NOVEMBER 14 - DAILY CHRONICLES OF HISTORY

NOVEMBER 14

1918

On November 14, 1918, Piłsudski was asked to supervise the provisional government of Poland. Several days later he was officially bestowed the title of Provisional Chief of State of the Second Polish Republic, by the government of Jędrzej Moraczewski.  After Poland re-emerged as a nation-state following the end of WWI, Pilsudski was in command of Polish forces in six border wars.  In the Polish-Soviet War, Pilsudskis' forces seemed on the verge of defeat, but in August 1920 the Battle of Warsaw, the Poles succeeded in defeating the invading Soviets, to their utter humiliation.  In 1923 Pilsudski withdrew from active politics (the Polish government was under control of his opponents, in particular the National Democrats.) Three years later he returned to power in the May 1926 coup d'état and became Poland's supreme leader. Jozef Pilsudski is regarded as the Father of the Second Polish Republic.

1982

Polish Solidarity Chairman Lech Wałęsa was freed on November 14, 1982 after having been imprisoned for 11 months.  He and other Solidarity activists were arrested following the crackdown imposed by General Wojciech Jaruzelski.  Walesa is the founder of the Solidarity movement (Solidarnosc), and was relentlessly persecuted, surveilled, and arrested several times by the Communist authorities. In August 1980 he was instrumental in political negotiations that led to the ground-breaking Gdańsk Agreement between striking workers and the government.   He was also prominent in the establishment of the 1989 Round Table Agreement that led to semi-free parliamentary elections in June 1989 and to a Solidarity-led government.  In the Polish general election of 1990, Wałęsa successfully ran for the newly re-established office of President of Poland. He presided over Poland's transition from communism to a post-communist state, but his popularity waned and his role in Polish politics diminished after he narrowly lost the 1995 presidential election.  In 1983, Wałęsa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.  Moreover, he has received more than 30 state decorations and more than 50 awards from 30 countries, including Order of the Bath (UK), Order of Merit (Germany), Legion of Honour (France) and European Human Rights Prize (EU 1989). In 2011, he declined to accept the Lithuanian highest order, citing his displeasure at Lithuania's policy towards the Polish diaspora.  In the United States, Wałęsa was the first recipient of the Liberty Medal, in 1989. In the same year, he was also presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and became the first non-head-of-state to address a joint meeting of the United States Congress.  Quote from Walesa:  "My most ardent desire is that my country will recapture its historic opportunity for a peaceful evolution and that Poland will prove to the world that even the  most complex situations can be resolved by a dialogue and not by force."

1990

The German–Polish Border Treaty was signed on November 14, 1990,  finally settling the Polish–German border, an issue which was pending since the end of World War II in 1945.  The treaty was signed by the foreign ministers of Poland and Germany, Krzysztof Skubiszewski and Hans-Dietrich Genscher, in Warsaw, ratified by the Polish Sejm on November 25, 1991 and the German Bundestag on December 16, 1991.  Among the terms of the Treaty, Poland and Germany declared that the frontier between them was inviolable now,  and hereafter, and mutually pledged to respect their sovereignty and territorial integrity, and a mutual declaration that they have no territorial claims against each other and shall not raise such claims in the future.  In the ratification process at the Bundestag,  there were 13 dissenting votes by deputies of the CDU/CSU faction, among them Erika Steinbach and Peter Ramsauer.

SEPTEMBER 17 - DAILY CHRONICLES OF HISTORY

SEPTEMBER 17

1939

Soviet Union invaded Poland.   On September 17, 1939,  16 days after Germany invaded Poland from the west, the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east.  The joint German-Soviet invasion of Poland was secretly agreed to in the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, which was signed on August 23,  1939. An overpowering number of Russian troops crossed Polish borders, approximately 466,000 to 800,000 soldiers in over 33 divisions, armed with 4,959 guns, 4,736 tanks, and 3,300 aircraft. Initially Polish forces clashed with the invading Russian armies resulting in heavy casualties.  Polish General Rydz-Śmigły ordered the Polish troops to fall back, and engage Russian troops in defence only.  The Red Army captured 230,000 Polish prisoners of war, and annexed the Poland's entire eastern region. From 1939 to 1941, in a wave of four phases, the Soviet regime deported over one million Poles to Russian gulags. The notorious NKVD secret police embarked on a reign of terror and murder of Polish military and civilians.  Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov told the Polish ambassador that "since the Polish Republic is no longer in existence" the Soviet would protect inhabitants of Byelorussia and the western Ukraine, whose territories were annexed and renamed the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, and the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic.  Poland's President Ignacy Mościck and Prime Minister Felicjan Składkowski evacuated to Romania, with the general staff of the Polish government, and many of the Polish armed forces.  They refused to surrender or negotiate peace terms with either the Germans or the Soviets.


