Cultural activities of Valentina and Aleksander Janta-Połczynski in the United States – A talk by Michał Folega
When: Tuesday, May 7, 2024, 7:00 PM
Where: The Kosciuszko Foundation: 15 E 65th Street, New York, NY 10065
Event sponsor: Krystyna Piórkowska
The lecture introduces the socio-cultural activities of Valentina Janta-Polczynska, a secretary to the Polish Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief of the Polish Armed Forces General Władysław Sikorski during World War II, translator and organizer of aid to Polish prisoners of war and concentration camp inmates in the American occupation zone in Germany in 1945-1946. The lecture will also be about Aleksander Janta-Połczynski, a writer, traveler, journalist, and creator of Polish reportage in the interwar period. After the war, the Janta-Połczynskis settled in the US, engaging in the promotion of Polish culture, language, and literature outside Poland. Their home in New York became the center of Polish social life in America, visited by Polish scientists and writers, including the later Nobel laureate Czeslaw Milosz. The talk will also present the biographies of Valentina and Aleksander Janta-Polczynski.
The event is free and open to the public. Space is limited. Registration is required. In lieu of admission, a donation to the Kosciuszko Foundation is appreciated.
Michał Folega – a graduate of the Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Gdańsk, he is a lawyer by profession (legal adviser). He researches the history of the Janta-Połczyński family and is the author of Aleksander Janta-Połczyński’s biography: A Life Open to the World. Aleksander Janta-Połczyński (Tuchola 2014) and the books: Palace of the Janta-Połczyński family in Mała Komorza. History. Events. People (Gdańsk 2022).
