The 47 th International Polonaise Ball
Celebrating the Historic Alliance Between Poland and Hungary
Gala Dinner Dance Saturday, the 9th of February The Year Two Thousand and Nineteen at 7:00 pm Eden Roc Hotel Mona Lisa Ballroom – Cocktail Hour Pompeii Promenade Ballroom – Dinner 4525 Collins Avenue Miami Beach, FL 33140 “Polonaise” by the Members of the Committees and Special Guests Entertainment by Polish American Folk Dance Company, Roxana Szabo Group and New Century Dance Company Music for Dancing by Eight Note Band Organized by The American Institute of Polish Culture White or Black Tie Regalia
R.S.V.P.
Under the gracious patronage of the Ambassador of the Republic of Poland in Washington D.C. Honorable Piotr Wilczek Special Guests HE Laszlo Szabo, Hungarian Ambassador to the United States Senator Maria Anna Anders Deputy Marshall of the Senate Adam Bielan Minister Marek Grรณbarczyk of Maritime Economy and Inland Navigation Captain Rafal Szymanski of Dar Mlodziezy "Gift of Youth" Professor Janusz Zarebski, Rector of Gdynia Maritime University
Honorary Committee Princess Marianne Bernadotte Drs. Stanislaw and Barbara Burzynski Mrs. Malgorzata Markowska and Mr. Jan Drozdz Mrs. Irena McLean - Laks Mr. Rafal Olbinski Honorable John Petkus Honorable and Mrs. Zygmunt Potocki Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Storozynski Princess Lada Schuiski Mr. Maciej Swirski Ms. Loretta Swit
Ball Chairmen Lady Blanka Aldona Rosenstiel Dr. Michel S. Pawlowski
Co-Chairmen Mrs. Ruby Bacardi Mr. and Mrs. Marek Chodakiewicz Honorable and Mrs. Maurice Ferre Mr. and Mrs. Keith Gray Mr. and Mrs. Jan Karaszewski
Mr. and Mrs. Conrad Lowell Mr. and Mrs. Paul Lowenthal Ms. Lynne Schaefer Ms. Alicja Schoonover Ms. Beata Paszyc and Mr. John Frank Velez
Social Committee Honorable Darek Barcikowski Mr. Douglas Evans and Mr. Mikolaj Bauer Mr. Robert Bronchard Mrs. Jadwiga Gewert Ms. Anaid Govaert Countess Magdalena Grocholski Mr. and Mrs. Zbigniew Jarosz Mr. Steven Karski Mr. and Mrs. Krzysztof Kruszelnicki Mrs. Rose Kruszewski
Mrs. Stacy Langenderfer Mrs. Nina Mlodzinska de Rovira Mrs. Henrietta Nowakowski Drs. Krzysztof and Grazyna Palczewski Dr. and Mrs. Marek Pienkowski Ms. Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk Dr. Pat Riley and Baron Jason Psaltides Mr. Jaroslaw Rottermund Mr. and Mrs. Jacek Schindler Mr. and Mrs. Zbigniew Slabicki
Hungarian Committee Chairman
Virgina Committee Chairmen
Honorable Petra Schmitt, Consul of Hungary
Honorable and Mrs. Robert Joskowiak
Co-Chairmen
Co-Chairmen
Ms. Valeria Berki Mr. Peter Bodor Mr. Janos Demko Honorable and Mrs. Ovidius Lebada Ms. Ildiko Egri and Mr. George Vennes
Drs. Marian and Maria Pospieszalski Mr. and Mrs. Henry P. Williams III
New York Committee Chairmen
60 Million Committee Chairman Mr. Zbigniew Klonowski
Ms. Rita Cosby Countess Jadwiga Krasicki
Co-Chairmen Mrs. Danuta Bronchard Mr. Andrew Kaminski Mrs. Jadwiga Palade Mr. Bartosz Piasecki Mr. Zbigniew Solarz
Co-Chairmen Mr. Mariusz Bernatowicz Mr. Jerzy Byczynski Mr. Gregory Fryc Ms. Klaudia Klonowska Ms. Aleksandra Krawcewicz Mr. Peter Nowak Mr. Joseph Mikolaj Rej Jr. Mr. Bartosz Szymanski Mr. Kamil Szymanski Mrs. Kasia Zak
The American Institute of Polish Culture, Inc.
