From 2 to 5 October 2026, a delegation from the Institute of National Remembrance headed by Deputy President Karol Polejowski, is visiting the United States. The programme includes a ceremony to present state decorations, participation in the Pulaski Day Parade, and a series of meetings with representatives of Polish diaspora institutions across the United States.

The second day of the visit began with a Holy Mass celebrated at the Shrine of Our Lady of Częstochowa in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. The shrine in Doylestown is the most important centre of religious worship for the Polish community in the United States and a major centre of Polish diaspora life, commonly known as American Częstochowa.

Deputy President Polejowski laid flowers at the Monument to the Heroes of the Struggle for Independence after 1944–45 and of “Solidarity”, as well as at the Avenger Memorial, also known as the Hussar Memorial. The ceremony was attended by Mr Fryderyk Dammont, a 103-year-old Siberian deportee and a senior figure of the Polish community in New York.

The central part of the visit to Doylestown was the ceremony dedicated to presenting state orders and decorations. On behalf of the President of the Republic of Poland, the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta, the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta and the Cross of Freedom and Solidarity, were presented by IPN Deputy President Karol Polejowski.

In a letter addressed to those gathered at American Częstochowa, the President of the Republic of Poland, Karol Nawrocki wrote:

“The source of this inner strength was not only anger, but also a radical rejection of brutal violence, poverty and injustice; of blunt, mendacious propaganda, the falsification of history, and Poland’s humiliating status as a Soviet colony. At that time, faith was also a source of tremendous strength. The fervent prayers offered before the image of Our Lady of Jasna Góra, Queen of Poland, also played a decisive role in the initial successes and ultimate victory of the ‘Solidarity’ revolution.”

The IPN Deputy President highlighted the dedication and uncompromising stance of those who received the decorations:

“Very often, when I speak to the heroes of our freedom, I hear them modestly say, ‘We were no heroes. That is how we were brought up, and we simply did what we believed in.’ But, Ladies and Gentlemen, upholding the values one believes in under the reality of a totalitarian communist system was indeed an act of courage.”

·  Officer’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta

• Zbigniew Stanisław Sobolewski

·  Knight’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta

• Zbigniew Paweł Pałamar
• Bolko Jerzy Skowron
• Adam Piotr Więckowski

·  Cross of Freedom and Solidarity

• Ryszard Brus
• Wojciech Maciej Budzyński
• Andrzej Roman Burghardt
• Andrzej Gąsienica
• Jan Lubaś
• Tadeusz Serafin
• Adam Maria Siwiec
• Zbigniew Stanisław Sobolewski
• Janusz Henryk Warchałowski

Following the ceremony, Dr Sebastian Pilarski, Director of the IPN Historical Research Office, delivered a lecture entitled 'Solidarity' – Poland’s Path to Freedom. The event concluded with a screening of a film entitled "A Thread of Hope" and the exhibition "Wyszyński and Wojtyła: The Grammar of Life", prepared by the IPN and the Museum of John Paul II and Cardinal Wyszyński.

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On October 4, the delegation took part in the Pulaski Parade in New York City. The celebrations began with a Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan, followed by a gathering during which Karol Polejowski was formally presented with his Honorary Marshal’s sash.

“I regard the invitation I received as an honor for the entire Institute of National Remembrance. It recognizes the work we have carried out for more than a quarter of a century, for the glory of the Polish nation and Poland,” said IPN Deputy President Karol Polejowski during the sash presentation ceremony.

At 12:30 p.m., the parade set off along Fifth Avenue. As an Honorary Marshal, Karol Polejowski marched alongside the participants and later greeted the Polish American groups taking part in the procession along one of New York City’s most iconic avenues.

This year’s 89th Pulaski Parade was held under the theme “For Your Freedom and Ours! Tadeusz Kościuszko and Casimir Pulaski: Generals of Freedom for Poland and America,” commemorating the 250th anniversary of the United States Declaration of Independence in 2026.

Held annually in New York since 1937, the Pulaski Parade is one of the oldest and most significant Polish American events in the United States. This year, an estimated 100,000 people took part in the procession through Manhattan.

On 5th October, at the Piłsudski Institute, IPN Deputy President Karol Polejowski held a working meeting with leaders of Polish-American organisations.The discussions focused on cooperation and the Institute of National Remembrance’s future activities in the United States.