World War I, Its Impact and Those who Made Poland's Rebirth Happen

press release: 4:00 pm, (refreshments served beginning at 3:45), 206 Ingraham Hall

SPEAKER: Donald Pienkos, professor emeritus UW-Milwaukee

Donald Pienkos is Professor Emeritus of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where he taught courses on Soviet and post-Soviet politics and foreign policy, and the politics of Eastern Europe from 1969 to 2013. Don completed his MA, PhD, and Certificate in Russian Area Studies at the University of Wisconsin and earned his doctorate under the guidance of one of the University’s foremost scholars, Prof. John A. Armstrong. At UW-Milwaukee, Don was a founder of the Russian and East European Studies Committee in 1970 and the Polish Studies Committee in 1979. His many publications have focused on Poland and the Polish diaspora in America. In the 1990s he was engaged in the admission of Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary into the NATO Alliance. His work has been recognized on a number of occasions, most notably in 2010 when he received the Officer’s Cross of Service from the president of Poland.

2018 marks Poland's 100th Anniversary of Independence. October is also Polish American Heritage Month. To celebrate, Madison's Polish Heritage Club presents several events and a display "The Women of Independence". All are free and open to the public.   

EXHIBIT shown at the events: The "Women of Independence" Exhibit tells the story of Polish women gaining full voting rights in 1918. The 15 panel exhibit, from Poland’s Museum of Polish History, is provided by Polanki, the Polish Women’s Cultural Club of Milwaukee.