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  • Rallying Polonia: Impact and Transformation in The U.S. Fight For Poland's Accession To NATO of The Polish American Congress

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    Martin Edwin Andersen
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    During the 1990s, the Polish American Congress (PAC) led a successful effort to convince the White House and the U.S. Congress to support Polish membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The lobbying effort by the “federation of all major Polish ethic organizations, some of them more than 100 years old” resulted in their ancestral homeland, newly liberated from communist rule, joining what political scientist Samuel Huntington has been called “the security organization of the Western civilization.” In large measure the umbrella organization was credited for that success—hailed as “the most important accomplishment of the PAC since its inception”—having sought to mobilize its membership, the Polish American community as a whole, and other Central and Eastern European ethnic groups in support of NATO accession. Analyzed from the perspective of ethnic identity politics, and how changing conceptions of that identity affected the sense of responsibility by immigrants and their descendants to their new and ancestral homes, the PAC’s NATO campaign offers insight into questions about the changing construction of ethnicity and ethnic politics in the United States, and how the NATO marketing campaign affected the understanding of Polish Americans of their social, ethnic and national identity. It will show what role ethnic self-perceptions played in shaping and informing strategy and what the types of messaging by an important ethnic community were used in the political milieu. The paper also examines how the NATO campaign both dominated and changed the organization’s ethnic agenda. The tactics used over time by the PAC as an ethnic organization in pursuit of political goals is examined from the perspectives their effectiveness and their ability to be reproduced in other contexts, and a comparative perspective is offered about ethnic identity and issue lobbying. ... __________________________________ © 2008 All rights domestic and international reserved. May be quoted or cited or reproduced with credit to Martin Edwin Andersen and "Rallying Polonia: Impact and Transformation in the U.S. Fight for Poland’s Accession to NATO of the Polish American Congress"

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    During the 1990s, the Polish American Congress (PAC) led a successful effort to convince the White House and the U.S. Congress to support Polish membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The lobbying effort by the “federation of all major Polish ethic organizations, some of them more than 100 years old” resulted in their ancestral homeland, newly liberated from communist rule, joining what political scientist Samuel Huntington has been called “the security organization of the Western civilization.” In large measure the umbrella organization was credited for that success—hailed as “the most important accomplishment of the PAC since its inception”—having sought to mobilize its membership, the Polish American community as a whole, and other Central and Eastern European ethnic groups in support of NATO accession. Analyzed from the perspective of ethnic identity politics, and how changing conceptions of that identity affected the sense of responsibility by immigrants and their descendants to their new and ancestral homes, the PAC’s NATO campaign offers insight into questions about the changing construction of ethnicity and ethnic politics in the United States, and how the NATO marketing campaign affected the understanding of Polish Americans of their social, ethnic and national identity. It will show what role ethnic self-perceptions played in shaping and informing strategy and what the types of messaging by an important ethnic community were used in the political milieu. The paper also examines how the NATO campaign both dominated and changed the organization’s ethnic agenda. The tactics used over time by the PAC as an ethnic organization in pursuit of political goals is examined from the perspectives their effectiveness and their ability to be reproduced in other contexts, and a comparative perspective is offered about ethnic identity and issue lobbying. ... __________________________________ © 2008 All rights domestic and international reserved. May be quoted or cited or reproduced with credit to Martin Edwin Andersen and "Rallying Polonia: Impact and Transformation in the U.S. Fight for Poland’s Accession to NATO of the Polish American Congress"

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    167 views48 pages

    Rallying Polonia: Impact and Transformation in The U.S. Fight For Poland's Accession To NATO of The Polish American Congress

    Uploaded by

    Martin Edwin Andersen
    During the 1990s, the Polish American Congress (PAC) led a successful effort to convince the White House and the U.S. Congress to support Polish membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The lobbying effort by the “federation of all major Polish ethic organizations, some of them more than 100 years old” resulted in their ancestral homeland, newly liberated from communist rule, joining what political scientist Samuel Huntington has been called “the security organization of the Western civilization.” In large measure the umbrella organization was credited for that success—hailed as “the most important accomplishment of the PAC since its inception”—having sought to mobilize its membership, the Polish American community as a whole, and other Central and Eastern European ethnic groups in support of NATO accession. Analyzed from the perspective of ethnic identity politics, and how changing conceptions of that identity affected the sense of responsibility by immigrants and their descendants to their new and ancestral homes, the PAC’s NATO campaign offers insight into questions about the changing construction of ethnicity and ethnic politics in the United States, and how the NATO marketing campaign affected the understanding of Polish Americans of their social, ethnic and national identity. It will show what role ethnic self-perceptions played in shaping and informing strategy and what the types of messaging by an important ethnic community were used in the political milieu. The paper also examines how the NATO campaign both dominated and changed the organization’s ethnic agenda. The tactics used over time by the PAC as an ethnic organization in pursuit of political goals is examined from the perspectives their effectiveness and their ability to be reproduced in other contexts, and a comparative perspective is offered about ethnic identity and issue lobbying. ... __________________________________ © 2008 All rights domestic and international reserved. May be quoted or cited or reproduced with credit to Martin Edwin Andersen and "Rallying Polonia: Impact and Transformation in the U.S. Fight for Poland’s Accession to NATO of the Polish American Congress"

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    Rallying Polonia: Impact and Transformation in the U.S.

    Fight for Polands Accession to NATO of the Polish American Congress


    Has a person ever dwelled anyplace other than in himself? You are in your own home whether you find yourself in Argentina or Canada, because your motherland is not a place on a map, but the vital essence of a person. Today you no longer live in Poland, but because of that Poland has ta en up residence more powerfully in you!that Poland, that should be described as your deepest human essence created by the labor of generations. Witold Gombrowicz, Polish Playwright1

    By Martin Edwin Andersen

    Overview
    During the 199 s, the Polish American !ongress "PA!# led a success$ul e$$ort to con%ince the White &ouse and the '()( !ongress to su**ort Polish membershi* in the +orth Atlantic ,reaty -rganization "+A,-#( ,he lobbying e$$ort by the .$ederation o$ all ma/or Polish ethic organizations, some o$ them more than 1 years old0 resulted in their ancestral homeland, newly liberated $rom communist rule, /oining what *olitical scientist )amuel &untington has been called .the security organization o$ the Western ci%ilization(0 1n large measure the umbrella organization was credited $or that success2hailed as .the most im*ortant accom*lishment o$ the PA! since its ince*tion02ha%ing sought to mobilize its membershi*, the Polish American community as a whole, and other !entral and Eastern Euro*ean ethnic grou*s in su**ort o$ +A,- accession(3 Analyzed $rom the *ers*ecti%e o$ ethnic identity *olitics, and how changing conce*tions o$ that identity a$$ected the sense o$ res*onsibility by immigrants and their descendants to their new and ancestral homes, the PA!4s +A,- cam*aign o$$ers insight into 5uestions about the changing
    1

    6uote cited on Web site o$ the Polish7American 8iturgical !enter 9 htt*:;;<=(3>>(1<9(1 =;search?5@cache:')l1AmByCAgD:liturgicalcenter(org;indeE(*h*F>Ga F>D*oloniaHmotherlandH*oloniaIhl@enIct@clnAIcd@1Igl@us( 3 !omments by 8es JuczynsAi, PA! national eEecuti%e director, at a PA! *ress con$erence held at the Washington Press !lub, March 1B, 199B, cited in Dan +owaA7DezioransAi, Poland"s #oad to $AT%, &etters, 'ocuments, Publications, translation by ,adeusz MirecAi, "Warsaw: ,owarzystwo Przu/aciol -ssolieum, 3 <#, *( 3>>K )amuel P( &untington, .,he West: 'ni5ue, +ot 'ni%ersal,0 (oreign Affairs, +o%ember;December 199<, *( =BK )inutes of the Polish American Congress Council of $ational 'irectors )eeting, May 1B71L, 8incolnwood, 1llinois, *( B, $rom the archi%e o$ the PA! Washington, D(!( -$$ice, a collection o$ three $ile cabinets and siE boEes marAed .PA! +A,-0 "herea$ter .PA!;D(!( Archi%e0M(

    construction o$ ethnicity and ethnic *olitics in the 'nited )tates, and how the +A,- marAeting cam*aign a$$ected the understanding o$ Polish Americans o$ their social, ethnic and national identity( 1t will show what role ethnic sel$7*erce*tions *layed in sha*ing and in$orming strategy and what the ty*es o$ messaging by an im*ortant ethnic community were used in the *olitical milieu( ,he *a*er also eEamines how the +A,- cam*aign both dominated and changed the organization4s ethnic agenda( ,he tactics used o%er time by the PA! as an ethnic organization in *ursuit o$ *olitical goals is eEamined $rom the *ers*ecti%es their e$$ecti%eness and their ability to be re*roduced in other conteEts, and a com*arati%e *ers*ecti%e is o$$ered about ethnic identity and issue lobbying( A union o$ Polish7American ethnic organizations that claims to *resent some 1 million *eo*le o$ Polish descent in the 'nited )tates,> the PA! was organized in 19== to both re*resent American Polonia "the name gi%en to *eo*le o$ Polish origin who li%e outside Polish borders# and to lobby the American go%ernment $or a $ree and inde*endent Poland4s behal$( Peo*le o$ Polish ancestry are the largest grou* o$ Americans o$ East Euro*ean ethnicity, re*orted by the '()( !ensus Bureau to number N,9LL,3>B *ersons in 3 during the last 19th and early 3
    th

    "down $rom 9,><<, B1 in 199 #( = ,hese are mostly the children century( "EEact numbers o$ Polish immigrants are hard to come by

    and grandchildren o$ the more than $our million Poles who immigrated to the 'nited )tates largely because *artition o$ the Polish nation by its neighbors meant that the Polish state did not eEist at a time when '()( immigration authorities counted the country o$ origin, not ethnicity, o$ the newcomers(# A *olitical $ederation o$ some >, Polish American $raternal, %eteran, social, cultural, religious

    and other ty*es o$ organizations, the Polish American !ongress is today com*osed o$ > di%isions and cha*ters in some 3 states and is head5uartered in !hicago, with an o$$ice in Washington, D(!( Established on May > , 19== in Bu$$alo, +ew OorA by some 3,B re*resentati%es o$ Polish American organizations, an im*ressed obser%er $or President GranAlin D ( Coose%elt called the con%ention .the most colossal *iece o$ organizational worA(0B And, .$or the $irst time in their history, Polish Americans were re*resented by a national organization that legitimately claimed to
    >

    1n an -ctober 1N, 199< memorandum, .Ces*onse to Polish American 8obbying,0 by MisAiewicz, PA! Washington -$$ice *ublic relations director, to the Polish American Pro$essionals Association, the PA! was described as .an umbrella organization o$ o%er > Polish American grou*s across America re*resenting o%er 1 million members and tangentially o%er 13 million Polish American citizens who do not *ay dues, but bene$it $rom the lobbying e$$orts o$ the PA!,0 *( 3, PA!;D(!( Archi%e( = Ancestry *+++K Census ,rief *+++, issued 3 =, *( B( ,he !ensus Bureau de$ines .ancestry0 as .a *erson4s ethnic origin, heritage, descent or Proots,4 which may re$lect their *lace o$ birth, *lace o$ birth o$ *arents or ancestors, and ethnic identities that ha%e e%ol%ed within the 'nited )tates "*(1#(

    s*eaA $or nearly the entire community(0 < Cichard !( 8uAas noted, the PA! was born in the *olitical milieu, belie%ing .that it had a duty not only to in$orm the American *ublic about the situation in Poland, but also to instruct the Americans in the dangers in continuing to *lacate a menace that it considered e%en worse than +azi Germany(0 L A memorandum to '()( )ecretary o$ )tate !ordell &ull ado*ted by the PA! the same day that it was $ounded established the case $or a moral debt2a $re5uently theme into the 199 s2owed by the Allies to Poland as a result o$ both its history and its sacri$ice during the entirety o$ World War 11:
    Poland4s com*lete immolation had *ro$ound and $ar7reaching conse5uences( Gacing a cons*iracy o$ two o$ the greatest military *owers in the world "Germany and Cussia# and threatened by an attacA by both o$ these totalitarian *owers, Poland re/ected ca*itulation and decided to acce*t an une5ual struggle, thus literally sacri$icing the li$e or the *ros*erity o$ each and e%ery Pole( Q 1t is a well7established historic $act that the Polish nation, by its decision to $ight, e$$ecti%ely *re%ented &itler4s world con5uest( Gree in her decision, led by the s*irit o$ solidarity, and true to her obligations, Poland re/ected &itler4s *ro*osal and, by so doing, *re%ented him, at a time when England, America, and Grance were unarmed and un*re*ared, $rom con5uering all o$ Euro*e and most o$ A$rica( Q ,here$ore we address oursel%es to you, Mr( &ull, with a $ranA a%owal that recent de%elo*ments $ill us with dee* concern( Q the )o%iet Go%ernment %iolates international law in the same way as did &itler( N

    &owe%er, as the .Big ,hree02GranAlin D( Coose%elt, Dose*h )talin and Winston !hurchill2met at the wartime Oalta !on$erence, in which they *arleyed to coordinate strategy against Adol*h &itler and draw u* the ma* o$ *ostwar Euro*e, American Polonia $elt .decei%ed0 by Coose%elt $or ha%ing created the .im*ression that Poland would be $ree within its *re7war borders( 1n actuality, months earlier he and !hurchill had already conceded Poland4s eastern territories to )talin(0 9 A$ter the
    B

    Cichard 8uAas, The -trange Allies. The /nited -tates and Poland, 012030124, "JnoE%ille, ,ennessee: 'ni%ersity o$ ,ennessee Press,19LN#, *( 131(
    <

    )tanislaus A( Ble/was, .!old War Ethnic Politics: ,he Polish +ational !atholic !hurch, ,he Polish American !ongress, and Peo*le4s Poland: 19==719B3,0 Polish American -tudies, Rol( 8R, +o( 3 "Autumn 199N#, **( B7<(
    L N

    8uAas, o*( cit(, *( 13<( A co*y o$ the PA! memorandum was $ound in the PA!;D(!( Archi%e( 9 56pansion of $AT%7 #ole of the Polish American Congress, a B=7*age $our7color *am*hlet *ublished by the PA!, undated, *( 3(K an August 39, 199L article, ,he Betrayal o$ Poland 19>9719=B, by columnist PatricA D(Buchanan,
    "htt*:;;www(buchanan(org;*a79L7 N39(html#, noted that: With PolandSs membershi* in +A,- at issue, a 5uestion has arisen as to whether America owes a debt to the Polish *eo*le $or GranAlin D( Coose%eltSs ha%ing TbetrayedT the Polish nation to Dose*h )talin at Oalta( 'ndersecretary o$ )tate )tuart Eizenstat has lately raised the issue o$ a moral debt to Poland $or the 19=B summit where GDC acce*ted )talinSs assurances o$ $ree elections( Eizenstat was taAen to tasA by columnist 8ars7EriA +elson $or re*eating a TB 7year7old right7wing slander(T Cobert +o%aA de$ended the TbetrayedT thesis( +elsonSs *oint:: By 19=B )talin had 13 million troo*s in Eastern Euro*e, and Dwight Eisenhower only = million in the West( !onser%ati%es who condemn GDC $or PolandSs $ate, says +elson, are /oining the TBlame America GirstT crowd( We couldnSt sa%e PolandU But, in truth, Oalta was only the $inal betrayal o$ Poland, and not only GDC but Winston !hurchill bears moral res*onsibility $or a hal$7century o$ communist ensla%ement o$ the Polish *eo*le( Q

    >

    war4s conclusion, the PA! .organized to lobby $or Polish inde*endence in the $ace o$ the growing threat o$ a )o%iet taAeo%er o$ *ost7war Poland, and to ad%ance the interests o$ Americans o$ Polish origin Q tried to isolate "the Polish communist regime4s# di*lomatic re*resentati%es $rom American Polonia, and claimed to s*eaA $or $ree Poland(0 1 ,he organization describes itsel$ as .one o$ the $irst '()( organizations to warn o$ the threat to *eace and $reedom *osed by the )o%iet 'nion a$ter World War 11,0 resulting in the 'nited )tates ado*ting .a *rinci*led set o$ $oreign *olicy initiati%es in +A,- and the Marshall Plan, which dealt e$$ecti%ely with the )o%iet threat $rom the late 19= s until the '))C4s colla*se in 1991(0 ,hroughout the !old War, the PA! noted, the organization .ado*ted an American Agenda aimed at assuring its members become better in$ormed American citizens and a Polish Agenda to hel* Poland in its great hour o$ need, Aee*ing the American *ublic and Administration in$ormed on what was ha**ening to the ensla%ed *eo*le o$ Poland and how this a$$ected the security o$ the 'nited )tates(011 1n the $irst hal$ century o$ its eEistence, the PA! was in the $ore$ront o$ *olitical organizing in the 'nited )tates and o%erseas on se%eral Aey issues o$ concern to Polish Americans, the Polish *eo*le, and;or the 'nited )tates go%ernment "although it was .somewhat dormant during the 19< s0# 13( ,hese included establishment o$ a '()( dis*laced *ersons *rogram a$ter World War 11, .*ermitting = , indi%iduals to enter the 'nited )tates0K *ermanent '()( recognition o$ Poland4s *ost7 World War 11 western border on the -der;+eisse line with GermanyK 1> granting o$ loans to, and debt reduction $or, PolandK creation o$ the German Gorced 8abor !om*ensation ProgramK winning '()( assistance to the )olidarity underground mo%ement through the +ational Endowment $or DemocracyK shi**ing, through its charitable $oundation, more than V3 million dollar )u**ort $or East Euro*ean Democracies ")EED# Act(1= million in $ood, clothing and medicine to a banAru*t, !ommunist7led Poland, and *assage in the '()( !ongress o$ the multi7

    )tanislaus A( Ble/was, .!old War Ethnic Politics: ,he Polish +ational !atholic !hurch, ,he Polish American !ongress, and Peo*le4s Poland: 19==719B3,0 Polish American -tudies, Rol( 8R, +o( 3 "Autumn 199N#, *( <(
    11 13

    56pansion of $AT%7 o*( cit(, *( B( WnaniecAi 8o*ata, Polish Americans7 -tatus Competition in an 5thnic Community, 5nglewood Cliffs, $.8.. Prentice3Hall, 9nc.,

    01:;, *( <3(
    1>

    .1n the $irst *hase o$ its history, the Polish American !ongress de%oted the ma/or *ortion o$ its resources and energy in ac5uainting the American *ublic and the Administration o$ the right o$ the Polish +ations "sic# to $ull $reedom and inde*endence with a $ully recognized and acce*ted western boundary along the -dra7+ysa ri%ers,0 in Myra 8enard, PA! Washington -$$ice director, .,he Cole o$ the Washington, D(!( -$$iceK Oesterday2,oday2,omorrow,0 *resented at the B3en Annual Meeting o$ the Polish 1nstitute o$ Arts and )ciences o$ America, American 'ni%ersity, Dune >, 199=, *( 1, PA!;D(!( Archi%e(
    1=

    .Polish American !ongressK Ma/or Accom*lishments I !ontributions,0 one7*age $lyer "undated#, PA!;D(!( Archi%eK Donald PienAos, .Polish Americans in '()( Politics,0 <goda, a *ublication o$ the Polish +ational Alliance, Duly 1B and August 1 issues(

