JUNE 2 - DAILY CHRONICLES OF HISTORY

JUNE 2

1941

The Vichy government under Petain, collaborated with the Nazi regime. They decreed the Second Statut des Juifs which systematized the registrations of Jews across the county and in Vichy-North Africa. The Jews in unoccupied France were not obliged to wear the yellow star of David badge, because the registration records enforced by the French were sufficient to provide the Nazis with information about their whereabouts for future round-ups and deportations.

1943

Liquidation of the Lwów Ghetto:  The Lwów Ghetto was one of the largest Jewish ghettos established by Nazi Germany after the joint Nazi-Soviet invasion of Poland. Lwow had a Jewish population of over 110,000 before the outbreak of World War II on September 1, 1939.  By the time the Nazis advanced toward the city and Jews fled from Nazi-occupied western Poland,  the Jewish population of Lwow increased to over 220,000.  The Lwow Ghetto was set up in the latter part of 1941, and was liquidated in June 1943. When the Nazis entered the Ghetto there was intermittent acts of armed resistance from the Jews; other Jews hid in bunkers they previously prepared. Despite their efforts to save themselves, the Germans pumped gasoline into the buildings and lit it, in order to force them to come out of hiding. Some Jews managed to escape, others were captured and sent to concentration camps at Belzec and Janowska.  When the Red Army entered the city in July 1944, there were about 200 Jews remaining (other sources report 900)  Since 1945 the city has been called Lviv, and is part of the Ukraine.

1979

John Paul II arrived in Poland for his first papal homecoming. More than 10 million Polish people turned out to meet him as the pontiff toured the country. The rest watched the live TV coverage of his pilgrimage. The high point of the trip was the pope's farewell address in Warsaw, when he said: “Let your Spirit descend and renew the land....this land!” Those words instilled new hope in his countrymen. A year later, a strike wave erupted which would snowball into the Solidarity movement, the Soviet bloc's first free labor union. This was the first of his nine visits to his native land. The places he visited:  Warsaw, Gniezno, Częstochowa, Kraków, Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, Wadowice, Brzezinka, Nowy Targ.

1982

Jan Karski was recognized by Yad Vashem as Righteous Among the Nations. Jan Karski was a Polish World War II resistance movement fighter with the Armia Krajowa (Home Army) and in 1942 and 1943 reported to the Polish Government In Exile, and western allies on the situation in German-occupied Poland, the destruction of the Warsaw Ghetto, and the Holocaust of the Jews.  After the war he became Professor at Georgetown University.  A tree bearing a memorial plaque in his name was planted in 1982 at Yad Vashem's Avenue of the Righteous Among the Nations in Jerusalem. In 1994, Karski was made an honorary citizen of Israel in honor of his efforts on behalf of Polish Jews during the Holocaust (Shoah). Karski was nominated for the Nobel Prize and formally recognized by the UN General Assembly shortly before his death.  He passed away July 13, 2000.

JUNE 1 - DAILY CHRONICLES OF HISTORY

JUNE 1

1895

Tadeusz "Bor" Komorowski (dob)  was a Polish military leader. He was appointed Commander in Chief a day before the capitulation of the Warsaw Uprising. After taking part in the fighting against the German invasion of Poland at the beginning of World War II in 1939, he helped organize the Polish underground in the Kraków area and in July 1941 became deputy commander of the Home Army (Armia Krajowa or "AK"). In March 1943 Komorowski was appointed Commander, with the rank of Brigadier-General.  After the war Bór-Komorowski moved to London, where he played an active role in Polish émigré circles. From 1947 to 1949 he served as Prime Minister of the Polish government-in-exile,  but by then the Allies no longer gave them diplomatic recognition.

