City), and Rev. Nathaniel Legay (Jersey City Branch of the National Association of the Colored People).

[PDF: PASI letter to Senators Menendez Durbin and Risch]

June 14, 2020

Representatives of PASI joined a celebration around the Katyń Genocide Monument at Sacred Heart Cemetery in New Britain, CT, to commemorate the Anniversary of the First Transport of 748 Polish prisoners to Auschwitz on June 14, 1940.

June 14, 2020

PASI lays a wreath at the Wall of Executions in a German Concentration Camp in Auschwitz to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the first transport of prisoners to Auschwitz. All 748 prisoners sent to the camp on that day were Polish. Auschwitz Concentration Camp functioned from 1940 to 1942 as a concentration camp mainly for Poles. Mass extermination of Jews at the camp happened from 1942 to 1944. The first transport of Jews arrived at the camp in March 1942.

April 29, 2020

PASI adopts Bylaws and installs the Board of Directors. Edward W. Jesman is elected to serve as PASI President for a five-year term.

April 2020

PASI cancels its 2020 Congressional Outreach due to COVID19 restrictions. As soon as it is possible, PASI is planning to visit Capitol Hill and renew its lobbying activities in the U.S. Congress.

November 2019

The International Historical Conference “Poland First to Fight”, a 3-day event takes place at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. PASI under the leadership of Edward W. Jesman is one of the organizers.

[Click here to see the conference]

September 2019

PASI Congressional Capitol Hill Outreach – Participants visit over 400 congressional offices, including 100 offices of the U.S. Senate, to discuss ramifications of the Act S. 447 “JUST Act” as well as the H.R. 943 “Never Again Education Act.” PASI opposes the H.R. 943 (S.2085) because it restricts the meaning of the World War II-era Genocide only to the extermination of Jews. The Act fails to acknowledge the Genocide committed against millions of Poles. H.R. 943 encroaches onto the rights of the states by authorizing the creation of one-sided and partial curricular materials to be used in all 50 states. Federal intervention into curricular matters is against the Constitution.

August 21, 2019

PASI is joining the response of Polish American organizations to the letter of 88 U.S. Senators of August 5th 2019 to the Secretary of State Michael Pompeo regarding Act S. 447.

May 11, 2019

PASI organized a protest against Act S.447 in front of the White House in Washington DC.

April 2019

Jacek Marczynski of Virginia is elected as interim President of PASI.

April 10, 2019

Polish American Strategic Initiative, Inc. (PASI) is registered in the State of Delaware as 501(c)4 not for profit political lobbying organization.

March 31, 2019

Protests were held in New York, Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, New Britain, Denver, and San Diego against the Act S.447 (Public Law 115-171).

May 09, 2018

The U.S. President Donald Trump signs Act S.447 into law (Public Law 115-171).

April 24, 2018

Speaker of the House, Rep. Paul Ryan, sends the Act S.447, without prior approval of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives, to the House for a vote. Act S.447 is passed by the House “Under Suspension of the Rules,” without a roll call, based on the voice vote. The number and names of the congressmen participating in the passing of the Act have not been disclosed.

March 2018

Edward W. Jesman organizes Polish American Outreach on Capitol Hill. Polish Americans from several states visit over 300 congressional offices voicing opposition to the Act S.447 (H.R.1226).

January 2018

Edward W. Jesman visits Capitol Hill offices of 46 members of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives explaining the potential consequences of Act S. 447 (H.R. 1226). The Foreign Affairs Committee has not proceeded with the Act!

December 2017

Edward W. Jesman meets with Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, Chair of Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats of the U.S. House of Representatives to brief him on the meaning and ramifications of the Act S.447 (H.R.1226).

December 13, 2017

Edward W. Jesman sends an email notification about the passing of Act S.447 by the U.S. Senate to his contacts in the USA, Europe, including Poland.