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JUNE 2008 |
Volume III Issue 6 |
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From the Ambassador |
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Ambassador
Victor Ashe
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Greetings from Warsaw, where we are starting
a beautiful summer!
First I’d like to express my deep
condolences to the family of Irena Sendler,
the Polish social worker and hero who saved
the lives of 2,500 Jewish children during
the Nazi occupation of Poland in World War
II, who died in Warsaw on May 12 at 98 years
old. This selfless woman remains an
inspiration to humanity for her courage and
generosity of spirit. |
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I would also like to express my sympathy
to Heather Schaufele, the wife of the late
William Schaufele, who served as U.S.
Ambassador to Poland from 1978 to 1980, who
during his time here witnessed both the
election by the Vatican of Cardinal Karol
Wojtyła, archbishop of Krakow, as Pope John
Paul II, and the rise of the Solidarity
movement that eventually precipitated the
fall of communism in Poland. Ambassador
Schaufele died earlier this year in
Salisbury, Connecticut.
May was a month of many accolades and
awards. The Department of State honored
Elżbieta Grodzka, Staff Nurse, 2nd Field
Hospital, Polish Land Forces as a finalist
in its 2008 Award for International Women of
Courage awards. Sergeant Grodzka is one of a
small group of women worldwide who nominated
for their leadership and courage. In her
case, Sergeant Grodzka voluntarily deployed
four times to war-torn Iraq to serve her own
country and help the people of people of
Iraq. Mid-month, the top five student
winners of this year’s Libros Lege Read
Aloud Contest were awarded a trip to
Chicago, where they will have the
opportunity to broaden their knowledge of
America.
President Bush awarded the Legion of Merit
to Polish General Franciszek Gagor, for
exceptionally meritorious service as the
Chief of Staff of the Polish Armed Forces
from February 2006 to May 2008, for his
inspired leadership and extraordinary
contributions to significantly enhance
understanding, improve cooperation, and
strengthen relations between the militaries
of the Republic of Poland and the United
States of America. And at the end of the
month, I hosted a reception for heroic
Polish World War II veterans. Over 300
attended.
We continued our discussions in early May
with the Polish government on Polish
military modernization with the visit of
Ambassador Stephen Mull, the Department of
State’s Acting Assistant Secretary for
Political Military Affairs. One outcome of
the visit was the establishment of working
groups that will report on the critical
areas of military modernization so that
talks can move forward mid-summer. Also in
security-related matters, we celebrated the
5th anniversary of the Proliferation
Security Initiative, which is a
multinational effort to halt illegal
exchanges of materials that can be used to
create Weapons of Mass Destruction.
Both our Commercial and Agricultural offices
at the Embassy are sending representatives
or delegations to the United States to
promote exports to Poland and learn about
U.S. technology related to biofuels. We’ve
also been the recipients of exchange
programs here at the Embassy. Students from
West Point, Annapolis, and the Air Force
Academy recently visited Poland as part of
cultural immersion programs.
Labor Secretary Elaine Chao will visit
Warsaw and Krakow in June along with several
high ranking U.S. military officers.
I enjoyed reading many emails and notes
about the May newsletter, and hope to
continue to receive your insights and
suggestions. I always respond personally to
all email when I receive it. You may send me
a message at AsheVH@state.gov.
Sincerely Yours,
Victor Ashe
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Upcoming
Events |
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The exhibit “Reflections: Painting with Pixels” by Polish-American artist Przemyslaw Moskal
The exhibit “Reflections: Painting with
Pixels” by Polish-American artist
Przemyslaw Moskal will be presented
at the Media Art Gallery at Spokojna 15,
opening on June 12 at 18:00. Moskal will
also lecture on interactive art in the
US at the
Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, June
13 at 12:00 ul. Krakowskie Przedmiescie
5, Sala 5, announced Cultural Attaché
James Wolfe. |
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American Science Magician to Perform in Warsaw
The U.S. Embassy will sponsor Robert
Friedhoffer, a Professor at New York
University, to perform at the Science
Picnic held in Warsaw on June 14, 2008.
The twelfth Science Picnic which is the
largest outdoor science event in Europe
is attended by over a 100,000 people
annually and held in the vicinity of the
historic New Town area of Warsaw. This
year, the Copernicus Science Centre is
organizing Science Picnic with Polish
Radio and the theme is the “Language of
Science: expressing complicated
phenomena in a simple way.” Robert
Friedhoffer has performed throughout the
world his “Scientific Magic Show” which
is an academically tested and proven
method for giving audience members a
chance to learn how magic works and
instilling audience members with a keen
desire to learn about science. |
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The American Embassy is supporting the Polish - American music project URBANATOR DAYS
The American Embassy is supporting the
Polish - American music project
URBANATOR DAYS, a unique opportunity for
musical youth to debut their talent on
stage with top professional jazz
musicians. “We are very proud to offer
our assistance for this great event,”
announced Cultural Attaché James Wolfe.
