2009: Celebrating 90 Years of Polish-American Diplomatic Relations

In the year 2009, the American Embassy in Warsaw and American Consulate General in Krakow will be joining with the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and institutions throughout Poland to celebrate 90 years of Polish-American Diplomatic relations. In truth, Polish-American friendship began 400 years ago, when the first Poles arrived in October 1608 at Jamestown, Virginia, which was the first permanent English settlement on the North American continent. These Polish glass-blowers and ship-builders introduced industry to the agricultural settlements and were responsible for the first exports back to Europe – and for the first strike, which won them the right to vote in Virginia elections. Poland at the time was near the peak of her power and international influence, and the founders of Jamestown had specifically recruited Poles to join their settlement.

By the time the 13 colonies declared their independence from England in 1776 and formed the United States, Poland had already begun to disappear from the map after the First Partition in 1772 of her territory by Prussia, Russia, and Austria. Polish lovers of freedom like Tadeusz Kosciuszko and Kazimierz Pulaski were drawn to America by the promise of the American Revolution, both contributing to victory as generals in the war, with Pulaski earning the title “father of the American Cavalry” and giving his life at the Battle of Savannah. When Poland responded to the 1789 American Constitution by producing Europe’s first democratic constitution, the Second Partition followed soon after in 1793. General Kosciuszko rushed back to Poland to defend his homeland, only to see the Third Partition end Polish independence in 1795. For the next 203 years, only a small part of Poland saw a brief glimpse of nominal independence from 1807 to 1832. It was only at the end of the First World War on November 11, 1918, that Poland would reemerge on the map.

The United States of America was the first country to recognize the newly independent Poland on January 29, 1919 – fittingly so, as the American President Woodrow Wilson played the key role in demanding that an independent Poland was included in the Treaty of Versailles. President Wilson was inspired by his friendship with the Polish pianist, composer, and statesman Ignacy Jan Paderewski to make Polish independence the thirteenth of his Fourteen Points for ending the war, which he unveiled in January 1918. Wilson thereby helped to repay the service Poles like Kosciuszko and Pulaski had given to American Independence by helping Poland regain its own freedom. Paderewski became the first prime minister and foreign minister of the new Poland.

A mature American democracy and a free Poland finally coexisted and began the formal diplomatic relations that we now celebrate in the 90th anniversary year of 2009.  Events throughout the year will celebrate important periods in the friendship, such as the founding of the Kosciuszko Squadron by American pilots in the 1920s, Paderewski’s aid to American poor and artists, President Herbert Hoover’s aid to Poland’s poor, American support for free Poland and Solidarność during the Cold War, and the last 20 years as democratic allies. Celebrations will also include many cultural events highlighting shared contributions to jazz and classical music, visual arts, and the continued role Polish immigrants play in defining American society.