Bolesławiec organization celebrates its 35th anniversary! Names and profiles of those honored

Honored during the ceremony

The Borderlands Cross:

• Stanisława Balawender – she is a member of the founding group that decided to establish the association on May 7, 1989. From 1989 to 2007, she was president of the Bolesławiec branch of TMLiKPW, engaging the association’s members by organizing trips to the Borderlands and aid for the Poles who remained there.
• Anastazja Sulik – she is a member of the founding group that decided to establish the association on May 7, 1989. From 2007 to 2011, she was a member of the Peer Court. She took part in initiatives promoting the musical culture of the Borderlands.
• Franciszek Kaśków – another member of the founding group that decided to establish the association on May 7, 1989. He took part in trips to the Borderlands. He organized religious ceremonies. He participated in the National Borderlands Meetings in Lubaczów and meetings at the Museum of the Heritage and Culture of the Borderlands in Brzeg. From 2007 to 2011, he was a member of the Board, and since 2023 he has been chair of the Peer Court.
• Władysław Majkowski – he joined the association in 1992 and is an active member. He takes part in many of the association’s projects and activities, such as volunteering in Vilnius in 2023. Since 2023, he has been a member of the Audit Committee.

The TMLiKPW 35th Anniversary Badge:

• Krystyna Krawczyk – she has been an active member of the association since 2007; she was a member of the Audit Committee from 2015 to 2019 and in 2022, and since 2023 she has been secretary of the Audit Committee.
• Zbigniew Korczowski – since 2007, he has actively participated in the association’s activities, also providing support through sponsorship. From 2019 to 2023, he served as deputy chair of the Peer Court.
• Jan Sysak – he joined the association in 2007. From 2011 to 2015, he served as treasurer, and from 2015 to 2017 he was vice president. For many years, he was a member of the association’s standard-bearer team. He participated in social gatherings and events promoting the culture of the Borderlands, including the National Meeting of Borderlands Communities in Lubaczów.
• Stanisława Zięcik – since joining the association in 2007, she has initiated many activities, conducted educational work and represented the association externally. From 2011 to 2023, she served as secretary, and she is currently a member of the Board.
• Wanda Krzyżanowska – she is an active member of the association. She participates in the proposed activities whenever possible. She joined the association in 2007. From 2016 to 2019, she was secretary of the Peer Court.
• Michał Tychoń – he joined the association in 2008. As a member of the standard-bearer team, he represented people from the Borderlands during state and Borderlands ceremonies. From 2015 to 2019, he was a member of the Audit Committee.
• Andrzej Bartoch – since joining the association in 2013, he has willingly supported its activities, most often participating in ceremonies as part of the standard-bearer team. Since 2022, he has been a member of the Board.
• Tadeusz Żuk – he prepared the 2015 reporting and election meeting and supervised the association’s proper organizational and financial operation. From 2015 to 2019, he served as chair of the Audit Committee. In recent years, illness has limited his activity.
• Bożena Majewska – from 2019 to 2023, she served as chair of the Peer Court and was involved in volunteer activities; she was particularly active in 2022, when aid for Ukraine was organized.
• Bronisław Grygiel – he takes part in the association’s activities and meetings devoted to the Borderlands, promoting the culture and heritage of the region. Since 2023, he has served as secretary of the Peer Court.
• Zbigniew Junkiewicz – he is an active member of the association who passionately promotes the culture and history of the Borderlands of the Second Polish Republic. He held meetings with young people and adults, preserves and shares Borderlands songs, and films and photographs ceremonies organized by the association. From 2017 to 2021, he served as first vice president.
• Czesław Gęsior – he is a 92-year-old member of the association, born in Stanisławów. Currently seriously ill, when he still felt well he recited poems in the “bałak” dialect during Borderlands events. From 2019 to 2023, he was a deputy member of the Audit Committee.
• Władysław Olszewski – he initiated the “Borderlands Corner” established at the Municipal Public Library – Knowledge Center. He researches the family histories of people from Drohobych and publishes articles on Borderlands themes in the “Drohobych Bulletin.” From 2015 to 2019, he was chair of the Peer Court, and since 2019 he has been chair of the Audit Committee.
• Stanisława Raszkiewicz – since 2016, she has participated in activities carried out by the Society, contributing to the promotion of the history and culture of the Borderlands.