    ,he PA!4s +A,- accession cam*aign was in many res*ects a continuation o$ both the language and tactics used by the grou* during the !old War( According to one scholar, Polish Americans brought .se%eral0 assets to the table as a domestic *ressure grou* trying to in$luence '()( $oreign *olicy( ,hese included .substantial numbers concentrated in *olitically crucial statesK a *assionate attachment to the inde*endence o$ their homelandK numerical in$luence in se%eral o$ the grou*s at the base o$ the Democratic *arty coalition, es*ecially the industrial unions, the !atholic !hurch, and the northern urban *olitical machinesK *o*ular su**ort $or the *rinci*le o$ small7nation inde*endenceK and wides*read distrust o$ the moti%es and *ractices o$ the )o%iet 'nion(01B ,hese assets were brought to bear in the .%ery e$$ecti%e actions0 o$ the PA! in trying to change immigration laws a$ter World War 11, including outreach across *olitical and ethnic lines, historian Anna DaroszynsAa7Jirchmann has noted( PA! lobbyists .reached sym*athetic legislators $rom both the &ouse and the )enate and worAed on broadening their base o$ su**ort by all *ossible strategies(
    ,hese strategies included *ersonal connections and a**eals to common ethnic bacAground, meetings and con$erences in Washington, *ublic s*eeches, letter writing cam*aigns, dis*atching numerous *etitions and re*orts, and em*loying the *ress to co%ey desired messages( All these *olitical *ressure methods demonstrated a certain degree o$ legal and *olitical sa%%y Q1<

    )imilarly, in 199 , with the reuni$ication o$ Germany *osing the 5uestion o$ the $uture border with Poland o$ a reunited *owerhouse to the West, the PA! launched an e$$ecti%e lobbying e$$ort in $a%or o$ Warsaw4s *osition on the in%iolability o$ the *ost7World War 11 borders( 1n addition to generating thousands o$ telegrams, tele*hone calls and letters $rom American Polonia in su**ort o$ Poland4s de$ense o$ its western borders, PA! President Edward D( MosAal 1L wrote to President George &(W( Bush telling him that .,he sub/ect o$ the in%iolability o$ the *resent Polish7German border is o$ utmost interest to my organization, the more than 1 , , Americans o$ Polish heritage, and most im*ortantly, to the bra%e *eo*le o$ Poland(0 ,he PA!4s e$$orts to lobby !ongress worAed to .great e$$ect,0 causing 13 senators to write Bush in $a%or o$ Poland4s *osition,
    1B

    Peter 1rons, .,he ,est is Poland: Polish Americans and the -rigins o$ the !old War,0 Polish American -tudies, Rol( > , +o( 3 "Autumn, 19L>#, *( <1( 1< DaroszynsAa7Jirchmann, .,he Mobilization o$ American Polonia $or the !ause,0 Polish American -tudies, Rol( 8R111, +o( 1 ")*ring 3 1#, *( <1( 1L ,he !hicago7born MosAal "193=73 B# was the $ounder o$ that city4s !ommunity )er%ice Agency, which dealt with the *roblems o$ new immigrants( &e was also the co7author o$ organizational and $inancial re$orms o$ the Polish +ational Alliance "P+A#( Grom 19N9, he ser%ed as *resident o$ the P+A and its *olitical arm, the PA!, *resident o$ the Alliance !ommunications !or*oration "which o*erated a Polish7American radio station in -aA ParA, 1llinois, and head o$ Alliance Printers and Publishers, which *roduced the Polish 'aily $ews and the bi7weeAy <goda.

    and >= to send a telegram to German !hancellor &elmut Johl calling on him to re%erse his stand on inclusion o$ Polish in%ol%ement in talAs on the terms o$ German reuni$ication( According to one historian o$ the *eriod, .,his mo%e Q caused Johl to call an eEtraordinary meeting o$ his !abinet which resulted in West Germany4s decision to acce*t Polish *artici*ation in the ,alAs(0 Gollowing MosAal4s direct lobbying at the White &ouse and PA! *osition *a*ers on the issue *resented to the *resident the White &ouse also shi$ted gears and said it would su**ort inclusion o$ Poland in the negotiations(1N 1t was during these last years o$ the !old War that the Polish American community in the 'nited )tates underwent a *rocess o$ u*hea%al that was caused in large *art by Polonia4s need to worA through what sociologist Mary Patrice Erdmans called those .cultural meaning systems, *olitical identity, and social and economic needs0 that *ro%ed to be di$$erent $or new immigrant grou*s and established ethnic communities( 1n her study o$ the tensions caused when Polish immigrants during the )olidarity *eriod in Poland "19L97199 # challenged and changed !hicago4s well7established Polonia community o$ *re7World War 11 economic immigrants and *ost719>9 XmigrXs, Erdman noted that the result was a !hicago Polonia .in the *rocess o$ rein%enting the umbrella o$ Polish identity(0 ,he changes in the $ormulation o$ ethnic identity2.who is a true Pole?02re$lected the new actors4 com*etion $or recognition and in$luence( Where the $ault line once ran between Coman !atholic Poles and Polish #oman Catholics,01 a new ri$t o*ened between immigrants and ethnics who com*eted $or the role as authorized s*oAesmen $or Poland and Polonia( .Was a Polish immigrant $rom a communist system more communist than Polish? Was a third7generation Polish American more American than Polish?0 ,he answers to 5uestions such as these ser%ed as marAers $or the new boundaries in which a large *art o$ Polonia o*erated(3 ,he changing tectonic *lates o$ *lace and loyalty $ormed the bacAdro* to American Polonia4s decisi%e *artici*ation in the +A,- enlargement e$$ort( Gollowing the $all o$ the Berlin Wall and communist satellite regimes in Eastern and !entral Euro*e, *art o$ the tasA in winning su**ort in
    1N

    Donald PienAos, (or Your (reedom Through %urs. Polish American 5fforts %n Poland"s ,ehalf, 0=;>30110, "Boulder: East Euro*ean Monogra*hs Ydistributed by !olumbia 'ni%ersity Press, +ew OorAM: 1991#, **( 1=N71B1, 3>>73>B( 19 Ce$erring to the .magnitude and intensity0 o$ that con$lict, historian Donald PienAos re$erred to the worA o$ the $irst historian o$ Polonia, Wenceslaus JruszAa, who wrote: .Gor a time neither !atholics nor Poles were to be $ound in America but only P'nionists4 "adherents o$ the Polish Coman !atholic 'nion# or PAlliancers4 "P+A ad%ocates#( &e who did not belong to the Alliance was regarded as no Pole, while whoe%er was not o$ the PC!'A could not be acce*ted by the 'nionists as a !atholic,0 in PienAos, P$A. A Centennial History of the Polish $ational Alliance of the /nited -tates of America, "Boulder: East Euro*ean Monogra*hs Ydistributed by !olumbia 'ni%ersity Press, +ew OorAM, 19N=, *( LN(
    3

    Mary Patrice Erdman, %pposite Poles. 9mmigrants and 5thics in Polish Chicago, 01:;3011+, "'ni%ersity ParA: Pennsyl%ania )tate 'ni%ersity Press, **( =7B(

    <

    the 'nited )tates $or Poland4s accession into +A,-, $ormer Polish Ambassador to the 'nited )tates Derzy JozminsAi recalled, re%ol%ed around .creating a *ositi%e image o$ Poland as a country o$ rich traditions and culture, a country which blazed the trail to $reedom $or other nations o$ our region, a country which was the $irst to embarA on the road to $undamental economic trans$ormation, and which will be an asset in +A,-, not a burden(0 31 ,he selling /ob was le$t, in large *art, to the Polish American !ongress(

    The History of the PAC and its NATO Accession Campaign


    ,he PA! +A,- lobbying cam*aign began in 1991 and continued to a success$ul conclusion in 199N, the year the )enate %oted N 719 in $a%or o$ rati$ication o$ +A,- membershi* $or Poland, &ungary and the !zech Ce*ublic( At the bureaucratic le%el, the o%erwhelming su**ort $or the measure was a %ote o$ con$idence in the *osition taAen by the +ational )ecurity !ouncil against a )tate De*artment u*set by the *ros*ect o$ Poland in +A,- might hel* destabilize the neighboring Cussian go%ernment( As an ethnic *henomenon, the +A,- enlargement cam*aign came to be seen as *roo$ o$ an .un*recedented willingness on the *art o$ Polish Americans to *artici*ate0 in such a cam*aign, .this wides*read *olitical in%ol%ement on the *art o$ large numbers o$ Polish Americans Q a breaAthrough eE*erience Q which trans$ormed many local Polonias $rom *assi%e grou*s into recognized *olitical actors(033 -n Dune 1=, 1991, $ollowing discussions with senior Polish o$$icials, the PA! !ouncil o$ the +ational Directors, the highest go%erning body o$ the organization which meets twice a year and is com*osed o$ re*resentati%es o$ all state di%isions, cha*ters and member organizations nationwide, *assed a resolution urging the 'nited )tates to closely linA any economic aid to the )o%iet 'nion .to the remo%al without $urther delay o$ all )o%iet 'nion4s military $orces $rom Poland(0 ,hree months later, the PA!4s +orthern !ali$ornia Di%ision *assed a resolution calling $or +A,membershi* $or Poland, &ungary and what was then !zechoslo%aAia, a call endorsed by the national organization in a *etition to President George &(W( Bush on -ctober 1<, 1991( 1n August 199>, Cussian President Boris Oeltsin $irst said in Warsaw that Poland had the right to /oin +A,-, then returned to Moscow and warnings by his de$ense and $oreign ministers that the military would destabilize Cussia( 1n -ctober, a PA! !ouncil meeting in Pittsburgh, Pennsyl%ania ado*ted a
    31 33

    JozminsAi4s comment, in his .1ntroduction0 to +owaA7DezioransAi, o*( cit(, *( 1 ( .+A,- Enlargement !am*aign: Ce*ort $rom PA!7,eEas Di%ision,0 by Witold D( 8uAaszewsAi, %ice *resident $or Polish A$$airs, PA!, Danuary 3L, 1999(

    resolution calling on the '()( go%ernment .to ensure that Poland become a $ull member o$ +A,as soon as *ossible(0 3> !ontem*oraneous documentation held by the PA! Washington -$$ice o$$ers insight in how the organization a**ealed to Polish Americans to taAe *art in what became its seminal odyssey $or most o$ the decade( 1n a letter to the PA!4s entire membershi* at the outset o$ the +A,- cam*aign, to which a sam*le letter about .Cussia4s neo7im*erialism and her ob/ections to Poland4s +A,membershi*0 was attached, PA! President MosAal eEhorted his organization to action( &e warned that the u*coming meeting between !linton and Oeltsin, in which the American re*ortedly *lanned to eE*ress su**ort $or the latter4s .highly sus*ect0 e$$orts to establish democracy in Cussia, did not .$ully taAe into account Cussia4s underlying *lans to2by $orce, i$ necessary2re7establish the $ormer )o%iet Ps*here o$ in$luence4 o%er Poland(0 Cecalling the crucial role *layed by the trade union, )olidarity, during the 19N s in o$$ering non7%iolent ci%ic resistance so e$$ecti%e it ended u* in the o%erthrow o$ the )o%iet *u**et regime in Warsaw, MosAal urged that, .,he time is now $or the collecti%e stand o$ the Polish American community to be recognized(
    We are at a historic moment2at a crossroads2with an o**ortunity to ensure Poland4s reco%ery as an inde*endent democracy a$ter being under the communist yoAe $or almost hal$ a century( &owe%er, ominous clouds o$ totalitarianism are o%er Poland again( ,he $orthcoming e%ents in Moscow could in$luence the *olitical situation in Euro*e $or generations to come( )hould the courageous e$$ort o$ the )olidarity mo%ement o$ the Polish *eo*le be $or naught? 3=

    President Bill !linton maintained an ambi%alent *osition on the +A,- membershi* issue, de$erring any decision to a $uture date a$ter Oeltsin sent to him a letter eE*ressing Cussian re/ection o$ +A,eE*ansion( 1n the *lace o$ $ull +A,- membershi* $or Poland and the other two countries, including the *rotection o$ the security guarantees that came with belonging to the organization head5uartered in Brussels, the !linton Administration un%eiled a .Partnershi* $or Peace0 "P$P# initiati%e designed to increase trust between the security organization, the $ormer )o%iet 'nion and other Eastern and !entral Euro*ean nations, to be $ormally launched in Danuary 199=( Meanwhile, in the run7u* to Cussian elections in mid7December, eEtremist statements by $ormer )o%iet nationalists about returning lands2such as AlasAa and *arts o$ Poland2that once belonged
    3> 3=

    56pansion of $AT%, o*( cit, *( 9(

    (December <, 199> letter $rom MosAal addressed to .Dear PA! Member,0 in PA!;D(!( Archi%e(

    to the Cussian Em*ire and saber7rattling statements by the Cussian $oreign minister, who sought his country to be recognized as the .sole *rotector o$ human rights in ethnic Cussian minorities in neighboring states,0 caused the PA! .to set in motion the lobby $or +A,- membershi*(0 3B -n +o%ember 33, 199>, PA! held a s*ecial meeting in Washington, D(!(, to discuss what it considered the *otential Cussian threat and the tem*orizing '()( res*onse( Eight days later the PA! sent a $aE to 1N non7Polish '()( Eastern and !entral Euro*ean national ethnic organizations re*resenting .collecti%ely 31 million American citizens,0 *art o$ a long7dormant anti7)o%iet coalition, on the sub/ect o$ .Cussian +eo7im*erialistic Policy and the '()(0 1t in%ited them to a December < meeting to share in$ormation and discuss .*ossibilities o$ coordinated action(0 3< Gourteen other ethnic organizations attend the meeting and the coalition o$ ethnic grou*s .with roots in !entral and Eastern Euro*e was rein%igorated with a common issue and *ur*ose(0 ",he !entral East Euro*ean !oalition, or !EE!, remains acti%e until today(# At the same time, the PA! sent a letter re5uesting that !linton meet with a delegation $rom the Polish American organization *rior to his tri* to Moscow and to the +A,- summit in Brussels, citing .a tradition, in the last =9 years, that each President would gi%e us an o**ortunity to share with him our concerns relating to 'nited )tates *olicy towards Poland(03L According to a contem*oraneous account by one *artici*ant in the Polish American e$$ort, .$or the $irst time, modern methods o$ mass *ressure were a**lied0 by the PA!(
    President MosAal4s a**eal was accom*anied by sam*le letters to the President, )ecretary o$ )tate, !hairman o$ the Democratic +ational !ommittee, )enators and !ongressmen, along with s*eci$ic addresses, tele*hone numbers, etc( ,he PA! established a hotline through which anyone could easily send a message to the President $or the cost o$ se%en dollars( ,he teEt o$ the message was uni$orm $or all callers( 3N

    Within weeAs, $rom the *eriod be$ore !hristmas to *ast +ew Oear 199=, .an a%alanche o$ letters, telegrams and tele*hone calls Q e$$ecti%ely swam*ed0 to the White &ouse tele*hone eEchange and *ost o$$ice02to the *oint that they called the PA! and other coalition members .to *lease tell them to sto* calling(039 According to one estimate, .eight thousand letters, telegrams and tele*hone calls

    3B 3<

    56pansion of $AT%, o*( cit, *( 9( 56pansion of $AT%, o*( cit( 3L 56pansion of $AT%, o*( cit(
    3N

    .)truggle $or the )ecurity o$ Poland,0 <wia? owiec ",oronto#, A*ril 11, 199=, cited in +owaA7DezioransAi, Poland"s #oad to $AT%, *( 13N(
    39

    1nter%iew with PA! sta$$ member "name withheld u*on re5uest#(

    were recei%ed $rom Polish Americans, three thousand messages $rom other ethnic grou*s(0 > Another estimate claimed that a letter sent by the PA! to its state di%isions and cha*ters resulted in more than 1 , letters and *ostcards in su**ort o$ Polish accession to +A,- being sent to the White &ouse, with a similar number being sent to the '()( secretaries o$ state and de$ense, and to the chair o$ the Democratic +ational !ommittee( 1n addition, two e7mail list7ser%es totaling 1=, member subscribers as well as the ethnic *ress and radio hel*ed enlist grassroots su**ort $or sending *re%iously7generated sam*le letters addressed to the White &ouse(>1 -n Danuary B, 199=, 3 re*resentati%es o$ the Polish American, &ungarian, !zech and )lo%aA ethnic organizations "Anown collecti%ely as the .Risegrad countries0#, including eight Polish Americans, attended an in%itation7 only meeting in MilwauAee with +ational )ecurity Ad%isor )andy Berger( ,he reunion came the day be$ore what was su**osed to a !linton s*eech in Wisconsin on '()( $oreign *olicy towards Euro*e in the waAe o$ the $all o$ the 1ron !urtain( ,he ethnic re*resentati%es urged that the .Partnershi* $or Peace0 *lan be scuttled in $a%or o$ +A,- membershi*2including security guarantees2$or the Risegrad countries( Rice President Gore, substituting $or !linton, whose mother had died the night be$ore the scheduled address, met with the ethnic re*resentati%es a$ter his s*eech( ,he PA! belie%ed the encounter demonstrated to the !linton Administration the unity o$ the Risegrad ethnic re*resentati%es on the im*ortance o$ +A,- membershi* both $or 'nited )tates national interests and security and *eace in Euro*e( ,he two meetings also showed .un5uestionably the *olitical maturity and the *otential $or *laying a real role in the '()( *olicy *rocess(0 >3 At the +A,- summit, !linton said +A,- would acce*t as $ull members the countries o$ !entral Euro*e, maAing their /oining a 5uestion not o$ .i$,0 but .when(0 -n March 3, 199=, !linton and se%eral o$ his to* $oreign *olicy ad%isors met with a grou* o$ 19 ethnic American re*resentati%es, including 1 $rom the PA!, at the White &ouse, during which the Administration was *ressed to .de%elo* real criteria $or determining eE*anded membershi* in the +A,- alliance and a time table(0 Without security guarantees $or the countries in the region, the ethnic re*resentati%es *ointed out, Western in%estment might be .seriously endangered by unstable *olitical conditions originating $rom beyond their boundaries(0 According to one authoritati%e account, des*ite !linton4s Danuary 13 declaration that the 5uestion was not .whether0 +A,- would be eE*anded, but .when0 and .how,0 it .a**eared that Washington wanted to inde$initely *lay a delaying game(T>>
    > >1 >3

    .)truggle $or the )ecurity o$ Poland,0 <wia? owiec, o*( cit(

    56pansion of $AT%, o*( cit, **( 1>71=( 56pansion of $AT%, o*( cit, *( 1L(

    ,he miEed messages set o$$ a debate within American Polonia( Dual editorials in <ycie Polonii ",he 8i$e o$ Polonia#, the bilingual English7Polish newsletter o$ the Polish American !ongress in Eastern Massachusetts, both asAed .Did We 8ose?0 and a$$irmed .+o, We Did +ot 8oseU0 1n the $ormer article, it noted that .our di%ision $ought a %aliant cam*aign against a new Oalta,0 which included its members sending %ersions o$ a $orm letter to !linton *ublished in a *re%ious edition, as well as some writing their .own home7made letters(0
    ,his Polish and Polish American show o$ $orce was a %alue unto itsel$, e%en i$ our *osition was not acce*ted by the Administration( 1t signals that Poles in America and Polish Americans are able to /oin $orces and do something together when they $eel that the $undamental interests o$ Poland are threatened( Q the fight is not over as long as Poland is not over. >= "1talics added(#

    1n .+o, We Did +ot 8oseU0 the newsletter suggested that, although the e$$ort was met initially with .su*er$icial gestures0 such as the meeting with Gore, minor changes in the *resident and %ice *resident4s s*eeches, and a courtesy %isit to Poland by '(+( Ambassador Madeleine Albright and the chairman o$ the '()( Doint !hie$s o$ )ta$$, the Warsaw7born Gen( Dohn )haliAash%ili, it belie%ed in cam*aign *roduced .%ery im*ortant *ositi%e e$$ects(0 ,hese included a reminder to the '()( go%ernment o$ .the eEistence o$ Polonia and its strength( ,his is an es*ecially well7timed reminder be$ore the u*coming senatorial, and later, Presidential elections(0 Also, that the PA! +ational -$$ices had demonstrated .long7awaited leadershi*,0 showing that .in the *ost7!old War era, the PA! should not be *hased out but strengthened(0 And $inally, that the Polish go%ernment .a**reciates our e$$orts and *ercei%es us as a %iable *artner(0>B ,he new e%idence o$ leadershi* by the PA!, howe%er, did not mean the organization actually Anew where the American dias*ora belie%ed their interests lay, and begged the 5uestion o$ whether Polonia was really *re*ared to be led( Myra 8enard,>< the PA! Washington -$$ice director, said that the PA! had to .$ace the $acts0 i$ it wanted to success$ully .mo%e into the neEt century(0 )he urged that the organization conduct a sur%ey o$ .what Americans o$ Polish heritage want and need, without neglecting to nurture the *ride in the history o$ our $ore$athers(0 ,he organization, she added, had .to realize that *ublic dissemination o$ rele%ant in$ormation is a *rime $actor0 in creating a success$ul re*resentati%e ethnic organization( 1ts message, she said, had to be .loud and
    >>

