IV 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 1243 

Expressing sympathy for the people of the Republic of Poland in the aftermath of the devastating plane crash that killed the country’s President, 

First Lady, and 94 other high ranking government, military, and civic 

leaders on April 10, 2010. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 13, 2010 

Mr. QUIGLEY submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing sympathy for the people of the Republic of Poland in the aftermath of the devastating plane crash 

that killed the country’s President, First Lady, and 94 

other high ranking government, military, and civic leaders on April 10, 2010. 

Whereas the United States and the Republic of Poland are 

close allies, with a shared bond of history, friendship, and 

international cooperation; 

Whereas Polish immigrants were among the first Jamestown 

settlers and Casimir Pulaski immigrated to the United 

States to fight in the Revolutionary War; 

Whereas more than 9,000,000 Americans of Polish descent 

now reside in the United States, bringing vitality to 


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•HRES 1243 IH 

major metropolitan areas such as Chicago, Detroit, and 

New York City; 

Whereas Polish-Americans have been leaders in all walks of 

life in the United States; 

Whereas the people of the United States stood in support of 

the Solidarity movement as it fought against the oppression of the Communist government of Poland through 

peaceful means, eventually leading to Solidarity members 

being elected to office in open democratic elections held 

on June 4, 1989, events that helped spark the movement 

to democracy throughout Eastern Europe; 

Whereas Poland joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1999, joined the European Union in 

2004, and has contributed to United States and NATO 

operations in Iraq and Afghanistan; 

Whereas Poland has enjoyed a thriving and prosperous free 

market democracy since the end of the Cold War; 

Whereas the President of Poland Lech Kaczynski and 95 

other people, including Maria Kaczynski, First Lady of 

Poland, Aleksander Szczyglo, National Security Chief 

Slawomir Skrzypek, Governor of the National Bank of 

Poland, Jerzy Szmajdinski, Deputy Speaker of the Lower 

House, and Franciszek Gagor, Chief of the General Staff, 

were tragically killed in a plane crash in western Russia 

on April 10, 2010; 

Whereas President Kaczynski and his colleagues were traveling to Katyn, Russia, for a memorial service to mark 

the 70th anniversary of the Soviet secret police killing of 

more than 20,000 Polish officers, prisoners, and intellectuals who were captured after the Soviet Union invaded 

Poland in 1939; 


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•HRES 1243 IH 

Whereas Anna Walentynowicz, the former dock worker whose 

firing in 1980 sparked the Solidarity strike that ultimately overthrew the Communist government of Poland, 

was also killed in the crash; 

Whereas Ryszard Kaczorowski, who served as Poland’s final 

president in exile before the country’s return to democracy, also perished in the crash; 

Whereas Chicago suffered the loss of a respected artist when 

Wojciech Seweryn, whose father was killed in Katyn, died 

in the crash as well; 

Whereas Mr. Seweryn recently completed a memorial to the 

victims of Katyn at St. Adalbert Cemetery in Niles, Illinois, which President Kaczynski planned to visit in May; 

Whereas President Barack Obama said, the ‘‘loss is devastating to Poland, to the United States, and to the 

world. President Kaczynski was a distinguished statesman who played a key role in the Solidarity movement, 

and he was widely admired in the United States as a 

leader dedicated to advancing freedom and human dignity.’’; 

Whereas Former Solidarity leader and ex-president Lech 

Walesa said, ‘‘Today, we lost part of our intellectual elite 

in a plane crash. It will take a long time until the wounds 

of our democracy are healed.’’; and 

Whereas thousands of Poles gathered in the center of Warsaw and elsewhere around the world on Saturday to 

mourn those killed in the crash and affirm their continued solidarity with the people of Poland: Now, therefore, 

be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 


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•HRES 1243 IH 

1 (1) expresses its deepest sympathies to the peo2 ple of the Republic of Poland and the families of 

3 those who perished for their profound loss; 

4 (2) expresses strong and continued solidarity 

5 with the people of Poland and Polish-American com6 munities in the United States; and 

7 (3) expresses unwavering support for the Gov8 ernment of Poland as it works to address the loss 

9 of many key public officials. 

Æ 


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