Władysław Bartoszewski Receives Jan Nowak-Jeziorański Public Service Award

28 March 2007

Ambassador Ashe presents the Jan Nowak-Jeziorański Public Service Award to Władysław Bartoszewski (more photos)

Władysław Bartoszewski is the first recipient of the Jan Nowak-Jeziorański Public Service Award sponsored by U.S. Embassy Warsaw.  The award, recognizing a Pole who has made a significant difference through his or her leadership and commitment to public service, was presented to Mr. Bartoszewski at a reception hosted in his honor by U.S. Ambassador to Poland, Victor Ashe, on March 27.  

“Professor Bartoszewski embodies the virtues and ideals that the Jan Nowak-Jeziorański Public Service Award celebrates,” Ambassador Ashe said in presenting the award. “While fighting for others’ basic values of freedom, democracy, and human rights, Professor Bartoszewski repeatedly risked his own freedom and life.  Indeed, his entire life has been committed to public service for the benefit of Poland and its people.”  The Nowak-Jeziorański Freedom Award is the second award of three annual awards the Embassy is announcing this year.

Professor Bartoszewski was one of the co-founders of “Żegota,” the underground organization that saved thousands of Jews during World War II. After World War II, as a member of the Polish Peasant Party, Professor Bartoszewski opposed the communist authorities and was imprisoned twice. After the fall of communism, Professor Bartoszewski actively participated in public life in Poland, serving twice as Poland’s Foreign Minister. He was also a Senator and chair of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and European Integration. He is currently the Chairman of the Council for the Protection of the Memory of Struggle and Martyrdom, and chairs the International Auschwitz Council.

The award to Professor Bartoszewski celebrates the life of Jan Nowak- Jeziorański, the Polish writer, journalist, and legendary resistance fighter. During World War II, Nowak served as an envoy between the commanders of the Home Army and the Polish government in exile, earning the nickname Courier from Warsaw. After the war he headed the Polish section of Radio Free Europe for a quarter of a century and served as an advisor to U.S. presidents Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter. In 1975, he moved to the United States and joined the Congress of Polish Immigration on America. He passed away on January 20, 2005.

The Nowak-Jeziorański Service Award is the second award of three annual awards the Embassy is announcing this year. In January, the embassy announced that Lech Wałęsa was the first winner of the Jan Karski Freedom Award.  In June, the Embassy will announce the first winner of the Czesław Miłosz Award for Contributions to U.S-Polish Understanding. The award, named after the Polish author and Nobel Prize winner for Literature, will be presented to an individual dedicated to promoting improved cooperation and understanding between the people of the United States and Poland.