About Us Mission & History Who was Kosciuszko? Kosciuszko Foundation House Art Gallery Virtual Tour Board of Trustees KF Staff National Advisory Council The Pro Arte League Annual Reports & Newsletters KF Partners Our Credit Union: The Polish & Slavic Federal Credit Union SPACE RENTAL Privacy Policy Volunteers Contact Us Art Gallery Virtual Tour Connect With US

Kosciuszko Foundation in Washington DC Chicago New England Ohio Philadelphia Pittsburgh Rocky Mountain Texas Western New York Kosciuszko Foundation Poland

News & Events

Assemblyman Ramos Visits Kosciuszko Foundation/Folkowisko Operation on Ukrainian Border Help Ukraine Now KF Online Programs Upcoming Events - Live at the KF NY KF NEWS Kosciuszko TV Past events Photo Gallery book Happy Birthday to the founding father of the Kosciuszko Foundation KOSCIUSZKO JAZZ: The KF x Blues Alley Jazz Club Project Scholarships End of Year Report

Programs

Competitions Scholarships Summer Study Abroad Teaching English in Poland Polish Studies at Hunter College Grant Program For Academics From Ukraine KF Collegium of Eminent Scientists Konkurs Fundacji Kościuszkowskiej na najlepszą publikację akademicką z zakresu problematyki amerykanistycznej wydaną w 2019 roku (in Polish) Lecturers of Polish as a Foreign Language (NAWA) Polish Studies in the USA

Scholarships

About Scholarships Eligibility Tuition Scholarships Exchange Programs to Poland Exchange Program to the United States Summer Study Abroad

Our Impact

Sign the Declaration Petition on Kosciuszko House The KF Economic Conference Petition on German Concentration Camps Interviews of Polish Victims of Nazi Persecutions Poland, Visas & What You Can Do The 70th Anniversary Observance of The Katyn Massacre Books by KF Scholars & Honorees Scholars of the KF The KF Visitors MEET OUR SCHOLARS

Donate

Donation Form Membership Why YOU should join the KF Ways To Give KF Building and Art Restoration Fund IRA Contributions Contact

Past events

Original phenomenon or mere propaganda? Polish contribution to the 1939 New York World's Fair - A lecture by Dr. Tomasz Pudlocki

Friday, April 21, 2017, at 7:00pm

View Event Photos

ORIGINAL PHENOMENON OR MERE PROPAGANDA? POLISH CONTRIBUTION TO THE 1939 NEW YORK WORLD'S FAIR

A lecture by Dr. Tomasz Pudlocki

Friday, April 21, 7:00 p.m.

The KF: 15 E 65th St., New York, NY 10065

Admission is free, donations are welcome.

Dr. Tomasz Pudłocki, Associate Professor at the Jagiellonian University's Institute of History in Kraków, Poland will present a lecture on efforts to promote Poland in the US at the time of the Fair, when a nationwide publicity push was prepared with great optimism. After WWII broke out, the same people desperately tried to secure homes for the many pieces of art that were left after the closure of the Polish pavilion.

Since the mid-19th century, the World's Fairs have been a phenomenon of the industrialized and mass-society era, showcasing individual countries' latest achievements in diverse areas, but also projecting their strength and political importance. The 1939 World's Fair in New York was no exception. Opening the Fair on April 30, 1939 under the title "The World of Tomorrow," President Franklin D. Roosevelt spoke of a future free of war and working for the benefit of humanity. The Polish Pavillion was opened three days later on May 3rd, the anniversary of Poland's historic 1791 Constitution. The Pavillion showed the best of Poland, past and present, exemplified by a dramatic statue of King Władysław II Jagiełło, hero of the Battle of Grunwald in 1410. Representing Poland's vitality and bravery, the statue stands today in New York's Central Park. In spring of 1939, under the shadow of increasing Nazi aggression, such a statement was significant. How can we assess the Polish contribution to the '39 World's Fair? What was exhibited and why? Did it simply promote Poland's past and present achievements, or was it a message that at a time when war was just over the horizon, Poland could be a strong ally?

Dr. Tomasz Pudlocki, Associate Professor at the Jagiellonian University Institute of History in Kraków, specializes in the history of Galicia from socio-cultural point of view, as well as the history of women and intellectual history. Two years ago published his latest book on Polish-British intellectual connection in the interwar period (Ambasadorzy idei. Wkład intelektualistów w promowanie pozytywnego wizerunku Polski w Wielkiej Brytanii w latach 1918-1939, Historia Iagellonica, Krakow, 2015). Member of the Commission on History of Women (Polish Academy of Science in Warsaw), the Commission on History of Science (Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences in Krakow). President of the Society of Friends of Learning in Przemyśl (2011-2013), The Kosciuszko Foundation Grantee (2012-2013), Fulbright Scholar and Daemen College, Amherst, NY, Visiting Professor (2015/2016), and Grantee of Polish Ministry of Higher Education for best young scholar (up to 35) (2013-2016).

The lecture is co-presented by the Polish Cultural Institute New York and the Kosciuszko Foundation