What do Ignacy Jan Paderewski and Ronald Wilson Reagan have in common with each other, and with Poland? Both were great statesmen, both of them were also outstanding artists and both of them contributed a great deal to the freedom of Poland, though at different times. Both died in June: Paderewski on the 29th of June 1941, Reagan on the 5th of June 2004, 63 years apart. Polish people owe very much to I.J. Paderewski and to President Reagan, as they have restored the pride of Poland and the United States of America and left an unforgettable legacy.

In the last months, I have exchanged many letters with an outstanding American of Polish ancestry: General Edward L. Rowny, an admirer of Ignacy Jan Paderewski and a close friend of President Ronald Reagan. Let me quote from these letters now. He wrote about Paderewski:

“This famous composer, pianist, statesman, and philanthropist can rightly be called the father of modern Poland. Capitalizing upon his great popularity in the United States, Paderewski convinced President Woodrow Wilson to include in the Versailles Peace Treaty an article calling for the rebirth of a free and independent Poland. President Wilson invited Paderewski to join him in Versailles for the signing of the Treaty ending World War I. Paderewski subsequently served as the first Prime Minister of Poland from 1919-1921. Having established the government in Poland, he returned to the concert stage.

After the Nazis had overrun Poland in September 1939, Paderewski joined forces with British statesmen to convince President Franklin D. Roosevelt to prepare the United States for war. The frail and ailing Paderewski toured the United States raising Americans' awareness of the inevitability of a global war. He died on June 29, 1941, six months before Pearl Harbor and the United States' entrance into World War II. These facts are well known in America and formed the basis for today's close relationship between the citizens of the United States and Poland.

Ignacy Jan Paderewski firmly believed that artists should devote time, talents, and treasure to promoting freedom and democracy. Although he practiced the piano for six hours a day, he devoted an additional six hours to the study and practice of international relations. One of the railway cars in which he traveled was used as a study and library which included 3,000 books. Paderewski donated practically all of his considerable earnings to a number of philanthropic causes. The bulk of these funds went to promoting education and a number of charities. For example, he established a chicken farm where battered women could support themselves and gain respect. He also established funds for widows and orphans of Polish and American veterans. In fact, he donated a huge sum of money to start the widows and orphans fund for the American Legion. Paderewski's nobility and generosity places him in the pantheon of Polish luminaries. Whereas other great Poles had names that did not identify them with Poland, such as Copernicus, Chopin, and Curie, Paderewski's name is unmistakably Polish.

Paderewski followed Chopin's example of burying his heart separately from his body. The dying Paderewski told his sister that no matter what happened to his body, his heart should remain in his beloved United States. President Roosevelt, wishing to bestow the nation's highest honor on Paderewski, ordered that he be buried at Arlington National Cemetery. When informed that only U.S. citizens could be buried at Arlington, Roosevelt directed that Paderewski's remains be interred temporarily at Arlington Cemetery until Poland was once again free. For the next several years, Paderewski devotees pondered the mystery, where is Paderewski's heart? Subsequently, the heart was discovered in a New York cemetery and placed in a shrine dedicated to his patron saint, Our Lady of Czestochowa, in Doylestown, PA.

Paderewski's body lay in the crypt of the Mast of the Maine at Arlington Cemetery for two decades; this fact was known to only a few. When this came to President John F. Kennedy's attention, he directed that a marker be placed at the crypt's entrance. By a remarkable coincidence, JFK ordered me as the senior Polish-American in uniform back from Vietnam to witness the unveiling of the marker. President Kennedy delivered a moving speech. He said: "it is no accident that men of great genius like... Paderewski should have also been good patriots. You have to be a free man to be a great artist."”

