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Piast Institute President Calls For Programs At Ohio State University To Address Negative Stereotype of Poles and Polish Americans Used by President Gee

January 20, 2012

HAMTRAMCK, Mich. – In the wake of the scandal prompted by the offensive remarks of President E. Gordon Gee of Ohio State University implying the buffoonish incompetence of the Polish army, the President of the Piast Institute, a national policy and research Institute, located in Hamtramck MI, Dr. Thaddeus Radzilowski in a letter to President Gee and the trustees of the University asked that the University address not only ignorance of the history of Poland and Polish Americans through courses and programs but just as importantly, confront the deep seated racist stereotypes of Poles and Poland in American culture as part of the University’s commitment to diversity and the eradication of prejudice. In his letter Dr. Radzilowski wrote:

“It is disheartening that such remarks should come from the President of one of America’s major universities. It shows that our society still has a long way to go in dispelling prejudice.”

“I am sure that you and the University’s Trustees have received a number of letters detailing at some length the story of Poland as source of a world-class culture, a distinguished democratic tradition, courageous soldiers who have fought consistent for Freedom for themselves and others and made an unparalleled contribution to the history of liberty and human dignity in our time through the work of individuals such as Pope John and Lech Walesa.”

“Many of those who have written have asked for redress in the form of greater attention to the history of Poland and Polish Americans in courses and programs at The Ohio State University. Such projects would indeed help the people of Ohio better appreciate the contribution of Poland to world civilization and to give students a valuable perspective on universal issues such as human dignity, the price of liberty, and the various dimensions of tolerance, pluralism and non-violence. The Piast Institute heartily supports such a program, which is at the heart of its mission.”

“Nevertheless, such a program no matter far reaching will be of limited success unless it also addresses deep seated, negative images of Poles and Poland that lie buried in our culture. It will be hard for most people to even hear, let alone incorporate more positive images of Poland and Poles until these are attacked and extirpated. As Malgorzata Warchol- Schlottmann pointed out in her study of negative stereotypes of Poles in German culture “Positive personal experiences or empirical knowledge of Poland did not modify the stereotypical images”. On the basis of my experience, I believe that the same is true of American culture.”

“I do not think that you picked the image of incompetent Polish soldiers shooting at each other at random out of thin air. It would have left your listeners puzzled if you had chosen “The Norwegian army” as your example. You were drawing, probably without deep reflection, perhaps even reflexively, on stereotypes of Poles and Poland deeply embedded in American culture.”

“These stereotypes took shape in Europe in the 18th century as part of propaganda by Prussia, Russia and Austria to justify their unprecedented partition of Poland and the destruction of the Polish constitution. They were later used to justify Nazi genocide against Poles. Those images were transmitted to America in the 19th Century and became a distinct American bigotry in response to the large influx of Polish immigrants. Those stereotypes still exist and have power. This is clear from the fact that a President of a major American university could invoke them so unthinkingly and cavalierly.”

“I would hope that any program to provide redress would also include a mandate to examine the character and roots of anti-Polonism in courses and special programs designed to deal with racism, bigotry and prejudice in our society. The Piast Institute, which is a national research and policy institute, would be pleased to assist in curriculum development and materials for such classes and programs.”

For more information, contact Virginia Skrzyniarz
at 313.733.4535
or by email at skrzyniarz@piastinstitute.org