A non-profit, public-benefit, cultural organization
1440 79th Street Causeway, Suite 117, Miami, Florida 33141 Phone: (305) 864-2349 ∙ assistant@ampolinstitute.org ∙ www.ampolinstitute.org
“Hungary and Poland are two eternal oaks. Each of them shot up a separate and distinct trunk, but their roots widely scattered in the ground are intertwined and knitted invisibly. Hence the existence and vigor of one is the condition of the other’s life and health.” Stanislaw Worcell, 1849
A Historic Alliance Pole and Hungarian - two brothers, good for saber and for glass. Both courageous, both lively. May God bless them. This 16th century saying is an homage to the thousand years of friendship that have existed between Poland and Hungary. A long-time alliance like this is very special. It is a testament to the great trust and admiration that has grown between them. They not only shared an historic border but they have been aligned in common interests,
lifestyle decisions, democratic politics, national temperament, and historical events throughout the centuries. From the time of the Middle Ages, the ruling classes of both countries recognized that a unified front would be a great benefit in exchanging ideas and skill sets, defeating invaders and enriching their respective lands.
Antique Map by Petrus Bertius, 1600s
Two nations - two brothers indeed! Ten centuries of friendship and mutual acceptance is a truly remarkable achievement.
Timeline of Mutual Cooperation
Louis the Great is regarded as the most powerful Hungarian monarch who ruled over an empire “whose shores were washed by three seas.” He gained respect by focusing on the oppressed and granting them freedoms.
1342-1370
1370-1382
When Poland’s King Casimir died in 1370, his nephew, Hungarian King Louis I was crowned King of Poland and known as Ludwik Wegierski. He engineered several invasions during his reign and issued a number of reforms. He also secured the future of his two daughters in the Polish monarchy.
Queen Jadwiga of Poland was born in Hungary in 1373, the youngest daughter of King Louis I. After his death, she moved to Poland in 1387 and was crowned. During her reign, she led two military campaigns and restored Kraków Academy (now Jagiellonian University in her honor) by selling all her royal jewels. She died in 1399.
1384-1399
Prince Stephen VIII Bathory was a Hungarian nobleman whose leadership skills and prowess in battle earned him great respect. At age 23 he became the third elected King of Poland when he married Anna Jagiellon. He is one of Poland’s most successful monarchs, exalted for his victory against Russia and securing the Truce of Jam Zapolski treaty.
1576
1400’s
1848
In 1434, Wladyslaw III ascended the Polish throne at the age of ten. Six years later, he became the King of Hungary. It is believed he was killed in defeat at the 1444 Battle of Varna, but legend has it that he escaped to Jerusalem and lived out his days under an assumed identity.
Józef Bem was a Polish engineer and General, an Ottoman pasha and a national hero of both Poland and Hungary. His military accomplishments have inspired comparisons to other patriots like Tadeusz Kościuszko and Jan Henryk Dąbrowski. In 1838 his remarkable leadership as a General during the Hungarian Revolution earned him immense respect and honor.
Timeline of Mutual Cooperation
This plaque commemorates the Hungarian aid to Poland during the Polish-Soviet War: “In paying tribute to the Hungarian nation has provided friendly assistance to the Republic of Poland threatened with death by the Bolshevik aggression. In the time of our struggles decisive importance, August 12, 1920 a transport of 22 million rounds of ammunition arrived in Skierniewice from Budapest, by the Manfred Weiss Establishments at Csepel. Between 1919 and 1921 the Kingdom of Hungary sent to Poland some 100 million carbine cartridges as well as artillery shells and military equipment in large quantities.” Grateful Polish Nation. March 2012
1919-1921
1939
Miklós Horthy de Nagybánya was a Hungarian admiral and statesman who became the Regent of Hungary, serving between WWI and most of WWII. During his leadership, Hungary gave support to Polish refugees in 1939 and in other military confrontations.
