The first recipient of the Courier Medal from Warsaw was Daniel Fried – an American diplomat, former US ambassador to Poland. The award ceremony took place on Sunday evening at the Warsaw Uprising Museum.
The Courier Medal from Warsaw, erected this year by the Warsaw Uprising Museum, is awarded for outstanding achievements in strengthening Poland’s relations with the West and activities for independence and democracy.
The decoration is in memory of Jan Nowak-Jeziorański – the legendary courier and emissary of the Polish government and Army Headquarters in exile, who lived in London. It is awarded to people, institutions or organizations that follow the same principles and values as Nowak-Jeziorański and apply them in public life. In Poland, but especially in the international arena. The Courier Medal from Warsaw is an award for services in strengthening Poland’s relations with the West, maintaining good Euro-Atlantic relations, spreading ideas and attitudes close to the Warsaw Rebels, such as fighting for freedom and independence and building community and democracy. This award also honors those who actively reminded the Polish people of the struggle in World War II and our contribution to the creation of world Western values.
“Jan Nowak-Jeziorański devoted his whole life to the idea of an independent Poland. The failure of the Warsaw Uprising made him realize that Poland could not win a confrontation with a totalitarian power alone. In the years that followed, he just worked to make sure they weren’t alone. Courier did his job. Poland is a member of NATO and the European Union, two great pillars of the community of free Western nations. We would like to honor the successor to the Jan Nowak-Jeziorański mission with the Courier Medal from Warsaw. People who are tirelessly working to expand the borders of the free world,” said Jan Ołdakowski, director of the Warsaw Revival Museum, during the gala.
The first historical winner of the Courier Medal from Warsaw was Daniel Fried – an American politician and diplomat, in 1997-2000 Ambassador of the United States to Poland. He was one of the architects of Poland’s entry into NATO.
“In the early 1990s, the complete state and economic reconstruction, which began in 1989, was of great importance for our country, as well as ensuring Poland’s lasting security in the emerging international order. In both experiences, Daniel Fried played a unique role. He was and is an extraordinary figure in Polish-American relations,” said Jerzy Koźmiński, one of the members of the jury who awarded the Medal, in praise. “Daniel Fried’s extraordinary relationship with our country began in 1987, when he was put in charge of Polish affairs while working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and at the same time he became acquainted with Jan Nowak-Jeziorański. Analyzing the information coming from Poland, he found that the events taking place in Poland could lead to the end of the system imposed on Poland by Yalta. This meant the inviolability of the Yalta Agreement, as was commonly believed at that time in America,” he explained.
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“He was the only one in the American administration who had high hopes for events in Poland, but he was active and managed to reach President George Busch’s inner circle with his bold theses. Thanks to this, in early April 1989, the president announced US support for the changes taking place in Poland,” emphasized Koźmiński.
Since 1990, Daniel Fried has worked for Poland as a counselor at the US Embassy in Warsaw, and after returning to Washington as director of the Central Europe Office at the National Security Council. He was one of the first people in the US administration to recognize Poland’s aspirations to join NATO as justified and realistic, and actively supported this idea.
“Since the beginning of the campaign for Poland’s membership in NATO, Daniel Fried has been instrumental in shaping the expansion strategy and related operational activities. He effectively influenced the American officials who would decide about the future of the Euro-Atlantic Alliance. He also helped build Poland’s favorable image in the United States as a country that would be an asset and not a burden to NATO and the US. Kozminski recalled.
The medalist herself, without hiding her emotions, admits that the Courier Medal from Warsaw is an honor for her in life.
The selection was made by the award jury, which included: historians Adolf Juzwenko and Łukasz Kamiński, MP Paweł Kowal – one of the founders of the Warsaw Uprising Museum, Jerzy Koźmiński – former Polish ambassador to the United States, Ewa Ośniecka-Tamecka – vice-chancellor of the European College in Natolin, Wioletta Paprocka-Ślusarska – Director of the Mayor’s Office of Warsaw, Rafał Trzaskowski, Paweł Siennicki – Deputy President of the State Enterprise “Polish Airports” and Leszek Żukowski – former soldier of the Gray Ranks and Home Army, former president of the World Association of Home Army Soldiers.
Jan Nowak-Jeziorański, or rather Zdzisław Jeziorański (1914-2005) in 1943-45, under the pseudonym Jan Nowak, was a courier and emissary, transferring messages between the Polish Underground State and the Polish Government in Exile. After the war, he remained in the West, where he worked as head of the Polish section of BBC radio, and then for many years he was director of the Polish Free Europe Radio Section. After leaving Radio Free Europe in 1976, he worked closely with the Polish American Congress for two decades. He is a knight of the Order of the White Eagle – the oldest and highest state decoration in the Republic of Poland. (PAP)
Author: Przemek Skoczek
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