Michnik at the Ruskin, 10/ 24 at 7:30 p.m.

The next event of the Modjeska Club's 40th anniversary season will feature a conversation with Adam Michnik, the Editor-in-Chief of "Gazeta Wyborcza" and a historian, essayist, and a former Solidarity activist, who made a major contribution to the change of Poland's political system and the overturning of the communist rule. The conversation will be conducted by Prof. Bogdan Oppenheim, from Loyola Marymount University.

"Rozmowa z Adamem Michnikiem" will take place at the Ruskin Art Club, 800 S. Plymouth Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90005, at 7:30 p.m. and will be followed by coffee and desserts. We will also present another series of awards for the Modjeska Club and its volunteers. The event is free and open to the public.


Adam Michnik is a historian, essayist, political commentator, and a former Solidarity activist, co-founder of KOR (Committee of the Defense of Workers) in the 1970s, participant in the Round Table negotiations in 1989, and member of Parliament in 1989-1991. As one of the leading organizers of the opposition movement in Poland, he was repeatedly arrested and imprisoned by the authorities, spending a total of six years in prison. Born in 1946 in Warsaw, he studied history at the University of Warsaw (since 1964) where he met fellow opposition leaders, Jacek Kuron and Karol Modzelewski. He was expelled from the University for his dissident activities in 1968 and worked as a welder, while writing under a series of pseudonyms.

In 1977-1989 he was among publishers of underground publications "Samizdat" and in 1980-1989 he served as an advisor to the Solidarity movement. He was interned in 1981 when the martial law was declared by the government against the nation, and imprisoned until 1984 without a verdict. After the change of the government in 1989, he transformed the Solidarity's daily "Gazeta Wyborcza" into the first free newspaper in the country.

The author of 13 books and numerous essays, he is widely recognized as one of the most influential journalists of the world. He received many prizes, including: Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (2001); Erasmus Prize (Netherlands, 2001); honorary doctorates, PhD Honoris Causa from the New School for Social Research, University of Minnesota, Connecticut College, University of Michigan, and Charles University in Prague; Chevalier of the Legion of Honor ( France, 2003); Goethe Medal (2011). Michnik is listed by “Financial Times” as one of the 20 most influential journalists in the world, and is one of the International Press Institute's 60 World Press Freedom Heroes.
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SONGS OF STONES - THE MUSIC OF HENRYK MIKOLAJ GORECKI

On November 19, 2011, the Modjeska Club will be one of the co-sponsors of the Songs of Stones concert presenting the music of Henryk Gorecki, including two string quartets and Kleines Requiem fur Eine Polka. The concert is organized by Jacaranda: Music on the Edge and will be held at the First Presbyterian Church in Santa Monica, at 8 p.m. Small dessert reception will follow. The concert will also be sponsored by the Polish Consulate and is a tribute to a great composer who died last year.

Maja Trochimczyk is currently editing a volume of studies about Gorecki called "Gorecki in Context" and forthcoming from the Moonrise Press. She interviewed the composer in his home in Katowice in 1998.
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MODJESKA CLUB 40TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS



During the Awards Night on Saturday, October 15, the Modjeska Club, its representatives and awardees received official recognitions from the City and the County of Los Angeles, presented by John Henning, from the office of County Supervisor Michael Antonovich:

• Resolution of the City Council of Los Angeles, by City Councilman Richard Alarcon, signed by the entire City Council, City Attorney, City Clerk, and City Controller, recognizing the contributions of the Modjeska Club to promoting Polish culture and congratulating it on its 40th anniversary
  
  
• Resolution of the City Council of Los Angeles, by City Councilman Richard Alarcon, and signed by the entire City Council, City Attorney, City Clerk, and City Controller, recognizing Maja Trochimczyk's 15 years of service to the Polish American community and congratulating her for her tireless efforts in promoting Polish culture in California
  
  
• Congratulation Scrolls for Anna Dymna and Marian Dziedziel
  for receiving the 2011 Modjeska Prizes from the Helena Modjeska Art and Culture Club from the Councilman Richard Alarcon
  
  
• Congratulations Scroll for Helena Modjeska Art and Culture Club on the occasion of its 40th Anniversary presented on behalf of the County of Los Angeles by Supervisor Michael Antonovich
  
  
• Congratulations Scroll for Maja Trochimczyk on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Modjeska Club thanking her for her efforts to bring Polish culture to California, presented on behalf of the County of Los Angeles by Supervisor Michael Antonovich
  
  
• Congratulations Scrolls for Helena and Stanley Kolodziey presented on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Helena Modjeska Art and Culture Club, thanking them for their contributions, presented on behalf of the County of Los Angeles by Supervisor Michael Antonovich

After the Award Presentation by John Henning, Maja Trochimczyk presented Diplomas of Appreciation (Dyplom Uznania) to current and past hosts of Modjeska Club's events, who had allowed the club to use their homes, and organized receptions for the club and its guests: Helena and Stanley Kolodziey, Maria and Edward Pilatowicz, Zofia and Witold Czajkowski and Joanna and Andrzej Maleski. Recognition of our hosts will continue during the next club meeting, including "Dyplom Uznania" for Monique and David Lehman, Halina and Andrzej Jagoda, Elzbieta and Jan Iwanczyk, Dorota and Witold Olszewski, and Jola and Alex Wilk.

The following past presidents and Board members have been selected for nomination for awards from the Polish government: Andrzej Maleski and Dorota Olszewski (past presidents), Krystyna Kuszta, Krystyna Okuniewska, and Danuta Zuchowski (past and current Board members), and Slawek Brzezinski, Elzbieta Kanska, and Tadeusz Podkanski (former Board members).

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Photo Credit:

Adam Michnik, August, 2003 Photo: Agencja Gazeta/Piotr Wójcik

Modjeska Anniversary Posters (c) 2011 by Maja Trochimczyk