• Jarosława Baran – as a teacher and member of the association, she supports our activities through the participation of her students, who take part in the “Package for the Borderlands” campaign and meetings on Borderlands themes and prepare holiday cards for residents of our partner city, Zbarazh, among other activities.
• Tomasz Sadowski – he is an active member of the association. He took part in cemetery clean-up campaigns in Ukraine, trips to Zbarazh, Yazlovets and Vilnius to maintain cooperation, and the “Package for the Borderlands” campaign. Since 2023, he has been a member of the Board.
• Maria Irena Junkiewicz – she is an active member of the association. Together with her husband, she participates in Borderlands meetings organized by various institutions, representing our association. She has taken part several times in cemetery clean-up campaigns in Ukraine. From 2019 to 2021, she served as treasurer.
• Leon Smoleński – he supports the association’s activities as a member of the standard-bearer team, driver and technical coordinator preparing, among other things, exhibitions. He represents the association at official meetings to which we are invited, such as those in Brzeg, Lubaczów and Głogów. He took part in cemetery clean-up campaigns in Ukraine and Vilnius, Lithuania. Since 2023, he has been a member of the Board.
• Zygmunt Brusiło – he is president of the Towarzystwo Miłośników Bolesławca and a member of the authorities of the Lower Silesian Regional Society. He is strongly involved in addressing the “Volhynia” issue—he was born in Volhynia—and presents the problems concerning people from the Borderlands during the meetings he attends.
• Alicja Brusiło – born in Lychkivtsi in the Tarnopol Voivodeship, she is a retired Polish-language teacher who supports her husband in activities promoting the history and cultural heritage of the Borderlands.
• Janina Czech – born in Shchyrets near Lviv, she is a 92-year-old member of the association. Due to her age, she no longer participates in the association’s activities, but two years ago she still took part in some meetings.
• Józefa Szewczuk – before becoming ill, she was a very active member of the association. She took part in cemetery clean-up campaigns in Ukraine, attended meetings, supported refugees from Ukraine and promoted the association externally. In 2018–2019 and in 2022, she served as treasurer, and subsequently, until 2023, she was a member of the Board.
• Aniela Teresa Hanowicz – she has been first vice president since 2022. In 2019, she served as treasurer and subsequently, from 2019 to 2021, as a member of the Board. She initiates and participates in the association’s activities, such as organizing meetings, including outdoor events; representing the association at events, including sporting events; holding meetings for young people; and conducting classes to support refugees from Ukraine. She also took part in campaigns to clean Polish cemeteries in Ukraine and Moldova.
• Elżbieta Hołyńska-Grzesiak – she is a retired history teacher and a member of the association. She supports us with her knowledge. At the Municipal Public Library – Knowledge Center and in schools, she conducted workshops devoted to the Lviv Eaglets. She supported refugees from Ukraine by conducting Polish-language classes. During a trip to Vilnius organized by the association, she served as a guide. She took part in campaigns to clean Polish cemeteries in Ukraine and Moldova and helped obtain equipment for the work.
• Siergii Koruna – he joined the association in 2018 after settling in Bolesławiec. Previously, he lived in Zbarazh, our partner city. He participates in meetings and contributes to activities by producing video documentation for the association.
• Danuta Zmitrukiewicz – she lives 65 km from Bolesławiec but remains in regular contact with the Board, pays her membership fees regularly and participates in important events, such as holiday and anniversary meetings or integration barbecues.
• Małgorzata Laskowska – as an employee of the Pedagogical Library, she supports the association’s activities by enabling exhibitions and meetings to be organized. Among other things, she helped organize an exhibition about Zbarazh and a meeting with Prof. Mieczysław Szustakowski.
• Barbara Berduła – she is an active member of the association. From 2019 to 2020, she was a member of the Board. From 2021 to 2023, she served as second vice president. Since 2023, she has been secretary of the association. Given her education as a history teacher, she contributes to educational activities. She is the author of a study and initiator of the “Borderlands Patrons of Bolesławiec Streets” series. She is also one of the people who conduct educational meetings with young people.
• Jolanta Kobak – she lives 152 km from Bolesławiec but remains in regular contact with the Board, pays her membership fees regularly, participates in important events and sometimes even organizes meetings that we travel to, such as a meeting with Fr. Polikarp. She took part twice in a campaign to clean cemeteries in Ukraine.
