Polish Veterans of WWII, Southern California ChapterPromote friendship and fellowship among members
by Krystyna Zielkiewicz
The Polish Veterans of World War II Southern California Chapter - Stowarzyszenie Polskich Kombatantow (SPK), was registered as a non-profit, charitable organization in Southern Califomia in 1963, for these specific and primary purposes:
To provide care for disabled veteran - members unable to work, as well as their widows and orphans; and also, to promote bonds of friendship among members and maintain those ideals for which soldiers of free democratic nations sacrificed their lives, by cooperating with other veteran organizations, both Polish and American.
Cultural and social objectives, which promote friendship and fellowship among members, are an important adjunct to the primary purpose. These include the publication of books, pamphlets and newspapers; the establishment of reading rooms; the organization of literary programs; theatricals; dinner dances and other entertainments; in general, promotion of the cultural and social welfare of members. To carry out these corporate purposes, the organization strives to acquire real and personal property by means of purchase or bequest.
Previous presidents were: M. Kowalewski, W. Tomaszewski, R. Makarewicz, Witold Hryniewicki, Roman Margis, A. Romanski, B. Fryzendorf, Dr. Tadeusz Rowinski, Marian Kozien, Zbigniew Kowalski, Zbigniew Zielkiewicz and Dr. Olgierd Klejnot. In March, 1978, following a suggestion by Mrs. Krystyna Zielkiewicz, the membership unanimously agreed to erect a memorial to the memory of Polish officers murdered in 1940 in Katyn by the NKVD. A committee of three (Krystyna Zielkiewicz, Zbigniew Kowalski, and Zbigniew Zielkiewicz) was given the task of finding a suitable location. Possibly because of political overtones, the project was turned down in Los Angeles, Rome and several other cities. When the director of the Polish Museum in Rapperswil, Switzerland, Engr. Janusz Morkowski, visited Los Angeles, he became an enthusiastic promoter of the idea. Negotiations with the City Council of Rapperswil bore fruit after Prof. Zbigniew Brzezinski visited Katyn and publicly told his Russian hosts that the Soviets had actually murdered the victims.
Members decided that the inscription on the plaque should state the places and perpetrators of the crimes. This was finally accepted. Soon after came official Russian admission of the historic truth. The Committee was eniarged to include Prof. Zbigniew Brzezinski, former National Security advisor to President Carter, as Honorary Patron.
Honorary Members were Janusz Krzyzanowski, National President of the SPK in the USA; Marian Kozien, President of the SPK Nr. 43 in Los Angeles; Henryk Nowowiejski, former prisoner of the Starobielsk camp and Czeslaw Gwizdak, son of Lieutenant Gwizdak who was murdered at Katyn. Committee Members were Krystyna Zielkiewicz, Chair; Zbigniew Kowalski, Vice-Chair; Dr. Olgierd Klejnot, Secretary and Kazimierz Krecicki, Treasurer. Members included Zbigniew Zielkiewicz, Maria Hryniewicka, Witold Hryniewicki, and Teodozja Trzesniowska.
Funds were collected in a series of public events. Graphic and artistic design was by Mr. Leon Kawecki. The execution of the plaque in bronze (inscription in Polish and German) was composed and placed in the hands of the Royal Castte artistic team in Warsaw, Poland, Mr. Antoni Heindrych, Mgr. Kazimierz Stachurski, and Prof. Zbigniew Krecicki. The work was completed in 1991, and the plaque is now in the chapel of the castle housing the Polish Museum in Rapperswil.
From: Polish Americans in California, vol. II. National Center for Urban Ethnic Affairs & Polish American Historical Association. California 1995.