Royal Castle in Warsaw Bombed by Nazis.  On September 17, 1939, Warsaw's famed Royal Castle (Zamek Krolewski) was bombed by Nazi German artillery. The roof and the turrets were destroyed by fire, the ceiling of the Ballroom collapsed, resulting in the complete destruction of the priceless Bacciarelli's ceiling fresco, The Creation of the World.  However, other rooms were slightly damaged  After Warsaw was occupied by the Germans, Hitler ordered the castle to be demolished, but not before looting everything in sight - priceless masterpieces of art and sculpture, furniture, the marbled floors,  fireplaces, decorative moulds, and even the central heating and ventilation systems, which were all dismantled and shipped to Germany. After the defeat of the Polish insurgents during the Warsaw Uprising, the Germans blew up the Castle's walls.   Immediately after the end of the war, restoration of the Royal Castle began.  Every fragment was collected and assembled according to blueprints of the framework and rooms, and the painstaking restoration began.. (In 1980, the Royal Castle, as well as the Old Town were registered as a protected UNESCO World Heritage Site.)


The Battle of Brześć Litewski ended in German victory.  On September 14, 1939,  77 German tanks of the 2nd Battalion of the 8th Panzer Regiment, part of 10th Panzer Division, reached the area of Brześć and attempted to capture the fortress but were repelled by Polish infantry and the 113th company of light tanks, consisting of 12 obsolete Renault FT tanks.  Though the Germans destroyed all the Polish tanks, the Poles succeeded in forcing them to retreat to their initial positions.  Later on the same day,  German artillery reinforcements arrived and launched very heavy bombing of both the fortress and the town.  By dawn about half of the town was captured by the Germans, while the other half was fiercely defended by the Polish infantry.  On September 16, the Germans launched their main assault in the early morning. Though the Polish troops had an ample supply of small arms ammunition and light arms, they were in very short supply of anti-tank weapons, and woefully insufficient artillery cover.  Even so, they succeeded again in repelling the German infantry, and the assault of German tanks was stopped by two Polish FT-17 tanks, successfully sealing the northern gate of the fortress. Despite heavy losses, the German 20th Motorized Division and 10th Armoured Division captured the northern part of the citadel. Meanwhile, the combined 3rd Armoured Division and 2nd Armoured Division comprising the XXII Armoured Corps entered the area.  Polish General Plisowski ordered part of the Polish forces to retreat and regroup to the other side of the river and southwards.  By the morning of September 17, the evacuation was completed when the last Polish unit crossed the bridge, and blew it up to hinder the Germans. An hour later elements of the German 76th infantry regiment entered the fortress. The Brest Fortress was then handed over to the Soviets by German troops, in accordance with the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.


German submarine sank British aircraft carrier.  The German submarine U-29 under the command of Captain Schuhart, attacked and sunk the British aircraft carrier HMS Courageous.During the night of September 17, 1939,  the Courageous was on patrol as part of a "hunter-killer" group, off the coast of Ireland. Two of her four escorting destroyers had been deployed to assist a merchant ship which was under attack. During this period of time, Courageous had been stalked for more than two hours by the German sub. When the Courageous turned into the wind to launch her aircraft, it exposed the ship right across the bow of the submarine, and at that moment, the U-29 fired three torpedoes. Before any aircraft could take off, two torpedoes struck the ship on her port side and knocked out all electrical power.  The aircraft carrier capsized and sank in 20 minutes  with the loss of 519 of her crew, including the captain.  The survivors were rescued by the Dutch ocean liner Veendam and the British freighter Collingworth.  For the next four hours, two escorting destroyers counterattacked the U-29, but the submarine escaped. Karl Donitz, Admiral of the Kriegsmarine, later remarked that the sinking of the Courageous was a "wonderful success" and the news spread throughout the Kriegsmarine with celebration.  Three days earlier an attempt was made by U-29 to sink the Ark Royal, but without success.