    .,he Battle $or Cati$ication "Behind the )cenes $or +A,- EE*ansion, Part 3#,0 #?ec?pospolita, +o( 1=>, Dune 3 , 199N, *( 1L, cited in +owaA7DezioransAi, Poland"s #oad to $AT%, *( B<L( >= <ycie Polonii, Rol( 111, +o( 3 "1=#, March7A*ril 199=, PA!;D(!( Archi%e( >B <ycie Polonii, o*( cit(
    ><

    Myra 8enard, the winner o$ se%eral ser%ice awards $rom the Polish American community, died in 3

    11

    clear and systematically re*eated( We must rein$orce our lobby e$$ort with a strong grass7roots community(0 )he eE*ressed $rustration with the le%el and 5uality o$ grass roots su**ort in Polonia $or the organization4s +A,- initiati%e, a theme that would continue to *lague the grou*2which called itsel$ the re*resentati%e o$ .1 million0 Polish Americans2to the success$ul end o$ the e$$ort(>L .,o build good *olitical clout it was necessary to de%elo* strong grass roots su**ort,0 8enard noted(
    E%en today many in the Polish community do not understand the legislati%e *rocess and we, un$ortunately, don4t ha%e the $unds to *romote or educate our constituency( Q '()( census statistics show that there are o%er 1 million Americans o$ Polish heritage( ,his is a %ery large ethnic constituency, but we ha%e ne%er been e5uitably considered( By the same toAen 2this constituency o$ %oters and law7abiding citizens has not concentrated on in$luencing elected and a**ointed o$$icials(0 >N

    8enard, who together with her husband !asimir >9 and Dan +owaA7DezioransAi= were widely credited with *utting eEisting PA! assets to the best use in *ursuit o$ the organization4s goals in Washington, told a grou* o$ Polish7American *ro$essionals that she could .truth$ully say that the PA! is the en%y o$ many ethnic organizations because we ha%e *ro%en to be e$$ecti%e in Washington(0 &owe%er, she eE*ressed $rustration that the PA! was
    still beha%ing and o*erating as i$ we were in our in$ancy( We should not tolerate organizational limitations or restricted mobility because o$ inade5uate $unding( We need collecti%e action and aggressi%ely recruit dues *aying members( We ha%e to attract > rd and =th generation Americans o$ Polish heritage interested in a success$ul and *ro$essional o*eration o$ a com*rehensi%e and e$$ecti%e *olitical action organization( ,oday, we should not be satis$ied with saying that we are an umbrella organization o$ Polish American organizations
    >L

    1n a +o%ember 3L, 199B $aE, .!all $or Action,0 to the members o$ the PA! !ouncil o$ +ational Directors on the sub/ect o$ a Polish American mailgram to !linton, 8enard re*orted that a +o%ember 3=, 199B Western 'nion .)tate Analysis0 showed that only <N9 mailgrams had been sent to the White &ouse( .Oou must agree that this low le%el o$ action calls $or greater acceleration o$ our e$$orts,0 8enard said( .President MosAal encourages all members to get in%ol%ed in this %ery crucial action,0 PA!;D(!( Archi%e(
    >N

    8enard, PA! Washington -$$ice director, .,he Cole o$ the Washington, D(!( -$$iceK Oesterday2,oday2,omorrow,0 *resented at the B3nd Annual Meeting o$ the Polish 1nstitute o$ Arts and )ciences o$ America, American 'ni%ersity, Dune >, 199=, *( >K PA!;D(!( Archi%e(
    >9

    !ol( "ret(# !asimir "!as# 8enard "191N73 L# was born in !hicago to a locally *rominent Polish immigrant $amily( &e attended secondary school in Poland and recei%ed a degree in economics $rom +orthwestern 'ni%ersity( A '()( Army o$$icer who was among the $irst wa%e o$ Allied combatants in the largest seaborne in%asion in history, at +ormandy beach, on Dune <, 19==, 8enard ser%ed as the $irst eEecuti%e director o$ the PA! Washington -$$ice, %olunteering there when he was succeeded by his wi$e, Myra, and then reassuming the *osition u*on her death in 3 ( = Born WdzisZaw Antoni Deziora[sAi "191=73 B#, Dan +owaA7DezioransAi .the !ourier $rom Warsaw,0 used the name nom de
    guerre .Dan +o%aA0 while risAing his li$e during World War 11 as a member o$ the Polish underground, maAing $re5uent tri*s $rom +azi7occu*ied Warsaw to 8ondon in order to in$orm Allied leaders o$ e%ents( 8ater, he s*ent a 5uarter o$ a century as director o$ Cadio Gree Euro*eSs Polish )er%ice, ser%ing as the %oice o$ democracy $or a generation o$ Poles, be$ore mo%ing to Washington, D(!( to become a consultant to the +ational )ecurity !ouncil and $or nearly twenty years a PA! national director( 1n 199<, +owaA7 DezioransAi recei%ed his ado*ti%e country4s highest ci%ilian honor, the Medal o$ Greedom $rom Bill !linton( 1n 3 3 he return to li%e in Poland(

    13

    and ha%e >3 Di%isions and 3 !ha*ters in 31 )tates( And that we re*resent a million, or as some say, 1 million *eo*le( What we do need is to ha%e organizations and 3B , indi%idual dues *aying members $rom all walAs o$ li$e, and we should stri%e to reach a goal o$ 1 million dues *aying members( =1

    ,he PA!4s ability to claim re*resentati%eness in *resenting a united $ront to the *olitical world, and thus its ability to be more ra*id in its res*onses than it would be i$ it had to can%ass %iews o$ dis*arate organizations be$ore taAing decisions, did *ro%e to be %ery im*ortant, *articularly because o$ the high staAes at *lay and the interests arrayed in the +A,- enlargement $ight( =3 1n A*ril 199=, a bill, &(C( =31 , the .+A,- EE*ansion Act o$ 199=,0 re5uiring Poland, &ungary, and the !zech Ce*ublic be in%ited to become members o$ the alliance within $i%e years o$ the announcement o$ the Partnershi* $or Peace Program, was introduced by +ew OorA Ce*ublican Ce*( Ben/amin Gilman, the ranAing member o$ the &ouse !ommittee on 1nternational Celations( 1n -ctober, legislation2the .+A,- Partici*ation Act o$ 199=02s*onsored by )en( &anA Brown, Ce*ublican o$ !olorado, was attached to a international narcotics control bill and signed into law by !linton in -ctober( ,he Brown initiati%e did not mention the Danuary 1999 deadline contained in the Gilman legislation, but it de$ined admission criteria in se%eral areas, such as democracy, marAet economies, rule o$ law and ci%ilian control o$ the military( An alert was sounded when, in December 199=, $ormer Dimmy !arter +ational )ecurity Ad%isor and Polish American Wbigniew BrzezinsAi noted that .in the shar*ening debate0 in *ost7)o%iet Cussia .4Westernists4 are certainly not gaining ground( BrzezinsAi *ro*osed that the '()( $ollow a .two7tracA0 *olicy o$ Euro*ean security that would both lead to the eE*ansion o$ +A,- and an agreement between an enlarged +A,- and Cussia, with a goal toward reconciliation between Poland and its giant neighbor to the East modeled on that achie%ed on German reuni$ication earlier(=> ,he $ollowing Gebruary, the PA! issued a $i%e7*age .8egislati%e Alert0 to its Di%isions and !ha*ters about ,itle R1 o$ the +ational )ecurity Ce%italization Act, *ertaining to the .re%italization and eE*ansion0 o$ +A,-, which was to be *resented to the &ouse o$ Ce*resentati%es that month( ,he bill, which *ro%ided $or assistance $rom the '()( and other members to $acilitate the transition by Poland, &ungary, and the !zech Ce*ublic to $ull +A,- membershi*, was watered down at the )tate De*artment4s re5uest to the status o$ a non7binding resolution( &owe%er, this and other similar
    =1
    =3

    8enard, o*( cit(

    WnaniecAi 8o*ata, Polish Americans, o*( cit(, *( N>( ,his *oint is discussed more $ully in the section .,actics used by an ethnic organization *ursuing *olitical goals in the 'nited )tates0 below(
    =>

    Wbigniew BrzezinsAi, .+A,-2EE*and or Die?0 The $ew Yor Times, December 3N, 199=(

    1>

    resolutions *assed in the neEt two years by healthy ma/orities in !ongress *ro%ed to be .a %ery im*ortant signal, AnocAing down the argument o$ the o**onents who said that we must wait and delay because there is no certainty that the admission o$ new allies will gain the re5uired su**ort o$ the )enate(0 1n *ursuing a more than two7thirds ma/ority %ote that would be re5uired in order to rati$y +A,- eE*ansion, the PA! .a**lied constant *ressure0 on the senators and congressmen, through .the tireless e$$orts0 o$ its Washington o$$ice, its *ress cam*aign, and the acti%ities o$ >= state di%isions(== -n -ctober > , 199B, the PA! issued an o*en letter2.+A,- EnlargementK A Polish American !ongress Position Pa*er02in which, citing .sources in Brussels,0 com*lained that
    any meaning$ul *rogress is sus*ended until the December 199< "+A,-# ministerial meeting( 1n Danuary 199<, it will be eEactly two years since President !linton *osed the 5uestions: .Who?0 and .When?0 Gurther delay undermines the credibility and in$luence o$ the 'nited )tates Q ,he *eo*le o$ East !entral Euro*e would $eel the answer, in reality, is .maybe0 or .ne%er0 Q(

    -n +o%ember 9, 199B, the PA! leadershi* met with !linton to discuss their concerns, with PA! President MosAal writing to him that .we will indeed $ollow your ad%ice Pto continue to *ush $or +A,- enlargement4 and Poland4s 5uicA admission to it(0=B Eight days later, the PA! urged its members to /oin a nationwide Mailgram hotline cam*aign in su**ort o$ +A,- membershi* $or Poland( -n Gebruary 13, 199< !linton again met with the PA! leaders, together with those o$ the 1L other organizations that then made u* the !entral East Euro*ean !oalition "!EE!# to discuss $ast tracA +A,- enlargement and '()( go%ernment *olicy in the region( According to a dra$t !oalition *ress release, during a .candid and *roducti%e meeting0 !linton assured it that he .would not delay nor abandon the timetable $or +A,- and agreed with !oalition members that Cussian rhetoric had gotten irres*onsible on the 5uestion o$ +A,-(0 !linton, the release said,
    maintained throughout the meeting that his Administration /udged the Cussians not by their rhetoric, but by their actions( Mr( !asimir 8enard o$ the Polish American !ongress, 1nc(, summarizing the results o$ the meeting said, .,here$ore, the Administration should

    == =B

    .,he Battle $or Cati$ication0 #?ec?pospolita, o*( cit(, **( B<L7B<N( MosAal letter, +o%ember 1<, 199B, PA!;D(!( Archi%e(

    1=

    understand that we, the members o$ the !entral and East Euro*ean !oalition, will liAewise /udge this Administration by its actions, and not /ust its statements( =<

    1n August, at least one Polish American leader eE*ressed his disa**ointment to !linton4s national security ad%isor that the *resident .did not e%en mention0 +A,- enlargement in a s*eech on .America4s )ecurity in a !hanging World,0 the s*eech coming .as a great disa**ointment0 to 3 million Americans .with their roots in the twel%e countries o$ !entral and Eastern Euro*e(0 =L &owe%er, the same PA! leader considered the .greatest %ictory0 $or the coalition4s e$$orts .the introduction o$ the issue o$ +A,- eE*ansion into the *lat$orm o$ the Ce*ublican Party under the title P!ontract with America(4 Q -$ course, the authors o$ the P!ontract4 were interested in gaining %otes o$ Polish7Americans and other ethnic grou*s2and the Democrats could not lag behind(0=N 1n )e*tember 199<, the &ouse a**ro%ed the .+A,- Enlargement Gacilitation Act0 by a >3>7<B %ote, while the )enate a**ro%ed it N171<, with the bill e%entually being signed into law on )e*tember > , 199<( .1t is no eEaggeration to say that we *robably could not ha%e *assed "the billM without the *ersonal in%ol%ement o$ Myra and !asimir 8enard o$ your Washington o$$ice and other members o$ the Polish American !ongress,0 Gilman wrote to MosAal( .,he PA!4s assistance in mobilizing grass roots su**ort $or our bill was absolutely critical in ensuring the broad7based bi*artisan su**ort within the !ongress that we needed to enact the legislation(0 =9 During the $all cam*aign candidate $or reelection !linton endorsed +A,- eE*ansion( ,he e$$ort, a Polish7language news*a*er in 8ondon, '?ienni Pols ii i '?ienni <olnier?a @Polish 'aily and -oldier"s 'ailyA, editorialized that !linton4s declaration that he would seeA to com*lete the $irst *hase o$ +A,enlargement by A*ril =, 1999 was
    a %ictory in our initial round o$ attem*ts to ensure security $or Poland and other countries( Polonia is embarAing on the second round2attem*ting to gain two7thirds ma/ority in the '()( )enate which is re5uired $or rati$ication o$ the treaty acce*ting new members into +A,-( ,his second round will not be easy( Enlargement o$ the alliance has determined o**onents both in the '()( !ongress and in the media( B
    =<

    Dra$t *ress release, .!entral and East Euro*ean !oalition 8eaders Cecei%e Assurances Grom President !linton,0 sent to .Members o$ !EE !oalition0 by !asimir 8enard, cited in +owaA7DezioransAi, Poland"s #oad to $AT%, **( >3 7>31( =L 8etter to +ational )ecurity Ad%isor Anthony 8aAe, $rom Dan +owaA7DezioransAi, in cited +owaA7DezioransAi, o*( cit(, *( >>>( =N .,he Battle $or Cati$ication,0 o*( cit(, cited in +owaA7DezioransAi, Poland"s #oad to $AT%, *( B<NK it is interesting to note that while +owaA7DezioransAi rha*sodized about the PA!7led coalition4s .greatest %ictory,0 the organization4s *ublic relations director com*lained to MosAal: .14m getting more and more cynical by the day( !ommunication within our structure has colla*sed( When we raise a $uss we4re good $or a $ew days then it bacAslides to business as usual( 1 can ne%er understand why the PA! is not gi%en its right$ul *lace in Polonia4s Phistory in the maAing4 "not *ast history#( Polonia "and 1 mean Polonia e%erywhere# barely recollects that there is a %iable, %ital PA!(0 )o*hia MisAiewicz memo to MosAal, -ct( 199<, PA!;D(!( Archi%e( =9 Gilman letter, -ctober 1L, 199<, PA!;D! Archi%e(

    1B

    1n 199L, a *ublic o*inion *oll $ound that less than 1 *ercent o$ the '()( *ublic was aware o$ the +A,- eE*ansion debate( ,he PA!, seeAing to reach beyond its ethnic constituency, inaugurated a Web *age "www(*olamcon(org# that included both a .scorecard0 o$ '()( senators and congressmen and their *ositions on +A,- enlargement issues, as well as sam*le letters to send to them on the issue( 1n Gebruary, mind$ul that )enate rati$ication o$ a +A,- treaty re5uired a 3;> ma/ority in the )enate, and that budget bills always originated in the &ouse, the PA! s*onsored 11 !ongressional sta$$ members2$oreign a$$airs, military and budget s*ecialists, siE $rom the )enate and $i%e $rom the &ouse2on a tri* to Poland to con$er with high7le%el go%ernment o$$icials( Among the *oints stressed to the &ill delegation was the $act that Poland s*ent some > *ercent o$ G+P on the military, an amount $or readiness and modernization greater than s*ent by $our eEisting members o$ +A,-( Meanwhile, $our states and a number o$ local go%ernments went on record as su**orting +A,eE*ansion( ,here is also strong circumstantial e%idence that Aey members o$ !ongress, such as )en( Dose*h Biden, a Chode 1sland Democrat, and Jay Bailey &utchinson, Ce*ublican o$ ,eEas, were con%inced to switch towards a *osition su**orting +A,- accession by Poland as a result o$ grass roots *ressure orchestrated by local PA! cha*ters(B1 By 199N, the PA! and other members o$ the !EE!, growing con$ident o$ %ictory on accession $or the $irst three candidate nations, including Poland, were meeting with )tate De*artment o$$icials in su**ort o$ eEtending +A,- enlargement beyond the original troiAa( And on A*ril > , 199N, the '()( )enate, %oted N to 19, to rati$y the Protocols o$ Accession to the +A,- ,reaty( Grom Poland, Goreign Minister Bronislaw GeremeA issued a statement in which he said: .We eE*ress our s*ecial thanAs to all Americans o$ Polish heritage, *articularly to the Polish American !ongress, whose su**ort $or Poland4s as*irations has *layed such a *i%otal role(0 Poland4s Ambassador to Washington, Derzy JozminsAi,B3 was e%en more eE*ressi%e, returning to the theme o$ the moral debt owed to Poland and the other Eastern Euro*ean countries whose $ates were decided at the end o$ World War 11 behind their bacAs:
    B

    .Gor and Against +A,- Enlargement,0 +r( =L "3N3#, +o%ember 3>, 199<, cited in +owaA7DezioransAi, Poland"s #oad to $AT%, *( >L1( B1 An e7mail dated -ctober 1>, 199B, $rom Ewa M( ,hom*son, a Cice 'ni%ersity *ro$essor s*ecializing in Cussian and East Euro*ean a$$airs, to Bailey &utchinson had warned the senator that as a conser%ati%e Ce*ublican who had %oted $or her, .'nless 1 hear that you ha%e substantially changed your stand on +A,- enlargement, 1 will certainly acti%ely engaged in su**orting the candidate who would run against you( And so will many other members o$ the sizable Polish American and !zech American community in ,eEas,0 PA!;D! Archi%e(
    B3

    Widely considered to ha%e been one o$ Poland4s most e$$ecti%e ambassadors to the 'nited )tates, JozminsAi later went on to head the Polish7American Greedom Goundation "PAGG#, which was $ounded in 1999 in the 'nited )tates by the Polish7American Enter*rise Gund "PAEG#, which itsel$ was created by the '()( go%ernment and *romoted by the PA! "see: .Ma/or Accom*lishments I !ontributions,0 www(*olamcon(org;history;summary(*d$#(

    1<

    Ginally the day that millions o$ Poles in Poland, and American Polonia around the world ha been waiting $or has arri%ed( ,he )enate o$ the 'nited )tates o$ America has rati$ied the act which brings historical /ustice to the countries whose $ortunes were decided in Oalta2 without their *ermission( Q During the long and di$$icult $ight $or eE*anding +A,-, Polonia led by the Polish American !ongress Q has *layed a ma/or role in the 'nited )tates( ,housands o$ members o$ the !ongress and its +ational -$$ice in Washington undertooA e%ery *ossible e$$ort to con%ince those who were undecided2about the sense and conse5uences o$ this historical decision( -nce again, in the s*irit o$ )olidarity, the *ower o$ the Polish American community has su**orted the as*irations o$ Poland2thus /ointly creating its $uture(B>