• Krystyna Pawluk – she is an active member of the association. She participates in association meetings, often with an advisory voice. She promotes the musical culture of the Borderlands by performing a Borderlands repertoire with the “Niespodzianka” ensemble. She took part in a campaign to clean Polish cemeteries in Moldova. Since 2023, she has been a member of the Board.
• Elżbieta Bartos – she is an active member of the association, participating in activities carried out in Bolesławiec and elsewhere. In recent years, she took part in the National Meeting of Borderlands Communities in Lubaczów, a meeting at the Museum in Brzeg and the Senior Spartakiad in Bolesławiec. She also took part in a campaign to clean the cemetery at Rasos Cemetery in Vilnius in 2023.
• Henryk Szopa – he regularly participates in the association’s meetings and initiatives. Since 2023, he has been deputy chair of the Peer Court.
• Waldemar Krysztofiak – he participates in many different activities of the association. He organizes young people for trips, meetings, Borderlands concerts and the association’s standard-bearer team. He is responsible for preparing the standard-bearer team for ceremonies. He takes part in all major ceremonies attended by people from Bolesławiec’s Borderlands community. He participated in campaigns to clean Polish cemeteries in Ukraine, Moldova and Vilnius, Lithuania. From 2019 to 2023, he served as secretary of the Peer Court; since 2023, he has been a member of the Board.
• Jan Czechowski – he is an association member interested in the history of railways and Borderlands families. He took part in meetings for young people, and at the “Railway Workers from the Vilnius Region” meeting he even appeared in a railway uniform. He participated several times in the National Meeting of Borderlands Communities in Lubaczów and in a campaign to clean Polish cemeteries in Ukraine.
• Stanisława Śmigiel – she is an active member of the association. She participates in meetings and initiatives organized by the association. Since 2022, she has been a member of the Audit Committee.
• Aleksandra Juchniewicz – she was born in 1926 in what is now Belarus. She is currently 98 years old and is the oldest member of our association.
• Helena Hałas – she is 81 years old and, although her age makes it difficult to participate in the association’s activities, she pays her membership fees and wants to feel like a member of the Borderlands association.
• Patrycja Kosarczyn – in 2018, she received an award from the Faculty of Philology of the University of Opole for her master’s thesis, “Following the Traces of Repatriates from the Polish Eastern Borderlands (Using the Bolesławiec Region as an Example).” She provides substantive support for the association’s educational activities.
• Marzena Bronowicka – above all, she initiates Borderlands activities with young people. At Primary School No. 5, she established a Borderlands Club. She organized the First Bolesławiec Borderlands Song Review. She organizes meetings with witnesses of history. She motivates children and young people to record the family histories of their grandparents and great-grandparents. She took part with young people in a campaign to clean Polish cemeteries in Ukraine and in the “Package for the Borderlands” campaign. The young people prepared packages and holiday cards for residents of our partner city, Zbarazh.
• Piotr Bronowicki – he supported and helped his wife, Marzena, in conducting Borderlands activities. He provided logistics during the preparation of packages. He participated in meetings organized by the association.
• Henryk Zmitrukiewicz – he lives 65 km from Bolesławiec but remains in regular contact with the Board, pays his membership fees regularly and participates in important events, such as holiday and anniversary meetings or integration barbecues.
• Janina Koralewicz – in October 2022, she became a member of the Board, then assumed the role of treasurer and held it until 2023. Since November 2023, she has served as second vice president. She initiates and participates, whenever possible, in all of the association’s activities. She co-organizes meetings, represents the association as a member of the standard-bearer team, takes part in senior sports competitions and makes handmade products that we present during Borderlands fairs and picnics. She has participated four times in campaigns to clean Polish cemeteries—in Lviv, Ukraine; Moldova; and Vilnius, Lithuania.
• Wioletta Słoma – she participates in association members’ meetings and meetings on Borderlands themes. She also takes part in projects and trips organized by the association, such as the National Meeting of Borderlands Communities in Lubaczów, a campaign to clean Polish cemeteries in Moldova and Borderlands meetings in Brzeg.
• Małgorzata Kowalska – she is an active member of the association. She willingly supports all activities undertaken by the Board. She participates in meetings. She represents the association externally, including as part of the standard-bearer team. She participates in projects and trips organized by the association, such as the National Meeting of Borderlands Communities in Lubaczów, a campaign to clean the cemetery at Rasos Cemetery in Vilnius and Borderlands meetings in Brzeg. Since November 2023, she has served as treasurer.