1926

Ignacy Mościcki was elected President of Poland on June 1, 1926, and served until 1939. He was the longest serving President in Poland's history.  Following Pilsudski's coup d'etat on May 12, 1926, Moscicki was elected on the recommendation of Pilsudski. However, he remained subservient and obedient to Piłsudski's leadership.  Three main factions emerged after Pilsudski's death in 1935:  those supporting Mościcki as Piłsudski's successor; those supporting General Edward Rydz-Śmigły; and those supporting Prime Minister Walery Sławek. The ensuing power struggle resulted with Rydz-Śmigły as the de facto leader of Poland though Mościcki remained influential by continuing in office as President.  After the outbreak of World War II, Mościcki was interned in Romania and was forced by France to resign his office. He transferred the Office to General Bolesław Wieniawa-Długoszowski, who held it for only one day, before General Władysław Sikorski and the French government deposed him in favor of Władysław Raczkiewicz.

1942

Jews in France, Holland, Belgium, Croatia, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania were ordered to wear yellow stars. But in Denmark, the Jewish badge was never introduced.  The story has oftentimes been told that the Danish King Christian X wore a yellow star to demonstrate his solidarity with the Jews, but this is purely myth. Perhaps it was a mistaken interpretation of the King's remarks to his finance minister, Vilhelm Buhl, that if the Germans introduced the star in Denmark, "perhaps we should all wear it." The Jewish badge was not introduced in Norway either, however , after January 10, 1942, all Jews had to carry identification cards stamped with the letter "J." The imposition of this Nazi law was to facilitate the identification of Jews for deportation (and death in the concentration camps.)

1991

During his first 4th papal pilgrimage Poland, John Paul elaborated on the subject of the true meaning of freedom and expressed alarm at the assumption that “anything goes”. He urged people to guide themselves by the ethical concepts of Christianity and not misuse freedom as an excuse to violate the moral order. Beatification of Józef Sebastian Pelczar, Boleslawa Lament and Rafal Chylinski.  The places he visited: Koszalin, Rzeszów, Przemyśl, Lubaczów, Kielce, Warsaw, Łomża, Białystok, Olsztyn, Włocławek, Płock.

MAY 31 - DAILY CHRONICLES OF HISTORY

MAY 31

1997

Pope John Paul II seventh pilgrimage to Poland. It included celebrations of the 1000th anniversary of St Adalbert's (Wojciech's) martyrdom.  In his homily the pontiff emphasized the tenet, "Christ yesterday, today, and forever." Beatification:  Bernardina Jabłońska and Maria Karłowska and canonization of Bl. Queen Jadwiga of Anjou. The places he visited: Wrocław, Legnica, Gorzów Wielkopolski, Gniezno, Poznań, Gniezno, Kalisz, Częstochowa, Zakopane, Ludzmierz, Kraków, Dukla. (Saint Adalbert was the Bishop of Prague and a missionary to the Hungarians, Poles, and Prussians. He was martyred in his efforts to convert the Baltic Prussians to Christianity. He died on April 23, 997.  Polish King Boleslaus I brought his remains back to Gniezno for the payment of his remains in gold.  The massive metal doors of Gniezo Cathedral depict the life, and death of Saint Adalbert in relief and is a valuable historical testimony. A silver coffin containing his remains rest in Gniezno Cathedral.)

2006

The Polish 1st Independent Airborne Brigade was awarded the Dutch Military William Order by HM Queen Beatrix for gallantry at Arnhem during Operation Market Garden in 1944. It was the highest Dutch military honor for heroism during World War II.  The Polish Brigade played a pivotal role in the Allied airborne invasion of the Netherlands in September 1944, but whose contributions were largely ignored by the Allies.  Though the Battle of Arnhem, ie Operation Market Garden failed (due to errors committed by British Command), the Polish soldiers distinguished themselves with bravery and immeasurable sacrifices.  British commander Montgomery immediately blamed the failure of the Operation on its leader Major-General Stanislaw F. Sosabowski who was subsequently dismissed.  Queen Beatrix and the nation recognized the great contribution made by the Poles in liberating the Netherlands in April and May 1945 at great sacrifice to themselves.  (Despite British diplomatic resistance, the brigade's commander, Sosabowski was posthumously awarded the "Bronze Lion".)