Polish Americans thank US for its contribution to Polish sovereignty

The Polish & Slavic Federal Credit Union is encouraging all Polish ethnic organisations, parishes, schools and individuals to sign a declaration “thanking the United States for its contribution to the cause of Polish sovereignty in the past and today.”

The declaration reads: “We, the sons and daughters of the Polish Nation, on the one hundredth Anniversary of Polish Independence, wish to extend our thanks to the United States of America for its enormous contribution to the cause of Polish sovereignty.”

The campaign is due to culminate during the traditional General Pulaski Day Parade in New York in early October.

All signatures collected will be bound in volumes and handed over to “representatives of the highest United States authorities” at a special ceremony in Washington in October, according to the www.deklaracjapolonii2018.org website.

The Polish & Slavic Federal Credit Union notes that “the crucial moment in Poland’s return to the world map was the support of United States President Thomas Woodrow Wilson, who in his address to Congress in January 1918 staunchly supported the existence of an independent Poland with access to the sea, and that became the basis for the Treaty of Versailles.”

In 1926, more than 5.5 million Polish citizens signed wishes for Americans to mark the 150th anniversary of US independence and to thank America for the support it showed to Poland and the Poles in regaining the country’s independence in 1918, the Polish & Slavic Federal Credit Union said, adding that the signatories included Polish President Ignacy Mościcki, Prime Minister Kazimierz Bartel and Marshal Józef Piłsudski.

Poland's current President Andrzej Duda in early January sent a message to US leader Donald Trump marking 100 years since the historic declaration by President Wilson calling for Poland’s independence.

America was the first country to recognise Poland’s independence after World War I. In 1919, President Wilson was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and in 1922 Poland conferred upon him its highest state distinction, the Order of the White Eagle.

The US embassy in Warsaw in December launched celebrations of the centennials of Poland regaining independence and the establishment of US-Polish diplomatic relations.

Last year marked the Year of Woodrow Wilson in the Polish capital. Events included an open-air exhibition documenting the Polish people’s gratitude to the United States for its role in helping Poland restore an independent state.

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Source: IAR, www.deklaracjapolonii2018.org