A student demonstration in Budapest in support of Polish October and seeking similar reforms was an event that sparked the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. During the revolt, 12,000 Poles donated blood and the Polish Red Cross sent 44 tons of medical supplies to Hungary.
1956
1999
NATO formally invited Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic to join the alliance at the end of the 20th century which was the biggest single expansion of the Western alliance in its 48-year history.
On March 12 and again on March 16, both Hungary and Poland respectively named March 23rd as Friendship Day between the two countries. This day of mutual celebration features concerts, festivals, exhibitions and dance. It pays tribute to the centuries long relationship of support and esteem between the two countries.
2007
2016
On the last day of February 2016, the Hungarian Parliament voted 100% to designate the year in honor of Hungarian-Polish solidarity for their mutual assistance and aid during the anti-communist uprisings in both Poland and Hungary in 1956. Poland also adopted the same decree earlier in the month to celebrate the shared 60th anniversary.
Accomplished Polish Hungarians Adrianne Palicki (b. 1983), who is Polish and Hungarian on her father’s side, is an American actor who appeared in TV’s Friday Night Lights and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and several films. Her love of comics inspired her 2011 role as Wonder Woman which never aired.
Adrien Brody (b. 1973) is an American actor of Polish and Hungarian ancestry who deeply embraces a role. To prepare for his Oscar winning role as Władysław Szpilman in the film, The Pianist, Brody gave up his home, his car and lost more than 30 pounds in order to live in the reality of Poland during WWII.
János Starker (1924 - 2013) was a child prodigy cellist who first performed in public at the age of six. His Polish father and Hungarian mother were very supportive of his gift. He remains the most recorded cellist in the world, with over 150 recordings, and he received a Grammy in 1992.
Popular Polish singer, Edyta Geppert (b. 1953) grew up in a musical family with a Hungarian mother and Polish father. She loved the lively Hungarian czardas and went on to study voice at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw. She remains the only Polish singer to receive the Grand Prix three times.
Hollywood idol Paul Newman (19252008) was of Hungarian and Polish heritage. After his service in the Navy during WWII, he studied at the esteemed Actor’s Studio in NYC and in 1958, became a star for his stunning portrayal in A Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. He received every honor for his acting and directing, and founded charitable organizations, such as Newman’s Own Foundation. He was a dedicated race car driver well into his 70s.
Charles Kraitsir (1804-1860), a Hungarian intellectual with Polish ancestry, was a philologist, and studied literary texts and historical records. He established a school in Maryland during the 1830s. Among his five books is The Poles in the United States in 1836. He died in Morrisania, which is now the Bronx.
Revolutionary Ilona Duczynska (18971978) was born into wealth to a Polish father and Hungarian mother. She was avidly anti-war and her activism landed her in jail a few times as a teenager. As an adult, she wrote books, organized groups against inequity, tested aircrafts during WWII, and did translations in several languages.
Piotr Anderszewski (b. 1969) is one of the world’s most brilliant contemporary classical pianists. He was born in Warsaw to a Polish father and a Hungarian mother. His intensity and interpretations have elicited accolades such as “breathtaking” “genius” and “unsurpassed,” and he is a recipient of several prestigious music awards, including the 2002 Gilmore Award.
Romola de Pulszky (1891-1978) had a Hungarian mother and Polish father. She planned to become a ballerina, but instead married the famous star of the Ballets Russes, Vaslav Nijinsky, an innovative and masterful dancer. He was a troubled man who was institutionalized much of his life. She published two biographies of him that are considered sanitized accounts today.