Hundreds of US soldiers join Polish pilgrimage to Czestochowa Poland

Hundreds of US soldiers join Polish pilgrimage to Czestochowa Poland
Marek Grechuta - Ojczyzna







Hundreds of US soldiers join Polish pilgrimage
By VANESSA GERA – 17 hours ago

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Hundreds of soldiers in camouflage set off Tuesday on a 10-day march to Poland's holiest Roman Catholic shrine — among them five Americans hoping to deepen ties with an ally.

Five members of the Illinois National Guard traveled to Poland to make the 180-mile (290-kilometer) trek on foot — alongside Poles, Germans and other Europeans — from Warsaw to Czestochowa, site of the revered Black Madonna icon.

Though the 300-year-old pilgrimage has deep religious and patriotic resonance in mainly Catholic Poland, the main purpose of the U.S. contingent, a tradition that has started in recent years, is to show solidarity with Poland — an ally in Iraq and Afghanistan — and other nations.

It's a chance "to come together and share a little bit, and hopefully develop closer bonds with foreign militaries in a non-combat type setting," said Master Sgt. Roman Waldron, 37, from Springfield, Illinois.

Before embarking on the pilgrimage, the pilgrims attended an early morning Mass at the Field Cathedral of the Polish Army, where a priest blessed them with holy water. They were also told to set a moral example and refrain from drinking or smoking during the march.

The Black Madonna — which legend says was painted by St. Luke — was brought to the Jasna Gora monastery in Czestochowa in 1384.

Many miracles have been attributed to the painting, including a 1655 siege during which 70 monks and 180 supporters held off nearly 4,000 soldiers from the Protestant Swedish army and inspired Poles to rise up and throw out the invaders.

Sgt. 1st Class Evan Young, from Rock Island, Illinois, believes the pilgrimage is going to be even more meaningful than he had first imagined.

"Originally when I was given the opportunity I thought it would be kind of a neat way to see Poland, but then I started doing research on the Black Madonna and the siege and I thought it's part of a much bigger thing," said Young, a 45-year-old who grew up Episcopalian.

"It's pretty neat to be taking part in this, and help improve relations with Poland and other countries that are here," he said.

Only one of the five American soldiers is a Catholic. They will sleep in eight-man tents set up along the route by the Polish army.

The soldiers were trailed by thousands of students and other pilgrims in Warsaw, and will eventually join up with thousands more expected to converge on Czestochowa next week, ahead of the August 15 Catholic holy day marking the Assumption of Mary.

Warsaw Archbishop Kazimierz Nycz walked briefly with the group Tuesday.

"This builds brotherhood among soldiers from different countries," he said.

Warszawa Warsaw Poland World War II The Warsaw Uprising, August 1 - October 2, 1944

Warszawa Warsaw Poland World War II The Warsaw Uprising, August 1 - October 2, 1944
1939 - 1945




The Warsaw Uprising, August 1 - October 2, 1944 Background: By summer 1944, as the Red Army was advancing from the east, the German occupying forces were perceived to be on the defensive in Poland. The Soviets were encouraging the Polish Home Army, directed by the Polish Government-in-Exile in London, to wrest Warsaw from German control; the Germans at that point had a comparatively small military presence in the Polish capital.
But troubling to the Polish partisans was that as the Soviets "liberated" eastern Poland, they left in their wake a pro-Communist civil authority, exemplified by the Lublin Committee in Lublin. Hoping to establish a non-Communist post-war government in Poland, the decision was made for the Polish Home Army to attack the Germans in Warsaw in advance of the Red Army, with the understanding that Soviet reinforcements would be available if needed. Indeed, the Red Army entered the Warsaw suburb of Praga, across the Vistula River, late in July, 1944.
The Uprising: On August 1, the Polish Home Army General Bor-Komorovski, with a force of between thirty-five and fifty thousand partisans, attacked the Germans in Warsaw. Joined in the fight by the city's Polish population, they took control of most of the city by August 4. But the Germans sent reinforcements: S.S. police units, a brigade of Russian ex-prisoners, and a brigade of ex-convicts, all of whom Hitler had previously ordered removed from the front because of their excessive brutality. The Polish forces became fragmented and isolated. The Germans pursued the cut-off fighters into the city's refuges--burned out buildings, and sewers--where virtually all the Polish forces perished.
During the sixty-three days of fighting the Red Army, encamped within sight across the Vistula, never attempted assistance. The Soviets refused permission to the Americans and British to use their airfields to drop ammunition and relief supplies. In September, when a German victory seemed certain, the Russians allowed a small amount of ammunition to be dropped in, but it was useless: it was made for Soviet armaments and did not fit the Poles' weapons.
When hostilities ceased, eighty-five percent of the city was razed, and the Polish Home Army annihilated . The Germans deported the remaining population. When the Germans were eventually defeated there were no forces left to oppose Soviet political domination in Poland.
Sources:
The Rand McNally Encyclopedia of World War II, General Editor, John Keegan, Rand McNally, New York: 1977
The Simon and Schuster Encyclopedia of World War II, Edited by Thomas Parrish, Brig. Gen. S.L.A. Marshall, chief Consultant Editor, Simon and Schuster, New York: 1978
The Marshall Cavendish Illustrated Encyclopedia of World War II, Volume 13, Brigadier General Jame L.Collins,Jr., Consultant Editor, Marshall Cavendish Corporation, New York: 1972
Return to:
John Damski Story, Part 6
Christine Damski Story, Part 5
John Damski Contents

