Polish American Congress - Anti Defemation Committee of California

Polish American Congress - Anti Defemation Committee of California
Prevent defamation of Poles and Polish Americans and the distortion of Polish history

Artur Zygmont

The Polish American Congress, Anti-Defamation Committee of California (PAC-ADCC) held its first meeting on December 20, 1986. It was formed specifically to challenge the California State Department of Education in its implementation of a mandated model curriculum for "Human Rights and Genocide" which totally ignored the Polish World War II experience. It took 18 months of lobbying, writing letters, telephoning, speaking out at a public forum (August, 1987) at Ontario, California before the California State Department of Education agreed to include a Polish section in the model curriculum.

Since then, members of the PAC-ADCC have become involved in a wide range of activites to prevent defamation of Poles and Polish Americans and the distortion of Polish history. Elizabeth Albe, Irena Szewiola and Artur Zygmont briefed Associate Superintendents of the Los Angeles Unified School District on areas of concern to Polish Americans while Dr. Teodor Polak, Roman Zawadzki and Artur Zygmont briefed the start of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles on an ongoing Catholic / Jewish dialogue that had erroneous information on relations between Jews and Poles in Poland.

A long and continuing campaign of the PAC-ADCC is to eliminate totally the odious phrase "Polish Death Camp" in all its variants and substitute instead, "Nazi German Death Camp in occupied Poland." A variety of approaches has been used over this issue, including using services of civil rights attorneys. The Hearst Corporation, the Los Angeles Times, Steven Spielberg's production company Amblin and many others have advised the PAC-ADCC that the offensive phrase will no longer be used. The PAC-ADCC has films also available on the following subjects: Polish children in Nazi German concentration camps; Polish rescuers of Jews; a documentary by local survivors of the Soviet Gulag, and the Warsaw Uprising.

The PAC-ADCC also distributes books on the Polish Holocaust and has a bibliography available on this subject. On a somewhat irregular basis, two to four times a year, a newsietter, Alert, is published and mailed, not only to supporters but also Polish American media in the United States, principal American newspapers and magazines, plus some television stations. The committee also issues timely news releases to media throughout the United States on such issues as the Warsaw Uprising and other timely topics. The Chairman of the PAC-ADCC since its inception is Dr. Teodor Polak. Present and former members include Elizabeth Albe, Chris Ciesiolkiewicz - Kolski, Kazimierz Cybulski, Wanda Jazwinska, Ray Kulvicki, Robert Lisowski, Krystyna Modlinska (deceased), Jeanne Nemo, Irene Szewiola, Michal Zawadzki, Roman Zawadzki and Artur Zygmont.

The PAC-ADDC functions throughout the United States. Although active members reside in Southern California, input is received and solicited from a number of supporters outside of the state and then distributed nationwide.

From: Polish Americans in California, vol. II. National Center for Urban Ethnic Affairs & Polish American Historical Association. California 1995.