    MosAal, the PA! *resident, also re/oiced, while o$$ering his thanAs both to American Polonia and the larger coalition that had made %ictory *ossible:
    ,oday Poland $or the $irst time has a chance o$ /oining other democratic nations in a *ermanent guarantee o$ common security( ,his is a historic moment $or Poland, Euro*e and the 'nited )tates( ,ogether we are building a stable and secure $uture( 1 wish to thanA all Polish Americans and our $riends who tooA an acti%e *art in the a**eals and cam*aigns o$ letter writing and tele*hone calls organized by the Polish American !ongress o%er the *ast se%en years to bring Poland into +A,-( ,ogether we made it ha**enU ,ogether we did itU B=

    -n March 13, 1999, the Polish American !ongress, re*resented by +ational EEecuti%e Director 8es JuczynsAi, and !asimir 8enard o$ the Washington -$$ice, attended the ceremonies marAing Poland4s o$$icial acce*tance as a $ull member o$ +A,- at the ,ruman 8ibrary in 1nde*endence, Missouri at the in%itation o$ '()( )ecretary o$ )tate Madeleine J( Albright( 1t was, a PA! document e%aluated a month later, .the culmination o$ BB years o$ dedication, determination, hard worA, ho*e and the *rayers o$ all Polonia( 1t was also the culmination o$ 9 years o$ lobbying e$$orts o$ the Polish American !ongress(0BB

    The NATO campaign and the reconstruction of Polish American ethnic identity
    ,he +A,- cam*aign tooA *lace amidst a reassessment o$ the Polish American national, ethnic and social identity( 1n doing so, it *ro%ided an o**ortunity to care$ully obser%e the changes taAing *lace at the intersection between ethnic identity *olitics and one o$ the most success$ul $oreign *olicy lobbying o*erations o$ the immediate *ost7!old War era(
    B> B=

    56pansion of $AT%, o*( cit, *( ><(

    Press Celease, .Poland to be Member o$ Western AllianceU ') )enate Cati$ies +A,- EnlargementK .,hanA you PoloniaU0 May 1, 199N, PA!;D! Archi%e( BB )inutes of the Council of $ational 'irectors )eeting , Polish American !ongress, Washington, D(!(, A*ril 3373=, 1999, *( 1>, PA!;D! Archi%e(

    1L

    ,he membershi* in the Polish American !ongress included a hea%y legacy o$ historical stewardshi*, dating to the %ery origins o$ the organization at a time /ust be$ore the construction o$ the 1ron !urtain sounded the death Anell $or Polish ho*es $or $reedom( During the !old War the Polish American !ongress had been .aggressi%e in lobbying against )o%iet domination o%er Poland and the many other East Euro*ean Pca*ti%e nations4 that $ound themsel%es under )o%iet control( ,he PA! rallied Americans o$ all bacAgrounds against the general threat the )o%iet 'nion *osed to the '()( and the $ree world and it worAed with liAeminded citizens in the ma/or *olitical *arties, the labor mo%ement, business, and organized religion to sha*e *ublic o*inion on this issue(0B< +onetheless, the PA!, its leaders $re5uently recalled, was ineEorably tied to what Poles both in Poland and abroad considered the betrayal at the close o$ World War 11 o$ the motherland by the Allies, a$ter it had already made a staggering down *ayment in blood $or its own liberty in blood( .,he Polonia has a uni5ue o**ortunity to *lay a historical role in the struggle $or the security o$ the old country and the 'nited )tates,0 the PA! !ouncil o$ +ational Directors underscored in a Dune 3>, 199B .a**eal0 to .all Americans o$ Polish descent0 in the run7u* to the national elections the neEt year( .At the initiati%e o$ the Polish American !ongress a coalition o$ 13 ethnic communities with roots in East !entral Euro*e was rein%igorated( ,ogether we re*resent a blocA o$ 3 million %oters concentrated in eight crucial states( +obody can ignore this $orce( Be should use it to prevent a repetition of Yalta(0 "1talics added# As the country that o$$ered the $ourth largest $ighting $orce in the de$eat o$ +azi Germany, BL an o$$icial o$ the PA!4s Downstate +ew OorA Di%ision reminded in a .Dear )enator0 letter, Poles $ought:
    at +ormandy, Galaise, Monte !assino and ,obruA( Did not Polish $ighter s5uadrons in the British ser%ice account $or 3BF o$ the 8u$twa$$e .Aills0 in the Air Battle o$ Britain? Were not Polish shi*s in the $irst and second wa%es on the beaches o$ +ormandy? And was it not General Ma/czeA4s Girst Polish Armored !or*s that was the bulwarA against the esca*ing German Army o$ the West at Galaise? Polish Americans also were called u* by the hundreds o$ thousands to ser%e "and die# on the sands o$ the Paci$ic 1slands, the $ields o$ Grance and the deserts o$ +orth A$rica( ,hus Poland4s sons answered the call to arms $rom both sides o$ the Atlantic(BN
    B< BL

    PienAos, .Polish Americans in '()( Politics,0 o*( cit(

    ,his $act was contained in a May =, 199N .thanA you0 letter to )en( Al$onse D4Amato, Ce*ublican o$ +ew OorA, $or his .early and constant su**ort0 o$ Polish inclusion in +A,-, $rom Rincent Brunhard, Dr(, eEecuti%e %ice *resident o$ the PA! Downstate +ew OorA Di%ision, PA!;D! Archi%e( BN 8etter signed by di%ision eEecuti%e %ice *resident Brunhard and dated )e*tember 13, 199=, PA!;D! Archi%e(

    1N

    As *olitical scientist W( Anthony JruszewsAi, a PA! %ice *resident, reminded a PA! !ouncil o$ +ational Directors meeting in 199<,
    We must remember that the Polish American !ongress is the only %ehicle $or ten million Polish Americans which came together in 19== a$ter Oalta which di%ided the world and *ut Poland2the most $aith$ul ally which started $ighting in )e*tember, 19>92under )o%iet domination, which is o$ten $orgotten by Americans( ,he Polish troo*s hoisted the $lag in Berlin, so Poland was there $rom the $irst day o$ the )econd World War to the last( Poland also *ro*ortionately *aid the largest toll in blood with the death o$ siE million citizens2> million !hristians and > million Dews during World War 11( We must remember that our organi?ation was formed because Poland was double3crossed after all its sacrifices and we had to continue the fight for the land of our forefathers. Be had to cross out the inCustice and fight for peace and security for future generations. "1talics added#(B9

    ,he !old War legacy o$ Poland and the Polish American !ongress also o$ten ser%ed to $rame, stimulate or $urther discussion with *olicymaAers concerned with Poland( As Bill !linton *re*ared to be sworn in as the new *resident, MosAal wrote to Assistant De*uty )ecretary o$ )tate Cal*h Dohnson to share the PA!4s %iews on '()( *olicy( .1n the *ast the Polish American !ongress has $ully su**orted the 'nited )tates bi7*artisan *olicy, which led to %ictory in the !old War,0 MosAal reminded Dohnson( .'nited )tates su**ort $or non7%iolence in Poland *layed a considerable role in achie%ing our strategic goals(0 1t was the .success$ul struggle0 o$ the Polish trade union )olidarity against the )o%iet *u**et state, MosAal added, that Dtriggered off a chain of events, which led to the fall of communism, the liberation of captive nations, disintegration of the -oviet 5mpire and reunification of Eermany.0< "1talics added(# A dra$t letter *re*ared by the PA!4s Washington o$$ice in 199> to '()( senators, as well as President !linton, )ecretary o$ )tate Warren !hristo*her, and )ecretary o$ De$ense 8es As*in, eE*ressed concern about '()( *olicy on Cussia and the rest o$ the $ormer )o%iet bloc, including Poland, recalling that . the tragic e6perience of Yalta is deeply rooted in our memory.0 "1talics added(# Polish Americans, it said, .still remember how we were told by Washington, that )talin no longer had global ambitions and was guided solely by security concerns and a desire to ha%e P$riendly go%ernments4 along it4s borders( We were also told by Washington, that Cussia is so eEhausted by war, that it does no longer *ose any threat to the $ree world(0 A letter to !linton $rom MosAal dated Danuary =, 199=, s*oAe o$ $ears that recent statements by Cussia4s *olitical and military leadershi* signaled .an intention by #ussia to reimpose satellite status on

    B9

    )inutes of the ConventionFConcurrent Council of $ational 'irectors )eeting, Polish American !ouncil, Cosemont, 1llinois, -ctober 3=73<, 199<, *( 11, PA!;D! Archi%e( < 8etter to Cal*h Dohnson, assistant de*uty secretary o$ state, $rom Edward D( MosAal, *resident, Polish American !ongress, Danuary 1N, 199>, PA!;D! Archi%e(

    19

    Poland and the other countries o$ this region(0 <1 "1talics added(# A 199B handwritten memorandum by Witold D( 8uAaszewsAi o$ ,eEas, noting that Ce*ublican )enator Jay Bailey &utchinson o**osed Poland4s early admission to +A,-, urged her to .change her %iews Q to avoid tempting @Poland"sA neighbors, as before BB99 G0 "1talics added(#
    <3

    ,hat same year, in the run7u* to

    !linton4s reelection e$$ort, the PA! !ouncil o$ +ational Directors $ound in the .bitter eE*erience0 o$ the Polish *ast, reason enough to asA .all Americans o$ Polish descent, whether they are in our ranAs or not0 to /oin the PA! .in coordinated action0 as it asAed:
    the organizers o$ *residential cam*aigns o$ both *arties and all *residential candidates, as well as candidates $or o$$ice in the 'nited )tates !ongress, to taAe a *osition, either $or or against the eEtension o$ +A,- and the setting o$ its timetable( ,he Polish American !ongress will asA all Americans o$ Polish eEtraction $or massi%e su**ort by tele*hone, cable, letters and other means \ addressed to these candidates( ,he bitter eE*erience o$ the *ast tells us to do, this time, all that we can to *re%ent $uture con$lict and new tragedy( <>

    A letter to )en( Edward Jennedy dated December 13, 199L, $rom the PA! o$ Eastern Massachusetts tooA the tact o$ claiming Poland4s accession to +A,- was not only .%itally im*ortant to American interests(0 ,he initiati%e, it said, o$$ered the chance o$ economic bene$it to the 'nited )tatesK was in Aee*ing with the best historical traditions and %irtues o$ both countries "and the Jennedy $amily4s own legacy#, as well as o$$ering 2im*licitly2the chance to re*ay a long7held debt( .Y,Mhe interests at staAe are not only *olitical,0 wrote Andrze/ PronczuA, *resident o$ PA!;Eastern Massachusetts, and MarA P( )z*aA, the organization4s corres*onding secretary(
    ,oday, Poland is one o$ the most *romising emerging economies in the world( Q E%ery dollar o$ '()( su**ort $or bringing Poland into +A,- will in this way yield a substantial economic return as well( )u**ort $or Poland4s entry into +A,-, moreo%er, is the right thing to do in light o$ the history o$ close ties between our *eo*les2$rom the Poles who $ought %aliantly $or the 'nited )tates at the time o$ the American Ce%olution, to the ins*irational %isit by your own brother, Cobert Jennedy, to Poland during the !old War( &onoring those ties now2by endorsing the rati$ication o$ Poland4s entry into +A,-2will ring true $or e%ery American who belie%es that our country should gi%e its su**ort to those who in the *ast ha%e been, and in the $uture *romise to be, among its closest $riends( <=

    )iE months later, a letter $rom PronczuA to Jennedy thanAed him $or his %ote in $a%or o$ the admission o$ the three Eastern Euro*ean countries into +A,-, saying rati$ication was a %indication
    <1

    'ndated dra$t letter $ound in PA!;D! Archi%eK 8etter to President William De$$erson !linton $rom Edward D( MosAal, *resident, Polish American !ongress, Danuary =, 199=, PA!;D! Archi%e( <3 8uAaszewsAi memorandum $ound in PA!;D! Archi%e(
    <>

    .An A**eal $rom the Polish American !ongress !ouncil o$ +ational Directors to All Americans o$ Polish Descent,0 !hicago, 1llinois, Dune 3>, 199B, PA!;D! Archi%e(
    <=

    8etter to )enator Edward M( Jennedy $rom PronczuA and )z*aA, December 13, 199L, PA!;D! Archi%e(

    o$ the .$aith0 o$ Poles and Polish Americans, all o$ whom were cognizant o$ the two nations4 common history and Poland4s %iew o$ the 'nited )tates as the leader o$ the world4s democracies( .)ince the Ce%olutionary War, the *eo*le o$ Poland ha%e looAed to the 'nited )tates $or leadershi* in $ostering $reedom and democracy(0 <B ,he lessons o$ history were also *resent in a dra$t March 3<, 199N letter $rom MosAal to members o$ the '()( )enate, eE*ressing concern that o**onents o$ +A,- accession .are attem*ting to delay a %ote on the issue in the ho*e that they can Aill the measure entirely,0 reminded his missi%e4s *otential readers that
    1t is understandable that the %ast ma/ority o$ Poles su**ort the admission o$ Poland into +A,-( &istory clearly demonstrates that Poland stands in a %ulnerable geogra*hic *osition, surrounded by neighbors who *eriodically de%elo* a hunger $or eE*ansion( Q ,his is a matter o$ great im*ortance to 13, Polish Americans and all our $ellow citizens who desire international stability( <<

    PolicymaAers were not the only ones to whom Polish Americans attem*ted to o$$er a history lesson in su**ort o$ their arguments $or +A,- enlargement( Ben !ohen, chairman o$ Ben and Derry4s, the ice cream com*any, headed a business grou* o**osed to +A,- eE*ansion, allegedly because it would .soaA u* billions in taE*ayers dollars that could better be s*ent on our domestic agenda such as education(0<L Ce%( !arl A( 'rban, *astor o$ the !hurch o$ )t( Adalbert in )chenectady, +ew OorA, wrote to !ohen that:
    1 would be counted among the $irst to su**ort increased education $unding( ,he need $or education becomes so e%ident in your o**osition to +A,- eE*ansion( 1 wonder i$ you e%ery studied World War 11 and its a$termath? Who in%aded whom and what country"ies# su$$ered such %ast de%astation( Did you e%er hear o$ Alger &iss <N or Oalta?

    'rban noted that a $ull7*age ad%ertisement *laced in the A*ril 31, 199N edition o$ The $ew Yor Times by !ohen4s grou* drew a com*arison with the $eeling .Americans would ha%e i$ Cussia were in a military alliance with !anada and MeEico, armed to the teeth, and eEcluding the 'nited )tates( We4d all slee* better then, right?0 'rban continued: .,he ma/or di$$erence and what you $ail to
    <B << <L <N

    8etter to Jennedy $rom PronczuA, May =, 199N, PA!;D! Archi%e( Dra$t letter $rom MosAal $ound in the PA!;D! Archi%e(

    Eric )chmitt, .Bed$ellows o$ E%ery )tri*e in +A,- Gray,0 The $ew Yor Times, A*ril 31, 199N( Alger &iss &iss, a $ormer member o$ the '()( !ommunist Party and a high7le%el )tate De*artment o$$icial, was a member o$ the '()( delegation to the Oalta !on$erence( Although o%erwhelming e%idence suggested that he was guilty o$ s*ying $or the )o%iets, he could not be tried $or es*ionage due to statute o$ limitations and was instead con%icted o$ two counts o$ *er/ury in 19B (

    31

    mention "education needed?# is that were !anada and MeEico o%erwhelmingly desirous o$ such an alliance2as Poland is with +A,-2then we had better thoroughly eEamine our *ast history and swi$tly re%ise our current *olicy %is7]7%is these countries(0<9 ,he story line o$ Polish history ser%ed to rein$orce the idea o$ Polish %irtues such as reliability, loyalty, *atriotism, shared %alues, and sel$7sacri$ice, $aith;religion, L tolerance, and unity in time o$ need, as well as the $uture *romise o$ Polish identity( ,he idea o$ Poland was central to all the PA! e$$orts, and how it was de$ined by the Polish American dias*ora "something directly related to how the homeland was remembered at the time they, their *arents, or their ancestors had le$t# is crucial to understanding the de*th and breadth o$ the continuing emotional, cultural, $inancial and *olitical commitment Poland ins*ired not only in naturalized Americans $rom Poland and the $irst generation o$ Polish Americans, but succeeding generations o$ Americans o$ Polish ancestry as well( Ce*eatedly in the Polish American !ongress literature2both internal to the organization and in letters, e7mails, $aEes and other $orms o$ communication outside2Ainshi*, $ilial *iety and sui generis idealization sha*e and in$orm Polish Americans4 de$initions o$ the %Cc?y?na, or Gatherland( 1n addition to ac5uiring *olitical *ower, Dr( Dan P( MuczyA, $ormer dean o$ management and labor at !le%eland )tate 'ni%ersity, wrote in the West !oast Polonia bilingual news*a*er, $ews of Polonia, .the best way to *romote the interests o$ Polonia and Poland is to share with our non7 Polish brothers and sisters the $ascinating and enchanting culture *roduced by our ancestors(0 L1 .We are entrusted with a legacy,0 editorialized !hristo*her Jurczaba, *resident o$ the PA! 1llinois Di%ision:

    69

    ,he May <, 199N letter on church stationary was $ound in the PA!;D! Archi%eK 'rban concluded his letter by noting that while in the *ast he had been .loyal0 to Ben I Derry4s: .1 can now assure you that 1 will no longer *urchase your *roduct"s# and urge the large, local Polish American community to do liAewise( 1 *resently Anow o$ one local delegate to the May 1=71L +ational Meeting o$ the Polish American !ongress in !hicago who intends to *lace this matter on the agenda with a %iew to a nation7wide res*onse to your *osition(0 A co*y o$ the letter was sent to PA! Washington -$$ice director Myra 8enard( L ,he Coman !atholic religion *layed, and *lays, a %ery im*ortant role in Poland "one o$ the most de%out countries in Euro*e# and among '()( Polonia( ,he $irst Polish7American communities %irtually always re%ol%ed around their churchesK the $irst Polish settlement in the '()( "in ,eEas# dating bacA to 1NB3 tooA a name TPanna MariaT "meaning Rirgin Mary# and e%en today, !hicagoSs Polish7American district is still re$erred to as TDacAowoT, in re$erence to )aint &yacinthSs Basilica "in Polish .BazyliAa ^_w( DacAa0# o$$ o$ MilwauAee A%enue( Des*ite the high %alue *laced on the !hurch and the %eneration o$ Po*e Dohn Paul 11, a search o$ the PA! archi%es in Washington, D(!(, yielded little eE*licit connection made between religious $aith as a %alue and guidance in the $ight $or +A,- enlargement, *erha*s re$lecting the non7con$essional nature o$ the !entral East Euro*ean !oalition( ")ee: htt*:;;en(wiAi*edia(org;wiAi;Panna`MariaK htt*:;;en(wiAi*edia(org;wiAi;Basilica`o$`)t(`&yacinthM
    L1

    ,he *rint galleys o$ MuczyA4s article, .A Blue*rint $or Political Power,0 was sent to the PA! Washington -$$ice $or comment on December 13, 199B, in PA!;D! Archi%e(

    33

    A legacy o$ a strong, inde*endent, *roud *eo*le whose cultural, humanitarian, scienti$ic, and military accom*lishments are astonishing( Poles sa%ed Euro*e $rom the -ttoman Em*ire I Bolshe%iAs, ga%e the world +icholas !o*ernicus, and com*osed some o$ the most beauti$ul music on earth( We hel*ed America $ight $or inde*endence and assisted in building this nation $rom Damestown to today( 8et us ad%ance this legacy( L3

