MECEA Study Trip to Poland During the 4th of July Congressional Recess

The visit began in Kraków, Poland’s Cultural Capital. While learning about Kraków’s influence and contribution to Polish history and national identity, the location also presented a great opportunity to visit two additional and meaningful UNESCO sites. The Wieliczka Salt Mine as well as a very moving visit to the German Nazi Concentration Camp Auschwitz Birkenau.
The Warsaw portion of the trip coincided with President Donald Trump’s visit to Poland’s Capital. While in Warsaw, the group had high level meetings at several government institutions. The visit began with a meeting with Secretary of State Krzysztof Szczerski at the Presidential Palace followed by a visit to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a thorough briefing with several representatives from different MFA Departments. It being the 4th of July, the group also had a chance to celebrate America’s independence at the US Ambassador’s Residence. While in Warsaw, the Advisors also met with representatives from the Polish Institute of International Affairs, Members of the Polish Parliament and Senate, with Undersecretary of Defense Tomasz Szatkowski, as well as had the opportunity to attend the Global Forum in Warsaw and hold sideline meetings with Secretary of State Krzysztof Szymanski from the Prime Minister’s Office in addition to attending several panels following President Trump’s public remarks at Krasinski Square. The visit also included a meeting with Polish entrepreneurs who are transforming Warsaw and Poland’s economic future. A site visit to the Heart headquarters highlighted Poland’s incubators. Finally the group visited the Warsaw Uprising Museum where they had a chance to learn about the heroism of the citizens of Warsaw and gain a greater appreciation for the suffering that Poland’s Capital endured during and after World War II.

The military component of the program included a military transport to Orzysz where the group had a chance to visit with and be debriefed by both the US and Polish military and learn more about NATO’s Eastern Flank as well as NATO’s efforts in the region. The site visit included a visit to the base facilities, briefings about the US as well as allied equipment based in Orzysz as well as a lunch with the US, British, Romanian and Polish troops stationed at the base. At the conclusion the group flew to Gdynia where they had the chance to meet with and be briefed by Poland’s FORMOZA Special Forces Unit and learn about the threats posed on the Baltic Sea.

The last leg of the program included a visit to Gdańsk to learn more about the city’s proud history but also to visit the world famous Gdańsk Shipyards as well as the European Solidarity Center where the group had a chance to learn more about the Solidarity Movement and its contribution to the toppling of Communism in Poland and across Central and Eastern Europe.