1942

The supreme political body of the Polish underground government in Nazi-occupied Poland, was the Delegatura which financed and sponsored Polish underground activities, including that of Zegota. Since 1942, the Delegatura granted Zegota close to 29 million zlotys (over $5 million in todays funds) for relief payments to thousands of Jewish families seeking refuge from Nazi concentration camps in Poland. On this day, the Delegatura (Civil Directorate of the Polish Underground)  published a leaflet with the following declaration:   " For nearly a year now, in addition to the tragedy of the Polish people, which is being slaughtered by the enemy, our country has been the scene of a terrible,  planned massacre of the Jews. This mass murder has no parallel in the annals of mankind; compared to it, the most infamous atrocities known to history pale into insignificance. Unable to act against this situation, we, in the name of the entire Polish people, protest the crime being perpetrated against the Jews; all political and public organizations join in this protest. "  The head of the Delegatura was a government representative who in 1944 was appointed deputy prime minister. Assisting him were three deputies, who were appointed ministers.  In order of succession the Delegatura were Cyril Ratajski, Jan Piekalkiewicz, Jan Jankowski, Stefan Korbonski, and Jerzy Braun.  In addition there were committees consisting of representatives of the four political parties on following the structure of the Polish Government In Exile in London.   (see June 12, 1980 and July 26, 1942)

1944

Operation Market Garden was an Allied military operation in the Netherlands and Germany. Allied air and land forces had succeeded in liberating the Dutch cities of Eindhoven and Nijmegen, but failed to maintain their positions in and around the city of Arnhem and its strategically important bridge.   The Operation was the largest airborne operation in history; it delivered over 34,600 men of the 101st, 82nd and 1st Airborne Divisions and the Polish Brigade; 14,589 troops landed by glider;  20,011 by parachute; and a massive deployment of 1,736 vehicles,  263 artillery pieces, 3,342 tons of ammunition, and other supplies were brought in by glider and parachute drop.

1980

Solidarnosc (Solidarity) movement was born. Solidarity was founded on September 17, 1980 by Lech Walesa, at the Lenin Shipyard, at Gdansk, Poland. It was the first independent trade union that challenged the Soviet led communist regime. The movement used civil resistance to advance the causes of workers' rights and democratic rights and freedoms.  In the attempt to extinguish the rising power of Solidarity, General Jaruzelski imposed  martial law which lasted from December 1981 to July 1983, and was followed by years of political repression.  By 1981  the membership of Solidarity had swelled to over 10 million people (which constituted one third of the total working-age population of Poland).  Throughout the years of struggle, Solidarity received significant financial support from Pope John Paul II and the United States totaling 50 million U.S. dollars.  Needless to say, the most powerful force behind Solidarity was the Pope's visits to Poland, which galvanized an entire nation to have faith, and to persevere towards the realization of freedom and independence.

Father of Polish Democracy, Tadeusz Mazowiecki - Died October 28, 2013

Poland's 'father of democracy' Tadeusz Mazowiecki dies aged 86 (00:01:03m)


Before the name Lech Walesa became known - before the Solidarnosc movement even raised its first banner - there was Tadeusz Mazowiecki, the Visionary, the Architect, and the Father of Polish Democracy.   He became an important key advisor to the Solidarnosc movement, and the first democratic Prime Minister after the communist era.

At the close of WWII and under the yoke of Soviet tyranny, the communist-led government in Poland sought to quash Polish dissent by eroding public support for the Catholic Church in Poland. Under the aegis of its founder, Boleslaw Piasecki,  Catholic PAX Association was created. It vigorously supported the Stalinist trial shows of the Krakow Curia, which proclaimed death penalties against Catholic priests (falsely) found guilty of treason.  It was a hunt to convict and imprison as many Polish clergymen as possible. Among them were Bishop Czeslaw Kaczmarek and Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski.

Amid the maelstrom, Tadeusz Mazowiecki became a member of the Catholic PAX Association, a liaison that lasted from 1945 to 1955.  Throughout this period PAX made vigorous appeals in an effort to influence public policy issues, competing against the conservative clergy of the interwar period. It culminated in the arrest of hundreds of priests in the early 1950s, by the State Security.  During the Stalinist period in Poland, Mazowiecki was the editor-in-chief of the Catholic periodical called Wroclaw Weekly (WTK - Wroclawski Tygodnik Katolicki). He also published a pamphlet entitled "The enemy remains the same", which alleged an alliance between Polish anti-communist Resistance and Nazi war criminals.  Needless to say, all this was propaganda fodder, wielded by the Soviets to defame and undermine Polish dissidents. 

