Remarks in Honor of Poland’s National Day
Well, this is kind of the equivalent of a block party – (laughter) – held for a very good and auspicious reason, to not only celebrate the formal opening of this new residence for the ambassador from Poland to the United States, but also to mark the – Poland’s Constitution Day, a little bit early but a good occasion to do so. And so Ambassador, we are very grateful to be your guests here this evening. And I, too, shared the excitement about the President’s announcement regarding Jan Karski and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. What a fitting tribute and a great way of acknowledging the contributions of a very special man. Continue reading
AJC Applauds U.S. Presidential Award to Jan Karski, Commitment to Prevent Genocide
AJC applauded President Obama’s announcement today that he will honor Jan Karski posthumously with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Karski was a renowned Polish diplomat who played an instrumental role in Poland’s anti-Nazi resistance movement during the Holocaust, and in seeking to focus world attention on the Nazi Final Solution against the Jews. Continue reading
Polish Lawmaker On Obama’s Remarks To Medvedev: ‘This Is Not Surprising Or New’
GOP presidential frontrunner Mitt Romney said this week that President Obama’s comment to Russian president Dimitry Medvedev that he would be more “flexible” on issues such as missile defense until after the election was “a cave to Russia.” Romneywent on to attack the President’s plan in 2009 to scrap and replace President Bush’s European missile defense program. “The decision to withdrawal our missile defense sites from Poland put us in greater jeopardy in my view,” he said. Continue reading
Auschwitz museum seeks return of barracks lent to U.S.
Occupying the site of the biggest Nazi death camp in Poland, the Auschwitz-Birkenau museum is having trouble getting back a wooden barracks building it rented to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum some 20 years ago, officials said Tuesday. Continue reading
Polish Triangle losing its ethnic identity
On certain evenings long ago, neighbors would pour out of the nearby triple-deckers on Dorchester Avenue and walk to the Polish American Citizen Club to revel all night. Weekends were a whirl. Continue reading
Chicago Area Pols Pushing For Visa Waiver For Poland
Several Chicago aldermen and other local politicians with Polish roots — or Polish American constituents — are pushing a resolution in the City Council to ask the federal government to do away with the visa requirement for Polish citizens. Continue reading
Our View: Visa waivers
Just prior to his stroke, Kirk had returned from Poland, visiting one of our strongest allies — who have sent troops to Iraq and Afghanistan — with U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Chicago. Kirk toured U.S. missile sites there and listened to Polish officials’ impatience with the U.S. visa program. While President Obama has stated his desire to liberalize travel for Poles, the visa requirement remains. Continue reading
Poland fears U.S. defense cuts make it vulnerable to Russia
Welcome mat for Poles could give city a boost
Chicago could get a quick economic shot in the arm if officials in Washington sign off on the right documents. We hope that happens.
The shot in the arm would come from Polish tourists who have relatives and friends here in Chicago, home to perhaps the largest concentration of Polish people outside of Poland — an estimated 900,000 Polish nationals and Polish Americans. Continue reading
Sen. Kirk and Congressman Quigley head to Poland to talk about visa waiver program
Two Illinois politicians are headed to Poland to talk with officials about adding the country to the visa waiver program. Continue reading
