“In the Age of Enlightenment, when renascent Poland was deeply involved in the struggle for reform and independence, Polish reformers evinced a growing interest and sympathy for the Aztec civilization and the fight for independence waged by the Mexican Indians against the Castillian conquistadors. Paralles were drawn between Mexico and Poland. “Mexico won its independence shortly after the fall of …
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Most of you readers don’t know that Dracula had some very interesting Polish ties. My good friend Chet Karasinski penned the following piece about the real Dracula. Hope you enjoy! To tell the story of the Dracula family, we have to backtrack through history a little. By the way, several generations of the family did use the name Dracula. In …
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No one has done a better job addressing modern-day child abuse than Sen. Josh Hawley. Bill Donohue explains why more needs to be done. February 24, 2025 Hon. Josh Hawley 115 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510 Dear Senator Hawley: The bill you introduced last month, “The Jamie Reed Protecting Our Kids from Child Abuse Act,” would allow minors …
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During the middle of the 19th century, especially during the time period following first the Cracow Insurrection of 1846 and then the November Insurrection of 1863, emigration was the key response to keeping the lifeblood of Polish citizenry flowing. Poles wandered not only along the roads leading to war and revolution but also into exile. When Polish soil became too …
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Money, as we know it today, has been diminishing in value year after year … decade after decade. It buys considerably less every time we enter a consumer goods facility. At one point, we may have to make a choice with our last dollar bill as to whether it should be spent for some gasoline, a loaf of bread or …
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I wonder how many of you know about the commercial discovery of oil — how it all began and where. Well, it was late afternoon in a small village in Poland. The date was July 31, 1853. A small crowd of onlookers assembled in the main hospital in Lwow to witness an operation carried out by surgeon Zaorski on a …
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The following description of Polonian immigration in early America by Rev. Joseph Szarek is so rewarding that I felt that you, my dear readers, should experience it… Anyone desiring a proper understanding of the Polish people in the United States and their contribution to Western civilization must first reconstruct the life of the Polish immigrants in America. This cannot be …
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Why do we butter our bread? Have you ever asked yourself that question? Well, would you believe that our modern custom of buttering bread had its origin in a 16th century situation and that none other than our famous Polish astronomer Mikolaj Kopernik (Copernicus) was responsible. It was also the beginning of the medical concept of preventive medicine. A Vermont …
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The history of culinary art is as old as the history of Poland. Mention of famous Polish feasts has come down to us from a thousand years ago, from the days of the reign of Poland’s first crowned king, Boleslaw Chrobry (Boleslaw the Brave). Poland’s monarch was host to Otto III, ruler of half of Europe, and as a token …
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If you happen to be one of those metropolitanites that spends part of their summer enjoying the beauty of Central Park, that famous New York City landmark, then I shall leave it to your curiosity to discover the monument of King Wladyslaw Jagiello mounted on a stallion in a remote part of the park. King Jagiello was the victor in …
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As you know, we are immersed in the Lenten season. With Lent, comes some strict religious observances, such as Friday fasting. When I was a youngster, there were stricter rules of fast and abstinence. In the late 40’s and early 50’s, prior to the onslaught of television, even the radio was forbidden during the Lenten season. Lent was practically meatless …
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January 1863 saw the outbreak in the Russian partition of an uprising which was more extensive in both its territorial and social scope, lasted longer and was more tragic in its results than any previous Polish insurrection. For over two years small, dispersed and ill-armed insurgent unites waged an unequal struggle against regular unites of the tsarist army. The uprising, …
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The forty-five day period preceding Christmas was one of quiet waiting, spent in prayer and fast. Song, laughter and music were silenced. Farm girls gathered at the spinning wheels. At the end of November, on St. Catherine’s and St. Andrew’s Eve, the young people foretold their future with noise and hilarity, but after that began the daily prayers and masses …
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Another Thanksgiving celebration is upon us, and, once again, it is important that we focus on the historical meaning of this important holiday and how it relates to our Polonian ancestors. We must begin, of course, in the Autumn of 1621 when the pilgrims, after landing in Plymouth, Massachusetts, gave thanks for surviving their first winter in a new land. …
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OUR POLONIA On May 3rd the Poles recall that day in 1791 when their country acquired a constitution, the second in the world, after the United States supreme law adopted in 1789. Drafted at a crucial moment in the history of Poland, the May 3rd Constitution was a harbinger of subsequent developments in constitutional law. Its progressive postulates could not …