Mazowiecki was one of the founding members of the Club of Catholic Intelligentsia (Klub Inteligencji Katolickiej) or KIK,  which was anti-communist, and Catholic-center in scope.  KIK was established soon after "Gomulka's Thaw", a period in history also referred to as the "Polish Thaw" or "Polish October".  It marked the drastic transition of Polish politics in the later part of 1956, that is, the deaths of Joseph Stalin, and of Polish communist leader Boleslaw Bierut. It resulted in the weakening of the Stalinist faction to a shadow of its former self and set into motion a series of events which began to (albeit temporarily) loosen the Soviet grip on Poland. Throngs of workers in Poznan staged protests against the communist government led by Wladyslaw Gomulka, who became leader of  the reformers' faction.  But ultimately, any hopes for liberalization were quashed as Gomulka's regime became more oppressive. The Soviet grip was tightening once again.

Mazowiecki was a representative in the Sejm (Polish Parliament) from 1961 to 1971 and served several terms as a member of Znak, the Catholic Party.   He brought up the issue during a session of the Sejm, concerning the students' demonstrations of March 1968. There were massive student protests against the communist government across the country which resulted in severe crack-down by security forces.(Mazowiecki was later expelled from PAX for creating internal opposition.)

When the 1970 protests in Poland erupted, Mazowiecki pursued the issue of organizing a committee to investigate who was responsible for the bloodshed.  The protests were sparked by the spiraling increase in the price of food and other necessities. About 42 people were gunned down and more than 1,000 wounded by members of the Polish People's Army and Citizen's Militia.  By 1976, Mazowiecki had been expelled from the Sejm, and forbidden to run for parliamentary office.  Nevertheless, he wasted no time and joined the opposition.

In August 1980, Mazowiecki led the Board of Experts which provided support to the workers from Gdansk in their negotiations with the authorities.  He joined the workers at Gdansk Shipyard to demand that Anna Walentynowicz be re-instated after having been fired.  They demonstrated for better pay, as well as demanding a monument be erected to commemorate the workers who were killed in the 1970 protest.  Within days, the momentum led to the birth of Solidarity - the first free trade union in Eastern Europe, and a freedom movement led by Lech Walesa. Mazowiecki was one of Walesa's most valued advisors and he counseled Walesa throughout the development of Solidarnosc from its inception to the emergence of a free and independent Poland.

The following year, he was Editor-in-Chief of the "Solidarity" weekly periodical (Tygodnik Solidarnosc). After the declaration of martial law, he was arrested and imprisoned in various locations and finally released on December 23, 1982.
 

In 1987, Mazowiecki travelled abroad, meeting with politicians and trade union representatives.  He was firmly committed to the process of negotiation as a means to wresting power from the ruling communist party, and actively participated in the famous Polish Round Table Talks.  It was his involvement in this process of negotiation that has made Mazowiecki one of the most important architects of liberalization of Polish politics, and led to the historic landslide victory of Solidarity in the partially free elections on June 4, 1989.

In September of 1989, Mazowiecki addressed Parliament to introduce his new cabinet and government.  Parliament voted in favor 402 - 0 with 13 abstentions.  Mazowiecki succeeded in delivering his promises for wide-spread governmental reform - and in short time.  The political system was thoroughly transformed and included a range of civil rights and freedoms as well as the establishment of the multi-party system. Not the least was the change of Poland's emblem, and name - from the People's Republic of Poland, to the Republic of Poland!  On December 29, 1989, the Polish Constitution underwent complete and radical reform and democratization, whereby the political and economic system of government in Poland were re-structured.  It was a shock treatment which transformed the communist economy, based on state ownership and central planning, to that of a capitalist market economy.


"We draw a thick line on what has happened in the past. We will answer for only what we have done to help Poland to rescue her from this crisis from now on".

(Tadeusz Mazowiecki, 1989, Sejm)

TADEUSZ MAZOWIECKI

18 April 1927 – 28 October 2013

JP2 DAY: POPE JOHN PAUL II, THE GREAT

In the span of two thousand years there have been only four Popes who were bestowed with the title of Greatness. Pope John Paul II (Karol Wojtyla) was the fourth Pope to receive such an acclamation.

