General Kazimierz Pulaski Day reminds us that Poles have been involved in US history from its very beginning, President Andrzej Duda said during the celebration of Kazimierz Pulaski Day with Chicago’s Polish community. The Polish community in the U.S. counts, and thanks to it, can support the homeland today, he added.

During his speech, Duda recalled that this year’s Pulaski Day is celebrated on the 280th anniversary of the general’s birth, as well as the 90th anniversary of the functioning of the Polish museum in Chicago. 

“This museum shows, on the one hand, the great contribution of Poles to the building of the United States, but on the other hand, it also shows this dramatic history of my homeland, which in many cases was the reason for your coming to the US,” the Polish president said.

As he said, the celebration of Pulaski Day, a participant in the American War of Independence, is a reminder that Poles have been involved in US history from its very beginning. 

The president recalled that Pulaski, as a participant in the Bar Confederation, witnessed the beginning of the Partitions of Poland and the fall of the First Polish Republic, but at the same time made a contribution to the creation of the independent American state, commanding American troops in the War of Independence and making his ultimate sacrifice to the US.

The Polish president stated that the wars that destroyed Europe and Poland were historically connected to Russian aggression and invasions of Poland and other areas of Central and Eastern Europe.

“Today, Poland is an independent, free, sovereign country, after years of struggle it is such also thanks to the support of the United States, including the efforts of Poles living here. Thanks to the fact that the U.S. remembers that the great generals who fought for their independence and freedom – Generals Pulaski and Tadeusz Kosciuszko – were Poles,” the President added.

Source: PAP

Photo:@prezydentpl

Tomasz Modrzejewski