A history of the Polish underground's struggle to liberate World War 2 Warsaw from German occupation

A history of the Polish underground's struggle to liberate World War 2 Warsaw from German occupation
ZBRODNIE (ŻYDO)KOMUNISTÓW- "Rabin kontra prof. Nowak" 1/2


Czas zatarł ślad" Poland before the War before 1939

Warszawa Przedwojenna / Pre - War Warsaw

Das Modell (Kraftwerk) Zakazane Piosenki
Warszawo Ma-Zofia Mrozowska

zakazane piosenki - piosenka w tramwaju

kazane piosenki 2


Prezydent Izraela: Wykupujemy Polske, Wegry i Rumunie

Antypolonizm ?

Polish Pilots of the RAF

Polish Squadrons in Battle of Britain

http://RAQport.com

Lech Alex Bajan
Polish American
polonia@raqport.com
RAQport.com
2004 North Monroe Street
Arlington Virginia 222-07
USA
Tel1: 703-652-0993
Tel2: 703-528-0114
Fax: 703-940-8300
Toll free: 1800-695-6200

Story of Polish Clergy at the Nazi Dachau Concentration Camp

Story of Polish Clergy at the Nazi Dachau Concentration Camp
Time of An Ordeal: The Story of Polish Clergy Imprisoned and Killed at Dachau. Half of the Polish priests imprisoned by the Nazi's died at the Dachau concentration camp. The death of more than 2,000 Polish clergy, including five bishops, at the start of World War II seems to be forgotten by many history books, says a survivor of Dachau. Kazimierz Majdanski, now archbishop emeritus of Warsaw, was arrested Nov. 7, 1939, by the Nazis, when he was in the seminary of Wloclawek. He was arrested with other students and professors, and taken first to Sachsenhausen concentration camp and later to Dachau. In Dachau, he was subjected to pseudoscientific criminal experiments.Archbishop Majdanski: Half of the Polish priests died who were imprisoned in Dachau. I saw so many priests die in a heroic way. All of them were faithful to Christ who said to his disciples: "You will be my witnesses." They died as Catholic priests and Polish patriots. Some of them could have saved themselves, but none of them lowered themselves to such pacts. In 1942 the authorities of the camp offered Polish priests the possibility of special treatment, on the condition of declaring that they belonged to the German nation. No one came forward. When Father Dominik Jedrzejewski was offered his freedom on the condition that he give up his priestly functions, he calmly answered "no," and died. The martyrdom of the Polish clergy during the Nazi inferno was a glorious page of the history of the Church and of Poland. It is too bad that it has been covered by a veil of silence. Kazimierz Majdanski, now archbishop emeritus of Warsaw, will be speaking at the World Congress of Families IV, May 11-13, 2007, Warsaw, Poland

WARSAW, Poland (AP) - Poland's Foreign Ministry says the country's ambassador to Iraq has resigned. why?

WARSAW, Poland (AP) - Poland's Foreign Ministry says the country's ambassador to Iraq has resigned. why?

WARSAW, Poland (AP) - Poland's Foreign Ministry says the country's ambassador to Iraq has resigned due to health problems resulting from injuries sustained in a 2007 ambush in Baghdad.Foreign Ministry spokesman Piotr Paszkowski said Tuesday that Gen. Edward Pietrzyk stepped down after doctors advised him that the «climate and medical care» in Baghdad

Poland's loyalty to US a one-way street? Today, Poles can feel a little disappointed when thinking of their American allied.
Poland's loyalty to US a one-way street? Today, Poles can feel a little disappointed when thinking of their American allied.
Bush Administration did offer to Poland 20 Millions
This is a joke ( it will build 5 miles of the road on today Poland?

Who is advancing president Bush?

Is President Bush he out of touch with he situation in Poland! This time to view Poland as a poor former Soviet country is long time gone.