The first was Pope St. Leo I. In the year 452 Leo was one of three envoys sent by Emperor Valentinian III to meet with Attila the Hun at Mincio, near Mantua (Lombardy) Italy. The hordes invaded and pillaged numerous cities in northern Italy, as well as the city of Aquileia, razing it to the ground without a trace. (Aquileia was of great strategic importance. It had been the center from which government, commerce and military defense was conducted, and was the location of the imperial residence.) Rome was the next target of the Huns. Though the details of the negotiations have been lost in antiquity, historians speculate that Leo I was instrumental in persuading Attila to withdraw his troops. According to Paul the Deacon (8th century) Leo I was a man of imposing presence - a huge man dressed in priestly vestments, and armed with a sword (visible only to Attila). Apparently the visual impact proved to be an effective deterrent. (However one cannot know if this was fact or merely folklore). Nevertheless, Attila the Hun withdrew his armies and Rome was spared.

The second Great Pope was Gregory I, (590 - 604) who has been referred to as the "Father of Christian Worship". He established numerous liturgical reforms, and revived the Church's missionary work, in particular to the pagans in Anglo-Saxon England. Leo I was a prolific writer amassing over 850 works during the last decade of his papacy. He often bemoaned the burdens of office, and wished to immerse himself in the seclusion and silence of prayer that he once enjoyed as a monk.

Pope Nicolas I was the third Great Pope reigned from circa 800 to 867, and had a decisive influence on the development and power of the papacy.  He proclaimed that the pope should possess suzerain authority in matters of faith and morals, over all of Christian Western Europe, even royalty.  He encouraged the missionary activity of the Church, and took corrective measures whenever Bishops neglected their duties.l

Karol Wojtyla - John Paul II was the fourth Greatest Pope, whose achievements are unprecedented in the history of the Church. He was the second-longest serving Pope and the first non-Italian since 1523 to be elected to the Papacy. During his pontificate Pope John Paul II had visited 129 countries, traveling a total of 1,100,000 kilometers (680,000 miles). He beatified 1,340 people, and canonised 483 saints - an immense accomplishment, surpassing the sum total of equivalent works by all his predecessors.


He was the first Pope to pray at an Islamic Mosque in Damascus, Syria, and at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. By example John Paul II showed the faithful how to pray, and rallied the youth of the world into the laity of the Church. His goal was to transform the Catholic Church into one which would nurture peace and create an alliance among the three great religions of the world: Judaism, Islam and Christianity.

Pope John Paul II praying at Western Wall, Jerusalem March 26, 2000

Pope John Paul II at a Turkish Mosque among Muslim clerics

Pope John Paul II condemned apartheid, and was an outspoken critic of war.  He fervently believed that "Wars generally do not resolve the problems for which they are fought and therefore....prove ultimately futile."

His greatest achievement was the defeat of Communism in Poland, which set off a domino effect.One by one, communist regimes throughout eastern Europe began to topple, which culminated in the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Pope John Paul II was indeed the greatest leader of the 20th century. To his beloved homeland and to the world, Pope John Paul II was venerated as a living saint and saviour who paved the way for Poland's eventual liberation and the end of the Cold War.

Karol Wojtyla's first papal visit to Poland in June 1979 electrified the spirit of the Polish people, long oppressed under brutal totalitarianism. Rather than obstruct the Pope's visit, communist authorities were quite willing to permit it, using the occasion as an opportunity to demonstrate that, despite the Pope's Polish roots, his official visit would not be a sign of change to come. The Soviet regime was complacent in the belief that the status quo would remain intact, and anticipated that the Pope would abide by the rules, hence setting an example for the Polish people to follow.

Incidentally, when Karol Wojtyla was elected the new Pope in 1978, Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev was reported to have declared the event as utterly meaningless. He asked "How many soldiers does he have in his army? None." Needless to say, had any riots broken out during the Pope's visit to Poland, the consequences would be have been disastrous, and the communist regime would surely have blamed the Pope for the causing the debacle.

Mindful of the dangers, Pope John Paul II transcended politics relying on the use of what Joseph Nye, coined as "soft power". It is the ability to reach political objectives by inspiring the masses through non-coercive means. His speeches were spiritual in essence but embodied great political significance. He encouraged the Polish people to be courageous, to support one another, to be good and reminded them that God is the only source of goodness.

