the cosmopolitan review

by Justine Jablonska

“There’s Good Time Charlie! I haven’t seen him in years… I thought he was in prison.”

I’m at the Churchill Downs race track in Louisville, Kentucky, experiencing my very first Kentucky Derby. Thus far, I’ve downed the obligatory mint julep; explored the enormous infield; placed a single, tenuous bet; admired elegant horses being led onto a track for the day’s second run; watched a few races on a massive screen; and met a vibrant cast of Derby characters, including Good Time Charlie—a middle-aged man with blond shoulder-length hair, expensive-looking jeans, and gold cowboy boots. As he saunters over to chat with a man sitting next to me, he’s greeted with a thoughtful, “You look good, Charlie.”

CR once again welcomes an article by Vince Chesney in which he writes about a new book and about Slavic hospitality. Pennsylvania coal country, a rural enclave dotted by small towns is distant enough from major centres -- two hours from Philadelpia and Baltimore, three hours from DC, and four hours from Pittsburgh – to have retained its own identity. Says the author: “I am pleased to share this area's heritage with you… Many of my immigrant ancestors' records list country of origin as Austria-Hungary or even Russia (of course).  Due to the fact that major immigration began and ended with the first wave of  'old peasant stock' from the 1880's immigration, the connection to modern-day Poland is lacking.  Although we love to connect with our kin!  You should see when an exchange student from Poland or another Eastern European nation comes here.  They gain instant celebrity status as we all compare our traditions with theirs!

By Irene Tomaszewski, contributing editor xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx irene[at]cosmopolitanview.com

MONTREAL/TANZANIA -- In 1949, four years after the end of the Second World War, a Canadian member of the UN’s International Refugee Organization (IRO) boarded a plane in Germany to fly to Tanganyika (now Tanzania) British East Africa to evaluate a group of refugees -- Polish, he was told -- as prospective immigrants to Canada.

Until this time, the IRO official, a Mr. Sharrar, had been working on repatriation and resettlement of refugees in war ravaged Europe. What, he wondered, were these refugees doing in Africa, and why would they not agree to repatriation?

Introduction by Judith Browne and Irene Tomaszewski

OXFORD -- 2008 PitR attendees will remember one of their last sessions with Norman Davies, when the difficult question of compensation was broached. Professor Davies handed out an article (The Jewish Chronicle, 13 June 2008) about a baroness who planned on suing the Polish government over the loss of her grandfather's property during World War II. Guiding the group down the tortuous paths of history, the Professor encouraged debate on the question of restitution and compensation through the lens of this particular suit. Following PitR, Professor Davies met with the Baroness in London, where they discussed this issue and he piqued her curiosity about Galician history, where her grandfather's Ustrzyki Dolne estate had been. She was unaware of the movements of the Soviet and German armies, the two occupations, the mass population transfers forced by both the Germans and the Soviets, and other aspects of the war as it affected Poland. The story continues:

By Irene Tomaszewski, PitR organizer

Montreal -- October was a lively month for the PitR community. It was Agnieszka Macoch who first used the term, 'community' when writing about us all in an email I received from her a few days after the Chicago alumni screening of Wanda Koscia's film. I think it's very apt. We are a widespread, thriving, dynamic community, its members highly educated, talented, energetic and... a lot of fun. I feel very privileged to be a part of this. It was Agnieszka Macoch who first used the term, 'community'. I think it's very apt

By Kinia Adamczyk, 2006 and 2008 PitR alumna

MONTREAL -- True friends are known in misfortune, author Adam Mickiewicz wrote. What about true Poles? They are often found far from their homeland, busy looking for their roots as exiles. And there is no better place to be an uprooted Pole (or polonophile) than at Poland in the Rockies, a biennial conference taking place in Canmore, Western Canada.

"Poland in the Rockies is the best Polish summer school that I have encountered," said returning speaker and historian Norman Davies.