    1n a dra$t letter to !linton dated -ctober 39, 199> the !ouncil o$ +ational Directors urged the ArAansas Democrat to heed MosAal4s reiteration o$ President 8ech Walesa4s in%itation to attend the $i$tieth anni%ersary commemoration o$ the Warsaw u*rising in Poland on August 1, 199=, saying, .We strongly belie%e that Poland4s role in the war with +azi Germany and its resistance to )o%iet tyranny o%er the last hal$ century deser%e the honor o$ your attendance(0 ,he PA!, it added, was .*roud that in the newly emerging Euro*e, Poland has been a shining e6ample of reconciliation with all its neighbors and of respect for the rights of ethnic minorities, based on recognition of sovereignty and the inviolability of e6isting borders (0L>"1talics added(# .,he Polish $ree trade union, )-81DAC1,O, caught the imagination o$ e%eryone throughout the world who cham*ioned the cause o$ democracy,0 wrote GranA MilewsAi, eEecuti%e %ice *resident o$ the PA! Downstate +ew OorA Di%ision to )enator Al$onse M( D4Amato, in Dune 3=, 19==, in a letter urging the +ew OorA Ce*ublican to su**ort the Brown7)imon Amendment, the .+A,- Partici*ation Act o$ 199=( DBhat arose in Poland and was nurtured by her people became such an inspiration elsewhere that the tremors it generated shoo the foundation of international communism and led to its ine%itable colla*se(0 "1talics added(# .Gor decades our emphasis has been on the Polish situation, the trials and tribulations of our brothers and sisters in the homeland,0 recalled PA! President MosAal as Poland $inally entered +A,-(L= .Who would ha%e thought during those seemingly endless decades o$ communist o**ression that the country of our forefathers would not only $ree hersel$ Q but also become America4s ally,0 Witold 8uAaszewsAi asAed his $ellow members o$ the PA! +ational !ouncil o$ Directors( .And all this in our li$etime(0 Poland, he added, .has attained a measure o$ security it has not en/oyed in the last 3B years, and it has become a member o$ the $amily o$ nations sharing the %alues o$ the rule o$ law, o$ democracy, and res*ect $or human rights(

    L3 L> L=

    .+A,-2-ur Golden -**ortunity,0 The ,ulletin, Rol( 1, 1ssue 1, Dune 199N, *( 3(

    8etter $ound in PA!;D! Archi%e(

    Ce*ort by Edward D( MosAal, in )inutes of the Council of 'irectors )eeting7 Polish American Congress, A*ril 3373=, 1999, PA!;D(!( Archi%e(

    3>

    )tanding on guard o$ these %alues, dying $or them, ha%e not been un$amiliar eE*eriences $or Poles o%er the last cou*le o$ centuries( Q 'ntil %ery recently, Poles le$t Poland because they were hungry, or because they were *ersecuted by their enemies, or because they were eEiled( But where%er their $ate tooA them, they worAed hard, they became law7abiding citizens, they came together to gi%e each other su**ort and *reser%e their Polish heritage, and they ne%er $orgot the country o$ their origin, Poland(LB

    .1n matters o$ the national interest of our mother country, we will always su**ort any go%ernment $ormed as a result o$ $ree elections,0 naturalized Polish7American and World War 11 war hero Dan +owaA7DezioransAi declared in 199=(L< "1talics added(# ,ales o$ Polish heroism were also $re5uently used to underscore the uni5ue contributions Poland has *aid in $ighting totalitarianism, such as taAing on much larger neighboring countries on two $ronts, and to eEalt the Polish *eo*le as democratic and *eace7lo%ing( At the same time, a subteEt in many communications, which only occasionally s*illed out into the Aind o$ harsh rhetorical $ormulations about the otherwise much7admired ado*ted country that2i$ it had been done more $re5uently2might ha%e led to 5uestions about Polish7American loyalty, in%ol%ed the '()( role in establishing the )o%iet 'nion4s s*here o$ in$luence o%er Eastern Euro*e( Gor !entral Euro*e, MosAal recalled in a A*ril 39, 199L letter to )ecretary o$ )tate Madeline Albright, hersel$ a war7 time re$ugee $rom !zechoslo%aAia, Oalta had .signaled ca*itulation to a $oreign *ower and the ensla%ement o$ millions. (or America it was a temporary loss of its lofty ideals, $ollowed by o%er $i$ty years o$ dedication to disentangling those nations $rom their ca*iti%ity(0 "1talics added(#LL -ther Polonia %oices were less di*lomatic, although they also sought common ground with their ado*ted country( .Poland4s soldiers $rom the Air (orce, Army and $avy served and spilled their blood in the name of liberty for their )otherland ,0 wrote Bogdan BereznicAi, o$ the PA! Polish A$$airs !ommittee and resident o$ )arasota, Glorida, in a two7*age broadsheet titled, .APPEA)EME+,U APPEA)EME+,U APPEA)EME+,U0
    ,he Motherland that $or *olitical eE*ediency2was secretly gi%en to )o%iet 'nion, by the *olitical establishment o$ England and the 'nited )tates o$ America( Q +o more a**easementsU 8et the truth o$ Poland4s contributions be Anown( ,he Polish +ation deser%es

    LB

    Witold D( 8uAaszewsAi, .Rice President4s Ce*ortK Polish A$$airs !ommission,0 )inutes of the $ational Council of 'irectors )eeting, Polish American !ongress, Washington, D(!(, A*ril 3373=, 1999(
    L< LL

    .+A,- and Poland( What +ow?0 o*( cit( ,he letter to Albright is contained in MosAal4s #eport of the President of the Polish American Congress, from %ctober *:, 011; to )ay 0, 011:, in PA!;D(!( Archi%e(

    3=

    to be *ro*erly recognized $or the e$$ort o$ its Armed Gorces in the Air, )ea and 8and all o%er the globe and be admitted to +A,- and the Euro*ean !ouncil o$ +ations( LN

    1n a second handbill, titled .APPEA)EME+,2A**easement2A**easementUUU0 BereznicAi o$$ered a re*rise o$ Polish contributions in some o$ the bloodiest $ighting in Euro*e during World War 11 and asAs rhetorically: .1s Poland a true ally o$ the 'nited )tates? An free unpartitioned Poland has never, but never, been other than a great allyH &e goes on to suggest the debt owed by the 'nited )tates $or ser%ices *ast rendered to American democracy by Poles and *oints to the commonalities o$ the two democratic cultures, and de$ining Poland as a .*eace7lo%ing nation(
    Poland has been an admirer and a friend of the nited !tates since the Ce%olutionary War when JosciuszAo and PulasAi $ought $or America4s $reedom against the English( Poland, the $irst country in Euro*e to ha%e a !onstitution o$$ering e%eryone e5ual rights *atterned a$ter the '()( !onstitution( Q Poland is a *eace7lo%ing nation that res*ects the 'nited )tates, a nation that had *ro%en to the 'nited )tates that it can be trusted to be a good $riend and ally(
    L9

    Poland4s transition $rom the %ictim o$ $oreign aggression to a *ros*erous, modern democracy, re*resented not only by its candidacy $or +A,- membershi* but also its e%entual incor*oration into the Euro*ean 'nion in 3 =, *ro%ided the PA! with an alternati%e, and winning, narrati%e as it both attem*ted to mobilize Polonia4s su**ort and to sell the idea o$ inclusion into the +orth Atlantic security alliance to the '()( *olitical leaders, o*inion maAers and the *ublic more generally( Gor eEam*le, a letter sent by PA! President MosAal on -ctober 39, 199> to !linton $orwarded a co*y o$ a resolution *assed that same day by the PA!4s !ouncil o$ +ational Directors, urging the 'nited )tates to .ensure that Poland become a $ull member o$ +A,- as soon as *ossible(0 1n maAing his a**eal, MosAal reminded that, .Gour years ago, the Polish people, by their courage and non3violent resistance to communist tyranny, contributed greatly to victory in the Cold Bar (0 N "1talics added(# )imilarly, in an -ctober 3=, 199L letter to )en( Daniel PatricA Moynihan, Dose*h D( Macielag and ,heresa J( BunA, o$ the +ew OorA )tate !oalition o$ the Polish American !ongress, 1nc(, in%oAed both ethnic *ride and a Aeen a**reciation o$ Polish history to im*ortune the +ew OorA Democrat to su**ort +A,- accession o$ Poland, &ungary and the !zech Ce*ublic( Ce$erring s*eci$ically to Poland,

    LN L9 N

    Broadsheet $ound in PA!;D(!( Archi%e( Broadsheet $ound in PA!;D(!( Archi%e( 8etter to !linton $rom MosAal $ound in PA!;D(!( Archi%e(

    3B

    we are spea ing of a nation that successfully carried out a bloodless revolution in destroying the 9ron Curtain( Poland4s eE*erience o$ the )econd World War and its conse5uences was one o$ almost unbroAen su$$ering and disa**ointment( 1n 19=B the country was in ruins, millions o$ its *o*ulation had been Ailled and large *arts o$ its eastern territories had been lost( 1t had also been $orced, against the wishes o$ its *eo*le to acce*t a system o$ go%ernment by a state2the )o%iet 'nion2which had originally cons*ired with +azi Germany to destroy Poland( Be spea here of the one 5uropean nation that never had a collaborative government sympathi?ing with the enemy during Borld Bar 99. Poles had fought from the very first day of the war until the very last as a branch of the Allied (orces. England, then others, had gone to war in 19>9 to *reser%e Polish inde*endence, howe%er, when the $inal %ictory in Euro*e was celebrated, Poland4s *ros*ects o$ true inde*endence were as bleaA as they had been in 19>9( 81 "1talics addedM

    Macielag and BunA also drew attention to the long7standing democratic as*irations uniting the American and Polish *eo*les: DPoland was partitioned in 0:14 by #ussia because it was the first nation in 5urope to have a constitution guaranteeing all the freedoms we ourselves possess in this country.I "1talics added(# 1n a similar %ein, a news ad%isory by the PA!4s Eastern Pennsyl%ania District asAed news editors to co%er Polish !onstitution Day, commemorating Din historic Philadelphia G the *+:th Anniversary of Poland"s )ay >, 0:10 Constitution, a document that because the second oldest democratic Constitution in the world(0 "1talics added(# ,he e%ent, it added, was also a celebration o$ the .the ratification of Poland !"ngar# and the C$ech %ep"&lic for admission into NATO %oted last night by the 'nited )tates )enate(0 N3 "bold $ace in original teEtM( A letter written by Rincent Brunhard, Dr(, %ice *resident o$ the PA! Downstate +ew OorA Di%ision on behal$ o$ his membershi*, to Ce*( Ma/or -wens "D7+ew OorA# added a s*eci$ic historical $act, designed to underline Poland4s sel$7sacri$ice and $uture *romise, and well as the contribution to '()( security by Polish Americans, to his re5uest $or su**ort $or a &ouse resolution "&(C(# su**orting membershi* in +A,- $or Poland, &ungary, the !zech Ce*ublic and )lo%aAia by Danuary 1999( .,hroughout World War 11, Polish soldiers $ought in all ma/or battles and $ronts, with o%er 1 , Polish American soldiers stri%ing $or the same goal: to bring $reedom to Poland and that *art o$ the world(0 Brunhard added:

    N1

    8etter to Moynihan $rom Macielag and BunA $ound in PA!;D(!( Archi%eK 1n May 199N, Myra 8enard told the PA! !ouncil o$ +ational Directors meeting "May 199N# that: .since the )enator was not a%ailable to meet with them, they continued to *lague him to maAe his li$e a bit uncom$ortable( Moynihan %oted against rati$ication, howe%er, he will long remember the determination and the strong will o$ the Polonia in +ew OorA )tate, 0 PA!;D(!( Archi%e( N3 Press ad%isory was signed by ,heresa ComanowsAi, %ice *resident o$ the PA!4s Eastern Pennsyl%ania District, PA!;D(!( Archi%e(

    3<

    8et4s not abandon that goal, $or which millions ha%e died and tens o$ millions ha%e been *ersecuted( 8et4s not abandon the country, which has $ought $or $reedom, *eace and /ustice $or so many years and, most im*ortantly, let4s not abandon the *eo*le that ha%e sacri$iced so much by our not allowing Poland to be a *art o$ +A,-, an organization that would hel* Poland and her neighbors maintain a sense o$ security in an e%er7changing new world order(83

    Poland *oised to /oin +A,- marAed a trans$ormation in the country4s status, $rom that o$ a $ormer communist ca*ti%e nation to a $ull strategic *artner with the West whose %ery membershi* ushered it into Girst World standing( ,he changing and increasingly *ositi%e nature o$ '()(7Polish relations, and the $act o$ Poland4s new identity not as a %ictim, but as a +A,- *artner, meant signi$icant changes in the dias*ora4s de$inition o$ what Poland meant as an idea( Grom the *ers*ecti%e o$ ethnic identity *olitics, the changing conce*tions o$ Polish national identity were accom*anied by changes in the sense o$ res*onsibility $elt by Polish immigrants and their descendants to their new and ancestral homes( Democracy and %alues7based security $or the motherland had been much dreamed7o$ endgames $or Polish Americans o$ %arious generations who remained interested in their country o$ origin, and that remained an immaculate ideal during the *eriod o$ )o%iet domination during the !old War( Polonia, noted one *rominent $irst7generation Polish American, .consists o$ *eo*le who o$ten no longer s*eaA Polish, but are strongly connected to the old country and concerned about its so%ereignty and security(0 N= ,he duty o$ all Polish Americans, Andrze/ +izynsAi wrote in the West !oast bilingual monthly news*a*er $ews of Polonia, is .to hel* our $riends and $amilies in Poland, to Aee* the $lame o$ Polish *atriotism and national $reedom burning(0NB As late as 199>, in a letter sent out to the PA! membershi* about the need $or a .collecti%e stand o$ the Polish American community0 in $a%or o$ the inci*ient mo%ement to get Poland membershi* in +A,-, MosAal urged that letters be sent to President !linton and his senior $oreign *olicy sta$$ .eE*ressing dismay and astonishment at the *ossible turn o$ e%ents in Euro*e against your mother

    N> N=

    8etter to -wens $rom Brunhard was dated Dune 3=, 399=, PA!;D(!( Archi%e .A 6uestion o$ !redibility,0 cited in +owaA7DezioransAi, o*( cit(, *( 39L( &e added: .Another issue im*ortant to them is the 5uestion o$ $aith and $reedom o$ the !hurch in Poland(0 Andrze/ +izynsAi, writing in the West !oast bilingual news*a*er, $ews of Polonia, noted in an article on .Polish &ome Army Reterans 8uncheon,0 that: .,he Polish !atholic !hurch is the main bastion o$ Polish s*irit( 1t stresses its *osition on inde*endence, res*onsibility, national *ride, history, traditions, dignity, and honor(0 A dra$t o$ +izynsAi4s article was $aEed $rom the PA! Washington -$$ice on August 31, 199B to the news*a*er4s *ublisher, Marty !e*ieliA, suggesting minor editorial changes, PA!;D! Archi%e( NB +izynsAi, o*( cit(

    3L

    country0N< "1talics added(M Writing to !linton .on behal$ o$ 1 earlier in the teEt# to attend the B
    th

    million Americans o$ Polish

    descent,0 MosAal urged him to acce*t the in%itation o$ Polish President 8ech Walesa "mentioned Anni%ersary o$ the Warsaw '*rising the $ollowing year, on August 1, 199=( MosAal noted that Rice President Gore had been *resent in Warsaw the *re%ious A*ril on the anni%ersary o$ the Warsaw Ghetto '*rising, and said that the *resident4s *resence would .stress the special ties that e6ist between the /nited -tates and our old country(0NL .Where security o$ the land of their ancestors was concerned, ,eEans o$ Polish descent bridged all ga*s and di%isions,0 the PA! ,eEas Di%ision would re*ort a**ro%ingly at the end o$ the success$ul +A,cam*aign( .We stood as one(0 NN "1talics added(# MaAing sure PA! e$$orts were com*atible with '()( %alues and national interests and how doing right by Poland was also doing the right thing $or the 'nited )tates were Aey elements o$ the organization4s *olitical message( ,he issue was im*ortant, $or as )tanislaus A( Ble/was has noted: .Acti%e lobbying by any ethnic grou* either $or or against its homeland4s go%ernment traditionally raises 5uestions about the grou*4s *rimary loyalty, *articularly in terms o$ the im*act o$ ethnic7 grou* %oting u*on the American system o$ go%ernment and u*on American $oreign *olicy(0 N9 1n 199=, Myra 8enard recalled that: .,he case $or a $ree and inde*endent Poland within the framewor of America"s enlightened self3interest, has been *resented to the 'nited )tates )enate and &ouse o$ Ce*resentati%es, as well as to the mass media in numerous *a*ers and *ublications(0 9 "1talics added(# ,he $ight in the 'nited )tates $or Poland4s accession to +A,- hel*ed to rein$orce a construction o$ identity already im*ortant in the Polish American community, that to be a good Polish American meant being a good American( As early as the 19> s, the conce*t o$ .America0 had begun to co7eEist as .a *arallel ideological $atherland0 in the minds o$ '()( Polonia, cohabitating with the ancestral .Gatherland0 in ethnic celebrations, e*itomized by the slogan that .*roclaimed Polacy3Amery anie "Poles7America, the immigrants4 double identity(0 91
    N<

    Dra$t letter $rom MosAal dated December <, 199>, cited in +owaA7DezioransAi, o*( cit(, *( < K according to sources within the PA!, !asimir and Myra 8enard were the ghostwriters $or %irtually all o$ MosAal4s *ronouncements on the +A,- issue( NL 8etter to President William De$$erson !linton $rom Edward D( MosAal, *resident, Polish American !ongress, August 1<, 199>, PA!;D! Archi%e( NN .+A,- Enlargement !am*aign: Ce*ort $rom PA!7,eEas Di%ision,0 o*( cit(
    N9

    Ble/was, .Polonia and Politics,0 in Dohn D( BuAowczyA, "ed(# Polish Americans and their History7 Community, Culture, and Politics, "Pittsburgh: 'ni%ersity o$ Pittsburgh Press, 199<#, *( 1==(
    9

    8enard, .,he Cole o$ the Washington, D(!( -$$iceK Oesterday2,oday2,omorrow,0 *resented at the B3end Annual Meeting o$ the Polish 1nstitute o$ Arts and )ciences o$ America, American 'ni%ersity, Dune >, 199=, PA!;D(!( Archi%e(
    91

    Jathleen +eils !onzen, et( al(, .,he 1n%ention o$ Ethnicity: A Pers*ecti%e $rom the '()(A,0 8ournal of American 5thnic History, +o( 13 "Gall 1993#, **( 3373>, 3B73<, cited in Cussell A( Jazal, .Ce%iew: Ce%isiting Assimilation: ,he Cise, Gall, and Cea**raisal o$ a !once*t in American Ethnic &istory,0 The American Historical #eview, Rol( 1 , +o( 3 "A*ril 199B#, **( =<37=<>(

    3N

    ,he literature in the PA! archi%es in Washington, D(!( on +A,- accession is re*lete with a**eals and other statements rein$orcing the .good American0 and '()( national interest em*hases( Gor eEam*le, a 199N $inancial statement, read in *art: .,he Polish American !ongress, 1nc(, is a non7 *ro$it organizations whose *ur*ose is to uni$y and coordinate the e$$orts o$ *ersons o$ Polish eEtraction in the 'nited )tates, in su**ort o$ religious, charitable, scienti$ic, literary and educational acti%ities with em*hasis on their own cultural heritage and to ac5uaint them with their rights, *ri%ileges, and duties as an American citizen(0 93 At the momentous meeting the PA! and other re*resentati%es o$ !entral and East Euro*ean ethnic organizations had with senior !linton Administration o$$icials in MilwauAee on Danuary B, 199>, historian and PA! Wisconsin leader Donald PienAos argued that .,he inclusion o$ Poland and the others into the Alliance Q was necessary because such a *olicy was critical to our American national security interest(0 9> .-ur arguments,0 wrote +owaA7DezioransAi, in an article $or the Polish media, are .dictated by a concern $or the security o$ America as well as that o$ the country o$ our $athers(0 9= 1n the *reamble to its .199< Plat$orm Cecommendations0 o$$ered to the Ce*ublican and Democratic *arties during a *residential election year, the PA! noted that .,he Polish American community *rides itsel$ on its dee*ly rooted commitment to %alues o$ $amily, $aith, democracy, hard worA and $ul$illment o$ the American dream Q ,he Polish American !ongress, in Aee*ing with its mission that includes a dee* loyalty to the *rogress and security o$ the 'nited )tates, *resents the $ollowing *osition on the most %isible issues a$$ecting our society(09B A *ress release issued by the PA! in +o%ember 199L, about MosAal4s testimony on +A,accession be$ore the '()( )enate Goreign Celations !ommittee, noted that he .stressed Polish Americans, although concerned that the $reedom and inde*endence o$ Poland is maintained, are Americans $irst, and are there$ore, *rimarily concerned about the security and well7being o$ the 'nited )tates(0
    9<