With just three words, "Be not afraid", Pope John Paul II was able to galvanize an entire nation, and inspire confidence in the principles of solidarity and change. And the Polish people listened. It sparked the formation of Solidarnosc (Solidarity) led by Lech Walesa who rallied the support of millions of Polish people to the struggle for human rights and freedoms and democratic reforms, and the eventual liberation of their homeland.
  

Pope John Paul II was a powerful force to contend with, and a political threat to the Soviet Union. On May 13, 1981 as the Pope entered St. Peter's Square, he was gunned down, and critically wounded by a Turkish terrorist, Mehmet Ali Agca. Miraculously the Pope survived though he came close to death. He attributed his survival to the intervention of the Virgin Mary, to whom he was particularly devoted.

In February 2004, Pope John Paul II was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition for his life's work in promoting peace, and his monumental achievement in subverting communist rule in Poland and Eastern Europe. Unfortunately, he was not chosen. Instead the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Wangari Maathai, for her contribution to "sustainable development, democracy and peace" in Kenya.Nevertheless, Pope John Paul II was among other notable Nominees none of whom received the prestigious award - Mohandas Gandhi, Eleanor Roosevelt and Corazon Aquino, just to name a few.

Several months later, US President George W. Bush awarded the Pope with the highest American civil decoration - the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev once stated that, "the collapse of the Iron Curtain would have been impossible without John Paul II."

Pope John Paul II passed away on April 2, 2005 having long suffered from a debilitating illness. Two weeks later, Pope Benedict XVI delivered a brief address from the balcony in St. Peter's Square, referring to his predecessor as "the great Pope John Paul II". The following year the Italian parliament created a special committee to re-examine the case of the attempted assassination, and came to the conclusion that the Soviet Union was indeed behind the conspiracy to eliminate the Pope - beyond a reasonable doubt.

John Paul's legacy inspires people around the world, crossing all lines of nationality, race and religion. He has shown by example that faith can move mountains, and that lasting peace can only be achieved through diplomatic means.

On May 1, 2011, Pope John Paul II was beatified at St. Peter's Square by his successor, Pope Benedict XVI.  The same year the Vatican announced that October 22nd, the day of his 1978 inauguration, will be observed as the Feast Day of Blessed Pope John Paul II.

Radical changes in world politics leave America with a heightened responsibility to be, for the world, an example of a genuinely free, democratic, just and humane society.    Pope John Paul II

 

Karol Wojtyla A Man of God: The Beatification of Pope John Paul II

REPLAY VIDEO OF THE BEATIFICATION OF JOHN PAUL II 

  (Length: 4h 15m) note: actual video begins at 4m 30

"Auctoritate Nostra Apostolica facultates facimus ut Venerabilis Servus Dei Ioannes Paulus II, papa, Beati nomine in posterum appelletur ..."

Karol Wojtyla was the beloved Son of Poland and beloved Man of God to the world. During his pontificate he had visited 129 countries, travelling a total distance of about 1.1 million km (or 725,000 miles). He spoke Latin, English, French, Italian, Spanish, Portugese, Croatian, Esperanto, Ancient Greek, German, Russian, Ukrainian, and his native language, Polish. During his pontificate, he beatified 1,340 people and canonized 483 saints - more than the combined total of his predecessors in the past 500 years!

He was the first Pope to visit the White House (October 1979) where he was welcomed very warmly by then President Jimmy Carter. He was the first Pope to visit the United Kingdom in 1982 and met with Queen Elizabeth II. In 1983 he traveled to Haiti and was met at the airport by thousands of poor Haitians to whom he spoke in Creole.

He was the first Pope to visit Egypt where he met with Coptic Pope, Pope Shenouda and the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria. He was the first Pope to visit Syria, where in 2001, he visited and prayed in an Islamic mosque in Damascus, and called on Muslims, Christians and Jews to work together. He visited the Umayyad Mosque, which was formerly a Christian Church, and where it is believed that John the Baptist was interred.

Millions upon millions of Catholic youth all over the world assembled in many cities to celebrate World Youth Day, The largest congregation was in Manilla, Philippines where over 5 million were reported to have gathered.

But foremost among all his visits was his pilgrimage to beloved homeland Poland where his visit in 1979 (and several visits thereafter) was met by millions of ecstatic compatriots. He had given more than hope to the people of Poland. He gave them courage and the fervent belief that they had God behind them to free themselves from the brutal communist regime. A year later the Solidarnosc movement was created. Pope John Paul II was indeed the instrument of God that destroyed the reign of communism in Poland and set off a domino effect that dismantled the iron curtain throughout eastern Europe.