The weekend of activity will include
music workshops on Saturday June 21 and
a concert by Michal Urbaniak’s URBANATOR
and selected young musicians. This
project is a chance to work with
American and European artists: Michal
Urbaniak, violin; Troy Miller, drums;
Otto Williams, bass; Femi, guitar; Dan
Blackman, keyboards & vocal; and Nato,
drums. |
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Embassy
News |
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Polish Military Officers Meet with Secretary of Defense |
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Polish Military Officers Meet with Secretary of Defense |
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U.S.
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates
visited with senior Polish leaders at
Maxwell Air Force Base, Montgomery
Alabama. The Polish officers
participated in a Distinguished Visitor
Orientation Tour (DVOT) which included
visits to several military bases and
institutions across the United States.
Poland’s DVOT was led by General Janusz
Bojarski, Director, Personnel
Department, Ministry of Defense and
escorted by Lieutenant Colonel Ray
Wojcik, Deputy Chief, Office of Defense
Cooperation, U.S. Embassy and Miss Julie
Patygula, U.S. National Defense
University. [more] |
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Sergeant Grodzka and Ambassador Ashe |
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Polish Military Nurse Honored by State Department |
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U.S.
Ambassador to Poland Victor Ashe honored
Sergeant Elzbieta Grodzka, Staff Nurse,
2nd Field Hospital, Polish Land Forces,
as Poland's nomination for the Secretary
of State’s 2008 Award for International
Women of Courage during a luncheon at
this residence on May 8, 2008. During
this luncheon, Ambassador Ashe
congratulated Sergeant Grodzka in a
short speech and presented her with a
certificate and glass plaque. Brigadier
General Przekwas representing the
General Staff also spoke at the luncheon
congratulating Grodzka for her courage
and leadership in her work in Iraq and
Poland. [more] |
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Ambassador Mull |
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U.S., Poland Hold Talks on Military Modernization |
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Ambassador
Stephen Mull, the Department of State’s
Acting Assistant Secretary for Political
Military Affairs, led an interagency
delegation to Warsaw May 7 to hold talks
with Polish government officials to
chart the future of U.S. continuing
support for the modernization of
Poland’s defense forces. The discussions
are focused on Poland’s air defense,
command and control and mobility needs.
At a press conference at the end of the
day of discussions, Ambassador Mull
explained that four separate working
groups have been convened: a working
group U.S. and Polish intelligence
experts that will analyze military
threats to Poland; a defense
modernization working group; a working
group that will identify and remove
obstacles to defense trade and transfer
of sensitive technology; and a fourth
group to explore options for financing
Poland’s defense modernization through a
mix of security assistance and other
finance mechanisms. [more] |
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Ambassador Ashe with participants in CAPSTONE Program |
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U.S. Generals, Admirals Visit Poland |
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A group of
recently promoted Brigadier Generals and
Rear Admirals from the U.S. Military
visited Poland from May 10 to 14. The
officers were participating in the
regional travel portion of the CAPSTONE
Military Leadership Program. CAPSTONE is
a joint service professional military
education course conducted by the
National Defense University at Fort
Lesley J. McNair in Washington, DC. The
course objective is to ensure senior
military leaders understand how military
forces and other elements of national
power are integrated and used to support
national military strategies, and how
joint, interagency, and multinational
operations support strategic national
objectives. While in Poland the group
visited Krakow and Warsaw and met with
senior Polish leaders from the military,
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the
Sejm. They also attended a reception
at the residence of U.S. Ambassador to
Poland Victor Ashe, where they met
students from the Polish National
Defense University and other senior
officers from the Polish Armed Forces. [more] |
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Ambassador Ashe addresses group at Proliferation Security Initiative event
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Proliferation Security Initiative Event Draws Officials From Many Nations |
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In the
company of distinguished Polish
officials and foreign Ambassadors, U.S.
Ambassador to Poland Victor Ashe
celebrated the 5th anniversary of the
Proliferation Security Initiative at his
residence on May 9. The Initiative is a
multinational effort that operates
within existing international law to
halt illegal exchanges of materials that
can be used to create Weapons of Mass
Destruction. Poland is a leader in this
effort. Said Ambassador Ashe about the
Initiative, "There is a widespread
recognition that in order to halt
proliferation of dangerous weapons, we
must all work together - Poland is
leading the way, and I look forward to
continuing this important cooperation
in the future." [more] |
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State Department seal |
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Embassy Commercial Specialist Promotes Exports to Poland in Pittsburgh |
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U.S.
