The agenda for the Bolesławiec City Council session, which will take place this Wednesday, includes a vote on draft resolutions concerning the granting of the title “Distinguished Citizen of Bolesławiec.”
Below are the people who will soon hold this title (as it can be assumed that the vote itself will be merely a formality):
- Tadeusz Jurkowski
Justification: Mr. Tadeusz Jurkowski (born June 10, 1939), a Polish citizen, is a resident of Bolesławiec. A longtime teacher and member of the Association of Reemigrants from Bosnia, Their Descendants and Friends, he has been involved in organizing numerous meetings with young people about the history and circumstances that caused Polish settlers to leave for the Balkans “in search of bread” in the 19th century, as well as the factors that influenced their return after the Second World War to the area of Bolesławiec County. He is the author of the first master’s thesis written and defended in 1970, entitled “The Settlement of Poles from Yugoslavia in the Lands of Bolesławiec County in 1946–1947.” The entire thesis consists of 169 typed pages. This material is a valuable source of knowledge on which many authors in Poland base their articles describing the history of Polish settlement in the lands of Bolesławiec County. Thanks to the efforts of the Association of Reemigrants from Bosnia, Their Descendants and Friends and the funds it obtained from the Marshal’s Office of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship and Bolesławiec City Hall, the thesis will be published in print. The book’s premiere is scheduled for September 2019. - Helena Smoleńska
Ms. Helena Smoleńska has served as president of the “Ceramika Artystyczna” Artistic Handicraft Cooperative for more than 20 years. She managed the facility in 1992–1993 and has run the company continuously since 1998. The products manufactured by the company she leads are highly valued for their quality and design. This is confirmed by participation in numerous displays, presentations and exhibitions organized in museums, galleries and various institutions in Poland and European countries. The products are sold throughout Poland and exported to many countries around the world: Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, China, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Switzerland, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain, the Czech Republic, Belgium, Hungary, Russia, Ukraine and Lithuania. The cooperative has participated and continues to participate in the Ambiente International Trade Fair in Frankfurt, the Poznań International Fair, as well as Deco-In in Berlin, handicraft fairs in Munich, and trade fairs in Leipzig, Vienna, Milan, Prague, Pécs, Malmö and Amsterdam; at the “Teraz Polska” fair at the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw; and at the Interior Lifestyle fair in Tokyo. The facility also takes part in the regularly organized Folk Art Fairs in Kraków, fairs and shows in Warsaw, Wrocław, Sopot, Zielona Góra and the Bolesławiec Ceramic Festival. For exceptionally effective and efficient management of the company, Helena Smoleńska has received numerous awards. At the turn of 2000 and 2001, she received the honorary title EUROLIDER 1999—an award granted by the editorial jury of “Rynki Zagraniczne” in the “Outstanding Polish Exporter” competition. She was also honored with the “PRYMUS 2000” and “MANAGER–COOPERATIVE MEMBER” awards, granted by the Chapter of the “Tęcza Polska” Award of the National Cooperative Council in Warsaw. In 2015, she was honored by the Minister of Economy with the “Distinguished for the Economy of the Republic of Poland” badge; in 2016, she received the “KERAMOS” Honorary Distinction, awarded by the Faculty of Materials Engineering and Ceramics of AGH University of Science and Technology named after Stanisław Staszic in Kraków; and in 2017, she was awarded the Bronze Cross of Merit by the President of the Republic of Poland. In 2018, she received the Honorary Award of the Mayor of Bolesławiec for promoting the city in 2017. - Maria Niemczuk
Ms. Maria Niemczuk has been active for many years in the Bolesławiec branch of the Siberians’ Association. She served as secretary in 2000–2004 and has been its president continuously since 2004. During her leadership, the association carried out numerous initiatives to commemorate the history of those deported to Siberia. Memorial markers were created: a plaque dedicated to Poles murdered in the southeastern Borderlands in the Church of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus in Bolesławiec (2003); a monument to Siberians, “In Tribute to the Polish Martyrs of Siberia and Those Murdered in Katyń and the Gulags,” at the municipal cemetery on Śluzowa Street (2005); and a plaque commemorating the return of Bolesławiec’s Siberians to their homeland, placed on the monument at Freedom Square (2013). Since 2009, every year on September 17, the March of Remembrance for Siberia has been organized on the initiative of the Siberians’ Association. Since 2011, intensive cooperation