Between 21 and 24 November 2025, a delegation from the Institute of National Remembrance, consisting of the representatives from the IPN Archive and the Institute’s International Cooperation Office, visited New York. The purpose of the visit was to participate in events related to the 165th birth anniversary of Ignacy Jan Paderewski and to take part in a series of meetings with partner institutions.
On 21 November the IPN Archive exhibition telling the story of the Polish Falcons of America - “Strengthen Your Arm – Serve Your Fatherland” was opened at the Polish Slavic Centre. The aim of the exhibition is to bring the history of one of the most distinguished Polish organisations in the USA closer to the widest possible audience. The exhibition includes valuable documents and artefacts created from the late 19th to the early years of the 21st century, bearing witness to the birth of the Polish Falcons in America and its contribution to Poland's independence in 1918. The exhibition presents the ideological foundation of the organization, combining physical fitness with the shaping of national consciousness among the Polish-American community, expressed in the motto "Strengthen Your Arm – Serve Your Fatherland." The opening of the exhibition was also accompanied by the screening of a fictionalised documentary “Mother Glory” about the recruitment of Polish soldiers into the Polish army fighting in France during World War I.
The following day, the IPN Archive employees conducted classes for students at the John Paul II Polish Supplementary School of Maspeth, during which they presented the mentioned exhibition and film. The celebrations dedicated to the birthday of Ignacy Jan Paderewski, an outstanding composer, politician, diplomat and one of the Fathers of Independence, culminated in a gala at the Kaufman Music Centre in New York, during which Katarzyna Dryńska,the Director of the IPN International Cooperation Office, read out a letter from the Deputy President of the IPN, Prof.Karol Polejowski.
On 22 November, the IPN delegation visited the newly discovered graves of veterans of the November Uprising at Calvary Cemetery in Queens. The tribute to the insurgents was also paid by representatives of the Polish Army Veterans' Association in America (SWAP) and Commander Albert Proszowski – Senior Military Advisor at the Polish Permanent Mission to the UN.
On 23November, a solemn Mass was held at St. Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr Church in Manhattan, followed by the promotion of a book about Dariusz Olszewski, a member of Fighting Solidarity. The interview with the protagonist was conducted by the IPN Archive Deputy Director Mariusz Żuławnik. The event was enriched by a screening of the documentary film “From Solidarity to Freedom,” devoted to independence organizations in the United States in the 1980s, which was discussed later by Radosław Poboży from the IPN Archive.
During the visit to New York, the IPN delegation held a series of meetings with representatives of Polish community organizations, including Marek Skulimowski, the President of the Kościuszko Foundation, Iwona Drąg-Korga, the President of the Józef Piłsudski Institute of America, Zbigniew Solarz, Vice President of the Polish & Slavic Center, and representatives of the Polish American Veterans Association in America, headed by Tadeusz Antoniak. During the meetings,the participants familiarized themselves with the archival and museum resources of the institutions, summarized their cooperation in the field of archiving, and discussed new projects. In addition, the IPN Archive Deputy Director Mariusz Żuławnik spoke with Deputy Consul Dawid Pietrusiak from the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in New York about the Archive Full of Remembrance project.