It is now official: more people named “Meritorious for the City of Bolesławiec”

The main item on the agenda was the presentation of certificates conferring the title “Meritorious for the City of Bolesławiec.” The relevant resolutions on conferring the title “Meritorious for the City of Bolesławiec” were adopted by councillors of the Bolesławiec City Council at sessions held on June 26, 2019, and September 25, 2019.

In recognition of outstanding contributions to the development of the city of Bolesławiec, the title “Meritorious for the City of Bolesławiec” was awarded to:

• Jan Jasiukiewicz – since 1990, he has actively participated in rebuilding local self-government – from 1990 to 1998 as Deputy Mayor, and subsequently as Mayor of Bolesławiec (1998). He was a councillor of the Bolesławiec City Council during its 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th terms. He served twice as Deputy Chair of the City Council – during the 4th and 6th terms. Throughout his years of work on the City Council, he served on the Economic Development and Finance Committee, which he chaired during the 5th term. During the 7th term, he served as Deputy Chair of the Audit Committee. He was also a member of the Statutory Committee. As a local-government official, he focused on social activity, placing particular emphasis on helping people living in poverty. He is a model of commitment to the affairs of his city
• Wojciech Kasprzyk – was a councillor of the Bolesławiec City Council during its 6th and 7th terms. As a councillor, he actively worked on City Council committees. He was a member of the Audit Committee, the Economic Development and Finance Committee, the Health, Family and Social Affairs Committee, and the Infrastructure, Spatial Planning and Construction Committee, which he chaired during the 7th term. He became known as a person committed to the affairs of the local community
• Jan Leon Stasiak – was a councillor of the Bolesławiec City Council during its 3rd and 7th terms. As a councillor during the 3rd term, he was a member of the Economic Development and Finance Committee. During the 7th term, he served as Deputy Chair of the Education, Culture and Sport Committee of the Bolesławiec City Council. He became known as a person committed to popularizing the history of the city and region, having been a member of the Bolesławiec Association of Collectors and History Enthusiasts for many years. He is particularly valued for his openness toward people
• Eugeniusz Jabłoński – was a councillor of the Bolesławiec City Council during its 6th and 7th terms. During both the 6th and 7th terms, he served on the Audit Committee. In addition, he was a member of the Health, Family and Social Affairs Committee, where he served as Deputy Chair during the 7th term. As a councillor, he actively supported numerous social initiatives. He initiated the construction of the Memorial Plaque to the Victims of the Smolensk Disaster, which was placed on the city’s historic walls. As a representative of the Social Committee for the Celebrations of Regaining Independence, he became involved in events marking the 100th anniversary of Poland regaining independence in Bolesławiec and in the construction of the Independence Monument
• Eugeniusz Kowalski – was a councillor of the Bolesławiec City Council during its 2nd, 4th, 5th and 7th terms. He served on the Education, Culture and Sport Committee, which he chaired during the 5th term, and on the Economic Development and Finance Committee, where he served as Deputy Chair until June 2015. He was also a member of the Audit Committee and the Infrastructure, Spatial Planning and Construction Committee. From July 2015 until the end of the 7th term, he served as First Deputy Chair of the City Council. Throughout all his years as a local-government official, he successfully applied his professional knowledge. He was a long-serving headmaster of Primary School No. 3 in Bolesławiec. He became known as a person committed to working for the local community
• Jan Kisiliczyk – is the first and, to date, only resident of Bolesławiec to have been elected as a deputy to the Sejm in free Poland. From 1989 to 1993, he held a mandate as a deputy to the Sejm during its 10th term. As a deputy, he served on the Committee for Spatial, Construction and Housing Policy, the Committee for Agriculture and Food Economy, and the Committee for Local Government, Spatial Planning and Municipal Affairs. At the beginning of the 1990s, he became head of the District Office in Bolesławiec, a position he held until 1999. He then became Head of the Geodesy, Cadastre and Real Estate Department of the Bolesławiec District Office. In 2004, he became Head of the Property and Spatial Planning Department at Bolesławiec City Hall. In 1998, he received the Silver Cross of Merit. In 2005, he was awarded the honorary badge “For Merit to Geodesy and Cartography.” He uses his many years of experience in work for local government
• Arkadiusz Krzemiński – has been active in local government since the age of 16. At that time, he was elected Chair of the 1st-term Bolesławiec Youth City Council. He also served as a councillor of the Bolesławiec City Council during its 6th and 7th terms. He actively participated in the work of City Council committees. During the 6th term, he was a member of the Economic Development and Finance Committee. During the 7th term, he served on the Audit Committee and the Infrastructure, Spatial Planning and Construction Committee. He became known as a person committed to the social life of the city
• Tadeusz Jurkowski – (born June 10, 1939). A Polish citizen and resident of Bolesławiec. A long-serving teacher and member of the Association of Repatriates 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 thesis consists of 169 typewritten pages. This material is a valuable source of knowledge on which many authors in Poland base articles describing the history of Polish settlement in Bolesławiec County. Thanks to the efforts of the Association of Repatriates from Bosnia, Their Descendants and Friends and the financial resources they obtained from the Lower Silesian Voivodeship Marshal’s Office and Bolesławiec City Hall, the work was published in print. The book’s launch took place in September 2019