• Jacek Nesler – he participates in anniversary and integration events as well as educational trips and meetings of Borderlands communities, such as those in Lubaczów and Brzeg. In 2023, he took part in a cemetery clean-up campaign in Moldova. He is involved in organizing Borderlands events. Since 2023, he has been a member of the Audit Committee.
• Bronisława Krotewicz – she supports the association’s activities through active participation in preparing Borderlands meetings and events, including sporting events. She participates in meetings and educational trips, such as the National Meeting of Borderlands Communities in Lubaczów and meetings at the Museum of the Heritage and Culture of the Borderlands in Brzeg. Since 2023, she has been a member of the Board.
• Kamil Jamry – he lives 323 km from Bolesławiec but remains in regular contact with the Board, pays his membership fees regularly and participates in important events. In 2021, he took part in a campaign to clean the Janowski Cemetery in Lviv. In 2022, he took part in the parade during the Ceramics Festival, and in 2023 in a meeting commemorating Zosia Izdebska, a member of the association.
• Adam Czech – he participates in the association’s activities organized in Bolesławiec and in educational trips. In 2023, he took part in a campaign to clean the cemetery at Rasos Cemetery in Vilnius.
• Jerzy Zając – he is an active member of the association. He is a great help in organizing outdoor meetings. He willingly participates in educational and integration meetings with people from the Borderlands communities of Jelenia Góra, Głogów, Brzeg and Lubaczów. He took part in a campaign to clean the cemetery at Rasos Cemetery in Vilnius.
• Emilia Gęsior – she was born in Stanisławów. Observing her brother Czesław’s involvement in Borderlands activities, she decided to join the association. She participates in meetings presenting the history of the Borderlands.
• Marian Smoleński – he lives 46 km from Bolesławiec but remains in regular contact with the Board, pays his membership fees regularly and participates in important events, such as holiday meetings and integration barbecues. He represents the association by participating in the Ceramics Parade every year. He took part in the National Meetings of Borderlands Communities in Lubaczów and a campaign to clean the cemetery at Rasos Cemetery in Vilnius.
• Magda Halikowska-Przybyło – she is a teacher and initiator of Borderlands activities with young people. She organizes trips for young people to meetings and Borderlands concerts organized by the association. Three times, she took part with young people in campaigns to clean cemeteries in Vilnius, Lithuania, and Moldova.
• Irena Mączka – she is an active member of the association. She participates in almost all activities. She represents the association during trips, including as a member of the standard-bearer team. She took part in a campaign to clean the cemetery at Rasos Cemetery in Vilnius and three times in the National Meeting of Borderlands Communities in Lubaczów. Since 2023, she has been a member of the Board.
• Tetiana Volovyk – she is Ukrainian and comes from Kharkiv. After arriving in Bolesławiec, she became interested in Polish history, particularly its Borderlands history. She participates in integration and educational meetings. She helps prepare Borderlands Fairs. She takes part in Ceramics Parades and Borderlands music meetings. She participated in the National Meeting of Borderlands Communities in Lubaczów and a New Year’s meeting at the Museum of the Heritage and Culture of the Borderlands in Brzeg.
• Małgorzata Felińska – she lives 40 km from Bolesławiec but remains in regular contact with the Board, pays her membership fees regularly and participates in important events. She provides substantive support for the association’s educational activities. She is a doctoral student at the Faculty of Sociology of the University of Wrocław and author of the book “From Borderlanders to Repatriates: The Collective Memory of Residents of the Eastern Borderlands Displaced to the Recovered Territories.” She participates in educational meetings with young people. In 2024, she took part in a campaign to clean the cemetery at Rasos Cemetery in Vilnius.

The Commemorative Medal:

• Piotr Roman, Mayor of Bolesławiec,
• Kornel Filipowicz, director of the Bolesławiec Cultural Center – International Ceramics Center,
• Anna Idkowiak – director of the Municipal Public Library – Knowledge Center.

On Thursday, October 17, a ceremony marking the 35th anniversary of the activities of the Towarzystwo Miłośników Lwowa i Kresów Południowo-Wschodnich in Bolesławiec was held in the Forum cinema hall.

The ceremony provided an opportunity to honor the association’s members and volunteers, as well as people who support its activities.

The ceremony, hosted by Barbara Smoleńska, head of the Bolesławiec branch of the Society, was enhanced by the Borderlands vaudeville “I Was Born Here,” performed by the “Chawira” Theatre and Music Ensemble from Kraków.