General Edward L. Rowny wrote to me about his conversations with President Reagan about Poland and Paderewski:

“President Reagan took a great interest in Poland during his eight years in office. In 1981, President Reagan took me with him to the St. Patrick's Day celebration at the Irish Embassy. He thought I was of Irish ancestry and enjoyed a good laugh when I told him that my father and mother's parents had been born in Poland. I was pleasantly surprised that he knew about Ignacy Jan Paderewski. He told me it was a shame that more is not taught in American and Polish schools about this great stateman and patriot. He said that more Poles and Polish-Americans should be aware that if it had not been for Paderewski, President Woodrow Wilson would have not made the re-birth of Poland a subject at the Versailles Treaty. He said he admired Paderewski's philosophy of enhancing democracy and freedom through education. On the 40th anniversary of Paderewski's death President Reagan gave a speech at Arlington National Cemetery which largely repeated President John F. Kennedy's speech at Arlington approximately 20 years earlier. President Reagan said that great artists are free spirits and democrats and Paderewski's philosophy should instill great pride among Poles and Polish-Americans. He added that many Americans did not know how much the world owes to Poles since many of them had names which ordinary people do not associate with Poland, such as Copernicus, Madame Curie, Chopin, and Pope John Paul II.”

The name of I.J.Paderewski was also used by President Reagan in his message to “Solidarity”. As Gen. Rowny recalls:

“In 1985, serving as an advisor to President Reagan, I was sent behind the Iron Curtain to brief the communist leaders of Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary. When I asked General Jaruzelski if I could speak to Lech Walesa he said, "I take note of that". I told Walesa about President Reagan's strong support for Solidarity. I returned on similar missions for the next three years and included the Pope in my briefings. In 1988 President Reagan authorized me to tell Mr. Walesa that when he became President of Poland Paderewski's body would be returned. In 1989, the Berlin Wall came down, the Cold War ended, and Poland regained its freedom.”

And then came the moment to return Paderewski to his native land:

“On June 29, 1992, I, as Honorary Chairman of a group of distinguished Polish-Americans, traveled to Warsaw aboard the Presidential 747 to return Paderewski's remains to Poland. A magnificent ceremony was held at Arlington National Cemetery. Paderewski's casket, draped in an American flag, was transported from Arlington Cemetery to Andrews Air Force Base. In Warsaw there was another elaborate ceremony at the airport. President Walesa and prominent members of his government greeted the body. There was a long procession, through streets lined with thousands of Poles waving American and Polish flags, to the baroque Royal Castle, Zamek Krolewski, in downtown Warsaw where his body lay in state for the next several days. Winding up a tour in Europe, President George Herbert Walker Bush attended a moving ceremony in a square in front of the Castle where President Bush formally delivered the remains to President Walesa. In President Bush's address, he stressed that this great patriot and statesman had not only been responsible for restoring Poland's freedom, but also had promoted democracy through education and the arts. In response, President Walesa drew attention to the Polish Constitution of 1793, the second oldest in the Free World and modeled after the Constitution of the United States. He thanked the U.S. citizens, especially Polish-Americans, for their undying support. In one final procession, Paderewski's casket was given a military escort to the Basilica of St. John, where it was placed in a crypt.”

In one of his letters to me, General Rowny concludes about the importance of the legacy of Ignacy Jan Paderewski for the present-day Poland:

“In recent years, Poland has strengthened its ties to the West. The American-Polish relationship, for which Paderewski labored most of his life, played a crucial role in gaining Poland's entrance into NATO. Poland has closely allied itself with the United States and plays a principal role in combating terrorism. With Poland's accession into the European Union, Paderewski's emphasis on education paves the way for the development of Poland's considerable human capital. Poland's great fund of mathematical, medical, and scientific talent gives it the potential of being the world's next economic miracle.”

Let us hope that the legacy of Paderewski will become a guideline for the cultural, political and economic development of free and sovereign Poland. As Ronald Reagan, one of the greatest U.S. Presidents of our time, acknowledged the importance of Paderewski’s political thought, Polish politicians should also bear it in mind.

www.paderewskirowny.org

www.apacouncil.org

To learn more about Paderewski's legacy, readers are invited to go to www.paderewskirowny.org. They can also go to the website of the American Polish Advisory Council (APAC): www.apacouncil.org. APAC is devoted to promoting Paderewski's philosophy and to strengthening political, military, and economic ties between the United States and Poland.