The Polish American Congress (PAC) is an American umbrella organization of Polish-Americans and Polish-American organizations. Its members include individuals as well as fraternal, educational, veterans, religious, cultural, social, business, and political organizations.
As of January 2009, it lists 20 national organizations as members. [1] It is subdivided into 41 divisions and chapters. [2]
Traditionally, the PAC National President has also been the president of the largest Polish-American fraternal organization, the Polish National Alliance (PNA).
In response to the threat to Poland's freedom caused by Soviet and German aggression, a large Congress of Polonia met in Buffalo, New York, from May 28 to June 1, 1944. Composed of roughly 2,600 delegates representing Polish and Polish-American organizations, the Congress created the PAC, defining its goal of a free Poland and underscoring its support for the US war effort against the Axis powers. [3] [4] The PAC incorporated [5] the two former Polish umbrella organizations in the United States, the moderate [5] Polish American Council founded in 1939 and the right-wing [6] National Committee of Americans of Polish Descent founded in 1941. The other umbrella organization, the left-leaning [5] American Slav Congress, remained independent. [5]
The PAC was the first umbrella organization representing a majority of Polish-Americans, who had been represented by a wide range of smaller, mostly local organizations. [7] Creation of PAC was enthusiastically welcomed by most of the Polish-American community. [8] Shortly after its creation, it boasted 6 million members and followers. [8]
The Congress elected Karol Rozmarek as the first president of the PAC. [3] He was succeeded in 1968 by Aloysius Mazewski, who served until his death in 1988. [3] Under Mazewski, Leonard F. Walentynowicz served as executive director of the PAC for a number of years. [10] Edward Moskal was elected president in 1988, and he, too, served as president for the remainder of his life. [11] [12] Its current president is Frank J. Spula. [13]
PAC has been credited with the unification of the Polish-American community. [14]
One of the principal goals of PAC in its early years was to pressure the US government to support the Polish government in exile, and prevent the communist take-over of Poland. [15] [16] Over the coming decades, PAC would try to educate the American public about the fate of its once war-time ally, and to support a creation of a democratic Polish state. [17] [18] Its stance during that time has also been described as strongly anti-communist and anti-Soviet. [18]
After the end of the Cold War, PAC was successful in lobbying the US government to include Poland in the membership of NATO. [19]
Outside of its goals related to international politics, PAC second main goal has been to improve the situation of the Polish-American community. [18]
According to Michael Szporer PAC had a reputation of aggressiveness in its critique of anti-Polish sentiment. [20]
In 1969 PAC created the Civic Alertness Commission (Komisji Obrony Imienia Polskiego) to focus on reducing the anti-Polish sentiment and related anti-Polish discrimination in American media and public life. Over the years, the CAC would change its name several times, including to Anti-Defamation Commission (1970) and Anti-Bigotry Committee (1980); at some point in time (around 1989) two similar sub organizations existed at the same time. The organization focused on pointing out racism and bigotry in Polish jokes, and related stereotypes. The Committee supported the US government plan to create the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and policies that made it illegal to tell ethnic jokes in workplaces. [21]
In 1972, PAC demanded equal time to respond to Polish jokes aired on ABC's The Dick Cavett Show. In the show, comedian Bob Einstein filled the role of the president of the imaginary Polish Anti-Defamation League. ABC had guest host Steve Allen apologize but refused equal time to PAC. [22] PAC sued and lost in a case that reached the Supreme Court. [23] PAC also threatened Steve Wozniak, himself of Polish heritage, with a lawsuit for telling Polish jokes. [24] [20] [25]
In 1997 Frank Milewski of PAC's Anti-Bigotry Committee wrote a letter to The New York Times complaining about the use of "Polack" in an article on light-bulb jokes by Daniel Harris. [26]
In 1998, PAC criticized the Polish Wedding film, writing that "No wedding takes place. It's nothing but a contrived series of silly sexual escapades by a cheating wife and her promiscuous daughter shown as members of a crude and low-class family that Fox Films decided to give a Polish Catholic identity". [27] PAC has also criticized The Drew Carey Show, [28] in particular the character Mimi Bobeck whose "Polishness" was toned down following the complaints. [29]
Solidarity, full name Independent Self-Governing Trade Union "Solidarity", is a Polish trade union founded in August 1980 at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk, Poland. Subsequently, it was the first independent trade union in a Warsaw Pact country to be recognised by the state.
The Warsaw Pact (WP), formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance (TFCMA), was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republics of Central and Eastern Europe in May 1955, during the Cold War. The term "Warsaw Pact" commonly refers to both the treaty itself and its resultant military alliance, the Warsaw Treaty Organization (WTO). The Warsaw Pact was the military complement to the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (Comecon), the economic organization for the Eastern Bloc states.
Polish Americans are Americans who either have total or partial Polish ancestry, or are citizens of the Republic of Poland. There are an estimated 8.81 million self-identified Polish Americans, representing about 2.67% of the U.S. population, according to the 2021 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau.
The Polish diaspora comprises Poles and people of Polish heritage or origin who live outside Poland. The Polish diaspora is also known in modern Polish as Polonia, the name for Poland in Latin and many Romance languages.
The World Peace Council (WPC) is an international organization created in 1949 by the Cominform and propped up by the Soviet Union. Throughout the Cold War, WPC engaged in propaganda efforts on behalf of the Soviet Union, whereby it criticized the United States and its allies while defending the Soviet Union's involvement in numerous conflicts.