    ,hat same year he wrote a letter to )en( Edward M( Jennedy eE*ressing

    .disbelie$0 in the Massachusetts Democrat4s o**osition to +A,- enlargement .$or the saAe o$ good relations with Cussia,0 adding: .We belie%e that the reconciliation o$ Cussia with the loss o$ its
    93 9>

    Polish American !ongress, 1nc(, .+otes to Ginancial )tatements, March >1, 199N,0 PA!;D(!( Archi%e( PienAos, .Witness to &istory: Polish Americans and the Genesis o$ +A,- Enlargement, The Polish #eview, Rol( a81R, +o( >, 1999, *( >>B( 9= .,he West Plays a Delaying Game,0 #?ec?pospolita, )e*tember 1, 199B, in cited +owaA7DezioransAi, o*( cit(, *( 3<1( 9B .199< Plat$orm Cecommendations Presented by the Polish American !ongress, 1nc(,0 in PA!;D! Archi%es( 9< Press release, .President o$ Polish American !ongress ,esti$ies Be$ore )enate Goreign Celations !ommittee,0 Polish American !ongress, +o%ember B, 199L, PA!;D(!( Archi%e(

    39

    em*ire lies in the best interest not only o$ its smaller neighbors, but also in the interest o$ the 'nited )tates and Cussia itsel$(09L -n +o%ember 1B, 199N, MosAal addressed the Polish American !ongress di%ision in !ali$ornia by saying, .Oou ha%e ser%ed not only the interests o$ Poland, guaranteeing its $reedom and security, but the 'nited )tates, as well, by diminishing the liAelihood o$ $uture wars(0 1n telling o$ the e$$orts o$ the Wisconsin PA! di%ision to *romote Polish accession, the state *resident re*orted to the national organization, .,his we ha%e done in solidarity with our colleagues in other P(A(!( units and out o$ our con%iction that Poland4s inclusion into the Alliance is in the best national security interests o$ our country, the 'nited )tates o$ America(0 9N At the same time, being .good0 Americans did not mean carte blanche acce*tance o$ go%ernment *olicy2otherwise the American Polonia would not ha%e engaged in their strenuous e$$orts to change the initially negati%e '()( stance on +A,- eE*ansion( As one PA! national director noted: .,he Polish American !ongress came into being B1 years ago in *rotest o$ the $orthcoming deal between the 'nited )tates, Great Britain and the )o%iet 'nion( We belie%ed then that the 'nited )tates seal o$ a**ro%al to )o%iet eE*ansion beyond its border gi%en in Oalta would create a $uture threat to our security and interests(T99 During the +A,- eE*ansion debate, the di%ision o$ Eastern and !entral Euro*e into .*rotected and un*rotected states or e%en worse, a di%ision o$ this area into +A,- and Cussian s*here o$ in$luence Q could be tantamount to another Oalta,0 +owaA7 DezioransAi warned De*uty )ecretary o$ )tate )trobe ,albott, a noted Cusso*hile, in March 199L( .)uch an outcome would *ut Poland and the Polish7American community in a morally unacce*table *osition(01 As democracy tooA root in a liberated Poland, and a consensus $ormed around the need to eEtend to it the bene$its o$ security $ound in +A,- membershi*, a new way to looA at Poland began to emerge as well, a more critical %iew arose among those $or whom the Polish agenda had always been dear( 1n 199=, one o$ the dias*ora4s strongest ad%ocates $or democracy in his homeland, Polish war hero and naturalized '()( citizen +owaA7DezioransAi o$$ered a clear7eyed *ers*ecti%e o$ the challenges the country $aced: .1n matters o$ the national interest o$ our mother country, we will always su**ort any go%ernment $ormed as a result o$ $ree elections( But Poland does not lie on the
    9L 9N

    MosAal letter to Jennedy, A*ril 39, 199L, PA!;D(!( Archi%e( Donald PienAos, .!ontributions o$ the Wisconsin )tate Di%ision o$ the Polish American !ongress to Poland4s Entry into +A,-,0 March 3N, 1999, PA!;D(!( Archi%e( 99 !omments by 8es JuczynsAi, o*( cit(, cited in Dan +owaA7DezioransAi, *( 3>>( 1 8etter to '()( De*uty )ecretary o$ )tate )trobe ,albott, March 3=, 199L, in +owaA7DezioransAi, o*( cit(, *(<><K on ,albott4s *ro7 Cussian leanings, see PienAos, .Witness to &istory,0 o*( cit(, *( >><(

    >

    moon, and must be cognizant o$ the results that internal ri%alries might bring in the international arena(01 1 ,hree years later, +owaA7DezioransAi, who had resigned $rom the PA! due to di$$erences with MosAal and who e%entually mo%ed bacA to Warsaw, ga%e a $ranA a**raisal o$ Poland, including a willingness to suggest that a less $a%orable circumstance sAated close to calamitous de%elo*ing world *henomenon, as
    a model eEam*le o$ a country $ul$illing the conditions $or admission to +A,-( With one eEce*tion: subordinating the armed $orces to ci%ilian authority and control( Q American o*inion is es*ecially sensiti%e on this *oint because o$ re*eated cou*s by military /untas in 8atin America, e%en until 5uite recently( 1 3

    ,he change in Poland4s international status, not sur*risingly, ele%ated its im*ortance on the world stage in the minds o$ the Polish American, *articularly so since the country became2through membershi* in +A,-2a military ally o$ the 'nited )tates( Polish American concerns about *restige and their status or standing, and that o$ their mother country, in the '()( had *redated the +A,- cam*aign, were related to issues o$ the American establishment4s ethnic and religious *re/udice that eEtended to all the *eo*les o$ East and !entral Euro*e( ,he e%idence, both historical and contem*orary, a**eared to bear out their concerns( 1n the 19= s, $or eEam*le, the Polish American !ongress was in the $ore$ront o$ e$$orts $or the better treatment o$, and the immigration to the '()( by, the region4s *eo*les dis*laced by World War 11( &owe%er, when a new organization, the !itizens4 !ommittee on Dis*laced Persons was launched in 19=L, .Ce*resentati%es o$ ethnic grou*s were not in%ited to *artici*ate Q "its *atronsM wanted to a%oid including minorities in the $ore$ront o$ the battle( Q in the beginning "utilizingM only Pim*ortant4 and Pdistinguished4 Americans(01 > 1n 19L3, then Washington o$$ice director !asimir 8enard wrote PA! President Aloysius A( MazewsAi a memorandum suggesting a series o$ ste*s needed to realize .the *ractical im*lementation o$ its own announced *rogram o$ hel* to the *eo*le o$ Poland(0 8enard noted that, .As measured by Polonia4s numerical strength, or its actual *olitical %oting *ower, our *artici*ation in the aid to the *eo*le o$ Poland has been 5uite limited in sco*e and im*ortance(0 By way o$ concrete actions to increase that assistance, 8enard suggested, .our stature in the 'nited )tates as an ethnic grou* will certainly be im*ro%ed(0 1 = ,he 19L s, the PA! launched a ma/or e$$ort to combat ethnic de$amation in the $orm o$ .Polish0 /oAes and other negati%e stereoty*ing, *articularly the
    1 1 1 3

    .+A,- and Poland( What +ow?0 o*( cit(, *( 1BN( .With a $eeling o$ relie$,0 Ea?eta Byborc?a, March 1B71<, 199L, PA!;D(!( Archi%e 1 > DaroszynsAa7Jirchmann, .,he Mobilization o$ American Polonia,0 o*( cit(, *( =L( 1 = Memorandum $rom 8enard to MazewsAi, .Polish American !ongress4 Assistance to the Peo*le o$ Poland,0 )e*tember 3N, 19L3, PA!;D(!( Archi%e(

    >1

    accusation that Poles2three million o$ whom died in +azi concentration cam*s2tended towards anti7)emitism "a *erce*tions issue that still dogs American Polonia until this day#( 1 B At the same time, &elena WnaniecAi 8o*ata $ound that, by the 19L s, there were .se%eral $actors0 worAing to increase Polonia4s em*hasis on .the de%elo*ment and dissemination o$ Polish national culture(
    Girst, the new emigration is less anti7intellectual and more oriented toward achie%ement through education than the old emigration had been( )econd, Polonia is becoming more interested in status com*etition with other ethnic communities in America( ,hird, Polish Americans are becoming more willing to use American criteria o$ success in com*etition with others( Ginally, Polish Americans are becoming increasingly aware o$ the disad%antage o$ being ignorant o$ the culture o$ the national society o$ their origin( 1 <

    E%en in the 19N s, howe%er, American Polonia worried about it *lace and *restige in American society( 1t remained .to a large eEtent a $orgotten community, its distinct identity and heritage disregarded, all too o$ten submerged in what is commonly re$erred to as Pother4 Americans,0 Aloysius A( MazewsAi, the PA! *resident, and Jazimierz 8uAomsAi, chairman o$ its Polish A$$airs !ommission, wrote in 19N=( .-%er the *ast se%eral decades Americans o$ Polish descent ha%e contributed their $ull share to the de%elo*ment and *ros*erity o$ this country( ,he time has come that their %alue as loyal and dedicated Americans is recognized and acAnowledged, in *ractical terms, throughout the *olitical, academic, scienti$ic and business communities o$ this country(01 L !oncern about and the idiom o$ ethnic discrimination in the '()(, combined with historically7based worries about Polish sacri$ice on the alter o$ other nations4 security, a**eared to $ind echo in the writings o$ Polish Americans on the 5uestion o$ +A,- enlargement, as well as other issues( At the outset o$ the accession cam*aign, Myra 8enard, PA! Washington o$$ice director, circulated an article written by Dr( )tanislaus A( Ble/was titled .Partners $or Peace or )econd7!lass Euro*eans?0 1n it, Ble/was suggested that *ro*osals by !linton Administration o$$icials on Euro*ean security led one to .wonder whether American $oreign *olicy is di%iding Euro*e into .$irst and second class Euro*eans(01 N An undated memorandum $ound in the PA! Washington -$$ice $iles, *robably written within a year o$ !linton becoming *resident, listed as .one o$ the most critical0 o$ the .sore *oints that re5uire thought$ul solution was .access by ethnic grou*s liAe the PA! to the White &ouse( During a meeting with !linton *olitical aide !hucA )antangelo, .this was discussed and
    1 B 1 < 1 L 1 N

    PienAos, (or Your (reedom Through %urs, o*( cit(, **( 1< 171<3K ft. B>>(
    8o*ata, Polish Americans, o*(cit(, *( B>(

    Polish American Agenda for the 5ighties, Duly 19N=, PA!;D! Archi%e(

    A $aE o$ Ble/was4s $our7*age article was sent by 8enard to the Polish and )la%ic !enter $or *ossible *ublication, December 3>, 199>, PA!;D(!( Archi%e(

    >3

    stressed that many ethnic grou*s, not /ust the Polish American !ongress, were distressed that doors o$ the White &ouse were closed to them, instead there would be a contact *erson $or those ethnics in the "Democratic +ational !ommittee#( ,he latest incident is another blow to the old main7line ethnic organizations( Q . Myra 8enard was cited as ha%ing .no argument with the Democratic Party, in $act ma/ority o$ elected o$$icials Democrats and ha%e worAed with PA! and PA! has su**orted them Q *roblem stems $rom White &ouse ignoring main7steam "sic# ethnic organizations, $a%or: women, blacAs, &is*anics geogra*hic, homoseEuals etc(, Q no time $or white ethnics(0 1 9 As late as 199B, a letter $rom MosAal to )enator Cobert Dole "C7Jansas#, on a dis*ute between some Dewish &olocaust sur%i%or organizations and the PA! o%er whether to linA restoration o$ *ro*erty stolen during World War 11 to aid to the newly7emerging democracies o$ !entral and Eastern Euro*e, contained the com*laint: .Do our %iews not matter to you?0 11 )imilarly, when the same year +owaA7DezioransAi was asAed by a Polish /ournalist about .a certain sym*athy0 $or Poland and its President, 8ech Walesa, around the world, gi%en its .signi$icant economic *otential, a large army, a *o*ulous nation in the ner%e center o$ Euro*e Q,0 the Polish XmigrX cut the 5uestion short, o$$ering a brutally realpoliti %ision o$ what was really im*ortant( .1 must disa**oint you( What counts most is the electoral interest o$ the American Administration( 1$ it weren4t $or 1 million Polish7Americans, there would not e%en be the .Partnershi* $or Peace(0 111 At a meeting o$ the PA! !ouncil o$ +ational Directors in 199<, B( D( BednarsAi, a $ormer tele%ision critic $or /-A Today, told the grou* that Polish Americans still su$$ered $rom marAed negati%e ethnic stereoty*ing,
    that the image he sees o$ Poles on tele%ision is /ust aw$ul( &e says he has been aware o$ the Polish /oAes $or most o$ his li$e( 1n the last $ew years it has im*ro%ed 5uite a lot, but as a class o$ *eo*le, i$ all o$ America was thinAing about Polish Americans, they would classi$y us as worAing class and worAing class *eo*le ha%e been re*resented on tele%ision %ery *oorly( ,hey are re*resented as not dri%ing the right cars or wearing the right clothes nor not ha%ing the right o*inions( )ome o$ those *eo*le who are de*icted as worAing class are gi%en *hony last names( 113

    "Polish American historian ,haddeus R( Gromada said that *roblems o$ ethnic sel$ esteem contributed to the *roblem in the certain aggrandizement in the retelling o$ both older and contem*orary history: .1t must be admitted that some Polish Americans Q ha%e succumbed to so7
    1 9 11

    ,wo7*age .,alAing Points0 dra$t, in PA!;D(!( Archi%e( MosAal letter to Dole, dated A*ril 19, 199B, is cited in +owaA7DezioransAi, Poland"s #oad to $AT%, *( 1NN( 111 .A 6uestion o$ !redibility,0 cited in +owaA7DezioransAi, o*( cit(, *( 39L( 113 )inutes of the ConventionFConcurrent Council of $ational 'irectors )eeting, Polish American !ouncil, Cosemont, 1llinois, -ctober 3=73<, 199<, *( 1<(

    >>

    called com*ensatory history, e%en ethnic chau%inism, in order to raise their sel$ esteem and the sel$ esteem o$ young Polish Americans( P,here4s always a Pole, at the bottom o$ it, doing the real worA4 a**roach to American history has had and it still has many ad%ocates(0M 11> E$$orts to im*ro%e the image o$ Polish Americans were linAed in many minds with the 5uest $or greater *olitical *ower( .Whene%er there is an election o$ *ublic o$$icials, our local Polonia is not being catered to or solicited by candidates seeAing o$$ice,0 com*lained $ews of Polonia *ublisher Marty !e*ieliA( .As a *olitical %oting blocA to be recAoned with, we are a non7entity(0 11= 1n the same edition o$ the news*a*er Dan P( MuczyA noted, in an article titled .A Blue*rint $or Political Power,0 that, while .Polish Americans %ote in large numbers, and their %ote is geogra*hically concentrated Q we must learn to %ote as a blocA and to $ocus that blocA on the candidacy o$ whate%er elected o$$icial will best ser%e the causes o$ Polonia and Poland(011B 1n the $all o$ 199L, the Gederation o$ Polish Americans, a small organization trying, albeit unsuccess$ully, to com*ete with the PA!, called on American Polonia to .be a *artici*ant in this greatest o$ all *olitical arenas, so that no one can ever contemplate that they could run roughshod over Polish American interests, our heritage, and our children"s future, because we as a community somehow are *olitically less *otent than our %ast numbers tell us we are( ,hat is a myth which must $ore%er be laid to rest(011< "1talics added(# ,he same GPA newsletter also charged that in a graduation s*eech at the 'ni%ersity o$ +orth !arolina in May 199L, $ormer Ce*ublican )ecretary o$ De$ense Dames )chlesinger .tooA at swi*e at both ethnic lobbying in $oreign *olicy and domestic recognition o$ the di%ersity that is the cornerstone o$ American society(0 1t 5uoted )chlesinger as warning:
    ,he disa**earance o$ the )o%iet threat Q has le$t the $ield "o$ '()( $oreign *olicy maAingM o*en to domestic interest grou*s that ha%e their own s*ecial aEes to grind( ,hus domestic constituencies2most, but not entirely ethnic grou*s2ac5uire an eEcessi%e in$luence o%er our $oreign *olicy( As a direct result, our $oreign *olicy lacAs coherence( ,hat tendency has in recent years been rein$orced by the weaAening, i$ not the disa**earance, o$ the traditional
    11>

    Gromada, .Polish Americans and Multiculturalism,0 *residential address gi%en on Danuary =, 199L at the Annual Meeting o$ the Polish American &istorical Association, +ew OorA !ity, PA!;D(!( Archi%e( 11= A dra$t o$ !e*ieliA4s article was $aEed bacA to the *ublisher $rom the PA! Washington -$$ice on August 31, 199B, suggesting mostly minor editorial changes, PA!;D! Archi%e( &owe%er, his .we are a non7entity0 comment was accom*anied by a handwritten comment, .too harsh(0
    11B 11<

    MuczyA, o*( cit(

    Gederation o$ Polish Americans $ewsletter, Rol( 1, Autumn, 199L, *( >( .,he Polish American community has been, and remains, enormously under7re*resented in the $ederal go%ernment, and yet, e%en that a**alling o%ersight did not *rom*t, in recent decades, the creation o$ a national *olitical action committee by Polish Americans,0 it claimed( .,he Gederation o$ Polish Americans2+ational Political Action !ommittee "PGA7+PA!# is, in $act, the only $ormally registered PA! o$ its Aind re*resenting the interests o$ the Polish American community(

    >=

    conce*t o$ America as a melting *ot( ,hat results in a loss o$ the sense o$ common *ur*ose, on which we must de*end to establish a national consensus( ,he new $ashion o$ what is called Praising ethnic consciousness4 legitimizes disunity2and delegitimizes the search $or a common *ur*ose( Ethnicity has become the norm( ,o s*eaA o$ the national interest in the abstract is sim*ly to in%ite a rebuAe(

    Where )chlesinger had in%oAed .our $oreign *olicy,0 the GPA newsletter inserted an asterisA a$ter the .our,0 commenting at the end o$ the remarAs cited that it .belie%es it is our $oreign *olicy as well( Ce%iewing the honor rolls o$ the dead on WW11 battle$ields $inds that e%ery siEth name is Polish(0 1m*licit in the criticism was the belie$ that Polish Americans deser%ed not to be eEcluded $rom the *olicymaAing arena not only because that would contradict American %alues embracing di%ersity, but also because o$ the im*ortance o$ the sacri$ices o$ Poles and Polish Americans $or a cause held in common with the rest o$ the 'nited )tates "*olitical inclusion and coo*eration remained im*ortant issues, re$lected in the $act they were at the to* o$ the list o$ 5uestions gi%en by the PA! in a 5uestionnaire to the 3 N ma/or *arty *residential candidates#( 11L ,he di%ersity argument could also be seen in a news column by Cobert )itosAi, a member o$ the PA! *olitical action committee, in a Polish American $ews article titled, .Oour Rote and Partici*ation Does !ountU0
    Dust as it is im*ortant $or indi%iduals to be *art o$ the *rocess, it is also im*ortant $or Polish Americans to be recognized as an ethnic grou*( Elected o$$icials must understand that America is a great mosaic and that e%ery ethnic grou* e5ually *lays an im*ortant *art o$ the electi%e *rocess and the cultural li$e o$ America( 11N