Embassy Warsaw's Foreign Commercial
Service (FCS) Commercial Specialist
Zofia Sobiepanek traveled to
Pittsburgh at the invitation of the U.S.
Export Assistance Center to speak at
U.S. Congressman John Murtha's (D-PA)
Showcase for Commerce event from May 26
to 31. She spoke about export
opportunities in the Polish market and
called on a number of local companies
for one-on-one client meetings. Her
speaking event was part of the
"Educational Workshops" section of the
program. More
information on the program can be found here: [more] |
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Irena Sendler
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Irena Sendler, 98, Dies in Warsaw |
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Irena
Sendler, the Polish Polish social worker
who rescued 2,500 Jewish children from
the Nazis during the Holocaust, died
on May 12 in a Warsaw hospital. Ms.
Sendler organized the rescue of Jewish
children from the Warsaw Ghetto during
Nazi Germany's brutal World War II
occupation, along with a team of 20
other people. Together, they saved the
children between October 1940 and April
1943, when the Nazis burned the ghetto,
shooting the residents or sending them
to death camps. Ms. Sendler was honored
by Israel's Yad Vashem memorial for her
heroism. U.S. Ambassador to Poland
Victor Ashe said, "Today we lost one of
the most courageous humanitarians of our
time; we will continue to honor Ms.
Sendler's heroism by never forgetting
her generosity of spirit and brave
actions." [more] |
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Ambassador Ashe presenting awards at Read Aloud Contest
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Read Aloud Contest Winners to Go to Chicago |
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U.S.
Ambassador to Poland Victor Ashe
presented copies of American Short
Stories Since 1945 to the top five
winners of the Libros Lege Read Aloud
Contest at the Awards Ceremony held at
the Frederic Chopin Music Academy on May
12. The Contest is the first-ever of its
kind. It is a shared project between "Koszykowa"
Warsaw City Public Library and
Eisenhower PLD of Norridge (IL) whose
main objective is to encourage Poles 16
and older to develop English language
skills and stimulate interest in
American and English-language literature
through a reading contest in which
participants read aloud from passages
selected from a list of American
literature.[more] |
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Roman Rewald, President of American Chamber of Commerce in Poland
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Ambassador Hosts American Chamber of Commerce |
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U.S.
Ambassador to Poland Victor Ashe hosted
the monthly breakfast of the American
Chamber of Commerce in Poland at his
residence on May 13. The Ambassador, who
is the Chamber's honorary chairman,
spoke to the group of businessmen about
the upcoming presidential elections.
Former U.S. Ambassador to Poland
Nicholas Rey also attended. This is the
second time the Ambassador has hosted
the meeting of the Chamber at his
residence. [more] |
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Ambassador Ashe and Consul General Anne Hall with Tomasz Lachowicz, editor-in-chief and Bernadetta Podlińska (left), President of the Board of Gazeta Krakowska |
Ambassador Ashe Visits Malopolska, Speaks in Oswiecim |
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Ambassador
Victor Ashe spoke in Oswiecim to an
international audience on the topic of
genocide prevention and the Polish
experience on May 14. The presentation
was part of the inaugural Raphael Lemkin
Genocide Prevention Seminar organized by
American philanthropist Fred Schwartz.
The Raphael Lemkin Genocide Prevention
Seminar is set against the backdrop of
Auschwitz-Birkenau and attracts
government officials from Europe,
Africa, and Asia as well as leading
scholars and legal authorities. [more] |
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Newsweek's Andrew Nagorski signs his latest book for DAS Alina Romanowski during reception at Ambassador Ashe's residence. |
U.S.- Poland Parliamentary Youth Exchange Program |
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The
Department of State's Deputy Assistant
Secretary for Professional and Cultural
Exchanges Alina Romanowski visited
Warsaw and Krakow May 13-16 to discuss
the implementation of the U.S.-Poland
Parliamentary Youth Exchange Program
with Polish officials and academics. The
program, sponsored by Senator Richard
Lugar and modeled on the longstanding
and very successful Congress-Bundestag
Exchange Program, will provide
opportunities for American and Polish
high school students to live and study
in each other's countries to promote
mutual understanding between the people
of the United States and the people of
Poland. While in Poland, Ms. Romanowski
had meetings with U.S. Embassy and
Consulate officials, Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, Ministry of National Education,
Sejm and Senate as well as Jagiellonian
University's School of Polish Language
and Culture and two leading high schools
in Warsaw and Krakow. [more] |
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William E. Schaufele Jr |
Death of Former U.S. Ambassador to Poland |
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Former Ambassador William Schaufele
passed away in Salisbury, CT, in January 2008.