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Sacred buildings are an important part of Polish architectural monuments. Many of them have a history more than a thousand years long. It should be remembered that Poland was converted to Christ-ianity in 966 A.D., during the reign of its first historical ruler, Prince Mieszko I. Everyone traveling in Poland is surprised by the richness and variety of the architectural …
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The first census of the United States was taken in 1790, fourteen years after the Declaration of Independence. There are no earlier records, but it may be assumed that most of these inhabitants listed in 1790, already lived here before the outbreak of the Revolution. This first census listed heads of families by name, and all other persons by numbers …
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(There are many versions of Dracula in the movies. What most of you readers don’t know is that Dracula had some very interesting Polish ties. My good friend Chet Karasinski penned the following piece about the real Dracula. Hope you enjoy!) To tell the story of the Dracula family we have to back track through history a little. By the …
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At a time when the Slavic peoples inhabiting the areas that form Poland today were heathens, their lore and beliefs caused them to practice old ceremonies that were meant to avert misfortune and make nature treat them with goodness. Among their many rites and customs were periodic holidays observed to mark the changing climate during the year. For example, they …
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Easter is back again. That traditional holyday that is so rich in Polish heritage is once again gracing our door steps. To this day, eggs are a major item at Easter. They are blessed, they are artificially-painted in many lovely and intricate patterns, and different sections of Poland are known for their individualistic design. In many …
Continue ReadingThere is a castle in Poland named Janowiec. It is on the outskirts of a small town, actually an artist colony, called Kazimierz. The castle has two towers and on one of them stands a very proud statue of Kosciuszko with an endless view of the rolling countryside. The statue was cast in cement by some unknown artist many years …
Continue Reading“Juliusz Slowacki had to die and his works had almost to die with him before he began to be appreciated. In his lifetime, he was chilled and starved and treated with a neglect so deliberate and universal as to smack of conspiracy. Only his colossal pride and an unconquerable will to fame through poetry sustained him and gave him strength …
Continue Reading“We’ll hold our land, our Father’s land We’ll keep alive our tongue We, Polish Nation, gallant race Renown in poem and song We’ll keep our Precious holy sod Do help us now, O God Do help us now, O God!” The above words are sometimes sung by Poles who gather for special historical commemorations. they are rarely heard today but …
Continue ReadingDuring my professional engineering career, I found myself traveling on numerous occasions to Washington. One occasion I had visited the capitol building, surprisingly it is within this structure that two fine pieces of sculpture are housed, the busts of Tadeusz Kosciuszko and Casimir Pulaski and I am here to tell you their story. The presence of these busts came …
Continue Reading“He lived three lives. There are the momentous years of his youth, from 1844 to 1850, when he was 21 to 26. Many times in those years he risked his life for Polish freedom. The imprisonments, his hair-breadth escapes, the disguises, the secret meetings, the frequent brushes with death, read like high romance or stirring tragedy. Finally, a marked man …
Continue ReadingEver wonder about transportation before the auto — about how people got around? Well, besides the bicycle and the horse, there was the railroad and it has an interesting history, especially in Poland. The first railroad in the world was the Stockton-Darlington built in England in 1825 by George Stephenson. Freight cars were moved by steam engines and passenger cars …
Continue ReadingSacred buildings are an important part of Polish architectural monuments. Many of them have a history more than a thousand years long. It should be remembered that Poland was converted to Christianity in 966 A.D., during the reign of its first historical ruler, Prince Mieszko I. Everyone traveling in Poland is surprised by the richness and variety of the architectural …
Continue ReadingFour hundred years — sound like a long time ago? In terms of millenniums of history it really isn’t. In terms of the history of Poland, four hundred years ago, however, turns out to be a very important time. For in the year of 1575, a brave soldier and brilliant statesmen received the scepter of his adopted country. Stephen Batory, …
Continue Reading(Letters from Poland is a three-part series — an interesting subject that I have just discovered. It is the stories of three separate authors who have focused on three different windows of Polish history through the art of Philately. Stanley Kronenberg recounts the Warsaw to Tokyo airmail run, Winston Gruszczyk discusses the aspects of concentration camp mail, and Dr. Jan …
Continue ReadingHe died in an air crash at Gibraltar in 1943. His death was a tragedy and a mystery that provoked worldwide reverberations. I speak of none other than GENERAL WLADYSLAW SIKORSKI — a man who belongs to the front rank of the outstanding military leaders and statesmen of World War II. General Sikorski was 62 years old at the time of his death. …
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