• Helena Smoleńska – has served as president of the “Artistic Ceramics” Artistic Handicrafts Cooperative for more than 20 years. She managed the plant in 1992–1993 and has run the company continuously since 1998. Products made 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 am Main, the Poznań International Fair, as well as the Deco-In fair in Berlin, arts and crafts fairs in Munich, trade fairs in Leipzig, Vienna, Milan, Prague, Pécs, Malmö and Amsterdam, “Teraz Polska” at the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw, and the Interior Lifestyle fair in Tokyo. The plant also takes part in the regularly organized Folk Art Fair in Kraków, fairs and demonstrations in Warsaw, Wrocław, Sopot and Zielona Góra, and the Bolesławiec Ceramic Festival. For exceptionally effective and successful 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 jury of the editorial board 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 “Meritorious for the Economy of the Republic of Poland” distinction; in 2016, she received the KERAMOS Honorary Distinction, awarded by the Faculty of Materials Engineering and Ceramics of Stanisław Staszic AGH University of Science and Technology 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 – has been actively involved for many years in the Bolesławiec branch of the Association of Siberians. From 2000 to 2004, she served as secretary, and since 2004 she has continuously served as president. During her leadership of the branch, many initiatives were carried out to commemorate the history of those exiled 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); the Siberians’ monument “In Tribute to the Polish Martyrs of Siberia and Those Murdered in Katyn and the Gulags” at the municipal cemetery on Śluzowa Street (2005); and a plaque commemorating the return of Bolesławiec residents – Siberians – to their homeland, placed on the monument located at Wolności Square (2013). Since 2009, every year on September 17, the March of Remembrance of Siberia has been organized on the initiative of the Association of Siberians, and since 2011, very intensive cooperation has been developed with Lower-Secondary School No. 2 in Bolesławiec, named after Poles Deported to Siberia. Each year, living history lessons led by Maria Niemczuk and other Association members were held in the school’s Memorial Room. History competitions for primary and lower-secondary schools were also organized, along with special meetings with young people, for example at the beginning and end of the school year, on Education Day and Siberian Day, as well as special events such as a spoken-word and music program marking the 150th anniversary of the January Uprising (2013). Together with members of the association, Maria Niemczuk supported the publication of two works: “We Had No Childhood. Memories of Bolesławiec Siberians” (Bolesławiec, 2013) and “Together We Remember More” (Bolesławiec, 2015), accompanying the 5th National Gathering of Directors of Schools and Educational Institutions and Presidents of Associations commemorating those deported to Siberia, held in Bolesławiec. The 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 “Residents of Bolesławiec – They Did Not Come from Nowhere. Around 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 heavily involved in organizing the association’s 30th anniversary and publishing “The Jubilee of Bolesławiec Borderland Residents 1989–2019. 30 Years of the Society of Friends of Lviv and the Southeastern Borderlands, Bolesławiec Branch, and the Association of Siberians, Bolesławiec Branch” (2019). A documentary film was dedicated to Maria Niemczuk, documenting the years she spent abroad: “Aby być,” by Przemysław Kania and Mateusz Rzepiak. For her contribution to the work of the Association of Siberians, Maria Niemczuk was awarded the Gold Badge of Merit of the Association of Siberians (2013) and the Pro Patria Medal (2019), granted by the Head of the Office for War Veterans and Victims of Oppression
• Barbara Smoleńska – has worked at a school as a vocational-subject teacher for 26 years, and from 2002 to 2012 served as deputy headteacher. 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 Society of Friends of Lviv and the Southeastern Borderlands and has actively worked to restore the memory of the Borderlands of the Second Polish Republic. She initiated and organized many projects: volunteer trips to Ukraine to clean Polish cemeteries; trips delivering Christmas packages to children in Zbarazh and Sieniawa; trips by Society members to Zbarazh Days celebrations; and a delegation from Bolesławiec to the unveiling of the Mickiewicz monument in Zbarazh. She also carried out many youth-exchange projects with Zbarazh and Sieniawa, as well as cultural projects, including author meetings 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 work, promotion of Bolesławiec, efforts to unite and activate Borderlands residents, and work to strengthen ties with fellow Poles in the former Borderlands of the Second Polish Republic, she has received numerous distinctions and awards. In 2014, she received the Mayor of Bolesławiec’s award for promoting the city in 2013. In 2015, she received the Medal of the Commission of National Education for special contributions to education and upbringing. In 2017, in recognition of her contributions to the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, she was awarded the Honorary Silver Badge “Meritorious for the Lower Silesian Voivodeship.” In 2018, she received the Mayor of Bolesławiec’s award for promoting the city in 2017 and the award of the Lower Silesian Superintendent of Education 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 Combatants 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 of Merit of the Society for Polish Culture of the Lviv Land, and in 2019, the Mayor of Zbarazh’s badge for developing Ukrainian-Polish cooperation