Born in Lakewood, Ohio, the son of William Elias
Schaufele and Lillian Bergen, Mr Schaufele entered
Yale in 1942, then enlisted in the Army
in March 1943. He served in Europe with
the 10th Armored Division of Patton’s
Third Army, and was at Bastogne,
Belgium, during the Battle of the Bulge.
In 1946, Mr. Schaufele returned to Yale,
where he majored in government and
international affairs and graduated in
1948. He received an M.A. from the
Columbia School of International Affairs
in 1950. [more] |
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General Franciszek Gagor
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President Bush Awards General Franciszek Gagor With Legion of Merit |
The
President of the United States of
America, Authorized by the Act of
Congress, July 20, 1942, has awarded the
Legion of Merit (Degree of Commander)
to:GENERAL FRANCISZEK GAGOR, CHIEF OF
STAFF
POLISH ARMED FORCES
For exceptionally meritorious service as
the Chief of Staff of the Polish Armed
Forces from February 2006 to May 2008.
General Gagor's inspired leadership and
extraordinary contributions
significantly enhanced understanding,
improved cooperation, and greatly
strengthened relations between the
militaries of the Republic of Poland and
the United States of America. [more] |
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Wlodzimierz Sniecikowski, Mayor of Gostynin |
Polish Agriculture Delegation to Learn About U.S. Biofuels |
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A Polish
agriculture delegation will visit
Washington D.C., Lansing and Detroit,
Michigan and Chicago, Illinois from June
1 to June 9 in order to learn more about
the U.S. biofuels industry. Accompanied
by the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw's
Agricultural Attache, Kathryn Snipes,
the delegation will consist of Mr. Jan
Krzysztof Ardanowski, Adviser on
Agriculture to the President of Poland,
Mr. Kazimierz Zmuda, Deputy Director of
the Department of Agricultural Markets,
and Chief of Biofuels, Polish Ministry
of Agriculture, Professor Ryszard
Kozlowski, Director of the Institute of
Natural Fibers in Poznan, and Mr. Marek
Szczygielski, Chief Inspector,
Agricultural and Food Quality
Inspection, Bydgoszcz Region. [more] |
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Ambassador Ashe with Cadets and Midshipmen |
Ambassador Hosts Cadets and Midshipmen Touring Poland |
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Ambassador
Ashe hosted a 15-member delegation
comprising of West Point and Army
Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC)
Cadets and Annapolis and ROTC Midshipmen
at his residence on Wednesday, May 28.
The group is touring Poland as part of
the Academic Individual Advanced
Development program, a large cultural
immersion program designed to give
cadets/midshipmen exposure to other
people and nations worldwide, and is
being led by U.S. Military Academy
faculty. [more] |
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Ambassador Ashe with U.S. Air Force Cadets |
U.S. Air Force Cadets Visit Poland |
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Four
United States Air Force Academy cadets,
accompanied by their advisor, are
visiting Poland on a cultural immersion
trip from May 27 to June 7, 2008, to
give the cadets insight into Polish
government, cultural, and military
institutions. The group's itinerary
includes activities in Warsaw, Minsk
Mazowiecki, Czestochowa, Kraków, and
Zakopane. In Warsaw, in addition to an
office call with American Ambassador
Victor Ashe, the group is meeting with
officers at the National Security Bureau
(Biuro Bezpieczeństwa Narodowego) and
Parliamentarians at the Sejm. [more] |
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Ambassador Honors Polish WWII Heroes |
Ambassador Honors Polish WWII Heroes |
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U.S.
Ambassador to Poland Victor Ashe hosted
the third annual reception saluting
Poland’s World War II Heroes on May 29.
This event, which came just days after
Americans celebrated Memorial Day (May
26), was aimed at recognizing the
courage, selfless service and epic
contributions of Polish veterans who
fought on numerous fronts in defense of
their own and their Allies’ freedoms.
The event included speeches by
Ambassador Ashe, Minister of Foreign
Affairs Radoslaw Sikorski, Jozef
Cardinal Glemp, Primate of Poland, and
Captain Zdzislaw Pilatowicz, President
of the Order of “Virtuti Militari”
Recipients. The Ambassador’s speech
underscored the linkage between today’s
prosperous, secure and democratic Europe
and the sacrifices that Polish soldiers
made during World War II. [more] |
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