On December 14, 2022, the Foundation Council adopted a resolution according to which the initiator of its creation – Jan Olszewski – became the patron of FPPnW.
– Giving the foundation the name of Jan Olszewski honors his merits not only as prime minister, although it was during this period that he initiated the foundation’s activity. It refers to all his merits for Poland, it is a tribute not only to an outstanding lawyer, scout, social and political activist, but also to the defender of opposition activists in political trials during the communist period, to the prime minister and finally to the one who initiated the reconstruction of Poland’s eastern policy in the context of Polonia and Poles in the East – comments Mikołaj Falkowski, president of the foundation, in an interview with “Kurier Wileński”.
Read more: 30 years of fruitful work to support Poles and Polishness. From now on, a new patron and commitments
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Information about the new patron of the foundation was made public on December 14, 2022, during the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Foundation “Help Poles in the East”, which took place at the Belweder Palace with the participation of the presidential couple. “From today we are the Foundation »Help Poles in the East« named after Jan Olszewski, which is a new, very important commitment for us and a reason to be proud. We commit ourselves to continue to act in the spirit of the values and ideas left by Jan Olszewski. We will try to continue this mission of unity with our compatriots in the East,” said Mikołaj Falkowski at the time.
Read more: Mikołaj Falkowski: I have respect for young Poles from the Vilnius region that they learn Polish history
The ceremony was also attended by a representative of the family of Prime Minister Jan Olszewski, Michał Okrzeja, who in his speech emphasized that for Jan Olszewski the cause of Poles in the East was always very important and thanked for the initiative to name the foundation. “Jan Olszewski was an exceptional man, always standing on the side of the weakest, a great stateman, who was guided in his life by one unique thought, to fight for a truly free and completely independent Poland,” emphasized the representative of the family.
The “Aid to Poles in the East” Foundation was established in 1992, when Jan Olszewski was the Prime Minister of Poland. “His government was in operation for only half a year, but the issue of Poles in the East was very important to him. I had already cooperated with the Prime Minister at that time, I had been dealing with the issues of Poles in the East for some time, because when Jan Olszewski was the chairman of the Citizens’ Committee at Lech Wałęsa, the chairman of NSZZ “Solidarity”, he invited prof. Zdzisław Najder and already in 1990 we created a section for Poles in the East. It was very important because when Poles from the East came to Warsaw, they already had a place where they could apply and talk about their needs. So when Jan Olszewski took over as prime minister, we started working on a specific project of cooperation with Poles in the East,” said Krystyna Lachowicz, a member of the Foundation’s Council, who has been involved in its activities from the beginning, in an interview for “Kurier Wileński”.
Read more: Wandering around the East and contact with Poles living there is the meaning of my life
Changing the foundation’s name is not just a formal act. As stated in the press release, information activities have been planned to bring the figure of Jan Olszewski closer, which will enable a wider group of people to learn about his life and activities, will allow the recipients of the campaign to learn not only about the recent history of Poland, but also to understand the mission of the foundation that was formed by its initiator.
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