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CELEBRATING THE 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE INSTITUTE AT THE POLISH CONSULATE IN NEW YORK 

Consul General of the Republic of Poland in New York - Agnieszka Magdziak-Miszewska,  Vice President Andrzej Beck,  President of the Institute - Jacek Galazka.

In New York, on October 25, at the Polish Consulate General, a celebration took place with over 100 in attendance. Charge d’affaires of the Polish Republic, Dr. Boguslaw Winid and Consul General Agnieszka Magdziak-Miszewska represented Poland, and Jacek Galazka, Andrzej Beck and Iwona D. Korga presented various aspects of the Institute’s history and present activities. Of special interest was the presentation of the new bilingual website, with Dr. Marek Zielinski and Dorota Kotowicz in charge.  Mrs Korga presented the new exhibit on the Institute’s history.
  
The Consul General presented Crosses of Merit awarded by the Polish Republic to
  
Andrzej Beck – Officer’s Cross
Danuta Cisek – Chevalier’s Cross
Grazyna Jonkajtys Luba – Chevalier’s Cross
  
A new Institute medal to celebrate the 60th Anniversary, MERENTIBUS, which was designed and cast in Poland, was awarded to four members of the Institute in recognition of their special services to the Institute:
  
Mrs. Zarema Bau
Dr. Magda Kapuscinska
Mr. Janusz Krzyzanowski
Prof. Piotr Wandycz

60th Anniversary 
of the Pilsudski Institute in America

In 2003 the Institute is celebrating its 60th Anniversary. Here is a list of events that commemorate the founding of the Institute in New York in 1943. 

1. March 29, 2003 — philatelic exhibit „ Pilsudski in stamps."

2. May 15, 2003 — „Matejko and others," a lecture with slides on the Institute gallery of Polish paintings, given by the senior curator of European paintings at the Czartoryski Museum in Krakow, Dr. Janusz Walek.

3. June 6, 2003 —panel presentation at the Annual Meeting of the Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences, held in Montreal, Canada.

4. June 12, 2003 —conference on the history of the Institute organized by the Association of Friends of the Pilsudski Institutes Abroad, held at the Royal Palace in Warsaw.

5. October 25, 2003— celebration at the Polish Consulate General in New York.

6. November 20, 2003 — celebration at the Polish Embassy in Washington, D.C.

To celebrate the anniversary, 

the Institute has published 

a poster designed 

by Rafal Olbinski, 

which can be purchased 

at the Institute for $20 

— a limited edition 

of posters autographed 

by the artist 

is available for $50.

A special medal „Merentibus" has been cast — it will be presented for outstanding services to the Institute.

Seminar in Montreal

Poster by Rafał Olbiński

The 60th anniversary of the Pilsudski Institute was celebrated at a special seminar of the Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences convention in Montreal, Canada on June 6 & 7, 2003. 

The seminar was conducted by Prof. Julian Lukasiewicz from Canada. Members of the panel included President of the Institute, Jacek Galazka, Vice President Andrzej Beck, and two prominent historians, Prof Piotr Wandycz of Yale University and Prof. Anna Cienciala of the University of Kansas.

Mr. Galazka gave a review of the Institute’s history while Vice President Beck spoke of its future. The Institute faces financial challenges in view of the currently shrinking numbers of Polish World War II veterans, who were the founders and principal supporters of the Institute since its foundation. Many future plans were considered; the decision was made to create an endowment fund to secure the Institute’s future as a cultural and scholarly institution in New York.

THE INSTITUTE: Yesterday and Today - Jacek Galazka

The Institute: Future - Andrew Beck

MATEJKO AND OTHERS 

- dr. Janusz Wałek

Jacek Gałązka, Barbara Nagórska - Nowy Dziennik and dr Janusz Wałek

Dr. Janusz Walek, senior curator of paintings at the Czartoryski Museum in Krakow gave a lecture at the Institute on May 15, 2003, entitled “Matejko and others – Polish paintings in the Pilsudski Institute gallery in New York.”

Ewa Kara wrote in the Polish Daily News (Nowy Dziennik) that the lecture, charming and witty, placed the paintings within the context of Polish and world art. Dr. Walek’s phenomenal and professional descriptions of the gallery at the Institute can be found on the Institute’s website.

Prince Kazimierz Lubomirski’s Comeback

Ambassador of Poland in Washington Przemysław Grudziński and Andrzej Beck, Vice President of the Pilsudski Institute, unveiled the painting.