has also been developed with Municipal Middle School No. 2 in Bolesławiec, named after Poles Deported to Siberia. Each year, living history lessons were held in the school’s Memorial Room, led by Maria Niemczuk and other association members. History competitions for primary and middle schools were also organized, along with special meetings with young people, for example at the beginning and end of the school year, Education Day, Siberians’ Day and commemorative events such as a spoken-word and musical program marking the 150th anniversary of the January Uprising (2013). Together with members of the association, Maria Niemczuk became involved in and supported the publication of two works: “We Had No Childhood. Memories of Bolesławiec’s Siberians” (Bolesławiec, 2013) and “Together We Remember More” (Bolesławiec, 2015), accompanying the 5th Nationwide Meeting of Directors of Schools and Educational Institutions and Presidents of Associations named in memory of those deported to Siberia, held in Bolesławiec. The Siberians’ Association also participated in organizing the exhibition “Where Did We Come From? Bolesławiec Settlers after the Second World War,” organized by the Museum of Ceramics (2016), preparing the conference “Bolesławiec Residents—They Did Not Come from Nowhere. On the Settlement Landscape of Lower Silesia” (2016), and commemorating the 70th anniversary of settlement in Bolesławiec and Bolesławiec County (2016). The president of the association was also strongly involved in organizing the association’s 30th anniversary and publishing “The Jubilee of Bolesławiec’s Borderlands Community 1989–2019. 30 Years of the Association of Friends of Lviv and the Southeastern Borderlands, Bolesławiec Branch, and the Siberians’ Association, Bolesławiec Branch” (2019). A documentary film, “To Be,” by Przemysław Kania and Mateusz Rzepiak, documenting the past she spent abroad, was dedicated to Maria Niemczuk. For her contribution to the activities of the Siberians’ Association, Maria Niemczuk received the Gold Badge of Merit of the Siberians’ Association (2013) and the Pro Patria Medal (2019), awarded by the Head of the Office for War Veterans and Victims of Oppression. - Barbara Smoleńska (in the header photo)
Ms. Barbara Smoleńska has worked at a school as a vocational-subject teacher for 26 years, and served as deputy headteacher from 2002 to 2012. One of the most important projects she has carried out is the campaign to restore the memory of ancestors, “Save Your Great-Grandfather’s Grave from Oblivion.” Since 2015, she has served as president of the Association of Friends of Lviv and the Southeastern Borderlands and has been actively working to restore the memory of the Borderlands of the Second Polish Republic. She initiated and organized numerous projects: volunteer trips to Ukraine to clean Polish cemeteries; trips delivering Christmas packages to children in Zbarazh and Sieniawa; trips by association members to the Zbarazh Days celebrations; and a delegation from Bolesławiec to the unveiling of the monument to A. Mickiewicz in Zbarazh. She also carried out many youth-exchange projects with Zbarazh and Sieniawa, as well as cultural projects, including meetings with authors on Borderlands-related topics and Borderlands concerts featuring artists from Zbarazh, Kremenets and Rivne. Very intensive cooperation with Zbarazh led to the signing of a partnership agreement between that city and Bolesławiec. For her personal efforts to preserve traditions, educational activities, promotion of Bolesławiec, work to unite and activate the Borderlands community, and efforts to strengthen ties with compatriots in the former Borderlands of the Second Polish Republic, she has received numerous distinctions and awards. In 2014, she received the Award of the Mayor of Bolesławiec for promoting the city in 2013. In 2015, she received the Medal of the Commission of National Education for special services to education and upbringing. In 2017, in recognition of her merits for the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, she was awarded the Honorary Silver Badge “Distinguished for the Lower Silesian Voivodeship.” In 2018, she received the Award of the Mayor of Bolesławiec for promoting the city in 2017, as well as an award from the Lower Silesian Education Superintendent for outstanding achievements in teaching, educational and care work, and commitment to the development of education in Lower Silesia. That same year, for popularizing and preserving the memory of people and their deeds in the struggle for Poland’s independence, she was honored by the Association of Veterans of the Republic of Poland and Former Political Prisoners with the so-called Borderlands Cross. She was also honored by institutions and associations in Lviv and Zbarazh. In 2017, she was decorated by the Chief of the Fire Service in Zbarazh for developing cooperation between Bolesławiec and Zbarazh. In 2018, she received the Gold Badge for services to the Association of Polish Culture of the Lviv Land, and in 2019 the badge of the Mayor of Zbarazh for developing Ukrainian-Polish cooperation. - Stanisława Balawender