    )uccess in hel*ing bring to Poland what it had always lacAed "and thus been a $re5uent %ictim $or that reason#2security2meant that Polish Americans could eE*lore other, more local, $acets o$ their ethnic identity in the new millennium( Gor those o$ e%en more distant linAage to the ancestral homeland, the lea* $rom imagining what had been as seen through an 1ron !urtain to that o$ a new model o$ *ros*erity and democratic rule re5uired a rethinAing about both what it meant to be Polish and being a Pole in the dias*ora( 1n a re*ort by 8awrence WuciAowsAi, *resident o$ the Polish Galcons o$ America,119 to the PA! !ouncil o$ +ational Directors meeting May > 7Dune 1, 199<, he urged .all members o$ the Polish American !ongress and es*ecially the +ational Directors to concentrate more on the American Agenda and $uture o$ Polonia in the 'nited )tates o$ America(
    11L 11N

    1nter%iew with PA! sta$$ member "name withheld u*on re5uest#( Polish American $ews, A*ril 199N, *age( >, PA!;D! Archi%e( 119 ,he Polish Galcons o$ America is a more7than7a7century7old Polonia $raternal bene$it society and *hysical $itness organization(

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    %nly through a strong, united front, wor ing together, can we hope to preserve our culture and heritage and then we will be in a position to help our brethren in Poland (013 "1talics added(# At the end o$ the cam*aign $or Polish accession to +A,-, PA! +ational Rice President Witold D( 8uAaszewsAi, noted that: .'ntil ten years ago, not to $orget one4s Polish heritage meant to Aee* the dream o$ Poland4s inde*endence ali%e(0 &owe%er, he noted, although there was .still much /oy0 in Poland4s $reeing itsel$ $rom communist rule, restoring a democracy and marAet economy, and membershi* in +A,-: .,here is also an awareness that, as a conse5uence o$ these changes, Poland and World Polonias ha%e entered into a 5ualitati%ely new historical era(0 131 ,he gradual di%ergence in the interests o$ Poland and Polish Americans, and the mo%e towards a new identity, can be seen in the use o$ the word .we0 by one PA! cha*ter, in discussing battles *ast and *resent, and the challenges to come( .We ha%e $ought a 1 H year battle to secure Poland4s liberty,0 read a *ublication o$ the PA!4s 1llinois Di%ision in Dune 199N, when the battle $or +A,accession $or the motherland was all but com*lete( .We won that battle( We must now looA more closely at our *osition here at home(0 1n the $irst two instances, the .we0 re$erred to Poles and Polish AmericansK in the last, those needing to taAe a closer looA at their situation .at home0 "i(e(, the 'nited )tatesM, where Polish Americans( ,aAing note o$ a need $or greater *olitical in%ol%ement, it said that Polish Americans, too, .are entrusted with a legacy0 $rom Polish history, but one that was not limited to the geogra*hic s*ace occu*ied by Poland( .Polish Americans are eEcited and *roud to be Polish( Building on +A,-, we can unite these $eelings by worAing together through the PA! to $urther -+E G-A82to ad%ance Polish Americans(0 133 1n 199N, 8uAaszewsAi told the PA! !ouncil o$ +ational Directors meeting that, .Because o$ its size and in$luence, the PA! will *lay an im*ortant role in the li$e o$ its ancestral country(0
    13>

    &owe%er, /ust a year later, he told the PA!

    leadershi*: .,his attainment o$ stability and normality by Poland made it necessary $or World Polonia, including the PA!, to re7e%aluate its relations with its ancestral country,0 wrote 8uAaszewsAi at the end o$ the +A,- accession cam*aign( .Poland4s sur%i%al and $reedom no longer need to be at the $ore$ront o$ our attention( We can now de%ote a much larger *ro*ortion o$

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    )inutes of the )eeting of the Council of $ational 'irectors of the Polish American Congress, +ew*ort Beach, !ali$ornia, *( 11, PA!;D! Archi%e(
    131

    Witold D( 8uAaszewsAi, .Rice President4s Ce*ortK Polish A$$airs !ommission,0 in )inutes of the Council of 'irectors )eeting7 Polish American Congress, A*ril 3373=, 1999, PA!;D(!( Archi%e( 133 PA! 1llinois Di%ision4s The ,ulletin, Dune 199N
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    8uAaszewsAi, Minutes o$ the Polish American !ongress !ouncil o$ +ational Directors Meeting, .8incolnwood, 1llinois, May 1B71L, 199N, *(1>(

    ><

    our energies to own de%elo*ment, to the betterment o$ our own community(0 13= .Perha*s it is time Q that we, too, obser%e the slogan, PWeby PolsAa byla PolsAa,4 P8et Poland be Poland,4 and *ay more heed to our *roblems here at home,0 MosAal told the PA! leadershi* in 1999( .With that in mind, it becomes ob%ious that the new millennium will re5uire that we $ocus our *rimary attention on Polonia in the 'nited )tates and *lace our em*hasis on what we ha%e called P,he American Agenda(40 13B ,he comments by MosAal at the end o$ Poland accession cam*aign was e%idence in the sea7change taAing *lace among Polish Americans and their relationshi* as ethnic Americans to the home o$ their ancestors( As one o$ his lieutenants in the PA! Washington -$$ice had already noted, the %ery nature o$ some o$ the PA!4s worA with Poland meant that it .could not always ad%ertise0 what it was doing(0 13< With Poland4s accession to +A,-, the PA!4s worA in hel*ing Poland become, in MosAal4s words, .the most success$ul o$ all the new democracies Q has largely been accom*lished0 and Poland .was ready to stand on its own two $eet(0 &owe%er, realization o$ the ideal o$ democracy in the motherland also meant a hard looA at what that new reality meant $or the PA!, as MosAal noted a lacA o$ a**reciation by Poles in Poland $or all that was done by his organization on their behal$(
    1n $act, there is e%en a certain annoyance on the *art o$ Poles at what they *ercei%e to be inter$erence with their internal a$$airs( ,hat condition is eEacerbated by the $act that the *resent generation o$ Polish leaders ha%e only a marginal Anowledge o$ the contributions made by many generations o$ Polish Americans( ,here has been a real absence o$ in$ormation about us in Poland and, as a result, our intentions are o$ten misunderstood( Q We ha%e been treated something liAe the .Cich 'ncle,0 treated with res*ect, but with some degree o$ a**rehension( )oon, howe%er, we will be that same rich uncle, but now greeted by a .Cich +e*hew,0 meeting each other on more e5ual ground( 13L

    At the same PA! !ouncil o$ +ational Directors meeting where MosAal made his remarAs, in May 199N, 8uAaszewsAi said he wanted to .*ose some 5uestions concerning the role the Polish American !ongress can and should *lay in this Polish uni%erse and what goals we should *ursueK what res*onsibilities are ours, gi%en our *rominent *ositionK what res*onsibilities we ha%e to
    13=

    8uAaszewsAi, .Rice President4s Ce*ortK Polish A$$airs !ommission,0 o*( cit( &e added: .While, less than ten years ago, Poland went $rom a communist enemy state to a $ree and inde*endent *ost7communist state to an ally o$ the 'nited )tates( We, in the Polish American !ongress and the American Polonia at large, hel*ed in some measurable way to bring these changes about and now we ha%e to li%e with them and ada*t to them(0 13B Ce*ort by Edward D( MosAal, o*( cit( 13< -ctober 1N, 199< memorandum, .Ces*onse to Polish American 8obbying,0 by Washington -$$ice *ublic relations director )o*hia MisAiewicz, *( >( PA!;D(!( Archi%e( .,he PA! may not always ha%e been %isible, but it has been acti%e, o$ten behind the scenes, and during )olidarity days and Martial 8aw, o$ten by necessity, clandestinely(0 13L Ce*ort by Edward D( MosAal, o*( cit(

    >L

    oursel%es in the 'nited )tates and to Poland and Polonias in general(0 ,he 5uestion o$ $raming those res*onsibilities, he added, grew not only $rom the situation o$ Polish Americans in the 'nited )tates, or changes in the world situation:
    Q as we looA at the contem*orary international situations we can see another distant, 5uiet, almost im*erce*tible change in Poland4s international *osition( Q 1t is now well on its way to reach its ob/ecti%es with +A,- membershi* now almost assured( ,his means that the 'nited )tates, our homeland, and Poland, the home o$ our ancestors and the source o$ our cultural heritage will be members o$ the same military and *olitical alliance and will be dedicated to the same system o$ *hiloso*hical, *olitical and social %alues( ,his also means that the security community to which Poland will belong will include, in addition to the 'nited )tates, se%enteen other western democratic countries and in some o$ these countries such as Great Britain, !anada, Grance and Germany there eEist %ery sizable and *otentially in$luential Polonias( ,hey eEist also in the members o$ +A,-( ,his will be the new Polish neighborhood in our new alliance( 13N

    Gor 8uAaszewsAi the meeting was an o**ortunity to eEamine the organization4s interests o%erseas and to *lace it, rather than Poland, at the center o$ the discussion2itsel$ a dramatic change in an agenda that had been $ocused *rimarily, i$ not, solely, on the ancestral homeland since the PA!4s $ounding( ,o understand the *henomenon $rom a .global7international *ers*ecti%e
    imagine Poland, imagine Polonias $rom around the world, and imagine all the Poles li%ing around the globe and thinA about them as the Polish uni%erse( We are *art o$ this Polish uni%erse and in it the Polish American !ongress, as the acAnowledged re*resentati%e o$ the American Polonia is neEt to Poland, the brightest star, the most in$luential grou*ing o$ *ersons identi$ying themsel%es with Polish culture( We are a**roEimately 1 million strong and constitute, by $ar, the most numerous com*onent o$ world Polonia, which is estimated between 1= and 1B million( Q Bith America"s democratic political system, as open to group influence as ours is, the implication of our presence here should not be difficult to imagine. Be are in a very advantageous position, given our numbers and given the country in which we live.I "1talics added#( 139

    Tactics "sed &# an ethnic gro"p p"rs"ing political goals in the United States
    Writing in the 19L s WnaniecAi 8o*ata $ound that the Polish American !ongress, as an .interorganizational association,0 and as such, had se%eral ad%antages o%er other Polonia grou*s( 1ts re*resentati%es, she noted:
    can claim re*resentati%eness in that it *resents a united $ront to the outside( 1ts leaders can begin all communications with a statement o$ %oting *ower( Gor eEam*le, .We siE million Americans o$ Polish Descent Q0 )econd, its res*onses to acute e%ents can be more ra*id
    13N 139

    8uAaszewsAi, .Rice President4s Ce*ortK Polish A$$airs !ommission,0 o*( cit 8uAaszewsAi, .Rice President4s Ce*ortK Polish A$$airs !ommission,0 o*( cit

    >N

    than can the *ooling o$ res*onses by se*arate grou*s( ,hird, it can s*end its time between acute emergencies in $ormulating basic ideologies and sets o$ *olicies( )ince most acute e%ents $all within chronic situations, such a crystallization o$ stances and *rocedures gi%es the leaders con$idence to act ra*idly and to communicate a call $or action to Polonia without ha%ing to argue out the whole issue( Gourth, it has continuing o*erational budget o$ su$$icient size to co%er most o$ its .normal0 acti%ity( Ginally, it has a %ery broad, but de$initely *olitical, $ocus( ,he Polish American !ongress was created in order to mobilize *ublic *ressure and it does not ha%e distracting $unctions which might sometimes be gi%en higher *riority( 1>

    ,he +A,- cam*aign *ro%ided an eEcellent test o$ these *remises three decades later( !ertainly the PA! was able to o$$er a united $ront that communicated %oting *ower( At the beginning o$ the cam*aign, it was already able to2on behal$ o$ Polish Americans2res*ond ra*idly to acute e%ents( ,he bi7annual meetings o$ the !ouncil o$ +ational Directors also ser%ed to *ro%ide a broad $rameworA o$ ideology and *olicies that em*owered the PA! leadershi* to .act ra*idly and to communicate a call $or action to Polonia without ha%ing to argue out the whole issue0 in the $ace o$ changing *olitical circumstances( Although money was chronically a *roblem, 1>1 the cost7e$$icient technological re5uirements o$ the cam*aign2$aEes, e7mails, telegrams and letters2allowed a certain latitude $or action( And the organization4s *olitical $ocus did *ro%ide the institutional co%er $or mobilizing *ublic *ressure without $acing higher *riority .distractions(0 &owe%er, to understand the role ethnic organizations *layed in one o$ the most im*ortant de$ense and security issues $aced by the 'nited )tates in the immediate *ost7!old War *eriod, a more holistic %iew o$ the +A,- cam*aign is needed, $rom its ince*tion to %ictory( ,he PA! archi%es in Washington, D(!(, contain memoranda, letters, strategy *a*ers, telegrams to member o$ the '()( !ongress and other materials that *ro%ide that window into the .hows0 and .whys0 that cam*aign was success$ul( As an umbrella grou* $or Polonia that also dro%e the agenda $or the !entral and Eastern Euro*ean coalition,1>3 the PA! was able to o$$er the broadest concei%able ethnic $ront, one that bristled with

    1>

    WnaniecAi 8o*ata, Polish Americans, o*( cit(, *( N>( E%en at the end o$ the success$ul +A,- enlargement cam*aign, the PA! $undraising committee noted that the organization4s .most *ressing need is an immediate cash $low *roblem,0 .Polish American !ongress +otes $rom Gund Caising Meeting,0 Washington, D(!(, March 1<, 3 1, PA!;D! Archi%e( 1>3 ,he PA!4s $inancial *roblems, noted abo%e, did seem to ha%e one bene$it2maAing bridge building with other ethnic grou*s all the more im*ortant( 1n her memorandum, .Ces*onse to Polish American 8obbying,0 o*( cit(, PA! Washington -$$ice
    1>1

    *ublic relations director )o*hia MisAiewicz noted that, .Because o$ its limited resources and man*ower in the Washington -$$ice, the PA! relies on coo*eration with other Polish American grou*s and other ethnic lobbies,0 *( >, PA!;D(!( Archi%e(

    >9

    %oting *ower( .Without *ressure $rom the Polish ethnic grou*, there would be no acceleration on the +A,- issue,0 +owaA7DezioransAi obser%ed in 199<(1>> ,he ability to claim to mobilize more than 3 million ethnic Americans in su**ort o$ +A,enlargement did the PA! *articular strength in the *eriod between the end o$ the !old War and the e%ents o$ )e*tember 11, 3 1( 1n a series o$ article written in A*ril 199N, the Chicago Tribune noted that, because o$ President !linton4s burgeoning scandals and !ongressional ascendancy in $oreign *olicy in the *ost7!old War era, .small, obscure interest grou*s0 already recei%ed an .outsized %oice in $raming America4s role in the world(01>= E%en those who admired the !linton Administration4s enthusiasm to eE*and +A,- to include Poland, &ungary and the !zech Ce*ublic .concede that it has as much to do with ethnic %otes in the 'nited )tates, es*ecially Polish7 American %otes, as with the strategic situation in !entral Euro*e(0 When !linton ga%e his s*eech in 199< announcing su**ort $or including Poland and two other nations in an eE*anded +A,-, the news*a*er noted, he did so in Detroit, .a Polish American stronghold,0 then lunched at the Polish Rillage !a$X in neighboring &amtramcA, a largely Polish American city( 1t 5uoted the PA!4s 8enard as saying, .&e needed %otes( ,hat4s how it ha**ened(01>B .+ot all ethnic lobbies are e5ually *ower$ul or e5ually ade*t0 the Tribune noted( .,he most e$$ecti%e2!ubans, GreeAs, Armenians, Poles, the Baltic nations, among others2are small but highly *ro$essional o*erations *lugged into a large cohesi%e and %ocal ethnic dias*ora around the country(
    ,he Polish American !ongress is literally a mom7and7*o* sho*( !asimir 8enard and his wi$e, Myra, who succeeded him as eEecuti%e director in 19L , ha%e been *romoting the Polish7American cause $or nearly > years( A$ter the breaAu* o$ the )o%iet 'nion in 1991, the 8enards organized write7in *ressure cam*aigns on !ongress $rom their organization4s branches in 3L states and thousands o$ members around the country( ,hey were aided by the !entral and East Euro*ean !oalition, a networA o$ lobbies $rom the $ormer )o%iet7controlled countries2Armenia, 'Araine, Bulgaria, the Baltic states and the others2that met weeAly to coordinate strategy( 1><

    1>>

    .A Pact in ,ime,0 Bprost, 199<, +o( >N, **( 1L71N, in +owaA7DezioransAi, o*( cit(, *( ><1( +owaA7DezioransAi also added that: .,he Polish lobby was instrumental in 199 in $orcing "German# !hancellor "&elmut# Johl to $inally recognize the "PolishM border on the -der7+eisse(0 1>= C(!( 8ongworth, .Alone at the to*: Goreign *olicy in a new world,0 Chicago Tribune, A*ril 1=, 199N, *( 1( 1>B C(!( 8ongworth, .-ne nation, many %oices: As members o$ !ongress eEert more leadershi*, di$$use s*ecial interests $ind that they can ha%e eEce*tional in$luence,0 Chicago Tribune, A*ril 1>, 199N, *( 1( 1>< C(!( 8ongworth, .-ne nation, many %oices,0 o*( cit(

    ,he PA! and the coalition e%ery year wrote bills *romoting +A,- eE*ansion, o$$ering them to $riendly lawmaAers, !asimir 8enard told the news*a*er( Ginally, in 199B, they were able to get one *assed(1>L ,he laudatory *ro$ile o$ PA! e$$orts in the Chicago Tribune did not, howe%er, Aee* Myra 8enard $rom raising the issue o$ the need to engage grass roots Polonia more e$$ecti%ely, within the conteEt o$ continuing tensions between the Washington -$$ice and some o$ the national di%isions( Because MosAal had allowed the Washington -$$ice to use the PA!4s general membershi* list $or its a .%ery success$ul0 +A,- $undraising solicitation, more than V>9, o$ V9 , was raised, in addition to a donation $rom a *ri%ate Polish $oundation, 8enard said( )ome di%isions, howe%er, com*lained

    that the +ational -$$ice "the !hicago head5uarters# was .im*osing on their territory0 1$ it wasn4t $or the +ational -$$ice, she added, .there wouldn4t be a Di%ision( &ow do you se*arate one $rom the other? ,hese $unds are needed to that we can go out and *ublicize the acti%ities, enlarge our sta$$ and taAe on more res*onsibilities(0 8enard noted that the Washington -$$ice, re$erred to in the Tribune as a .mom7and7*o* sho*,0 had /ust three *eo*le on sta$$2two salaried em*loyees and a 3=7hour a weeA %olunteer( .1$ mom and *o* could do it /ust thinA what we could accom*lish i$ we could *romote in our Di%isions the idea that they should su**ort the +ational -$$ice0 she said(
    .Be have to get out to the greater Polonia in each state. Be have to develop new leadership if necessary, and get new members. &et"s give way to a younger, larger, aggressive, motivated, prosperous and innovative group to ma e our organi?ation nationally powerful. You are the leaders and you have the responsibility to ma e the PAC grow.'1>N "1talics added(#

    PA! $rustration with the !linton Administration4s early uncertain mo%ement towards integrating Poland into +A,- had led to a crucial decision to reach out to other Eastern and !entral Euro*ean !oalition .to generate more momentum(01>9 ,he decision to recon%ene the moribund anti7)o%iet alliance, at the initiati%e o$ !asimir 8enard, and led by him and +owaA7DezioransAi, meant the PA! would ha%e to worA towards consensus with, initially, nine other organizations( At the same time, it
    1>L 1>N