After 80 years Prince Kazimierz Lubomirski is once again in the Polish Embassy in Washington. Thanks to a loan from the Pilsudski Institute of America the portrait of the first Polish Envoy to the U.S. will decorate one of the most beautiful rooms of the Embassy for the next 3 years. The ceremony, which was jointly organized by the Embassy, the Pilsudski Institute and the Polish Library in Washington D.C., was opened by Ambassador Przemysław Grudziński. Afterwards, Ambassador Grudziński together with Andrzej Beck, Vice President of the Institute and the son of the last pre-war Polish foreign minister Józef Beck, unveiled the painting. 
 
The ceremony was followed by a symposium on the beginnings of Polish diplomacy in the US. Guests enjoyed the unique opportunity to listen to a series of very interesting lectures delivered by Professor Mieczysław Biskupski of the Central Connecticut State University, Doctor Bogusław Winid of the Embassy and Professor Piotr Wandycz of Yale University. This memorable evening ended with a traditional reception.
 

General Anders' Army

President of the Institute - Jacek Galazka and Consul General of the Republic of Poland in New York - Agnieszka Magdziak-Miszewska

The Institute has put together an extensive photographic exhibit entitled "General Anders' Army" to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the founding of Polish Armed Forces in the Soviet Union in 1941. The curators of the exhibit were: Grażyna Jonkajtys-Luba and Kazimierz Kardasiński. Krzysztof Langowski was the historical consultant and Krystyna Piórkowska prepared the translations.
 

Thirty-two large panels showed the outbreak of World War II, the deportations of Poles to Siberia, and the creation and the trail of the army of General Władyslaw Anders. Materials for the exhibit came from the Piłsudski Institute, SWAP (Association of Polish Army Veterans of America) and from private sources. The exhibit was organized by the Piłsudski Institute and by SWAP, and was sponsored by LOT Polish Airlines and Pekao Trading Corporation. In 2002 and 2003 the exhibit has already visited a number of universities and Polonia centers on the East Coast. In August 2002, the exhibit was shown in Cleveland; Eugeniusz Bak of Polish American Cultural Center organized the event. In October 2002, the exhibit was shown for one week at the Polish Consulate General in New York.

PILSUDSKI INSTITUTE CELEBRATES 
ITS 60TH ANNIVERSARY IN 2003

Andrzej Ziobroń

On March 29, 2003, the Institute initiated a series of events to celebrate its 60th anniversary. A unique exhibit of postage stamps issued by the Polish Post Office to commemorate the life and achievements of Jozef Pilsudski opened at the Institute and was shown through May. Also on display was the official poster of the Anniversary, designed by the celebrated Polish American artist, Rafal Olbinski.

Alfred Szebel collection

The fascinating stamp exhibit, owned by the noted Polish American collector, Alfred Szebel, showcased 182 units on 18 panels.
   
Jacek Galazka opened the proceedings by giving a brief history of the Institute and its founding, followed by Andrzej Ziobron, who introduced the exhibition to a large audience of interested spectators.
  

An Evening in Lwów

May 19, 2002. This event was dedicated to "An Evening in Lwów." Grażyna Jonkajtys-Luba gave a lecture about Lwów's monuments. A series of watercolors by Ewa Rosiek-Buszko and memorabilia from the Institute's collections and from the private collection of Zbigniew Gajda were shown in an exhibit prepared by Andrzej Ziobron. A very large audience enjoyed the lecture and the exhibit.
  
Grażyna Jonkajtys-Luba who has been a volunteer at the Institute since 1990, spent the years 1940-1949 in Kazakhstan where she was deported by the NKVD. In 1952 she completed her studies in the Department of Architecture of the Warsaw Polytechnic. For the next forty years she worked in various architectural offices while holding the position of senior assistant in the department of Architecture at the Polytechnic.
  
Ewa Rosiek-Buszko is a graduate of the Kraków Fine Arts Academy in the departments of Interior Design and Graphics. She specializes in rare textiles, drawings, watercolors, pastels and interior design. Her interest in Lwów comes from her family traditions. The series "My Lwów" shows glimpses of the most interesting buildings of the city.

„Grateful Memories”

May 2: 2002: To commemorate the anniversary of the Third of May Constitution there was a concert of patriotic songs sung by Pawel Orkisz and an exhibit of paintings by Anna Maciejewska Dyba entitled "Grateful Memories."
  
Pawel Orkisz is a foremost interpreter of love ballads and patriotic songs. Anna Maciejewska Dyba presented paintings inspired by the beauty of her native land, by nature and by memories of the past. The large audience joined in the singing of many favorite songs.