• Stanisława Balawender – born in Rudki near Lviv, she is the initiator and first president of the society established in 1989 to unite residents of the former Borderlands of the Second Polish Republic who settled in Bolesławiec. For two years, the society led by Stanisława Balawender operated as an independent association under the name “Society of Friends of the Lviv Land.” In 1991, by decision of the board, it became part of the nationwide “Society of Friends of Lviv and the Southeastern Borderlands.” To enable Bolesławiec residents born in the Borderlands to visit the places where they once lived, visit 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 rebuilding of Catholic churches and offer extensive assistance: vestments, candles, various church equipment, Polish-language books, clothing, food and other items were delivered. Stanisława Balawender also organized trips to Russia, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and Western European countries. They brought together the Bolesławiec Borderlands community. In 1990, on Stanisława Balawender’s initiative, a memorial 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). Members of the Society and sponsors they secured 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 Society members and supporters met. For her efforts to unite and activate Borderlands residents and to strengthen ties with fellow Poles in the former Borderlands of the Second Polish Republic, Stanisława Balawender received the Gold Badge of the Society of Friends of Lviv and the Southeastern Borderlands in 1998 and the society’s 25th-anniversary badge in 2013
• Adam Fornal – is a long-serving and committed activist of the Polish Red Cross. From 2009 to 2013, he was president of the Polish Red Cross District Board in Bolesławiec and, since 1979, has also been an honorary blood donor. He currently serves as vice-president of the Polish Red Cross Main Board, and since 2019 has been an honorary member of the German Red Cross. During his many years of activity, he initiated cooperation with the Blood Bank in the Netherlands, organized assistance for blood donors during the 1997 flood, founded and became the first president of the Honorary Blood Donors’ Club at PKS Bolesławiec, and organized humanitarian-aid convoys to Ukraine. As an active advocate of honorary blood donation, he took part in meetings with young people. Thanks to his commitment and promotion of honorary blood donation, the amount of blood donated in Bolesławiec County increased. 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 Society of Friends of Lviv and the Southeastern Borderlands in Bolesławiec. Thanks to his initiative, after years without a meeting place, the Society received a headquarters at 9 Sądowa Street, shared with the Association of Combatants of the Republic of Poland and Former Political Prisoners of the Bolesławiec Land. He promoted education about the Borderlands by organizing exhibitions, lectures and pilgrimages to the Borderlands. The exhibition “Cemetery of the Defenders of Lviv” is still in use, and the pilgrimages to the Borderlands continue. For his charitable and humanitarian work, Adam Fornal received numerous distinctions. In 2010, he received the Mayor of Bolesławiec’s award 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 – Meritorious 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 lives and 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 “For Assistance 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
• Staff Sergeant (ret.) Bogdan Fiałkowski – former commander of the 62nd Special Company from Bolesławiec, currently vice-president of the Association of Former Soldiers of the 62nd Special Commando Company. A professional soldier with instructor qualifications in skiing and parachute jumping. For his long military service, he received departmental 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 Commando Company. He conceived and organized nationwide competitions such as the National Sports and Defense Championships for Uniformed Classes, the National Sports and Defense Championships for the National Reserve Forces, Technical and Defense Maneuvers with Expanded Humanitarian Law, as well as international competitions – the Central Gathering of Uniformed Classes in Żagań. He also organizes events 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 on the occasion of National Independence Day. The Association of Former Soldiers of the 62nd Special Commando Company 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 “Army in Our City” military festival for Polish Armed Forces Day, and an artillery picnic as part of the celebrations of the Rocket Forces and Artillery holiday. 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 receiving special recognition from the Ministry of National Defense for their work: “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 of Merit of the Association of War Invalids of the Republic of Poland, the Medal for Merit to the Association of Combatants of the Republic of Poland and Former Political Prisoners, the Honorary Badge of Custodian of the Tradition, Glory and Fame of the Polish Armed Forces, and the “Meritorious Soldier of the Republic of Poland” Badge. He was also recognized by local-government 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 “Meritorious for the Lower Silesian Voivodeship”
• 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 Commando Company. A professional soldier with instructor qualifications in skiing and parachute jumping. For his long military service, he received departmental 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 Commando Company. He conceived and organized nationwide competitions such as the National Sports and Defense Championships for Uniformed Classes, the National Sports and Defense Championships for the National Reserve Forces, Technical and Defense Maneuvers with Expanded Humanitarian Law, as well as international competitions – the Central Gathering of Uniformed Classes in Żagań. He also organizes events 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 on the occasion of National Independence Day. The Association of Former Soldiers of the 62nd Special Commando Company 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 “Army in Our City” military festival for Polish Armed Forces Day, and an artillery picnic as part of the celebrations of the Rocket Forces and Artillery holiday. 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 receiving special recognition from the Ministry of National Defense for their work: “For outstanding commitment to strengthening the defense of the Republic of Poland.” For his civilian activities to date, Andrzej Żdan received distinctions and medals from the highest state and ministerial authorities: the Gold Cross of Merit and the “Meritorious Soldier of the Republic of Poland” Badge.

What do you think? We invite you to join the discussion.