    C(!( 8ongworth, .-ne nation, many %oices,0 o*( cit(

    )inutes of the Polish American Congress Council of $ational 'irectors )eeting, 8incolnwood, 1llinois, May 1B71L, 199N, *( 1 , PA!;D! Archi%e(
    1>9

    .Washington -$$ice Polish American !ongress Ce*ortK +o%ember 199> to Dune 199=, submitted by Myra 8enard, EEecuti%e Director, at the !ouncil o$ +ational Directors Meeting, Dune 1 , 199=,0 PA!;D(!( Archi%e( Grou*s in%ited to attend meeting at the PA! included the Armenian Assembly o$ AmericaK Doint Baltic American +ational !ommitteeK the '()(2Baltic GoundationK the Bulgarian 1nstitute $or Cesearch and AnalysisK Estonian World !ouncilK ,he Estonian American +ational !ouncil, 1nc(K &ungarian American !oalitionK American 8at%ian AssociationK 8ithuanian American !ommunity, 1nc(K !ongress o$ Comanian AmericansK the 'Arainian +ational Association, 1nc(, and the 'Arainian +ational 1n$ormation )er%ice(

    =1

    e%entually allowed the PA! to claim credit $or the rein%igoration o$ a coalition o$ 13 ethnic communities with roots in East !entral Euro*e( .,ogether we re*resent a blocA o$ 19 million %oters concentrated in eight crucial states,0 read .An A**eal $rom the Polish American !ongress !ouncil o$ +ational Directors to All Polish Americans,0 issued Dune 3>, 199B( .+obody can ignore this $orce( We should use it to *re%ent a re*etition o$ Oalta(0 1= 1n an otherwise critical *ortrait o$ MosAal, Poland4s Bprost magazine noted that, .When the $ate o$ Poland4s admission to +A,hung in the balance, he sent a letter to the '()( )enate and to Bill !linton(0 MosAal .called on Poles to shower the !a*itol and the White &ouse with $aEes and e7mails calling $or an acceleration o$ the decision on broadening the alliance(01=1 By the 3 elections, The Bee ly -tandard noted, in an article called .Arabs, Poles, and -ther Jey RotersK Ethnic Poutreach4 could decide who maAes it to the White &ouse,0 that both Democratic and Ce*ublican cam*aigns were
    seeAing the su**ort o$ Americans who trace their ancestry to !entral and Eastern Euro*ean nations Q 1n swing states liAe 1llinois, Michigan, -hio, and Pennsyl%ania, !entral and Eastern Euro*eans re*resent between 13 and 1N *ercent o$ the *o*ulation( Q Americans o$ Polish descent maAe u* the largest *art o$ the !entral and Eastern Euro*ean mosaic( 1=3

    At the end o$ the +A,- cam*aign, the relentless engagement by the Polish American !ongress4s national o$$ices in !hicago and Washington had been well documented( &owe%er, less was Anown about what the entirety o$ what the organization4s Di%isions did at the state and local le%el to su**ort +A,- accession by Poland( Because only nine o$ the PA!4s =1 di%isions and cha*ters had submitted a$ter action re*orts to the !ouncil o$ +ational Directors2!entral District o$ +ew OorA Di%ision, Downstate +ew OorA Di%ision, Eastern Massachusetts Di%ision, Eastern Pennsyl%ania Di%ision, +orthern !ali$ornia Di%ision, ,eEas Di%ision, Washington Metro*olitan Area Di%ision, Wisconsin Di%ision, and "the Polish American !lub o$ )arasota# now Western Glorida Di%ision2 there was .*ractically no in$ormation a%ailable about what the di%isions did within their states(0 -$ those re*orting, one di%ision had *ro%ided both an action *lan2including a .rough analysis o$ the demogra*hic maAe u* o$ the Di%ision4s Polonia,0 the identi$ication o$ the *hases o$ its cam*aign
    1=

    ,he $i%e7*age handout included a list o$ both the *o*ulations Polish Americans and .East !entral Euro*eans0 in .crucial states,0 as well as a breaAdown o$ .!entral and East Euro*ean Ethnic Po*ulation0 based on $igures $rom the '()( Bureau o$ !ensus 199 sur%ey, PA!;D(!K According to +owaA7DezioransAi, the coalition .was made u* o$ re*resentati%es o$ 11 ethnic grou*s "Poles, Balts, 'Arainians, &ungarians, !zechs, )lo%aAs, Comanians, Bulgarians and Armenians#, which according to the o$$icial census, ha%e collecti%ely 31 million American citizens, concentrated mainly in large industrial centers( 1n $i$teen states they maAe u* o%er 1B *ercent o$ the %oters( ,he issue which uni$ies them is the threat o$ Cussian im*erialism( All o$ assembled agreed to mount an action similar to that o$ the Polish7American community( ,heir meetings were initially held once a weeA, now once e%ery two weeAs( ,he ty*ical agenda2eEchange o$ in$ormation, common initiati%es and *lanning o$ /oint statements,0 in .)truggle $or the )ecurity o$ Poland,0 <wiJ? owiec ",oronto#, A*ril 11, 199=, in +owaA7DezioransAi, o*( cit(, *( 1> ( 1=1 .MosAal4s Garm,0 Bprost, Duly > , 3 , translated by Gr( ,homas Pa*rocAi, PA!;D(!( Archi%e(
    1=3

    Matthew Cees, The Bee ly -tandard, -ctober > , 3

    =3

    and a listing o$ .target audiences02and an analysis o$ its cam*aign acti%ities( ,wo others attem*ted to e%aluate how their e$$orts worAedK one di%ision began their cam*aign with a .mobilization *lan0 in hand, and three o$ the .other re*orting di%isions engaged in acti%ities which could be regarded as mobilization e$$orts(0 ,wo other di%isions made some attem*ts in the same regard( ,he mobilization techni5ues listed were .%ery di%erse,0 and included the .organization o$ *hone;$aE communication networAs, *ublishing in$ormation and a**eals in local Polonia *ress, *ersonal s*eeches and a**eals by Polonia leaders to %arious Polonia grou*s, in%iting *rominent s*eaAers, *ro%iding sam*le letters, distributing $lyers a$ter church ser%ices, enlisting clergy, broadcasting radio a**eals, using e7mail and the 1nternet, and, in one case, distributing *osters and bum*er sticAers(0 1=> Witold D( 8uAaszewsAi, the head o$ the PA!4s Polish A$$airs !ommission attem*ted to categorize the contents o$ those re*orts that had been submitted, saying that the Di%isions described $our methods they used to .reach *olitical decision7maAers02.letter writing, use o$ the media, contacts with *olitical leaders, and direct *olitical action(0 Although he laid down a ca%eat on the PA!4s *er$ormance in one area2the lacA o$ an a**arent e$$ecti%e mobilization o$ Polonia itsel$2 8uAaszewsAi *ointed out that by in%ol%ing itsel$ in the *olitical milieu the PA!: .bridged all Ainds o$ internal ga*s and di%isions, we accom*lished a %ery im*ortant, e%en historic tasA, and, in the *rocess, we ha%e accumulated a storehouse o$ eE*erience on which we can draw to im*ro%e our *olitical e$$ecti%eness in the $uture( 1n this sense, the +A,- enlargement cam*aign, on both the national and di%isional le%els, bene$ited not only Poland but also the Polish American !ongress and the entire American Polonia(01== 8etter writing and sending telegrams and $aEes was .by $ar, the most widely used cam*aign method(0 Polish Americans, 8uAaszewsAi $ound .are truly *roli$ic writers,0 *enning letters to *olitical leaders and news*a*ers, sending *etitions, and organizing massi%e letter cam*aigns( &owe%er, the organization $ell down in o$$ering reliable, detailed data on the eEtent o$ that e$$ort, he said( .What is rare in these re*orts are indications o$ concrete numbers: there is a mention o$ L N letters mailed in one re*ort and about 1> 7L in another, and B 71 re*orts mention distributing <
    1=>

    in still another( -ther

    $orm letters but gi%e no indication o$ how many o$ these

    8uAaszewsAi, .Rice President4s Ce*ortK Polish A$$airs !ommission,0 )inutes of the $ational Council of 'irectors )eeting, Polish American !ongress, Washington, D(!(, A*ril 3373=, 1999( 1== 8uAaszewsAi, o*( cit(

    =>

    were actually signed and $orwarded to the intended *olitical reci*ients(0 +onetheless, the a%ailable data showed that letter writing in su**ort o$ +A,- enlargement began, .in substantial number0 as 199> came to a close and the PA! was maAing its $irst ma/or *ush to get the !linton Administration to change its stance on Polish accession( ,he communications e$$ort then gathered momentum o%er successi%e years .until it reaches its highest le%el at the end o$ 199L and the beginning o$ 199N, the e%e o$ the critical %ote in the ') )enate(0 1=B ,he organization4s $ailure to use .non7Polonian electronic media0 was .a ma/or de$iciency in our cam*aigns,0 8uAaszewsAi re*orted( .)erious use o$ the non7Polonia media is rarely e%en mentioned in the submitted re*orts(0 Dust one di%ision had re*orted *ublishing o*inion *age "-*7Ed# articles in non7Polonian statewide *rinted media, while two others said they had arranged meeting between Polish go%ernment o$$icials and news*a*er editorial boards( ,wo di%isions re*orted either single articles in the *ress or *ublished letters7to7the7editor(
    Most re*orting Di%isions indicate that Polonia media were %ery acti%e in the cam*aign, but we ha%e to remember that their *rimary im*act was to mobilize American Polonia and only indirectly to in$luence the *olitical establishment( -ur utilization o$ state7wide non7Polonian electronic media by our cam*aigns was %ery limited, almost non7eEistent( -nly two di%isions re*ort some access, one to radio the other to tele%ision and radio( 1=<

    ,he di%isions who submitted re*orts scored well in the category o$ maAing direct contacts with '()( *olitical leaders on behal$ o$ Poland4s accession to +A,-, with the news $rom three o$ them suggesting that they had .eEtensi%e direct contacts0 with *olitical notables such as the *resident, senators, congressmen, high go%ernment o$$icials, as well as state and local *olitical $igures( -ne described .eEtensi%e e$$orts to enlist local *olitical leaders to lobby state and national leaders on behal$ o$ Poland4s admission to +A,-(0 All o$ the re*orting di%isions describe their e$$orts, some o$ them 5uite intense and concentrated, to *ersuade their '()( )enators to %ote .yes0 on the 5uestion o$ +A,- enlargement(0 "8uAaszewsAi $ound it *articularly interesting that, in the eight o$ the nine re*orting di%isions that .ha%e )enators in the ') !ongressK o$ the siEteen )enators, only two %oted against +A,- enlargement( -$ the two, one is not running $or re7election(0# 1n a *ersonal aside, 8uAaszewsAi said that, s*eaAing as a ,eEan, as a result o$ the +A,- cam*aign, .$or the $irst time

    1=B 1=<

    8uAaszewsAi, o*( cit( 8uAaszewsAi, o*( cit(

    ==

    ,eEas Polonia a**eared on the *olitical ma* o$ ,eEas *oliticians( 'ntil now, they didn4t Anow we eEisted( +ow we can begin to taAe subse5uent ste*s(0 1=L 1n the category o$ .direct *olitical action,0 $our di%isions re*orted attem*ting to *ersuade state go%ernments to ado*t measures in su**ort o$ Poland4s entry into +A,-( ,wo o$ them succeeded in *ersuading their legislatures to *ass .su**orti%e resolutions0K one .attem*ted but $ailed to *ush through such a resolution0K and one succeeded .in *ersuading the state go%ernor to issue a *ertinent *roclamation(0 1n a signi$icant criticism o$ an e$$ort 8uAaszewsAi otherwise $ound *raiseworthy, he re*orted that the .@mAobili?ation of Polonia as a separate and important phase of the campaign seems to have been neglected by most of the reporting divisions(0 "1talics added(# -nly one o$ the re*orting di%isions tried to o$$er .an eEtensi%e, in de*th analysis o$ what results were achie%ed, why, and how eEtensi%e was Polonia4s *artici*ation in its cam*aign(0 ,he limited e$$ort made by the PA! seemed to rein$orce the image that the organization had hobbled itsel$ in e$$orts to ca*italize on a *otentially *o*ular issue to garner greater membershi* and su**ort( .We a**ealed to $ellow Polonians to write letters, but we did not maAe a conscious e$$ort to educate, brie$ re*eatedly, and instruct them on lobbying techni5ues(0 1=N By 3 <, the PA! con$ronted a %astly di$$erent set o$ challenges than those o$ /ust a decade earlier(

    .American Polonia has changed enormously o%er the *ast $our or $i%e decades2$rom a $airly tightly7Anit community o$ immigrants and their children and grandchildren as recently as the 19B s to a di%erse *o*ulation o$ Polish Americans that is s*read all about the country(0 +o more than siE *ercent o$ those o$ Polish heritage in the 'nited )tates were born in Poland(1=9
    Polish Americans today are $ully integrated into American li$e, although many, i$ not most maintain some attachments to their heritage( Among the $oreign born, these are di%ided between the diminishing and ageing immigration that came to America a$ter World War 11 and those who belong to the most recent migration that entered the '()( beginning in the 19N s(1B

    ,his di$$erent world that Polonia occu*ies today in the 'nited )tates is also broAen down by distincti%e elements with their own *riorities(
    1=L 1=N
    1=9 1B

    8uAaszewsAi, o*( cit( 8uAaszewsAi, o*( cit( PienAos, .Polish Americans in '()( Politics,0 o*( cit( PienAos, .Polish Americans in '()( Politics,0 o*( cit(

    =B

    Among the nati%e7born, es*ecially those o$ miEed ethnic ancestry, the Aey issues in%ol%e worA at the local community le%el to dee*en res*ect and Anowledge o$ the Polish cultural eE*erience Q combating negati%e and un$air de*ictions o$ Poland and Polish Americans in the mass media, and *rotecting the younger generation4s o**ortunities to go to college, and achie%e their *ro$essional and /ob goals without $ear o$ discrimination( Among the recent $oreign born and their children, the main issues in%ol%e %isas and immigration *olicy, and at the local le%el, access to accurate in$ormation and hel* about /obs, ade5uate housing and eligibility $or %ital social ser%ices(1B1

    ,he 5uestion o$ what is to be the $uture mission o$ the PA! $inds no .easy answer Q i$ only because Poland4s current situation is so di$$erent $rom the one that Polonia li%ed with $or so long(0 Part o$ the answer might lie in the more than one million Poles who emigrated to Western Euro*e in search o$ better /obs, or e%en /ust a /ob, but who .retain the %alues o$ their homeland(0 1n countries in which Muslim *o*ulations are also on the rise, the new Polish dias*ora can be seen as .a ma/or and constructi%e com*onent in Euro*e4s own $uture and in Euro*e4s relations with America(0 1B3 ,he motherland now admitted to +A,-, to what &untington called the .security organization o$ the Western ci%ilization,0 the new contribution by American Polonia to that ci%ilization may well be eE*ressed through the relationshi* it de%elo*s with world Polonia, e%en while, once again, o$$ering its talents and energy on the shores o$ the Euro*ean near7abroad, where they are needed(

    Conclusions
    ,he cam*aign $or +A,- enlargement o$$ered American Polonia a chance to hel* secure the *hysical and *sychological security o$ its ancestral homeland, while recalibrating the de$inition o$ what it meant to be a Polish American( Poland4s success$ul accession to +A,- membershi* hel*ed Polish Americans who lo%e their heritage to shaAe $ree $rom a legacy o$ national %ictimization and insecurity, as well as a new Aind o$ ethnic sel$7doubt obtained in the dias*ora( 1t o$$ered American Polonia the o**ortunity to $ocus on both heritage a**reciation and sel$7hel* at home and the *ossibility o$ relating to2and hel*ing2the larger Polonia community around the world, o$ which it $ormed the largest *art( ,he idea o$ Poland, although changing, was central to all PA! e$$orts on behal$ o$ Polish membershi* in +A,-( ,ales o$ Polish and Polish American heroism were em*loyed to underline contributions made in the mother country and abroad to $ighting totalitarianism and ideologies o$ hatred( ,he story line o$ Polish history ser%ed to rein$orce shared conce*tions o$ Polish %irtues, such as reliability, humane %alues, sel$ sacri$ice, tolerance, loyalty, *atriotism, unity in time o$ need, and $uture *romise( Poland4s transition to a *ros*erous modern
    1B1 1B3

    PienAos, .Polish Americans in '()( Politics,0 o*( cit( PienAos, .Polish Americans in '()( Politics,0 o*( cit(

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    democracy *ro%ided an alternati%e narrati%e o$ ho*e2/uEta*osed against a legacy o$ brutal sacri$ice2that increased the *ossibility o$ mobilizing Polonia as well as garnering the *olitical and *ublic su**ort $or +A,- accession( ,he trans$ormation o$ Poland4s status caused a change in American Polonia4s sense o$ obligation both to Poland and to its ado*ted country( )uccess in hel*ing Poland achie%e security allowed Polish Americans to eE*lore other, more local $acets o$ their ethnic identity, as well as 5uestions o$ with whom they shared Ainshi*, in blood and common history( 8uAaszewsAi traced the outlines o$ that new %ista o$ coo*eration a decade ago, be$ore the inA had yet been *laced on the +A,- agreement( .Poland4s sur%i%al and $reedom no longer need to be at the $ore$ront o$ our attention,0 8uAaszewsAi said( &e en%isioned the dawning o$ a .5ualitati%ely new historical era,0 a .*i%otal *oint in time0 in which the +A,- enlargement had *ositi%e conse5uences not only $or the PA!4s worA in the 'nited )tates, and that o$ its relations to its ancestral home, but also the *ossibility $or increasing contacts with Polonia around the world( 8uAaszewsAi4s words called to mind those o$ the dramaturgist Gombrowicz, who recalled to the dias*ora their .%ital essence,0 that inheritance as Poles which was the .dee*est human essence created by the labor o$ generations0 .1t is within this new reality that World Polonias ha%e shown a desire to establish closer relations among themsel%es and to de$ine, or rede$ine, their relationshi* with Poland,0 8uAaszewsAi said( .By Poland 1 mean the Polish state and its go%ernment( )*eaAing $or the Polish American !ongress, 1 can say that our relationshi* with the Polish nation needs no rede$initionK our roots are in it, we ha%e always stood by it, and always will( ,hat relationshi* is unshaAeable( Q .1n a s*ecial sense,0 he said, because o$ their relationshi* to both Poland and the 'nited )tates, American Polonia .are members o$ the +A,- community(0 But they also:
    share certain bonds and common eE*eriences with our sister Polonias in 8atin America and with Polonias where%er they may li%e around the globe( PA!4s members in these communities implies emergence of as yet une6plored and not fully understood challenges, new opportunities, new responsibilities and new relationships ( Q Within the +A,- community, the Polish American !ongress, gi%en its *ostion among world Polonias, may wish to maintain closer relations with sister Polonias in other +A,countries and, as in the case o$ German Polonia, assist them in gaining more e5ual rights in their res*ecti%e countries( PA! must, within its means, *ay continuous attention and *ro%ide moral, material and where%er *ossible, *olitical assistance to our sister Polonias

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    in the *ost7)o%iet states( Q As the largest and most in$luential o$ all Polonias, the PA! should taAe the initiati%e o$ bringing together all Polonias in the interest o$ coo*eration and mutual su**ort( 1t would be unnatural and self3defeating for so many members of the Polish cultural community to live in isolation from one another at the same time as the world is integrating(1B> ``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
    b 3 N All rights domestic and international reser%ed( May be 5uoted or cited or re*roduced with credit to Martin Edwin Andersen and TCallying Polonia: 1m*act and ,rans$ormation in the '()( Gight $or Poland4s Accession to +A,o$ the Polish American !ongressT

    1B>

    8uAaszewsAi, )inutes of the Polish American Congress Council of $ational 'irectors )eeting, 8incolnwood, 1llinois, May 1B7 1L, 199N, **( 13( 1>(

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