Ambassador Victor Ashe

Greetings from Warsaw!

Although the city of Warsaw has been quiet during August, the U.S. Embassy community has been busy arranging new cultural programs, government initiatives, and official visits. Alex Storozynski, the renowned journalist, book author, and president of the Kosciuszko Foundation in New York, visited Warsaw. His latest book, The Peasant Prince: Thaddeus Kosciuszko and the Age of Revolution, is the first comprehensive biography of the most legendary figure in Polish-American history.

On September 1, I joined President Obama’s delegation in Gdańsk as Poland commemorated the poignant 70th Anniversary of World War II outbreak with official ceremonies and speeches at the Westerplatte monument. General James L. Jones, National Security Advisor to the President, led the U.S. delegation, which included Marcy Kaptur, Polish-American Congresswoman of Ohio, Dr. Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Europe, National Security Council, and myself. More than a dozen world leaders including Vladimir Putin, the Prime Minister of Russia, and Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany, participated.

Shortly before the September 1 events, Poles observed another sad occasion, the 65th Anniversary of the liquidation of the Litzmanstadt Ghetto in Łódź. In the summer of 1944, following orders from Heinrich Himmler, German forces occupying Poland proceeded with the gradual liquidation of the second-largest ghetto they created in Poland (the Warsaw Ghetto was the largest). Thousands of Jews were efficiently deported to German extermination camps, where they were killed. Robert Moses Shapiro, Associate Professor in the Judaic Studies Department at Brooklyn College, was in Łódź through August 31 to give lectures and conduct workshops in conjunction with the anniversary. Ambassador J. Christian Kennedy, the U.S. Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues, participated in the anniversary ceremonies in Łódź on August 27 as part of a week-long visit to Poland.

In late August, Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur, who has been a steadfast ambassador for Central Europe and Polish-American causes in the U.S. House of Representatives, travelled across Poland accompanying Marian Wojciechowski, a 95-year-old World War II Veteran, who decided to visit the land of his birth and participate in the anniversary ceremonies on September 1. On August 20, I hosted a luncheon in honor of Mr. Wojciechowski, a Combat Veteran from the Polish Cavalry who fought on both fronts and in the underground and was imprisoned by the Gestapo at the Auschwitz and Gross-Rosen camps. On August 21, Congresswoman Kaptur participated in a breakfast in Warsaw where she met prominent Polish Women Leaders in the fields of government, academia, and journalism.

On August 16, I spoke at the opening of Gdynia Business Week, a program inspired by the Washington Business Week and a project of the Seattle-Gdynia Sister Cities Association and the Foundation for Private Enterprise. Gdynia Business Week took place on August 16-22 this year and was an intensive six-day program in which high-school students experienced a simulated work environment and had a chance to develop business management skills. It is an excellent example of the lasting impact that Sister City Associations can have on the lives of young people everywhere.

Another great initiative that will help Polish youth was the launch of a new program to provide Internet access for public libraries in Poland’s rural areas. A cooperation agreement signed at the Ministry of Culture and Heritage in Warsaw on August 6 will help introduce this indispensable communication tool to libraries in small towns and villages across Poland. Developed in close cooperation with the Global Libraries Initiative, a project of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the program provides both computer hardware and fully-funded Internet access. Statistics show that in Poland, nearly 40 percent of the 8,500 public libraries don’t yet have access to the Internet. The Polish-American Freedom Foundation was actively involved in the program.

In conjunction with the August 27 visit of Tennessee State Representative Ryan Haynes, I hosted a luncheon for a group of young Polish political leaders and representatives from the Polish parliament and local government. The young leaders talked about best practices and innovative ways to engage younger audiences and inspire them to become active participants in the political process.

On August 20, I presented a congratulatory letter to Mr. Andrzej Siennicki, the first recipient of Social Security benefits under the Retirement Benefits Totalization Agreement. The agreement, activated on March 1, will allow for the combining of ZUS/KRUS and U.S. Social Security coverage, and eliminate double taxation. It will have a long-lasting impact on U.S.-Polish relations. Mr. Siennicki, the first Totalization Agreement beneficiary, arrived in New York City in 1978 just days before the election of Pope John Paul II and lived in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. He now resides in Warsaw with his wife.

In mid-August, the ninth round of SOFA negotiations continued in Warsaw. The U.S. team, headed by the new lead negotiator, Kurt Amend, the Special Advisor on Security Negotiations and Agreements in the State Department’s Bureau of Political Military Affairs, arrived in Poland on August 17.

On August 28-30, U.S. Air Force pilots from the March Air Reserve Base in California participated in a multi-national display of military aircraft during the 11th Edition of Poland’s International Air Show in Radom. Two American pilots flew to Poland in their A-10 “Thunderbolts” from the 81st Fighter Squadron at Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany. The annual Air Show takes place at the Radom Military Airfield and is the largest event of this kind organized in Poland. During two days, over 200,000 guests come to see the air performances, static displays and military equipment expositions. Tragically, on the last day of this year’s Air Show, two Belarusian pilots were killed as their SU-27 fighter plane crashed in a field during a difficult maneuver.

In early August, I continued my public diplomacy visits by traveling across Southern Poland visiting smaller towns in the region. I also travelled to the Świętokrzyskie province and visited Jędrzejów. After the meeting with the mayor, Marek Wolski, at the City Hall I had a chance to visit the famous sundials museum and the 12th century Cistercian Monastery, where I was especially impressed with the baroque interior décor and the unique 42-tone organ with register keys cast in bronze that have no counterpart in Europe.

Around that time, I also met the incoming American School of Warsaw (ASW) teachers who attended an Embassy orientation on August 5 as they prepared for the new school year. ASW has had a traditionally close and cooperative relationship with the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw. Founded as a private, non-profit educational institution, ASW was established to provide an English language school in Warsaw for children of all nationalities. A secondary objective has been to contribute to international good will and understanding through the school's multi-national character.

The U.S. Embassy community is still in the midst of a busy transition season as U.S. diplomats arrive at their new posts in Poland. Allan Greenberg arrived in Poland on August 26 to assume his duties as Consul General in Kraków after Anne Hall’s departure. Lisa Helling, the new Public Affairs Counselor, is settling into her new position in Warsaw and Jim Wilson, the new Senior Commercial Officer arrived two weeks ago. On August 27, Deputy Chief of Mission Pamela Quanrud departed Warsaw for Washington, where she will serve as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs. Joan and I will be leaving Poland on September 26. The five years in Poland turned out to be a truly fulfilling, extraordinary experience but my family and I look forward to returning to Knoxville and reconnecting with family and friends there.

As always, I welcome your comments and suggestions about the newsletter and hope to continue to receive your thoughts. I will be sending out the final “Personal Reflections” newsletter shortly before my departure.

Please don’t forget to check our homepage for the latest news, events, and updates. I will respond to all emails personally if you send me a message at: AsheVH@state.gov or vhashe@aol.com.

The U.S. Embassy website now features links to photo galleries and slide shows from many Embassy events, which I encourage you to visit. You can also check out Consulate General Kraków’s website at: http://krakow.usconsulate.gov/

Sincerely yours,
Victor Ashe

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