U.S. Government Propaganda Photo, 1943 Support Silenced Refugees The cinema newsreel British Pathé film shot in in 1943 a propaganda film about Polish refugees who had come from the Soviet Union to Iran. The film is remarkable for the scarcity and vagueness of information about why these Poles were evacuated to Iran and what had happened to them earlier in…
U.S. Government Propaganda Photo, 1943 Support Silenced Refugees Some of the Polish prisoners and slave laborers in Soviet Russia during World War II who had survived, were evacuated first to Iran and became refugees, were temporarily resettled in India. Their story was described in “A Little Poland in India,” a 2015 Indo-Polish co-production documentary by Any Radha and Sumit Osmand…
The cover image, which is not taken from the Santa “Rosa: Odyssey in the Rhythm of Mariachi” video, is from the family album of Julian Plowy, a former Santa Rosa Polish refugee child. “Santa Rosa” documentary reveals an unknown chapter in the history of World War II – the fate of Polish deportees into the Soviet Union who found unlikely…
Cold War, Glos Ameryki, Poland, Video, VOA
Jerzy Popiełuszko – Vice President George H.W. Bush Visits Slain Priest’s Grave, Poland 1987
During his visit to Poland in September 1987, U.S. Vice President George H.W. Bush took part in a wreath-laying ceremony for Father Jerzy Popieluszko at the St. Stanislaw Kostka Church in Warsaw (September 28, 1987). Voice of America VOA Polish Service director Tadeusz (Ted) Lipien reported on the visit from Warsaw.
Cold War, Glos Ameryki, History, Media, Poland, Video, VOA
Tomlinson on Voice of America coverage of Pope John Paul II
Former Voice of America (VOA) director and former Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) Chairman Ken Tomlinson, who died recently, told Voice of America two years ago that his most memorable moment at VOA was to visit the Polish Service and help arrange extensive news coverage of Pope John Paul II’s visit to Poland when the country was still under communist rule during the Cold War. The Pope’s visit to Poland helped the suppressed Solidarity trade union to intensify its peaceful struggle for democracy and eventually resulted in the fall of communism. Father Stefan Filipowicz, a Chicago-based Jesuit priest and former director of the Polish Service at Vatican Radio, provided religious commentary from a VOA studio in Washington during the coverage of the papal visit. Live audio transmission from Poland was provided to VOA by Vatican Radio.
Ken Tomlinson and his wife Rebecca later traveled to Rome with VOA Polish Service director Ted Lipien to meet Pope John Paul II who thanked the Voice of America for broadcasting news to his countrymen in Poland under communism.
Thanks to Ken Tomlinson’s support, funding from the Reagan administration and full bipartisan backing in the U.S. Congress, the Polish Service became one of the most successful language services in the history of VOA, with over 70% weekly audience reach in Poland in the late 1980s.
President Obama, former Prime Minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki, and President Bronislaw Komorowski of Poland discuss Polish democracy, the contributions Poland is making in Tunisia, and President Obama thanks the people of Poland for being an inspiration to change around the world.
Audio, Cold War, Glos Ameryki, History, Media, Poland, Public Diplomacy, Radio, Video, VOA
Lech Walesa 70th Birthday Stamp – Historic VOA Interviews – 1985 – 1987 – 2002
“It is difficult to imagine what would have happened if it were not for the Voice of America and other sources with the help of which the true information squeezed through, which showed a different point of view, which said that we are not alone and that something is happening in the country — because our mass media did not…
Audio, Cold War, Glos Ameryki, History, International Broadcasting, Media, Photo, Poland, Public Diplomacy, Radio, Video, VOA
Lech Walesa on Importance of Voice of America in Poland’s Struggle for Freedom and Democracy
“Nie wyobrażalne jest by mogło to mieć miejsce tak szybko i tak skutecznie gdyby nie Głos Ameryki.” — Lech Wałęsa, 2002. “It is not conceivable that it would have happened so quickly and so effectively if not for the Voice of America.” — Lech Wałęsa, 2002. October 5, 2013 will mark the 30th anniversary of the Nobel Committee announcement that…
As Americans celebrate Thanksgiving, BBG Watch remembers Radio Liberty journalists who were brutally fired without a warning or chose to resign in protest against the actions of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty management. These journalists are facing now an uncertain future in Vladimir Putin’s Russia without any support or protection from their former U.S. taxpayer-funded employer, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and…
Poland, Public Diplomacy, Video
Remarks at Swearing-in Ceremony for U.S. Ambassador to Poland Steve Mull
A very good American diplomat, Steve Mull, was sworn in as the new U.S. Ambassador to my native country, Poland. He served in Poland during the Solidarity and martial law period when I was in charge of Voice of America Polish radio broadcasts. Ambassador Mull has a deep understanding of Poland and its history. He should make a very good…