Pope John Paul's visit to Poland 1983

Pope John Paul II and Lech Walesa

He survived a deadly assassination attempt that almost took his life. He attributed his survival and recovery to the intervention of Blessed Mother Mary, to whom he was especially devoted all his life.

Could I forget that the event [Ali Ağca's assassination attempt] in St. Peter’s Square took place on the day and at the hour when the first appearance of the Mother of Christ to the poor little peasants has been remembered for over sixty years at Fátima, Portugal? For in everything that happened to me on that very day, I felt that extraordinary motherly protection and care, which turned out to be stronger than the deadly bullet.

Pope John Paul II -Memory Identity, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2005, p.184

In 1983, just two days after Christmas, Pope John Paul II visited his would-be assassin in prison and spoke privately with him for about twenty minutes.  The Pontiff later declined to mention what was discussed, and said, "What we talked about will have to remain a secret between him and me.  I spoke to him as a brother whom I have pardoned and who has my complete trust."

  

On October 27, 1986, Pope John Paul II, traveled to Assisi for World Day of Prayer for Peace, and met with over 120 representatives of many religious faiths and Christian denominations. It was more than a day of fasting and prayer, but a tacit recognition and awareness that we are all the same family under God.

He made improvements in the relations between Catholicism and Judaism. On April 13, 1986 he was the first Pope to make an official visit to a synagogue, the Great Synagogue of Rome. In 1994 he established formal diplomatic relations between the Holy See and the State of Israel and openly acknowledged its centrality in Jewish life and faith. To honor this event, he hosted a Papal Concert to commemorate the Holocaust. The concert was attended by the Chief Rabbi of Rome, the President of Italy, and Holocaust survivors from around the world. Most moving of all was his visit to Jerusalem in March 2001, where he visited Yad Vashem. He was the first Pope to do so, and to visit and pray before the Western Wall. He touched the holy Wall, and placed a letter inside it. The following is an excerpt:

"I assure the Jewish people the Catholic Church ... is deeply saddened by the hatred, acts of persecution and displays of anti-Semitism directed against the Jews by Christians at any time and in any place"....(there are ) "no words strong enough to deplore the terrible tragedy of the Holocaust"

Pope John Paul II places letter in Western Wall, Jerusalem

In January 2005, Pope John Paul II received a priestly blessing from a Rabbi, when Rabbi Benjamin Blech, Barry Dov Schwartz, and Jack Bemporad visited the Pontiff at Clementine Hall in the Apostolic Palace.

With Judaism, therefore, we have a relationship which we do not have with any other religion. You are our dearly beloved brothers, and in a certain way, it could be said that you are our elder brothers.    Pope John Paul II, April 13, 1986

 Pope John Paul II receives a gift from the Grand Rabbi of the Ashkenazis,

In May 1999 Pope John Paul II was invited to visit Romania by Patriarch Teoctist Arapasu of the Romanian Orthodox Church. The first time a Pope had visited an Eastern Orthodox Country since the Great Schism in the year 1054.

On June 23 to 27, 2001, the Pope was visited the Ukraine on the invitation of the President of the Ukraine and the Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. About 200,000 people attended the liturgy celebrated by the Pope in Kiev, and over 1.5 million in Lviv.

The Dalai Lama visited Pope John Paul II eight times, the two sharing similar beliefs, and experiences, both affected by communist regimes in their respective countries.

Pope John Paul II and Dalai Lama

Pope John Paul II was the greatest man the world had ever known, a friend, a brother to the entire world. He reigned for 26 years and 168 days. Although the second longest pontificate (Pope Pius IX served for 31 years), Pope John Paul II, Karol Wojtyla, had done more for the world than any other man past or present. He was a living saint. And now, the world awaits with baited breath for the much awaited Beatification of Pope John Paul II -  he is just a step away from Sainthood. It is a joy to be a witness to this historic and spiritual event.

Pope John Paul II met with Mother Teresa

Abba Pater by John Paul II ~ Deo Gratias (00:05:49m)

Source:

Wikipedia

Suggested Links:

Biography of John Paul II (Vatican website)

For Photographer John Paul is an obvious Saint

Bulgaria urged to honour author of book on attempt to kill John Paul II

Pope branded by Jews as friend of the Jewish people

Poetry of Karol Wojtyla Pope John Paul II