And where is the Secretary of State. Oh ye, she did graduate international studies in Stanford. So what did she learned there?


Poles are not coming to US to work for $12.00 per hour
Live rates at 2008.07.10 15:04:36 UTC
12.00 USD = 24.8735 PLN
United States Dollars Poland Zlotych
1 USD = 2.07279 PLN 1 PLN = 0.482441 USD

10.07.2008
Lech Alex Bajan
Polish American Polish American from DC
«did not permit a full rehabilitation» from wounds suffered in the October 2007 attack.The 58-year-old Pietrzyk sustained severe burns when his three-car convoy was ambushed by roadside bombs near the Polish embassy. The ambassador's bodyguard and two Iraqis died in the attack.Paszkowski says Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski accepted Pietrzyk's resignation. Pietrzyk held the post since April 2007. No successor has been named.

Restytucja mienia Niemieckiego i Zydowskiego a sprawa Polska

Restytucja mienia Niemieckiego i Zydowskiego a sprawa Polska


Restytucja mienia Niemieckiego i Zydowskiego a sprawa Polska
Polish Pilots of the RAF

A real hero - Witold Pilecki - A Volunteer for Auschwitz

Witold Pilecki. Volunteering to Auschwitz


BOHATER EUROPY

ZEGOTA saved 50000 Jews from Holocaust 2/3


Na google video jest w całości teatr telewizji o procesie Pileckiego. Gorąco polecam. Facetowi należy się film i ulica z nazwiskiem w każdym mieście. Pojawił sie pomysł, że Mel Gibson mógłby to nakręcić
Sami nie orzekają, a od nas chcą
Nasz Dziennik, 2008-07-19
Z senator Dorotą Arciszewską-Mielewczyk (PiS), prezesem Powiernictwa Polskiego, rozmawia Paweł Tunia

Według marszałka Sejmu Bronisława Komorowskiego rezolucja Prawa i Sprawiedliwości wzywająca rząd do podjęcia działań zmierzających do ochrony Polaków przed roszczeniami obywateli Niemiec to hipokryzja, a rząd PiS przez dwa lata rządów nie próbował nawet podjąć problemu.
- Hipokryzja pojawia się raczej po stronie pana Komorowskiego, którego wypowiedź mnie bulwersuje. Przeraża mnie brak chęci do podjęcia tego tematu. Przez dwa lata rządu PiS może nie zrobiono wystarczająco dużo, bo to były tylko dwa lata, jednak to właśnie poprzedni premier i obecny prezydent rozpoczęli rozmowy z rządem kanclerz Angeli Merkel w sprawie uregulowania kwestii roszczeń i dóbr kultury, które są nieuregulowane w traktacie z 1991 r. o dobrej współpracy i przyjaźni. Poprzedni rząd rozmawiał ze stroną niemiecką o rodzicach, którzy są dyskryminowani z tego powodu, że są Polakami, i zabrania się im rozmawiać z dziećmi po polsku, pozbawia się ich praw rodzicielskich i widywania się z nimi. Rząd Jarosława Kaczyńskiego wprowadził ustawę o przekształceniu wieczystej dzierżawy we własność oraz ustawę o ujawnieniu własności Skarbu Państwa w księgach wieczystych. To Kaczyński jeździł do Nart i spotykał się z wywłaszczanymi Polakami oraz wyasygnował środki dla samorządów na porządkowanie ksiąg wieczystych. Z powodu tych działań byliśmy atakowani w mediach niemieckich. Mam sprawę w sądzie, bo pani Eryka Steinbach oskarżyła mnie o naruszenie dóbr osobistych. Uderza się finansowo w Powiernictwo Polskie i we mnie oraz w stowarzyszenia polskie mówiące o tych sprawach poprzez wyroki sądowe w Niemczech. Ponieważ jesteśmy w UE, więc musimy się do tego stosować.

W jaki sposób polskie stowarzyszenia bronią się przed tymi atakami?
- Żeby się odwoływać, musimy mieć środki, a nasze stowarzyszenia są organizacjami biednymi. Nie mamy takiego zaplecza finansowego, jak ma Związek Wypędzonych czy inne organizacje niemieckie, ani takiego wsparcia politycznego. Niemieckie organizacje są wspierane przez prezydenta Niemiec, premierów poszczególnych landów, panią kanclerz, przez niemieckich parlamentarzystów. Jest wielkim dramatem, że władze polskie nie udzielają takiego wsparcia polskim organizacjom broniącym własności w Polsce przed roszczeniami. Słowa pana Komorowskiego świadczą o tym, że sprawy te nie są ważne dla obecnej koalicji.