Ms. Stanisława Balawender, born in Rudki near Lviv, is the initiator and first president of the association established in 1989 for residents of the former Borderlands of the Second Polish Republic who settled in Bolesławiec. For the first two years, the association led by Stanisława Balawender was independent and bore the name “Association of Friends of the Lviv Land.” In 1991, by decision of its board, it became part of the nationwide “Association of Friends of Lviv and the Southeastern Borderlands.” To enable Bolesławiec residents born in the Borderlands to visit the places where they had once lived, see their ancestors’ burial sites and establish contact with the Poles who remained there, she organized 13 trips to the Borderlands. These trips also provided an opportunity to financially support the reconstruction of Catholic churches and offer broad assistance: vestments, candles, various church furnishings, books in Polish, clothing, food and other supplies were delivered. Stanisława Balawender also organized trips to Russia, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and Western European countries. They integrated the Bolesławiec Borderlands community. In 1990, on Stanisława Balawender’s initiative, a commemorative plaque dedicated to the Defenders of Lviv was unveiled and consecrated at the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Nicholas (Minor Basilica). Association members and sponsors they found undertook the work and financed the plaque. Until 2000, ceremonies marking the anniversary of the defense of Lviv and the so-called “Lviv Holy Mass” were held at the plaque. After Mass, collections were organized to rebuild the Cemetery of the Lviv Eaglets in Lviv, and in the evening association members and supporters held meetings. For her efforts to unite and activate the Borderlands community and strengthen ties with compatriots in the former Borderlands of the Second Polish Republic, Stanisława Balawender received the Gold Badge of the Association of Friends of Lviv and the Southeastern Borderlands in 1998, and in 2013 she was awarded the association’s 25th Anniversary Badge. - Adam Fornal
Mr. Adam Fornal is a longtime active member of the Polish Red Cross. From 2009 to 2013, he was president of the PCK District Board in Bolesławiec and has simultaneously been an honorary blood donor since 1979. He currently serves as vice president of the Main Board of the Polish Red Cross and has been an honorary member of the German Red Cross since 2019. During his many years of activity, he initiated cooperation with the Blood Bank in the Netherlands, organized aid for blood donors during the 1997 flood, founded and became the first president of the Honorary Blood Donors’ Club at PKS Bolesławiec, and organized convoys carrying humanitarian aid to Ukraine. As an active advocate of honorary blood donation, he took part in meetings with young people. His commitment to and promotion of honorary blood donation increased the amount of blood donated in Bolesławiec County. He is one of the volunteers who helped fund a banner for the Honorary Blood Donors’ Club. From 2007 to 2013, he served as president of the Association of Friends of Lviv and the Southeastern Borderlands in Bolesławiec. Thanks to his initiative, after years without a meeting place, the association received a headquarters at 9 Sądowa Street, shared with the Association of Veterans of the Republic of Poland and Former Political Prisoners of Bolesławiec Land. He promoted education about the Borderlands by organizing exhibitions, lectures and pilgrimages to the Borderlands. The “Cemetery of the Defenders of Lviv” exhibition is still used, and the pilgrimages to the Borderlands continue. Adam Fornal received numerous distinctions for his charitable and humanitarian work. In 2010, he received the Award of the Mayor of Bolesławiec for promotion in 2009. In 2011, he was named “Volunteer of the Year of Bolesławiec County.” For many years of active work to develop the Polish Red Cross Honorary Blood Donation Movement, he received the 60th Anniversary of Honorary Blood Donation Medal, the Primus In Agendo Honorary Badge (first in action), awarded by the Minister of Family, Labour and Social Policy, the “For Merit to Health Care” Badge, awarded by the Minister of Health, and the “Honorary Blood Donor—Distinguished for the Health of the Nation” Badge. For special merit in humanitarian activity, he was awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta. His work to save health was also recognized by the governments of Germany and Ukraine. The Saxon State Ministry of the Interior and Administration honored Adam Fornal with the “Aid During the Flood” Distinction, while the Ukrainian government awarded him the Order for Saving Lives. Adam Fornal is the first Pole to receive such a distinction from the Ukrainian government. - Bogdan Fiałkowski
