[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 54 (Wednesday, April 13, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E705]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             IN HONOR AND REMEMBRANCE OF JERZY J. MACIUSZKO

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. DENNIS J. KUCINICH

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 13, 2011

  Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in remembrance of Jerzy J. 
Maciuszko, a loving father, husband, friend and scholar. His passion 
for literature and Polish history will benefit the world and those that 
knew him.
  A librarian and historian, Mr. Maciuszko served as the head librarian 
of the Baldwin-Wallace College's Ritter Library and the Cleveland 
Public Library's special collections department. He was a devoted 
educator and chaired the Slavic and Modern Languages department at the 
Alliance College in Cambridge Springs, Pennsylvania.
  In 1913, Mr. Maciuszko was born in Warsaw, Poland, where he graduated 
from the University of Warsaw with a bachelor's degree in English. He 
taught English at a high school in Warsaw until 1939. Upon Germany's 
occupation of Poland, Jerzy was captured and spent six years in a 
prisoner's camp. He made the best of his situation by playing violin in 
the camp orchestra and writing a short story, which took top honors in 
a contest held by the International YMCA.
  Mr. Maciuszko escaped the camp and became a liaison officer for the 
U.S. Army, where he helped Poles find homes outside their occupied 
country. When the war ended, he moved to England, where he inspected 
Polish schools for the British government.
  In 1951, he moved to Pennsylvania and began teaching at Alliance 
College. Although he moved to Cleveland soon after, he returned to 
Pennsylvania in 1969 and became the chair of the Slavic and Modern 
Languages department and created an exchange program between Alliance 
College and Jagiellonian University in Krakow.
  When he moved to Cleveland, he joined the Public Library's Foreign 
Language department, rising in the ranks to direct all of the library's 
special collections. While he was in Cleveland, he also earned a 
doctoral degree in library sciences at Case Western Reserve University 
and taught there as a professor. With his collaborative efforts, Case 
Western Reserve started their ethnic collection. In 1974, he moved to 
Berea, where he led Baldwin Wallace College's Ritter Library.
  In addition to all of his achievements throughout his long career, 
Mr. Maciuszko was awarded many honors, including an Officers' Cross of 
the Order of Merit from the Polish President Lech Walesa; a Polish 
Heritage Award from the Cleveland Society of Poles; an Eagle Trophy 
from the American Nationalities Movement; and a ``Man of the Year'' 
award from the American Biographical Institute.
  Mr. Maciuszko was also a prolific writer, and wrote many pieces on 
Polish history, including ``The Polish Short Story in English: A Guide 
and Critical Bibliography,'' a monograph on the Polish Institute of 
America as well as chapters for various encyclopedias. He recently 
finished a manuscript entitled ``Poles Apart: The Tragic Fate of Poles 
During World War II.''
  Mr. Speaker and colleagues, please join me in remembering Mr. Jerzy 
J. Maciuszko, whose passion for history and sharing knowledge will live 
on for generations to come.

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