[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 11 (Tuesday, February 3, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E98]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           HONORING THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF IGNACY JAN PADEREWSKI

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MARCY KAPTUR

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 3, 2004

  Ms. KAPTUR. I am pleased to be the sponsor of H. Res. 58, a 
resolution recognizing the accomplishments of Ignacy Jan Paderewski as 
a musician, composer, statesman, and philanthropist and recognizing the 
11th Anniversary of the return of his remains to Poland.
  I have been joined by thirty-six of my colleagues, including: 
Representatives Ackerman, Baldwin, Bell, Berkley, Berman, Berry, 
Blumenauer, Brady, Brown, Burton, Cardin, Crowley, Dingell, Emanuel, 
Engel, Fattah, Frank, Goode, Gutierrez, Hoeffel, Holt, Kanjorski, 
Kildee, Kleczka, Kucinich, Lantos, Lee, Lipinski, Lofgren, McDermott, 
Menendez, Price, Quinn, C. Smith, Thompson, and Watson.
  On June 12, 2003, the House Committee on International Relations 
unanimously voted in favor of H. Res. 58. I urge the House of 
Representatives to consider this important piece of legislation 
honoring Mr. Paderewski, Polish-Americans and the Polish people.

                               H. Res. 58

       Whereas Ignacy Jan Paderewski, born in Poland in 1860, was 
     a brilliant and popular pianist who performed hundreds of 
     concerts in Europe and the United States during the late 19th 
     and early 20th centuries;
       Whereas Paderewski often donated the proceeds of his 
     concerts to charitable causes;
       Whereas, during World War I, Paderewski worked for the 
     independence of Poland and served as the first Premier of 
     Poland;
       Whereas in December 1919, Paderewski resigned as Premier of 
     Poland, and in 1921 he left politics to return to his music;
       Whereas the German invasion of Poland in 1939 spurred 
     Paderewski to return to political life;
       Whereas Paderewski fought against the Nazi dictatorship in 
     World War II by joining the exiled Polish Government to 
     mobilize the Polish forces and to urge the United States to 
     join the Allied Forces;
       Whereas Paderewski died in exile in America on June 29, 
     1941, while war and occupation imperiled all of Europe;
       Whereas by the direction of United States President 
     Franklin D. Roosevelt, Paderewski's remains were placed along 
     side America's honored dead in Arlington National Cemetery, 
     where President Roosevelt said, ``He may lie there until 
     Poland is free.'';
       Whereas in 1963, United States President John F. Kennedy 
     honored Paderewski by placing a plaque marking Paderewski's 
     remains at the Mast of the Maine at Arlington National 
     Cemetery;
       Whereas in 1992, United States President George H.W. Bush, 
     at the request of Lech Walesa, the first democratically 
     elected President of Poland following World War II, ordered 
     Paderewski's remains returned to his native Poland;
       Whereas on June 26, 1992, the remains of Paderewski were 
     removed from the Mast of the Maine at Arlington National 
     Cemetery, and were returned to Poland on June 29, 1992;
       ``Whereas on July 5, 1992, Paderewski's remains were 
     interred in a crypt at the St. John Cathedral in Warsaw, 
     Poland; and
       Whereas Paderewski wished his heart to be forever enshrined 
     in America, where his lifelong struggle for democracy and 
     freedom had its roots and was cultivated, and now his heart 
     remains at the Shrine of the Czestochowa in Doylestown, 
     Pennsylvania: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) recognizes the accomplishments of Ignacy Jan Paderewski 
     as a musician, composer, statesman, and philanthropist; and
       (2) acknowledges the invaluable efforts of Ignacy Jan 
     Paderewski in forging close Polish-American ties, on the 11th 
     Anniversary of the return of Paderewski's remains to Poland.

                          ____________________