Staff Sergeant Bogdan Fiałkowski (ret.)—former commander of the 62nd Special Company from Bolesławiec, currently vice president of the Association of Former Soldiers of the 62nd Special Company Commando. A professional soldier with instructor qualifications in skiing and parachute jumping. For his long military service, he received service medals: the Silver Medal of the Armed Forces in the Service of the Homeland and the Silver Medal for Merit to the Defense of the Country. He initiated the establishment of the Association of Former Soldiers of the 62nd Special Company Commando. He conceived and organized nationwide competitions such as the Nationwide Sports and Defense Championships for Uniformed-Class Students, the Nationwide Sports and Defense Championships for the National Reserve Forces, Technical and Defense Maneuvers with Expanded Humanitarian Law, as well as the international Central Rally of Uniformed Classes in Żagań. He also organizes competitions promoting a healthy lifestyle: the “For the Cursed 1963” Run and Shooting Tournament, the Commando Cross for the “Brown Bear” statuette, and a Shooting Tournament marking National Independence Day. The Association of Former Soldiers of the 62nd Special Company Commando has partnership agreements with 21 schools running uniformed classes and also actively cooperates with military units and institutions. It organizes occasional picnics and festivals: a sports and defense picnic for Children’s Day, the military festival “The Army in Our City” for Polish Army Day, and an artillery picnic as part of celebrations of Rocket and Artillery Forces Day. For people with disabilities, it organizes an annual St. Nicholas festival with military games and activities, combined with the distribution of food packages. The association participates in the “Safe Lower Silesian” program. For several years, it has been among the leading associations recognized by the Ministry of National Defense with a special commendation “For Outstanding Commitment to Strengthening the Defense of the Republic of Poland.” For his civilian activities to date, Bogdan Fiałkowski has received numerous distinctions and medals from the highest state and ministerial authorities: the Gold Cross of Merit, the Cross for Merit to the Association of War Invalids of the Republic of Poland, the Medal for Merit to the Association of Veterans of the Republic of Poland and Former Political Prisoners, the Honorary Badge of Custodian of the Tradition, Glory and Fame of the Polish Arms, and the Distinguished Soldier of the Republic of Poland Badge. He was also recognized by local authorities, receiving the title of Volunteer of the Year of Bolesławiec County in the Adult Volunteer category, the Award and Statuette for Promoting Bolesławiec, and the Silver Honorary Badge “Distinguished for the Lower Silesian Voivodeship.” - Andrzej Żdan
Lieutenant Colonel Andrzej Żdan—former commander of the 62nd Special Company from Bolesławiec, currently president of the Association of Former Soldiers of the 62nd Special Company Commando. A professional soldier with instructor qualifications in skiing and parachute jumping. For his long military service, he received service medals: the Gold Medal of the Armed Forces in the Service of the Homeland and the Gold Medal for Merit to the Defense of the Country. He initiated the establishment of the Association of Former Soldiers of the 62nd Special Company Commando. He conceived and organized nationwide competitions such as the Nationwide Sports and Defense Championships for Uniformed-Class Students, the Nationwide Sports and Defense Championships for the National Reserve Forces, Technical and Defense Maneuvers with Expanded Humanitarian Law, as well as the international Central Rally of Uniformed Classes in Żagań. He also organizes competitions promoting a healthy lifestyle: the “For the Cursed 1963” Run and Shooting Tournament, the Commando Cross for the “Brown Bear” statuette, and a Shooting Tournament marking National Independence Day. The Association of Former Soldiers of the 62nd Special Company Commando has partnership agreements with 21 schools running uniformed classes and also actively cooperates with military units and institutions. It organizes occasional picnics and festivals: a sports and defense picnic for Children’s Day, the military festival “The Army in Our City” for Polish Army Day, and an artillery picnic as part of celebrations of Rocket and Artillery Forces Day. For people with disabilities, it organizes an annual St. Nicholas festival with military games and activities, combined with the distribution of food packages. The association participates in the “Safe Lower Silesian” program. For several years, it has been among the leading associations recognized by the Ministry of National Defense with a special commendation “For Outstanding Commitment to Strengthening the Defense of the Republic of Poland.” For his civilian activities to date, Andrzej Żdan has received distinctions and medals from the highest state and ministerial authorities: the Gold Cross of Merit and the Distinguished Soldier of the Republic of Poland Badge.
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