W obecnym systemie prawnym można w ogóle skutecznie chronić polską własność?
- Jest kilka kancelarii prawnych, niestety zbyt mało, chętnych do pomocy zagrożonym mieszkańcom. Sprawy te są skomplikowane i w obecnym systemie prawa polskiego można to dowolnie interpretować. Brakuje jednolitej doktryny prawnej w tej kwestii, i tu tkwi szczególne niebezpieczeństwo. Trzeba dążyć do takiego rozwiązania, jakie obowiązuje w Niemczech, gdzie sądy nie orzekają odszkodowań za mienie utracone albo zniszczone w czasie II wojny światowej. U nas prawo interpretować można różnie i nasza inicjatywa zmierza do wypracowania jednolitej interpretacji i doktryny prawa. W sprawach roszczeń muszą być powiadamiane organy państwa, które powinny te problemy monitorować. Nie może być takiej sytuacji, że przesiedleńcy dostali już odszkodowania za nieruchomości pozostawione w Polsce, a teraz gdy okazuje się, że mogą dostać więcej, przychodzą drugi raz po to samo. Wraca też problem rozmów polsko-niemieckich i kwestia przyjęcia przez Niemcy obowiązku wypłacenia odszkodowań dla obywateli Niemiec, bo ci ludzie opuszczający Polskę są dzisiaj obywatelami tego kraju, oni zrzekli się obywatelstwa polskiego.

Kiedy rezolucja może zostać uchwalona?
- Chcemy, by parlament zajął się rezolucją na najbliższym posiedzeniu Sejmu. Inicjatywa jest tak ważna, że parlamentarzyści powinni podejść do sprawy ponad podziałami.

Poland's loyalty to US a one-way street? Today, Poles can feel a little disappointed when thinking of their American allied.

Poland's loyalty to US a one-way street? Today, Poles can feel a little disappointed when thinking of their American allied.
Bush Administration did offer to Poland 20 Millions
This is a joke ( it will build 5 miles of the road on today Poland?

Who is advancing p-resident Bush?

Is President Bush he out of touch with he situation in Poland! This time to view Poland as a poor former Soviet country is long time gone.

And where is the Secretary of State. Oh ye, she did graduate international studies in Stanford. So what did she learned there?


Poles are not coming to US to work for $12.00 per hour
Live rates at 2008.07.10 15:04:36 UTC
12.00 USD = 24.8735 PLN
United States Dollars Poland Zlotych
1 USD = 2.07279 PLN 1 PLN = 0.482441 USD

10.07.2008
Lech Alex Bajan
Polish American Polish American from DC



Polish Pilots of the World War II


The Poles feel that their country is not perceived as an equal partner by the Americans in terms of politics, which translates to waning enthusiasm for the United States.

By Aleksander Kropiwnicki

Do Poles still love America? According to some publicists, their attitude to the US is definitely getting less enthusiastic. Warsaw still wants to see America as its partner but not a Big Brother. Poland has never been rewarded for its assistance in Iraq. Washington is reluctant to help significantly in modernizing the Polish army, even though it’s keen to situate its anti-missile shield in Poland.

At the same time, the American economy has been weakened while the Polish one is flourishing. Unlike in the past, it doesn’t make sense to leave Poland and look for jobs in America, as nowadays Polish zloty is more expensive and US dollar cheaper than ever in the past. On the other hand, Poles still have to apply for visas if they want to travel to the United States.

Poles can love America or not. However, they now realize that America has never loved Poland. It’s time, moreover, to learn that the membership of the European Union, not the alliance with the United States, is the future of this country. And that’s exactly what the vast majority of Poles is likely to answer, if asked.

Such is the Polish mood in the recent months. Has it changed for forever? In 1945, Poles probably felt much worse bitterness about the then pro-Soviet attitude of the United Kingdom and the United States, two superpower states which had sold Poland in Yalta. However, next decades changed this attitude. The Soviet oppression was so annoying, that the Polish feelings about America, Britain, France or even West Germany could be nothing but friendly. In 1980s, the humanitarian and political assistance of the West, particularly America, became an important factor in the nation’s life.

Finally, the collapse of communism was caused mainly by the assertive policy of the United States governed by two consecutive Republican presidents. One of them was father of the current one. George H. W. Bush is still alive and he hasn’t been forgotten in Poland.

Times change. Today, Poles can feel a little disappointed when thinking of their American allies. Sometimes the Americans behave as if they have never heard about Poland. Even if they have, they don’t care, such is the impression. In the future, though, there is place for the Polish-American friendship. The recovery of both American economy and political common sense is possible, so that giving up this relationship would be naïve. Poland can still play more than one piano.