The Canadian-Polish Congress is a Canadian not-for-profit organization. The Canadian Polish Congress serves as the central umbrella organization for some 150 affiliated Polish-Canadian social, cultural, charitable, educational and professional organizations throughout Canada. The organisation listed on the WM Fares Wall of Tribute was founded in 1944, it is the main advocacy group for the Polish community in Canada and promotes awareness of Poland's history and cultural heritage, and the contribution of Polish Canadians to Canadian institutions, culture and society. Its subdivided area of activity spreads all over Canada and includes districts of Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec.
Communism in Poland can trace its origins to the late 19th century: the Marxist First Proletariat party was founded in 1882. Rosa Luxemburg (1871–1919) of the Social Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania party and the publicist Stanisław Brzozowski (1878–1911) were important early Polish Marxists.
Richard Conrad Lukas is an American historian and author of books and articles on military, diplomatic, Polish, and Polish-American history. He specializes in the history of Poland during World War II.
The Cold War from 1979 to 1985 was a late phase of the Cold War marked by a sharp increase in hostility between the Soviet Union and the West. It arose from a strong denunciation of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979. With the election of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1979, and American President Ronald Reagan in 1980, a corresponding change in Western foreign policy approach toward the Soviet Union was marked by the rejection of détente in favor of the Reagan Doctrine policy of rollback, with the stated goal of dissolving Soviet influence in Soviet Bloc countries. During this time, the threat of nuclear war had reached new heights not seen since the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962.
Opposition to World War II was expressed by the governments and peoples of all combatant nations to various extents. Initial reluctance for conflict in the Allied democratic nations changed to overwhelming, but not complete, support once the war had been joined. Some politicians and military leaders in the Axis powers opposed starting or expanding the conflict during its course. However, the totalitarian nature of these countries limited their effect. Noncombatant nations opposed joining the war for a variety of reasons, including self preservation, economic disincentives or a belief in neutrality in upon itself. After the war the populations of the former Axis powers mostly regretted their nations' involvement. In contrast, the people of Allied nations celebrated their involvement and the perceived just nature of the war, particularly in comparison with World War I.
Official relations between Poland and the United States on a diplomatic level were initiated in 1919 after Poland had established itself as a republic after 123 years of being under foreign rule from the Partitions of Poland. However, ties with the United States date back to the 17th century, when the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was one of Europe's largest powers, and many Poles immigrated to the Thirteen Colonies. During the American Revolutionary War, the Polish military commanders Tadeusz Kościuszko and Casimir Pułaski contributed greatly to the Patriot cause, with Kościuszko becoming a national hero in America. Since 1989, Polish–American relations have been strong and Poland is one of the chief European allies of the United States, being part of both NATO and the European Union. There is a strong cultural appreciation between the two nations (Polonophilia). According to the US Department of State, Poland remains a "stalwart ally" and "one of strongest Continental partners in fostering security and prosperity, throughout Europe and the world." Poland was also one of four participating countries in the American-led Iraq War coalition in 2003.
A Polish joke is an English-language ethnic joke deriding Polish people, based on derogatory stereotypes. The Polish joke belongs in the category of conditional jokes, whose full understanding requires the audience to have prior knowledge of what a Polish joke is. As with all discriminatory jokes, Polish jokes depend on the listener's preconceived notions and antipathies.
During the Cold War (1947–1991), when the Soviet Union and the United States were engaged in an arms race, the Soviet Union promoted its foreign policy through the World Peace Council and other front organizations. Some writers have claimed that it also influenced non-aligned peace groups in the West.
3 May Constitution Day is a Polish national and public holiday that takes place on 3 May. The holiday celebrates the declaration of the Constitution of 3 May 1791 – the first modern constitution in Europe. Festivities date back to the Duchy of Warsaw early in the 19th century, but it became an official holiday only in 1919 in the Second Polish Republic. Delisted during the times of the Polish People's Republic, it was reestablished after the fall of communism in modern Poland.
Polish-Americans in the United States comprise a voting bloc sought after by both the Democratic and Republican parties as they have a bellwether status. Polish Americans comprise 3.2% of the United States population, but were estimated at nearly 10% of the overall electorate as of 2012. The Polish-American population is concentrated in several Midwestern swing states that make issues important to Polish-Americans more likely to be heard by presidential candidates. According to John Kromkowski, a Catholic University professor of political science, Polish-Americans make up an "almost archetypical swing vote". The Piast Institute found that Polish Americans are 36% Democrats, 33% Independents, and 26% are Republicans as of 2008. Ideologically, they were categorized as being in the more conservative wing of the Democratic Party, and demonstrated a much stronger inclination for third-party candidates in presidential elections than the American public.
The history of Poles in the United States dates to the American Colonial era. Poles have lived in present-day United States territories for over 400 years—since 1608. There are 10 million Americans of Polish descent in the U.S. today. Polish Americans have always been the largest group of Slavic origin in the United States.
National Committee of Americans of Polish Extraction, also known as the National Committee of Americans of Polish Descent or its Polish abbreviation KNAPP, was a Polish-American organization active in the years 1942-1959 in the United States.
Rafał Gan-Ganowicz was a Polish soldier-in-exile, mercenary, journalist, member of the National Council of Poland, and political and social activist, dedicating his life to anti-communism.
Bitter Legacy: Polish-American Relations in the Wake of World War II is a 1982 book by Richard C. Lukas, published by the University Press of Kentucky. It deals with the postwar Polish history and Polish-American relations, as well as the American aid that was extended to Poland after World War II.
Mieczysław Haiman also known as Miecislaus Haiman was a Polish-American journalist and historian. He has been called "The most celebrated historian of American Polonia in the twentieth century".