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Remembering the Founder of the Archives and Museum:

Joseph L. Kania

(1897-1953)

 April 12, 2013 marks the 60th anniversary of the passing Joseph L. Kania, prominent President of the Polish Roman Catholic Union of America (PRCUA) in 1934-1941and 1946-1953, and creator and founder of the Archives and Museum of the PRCUA, which continues as The Polish Museum of America (PMA). Coinciding with the 100th anniversary of the PRCUA national headquarters building where the PMA is located, Kania’s anniversary of passing inclines one to reconsider this man once more. The merits of this modest but extremely hard-working man have often been described. Here, however, we will reexamine a few facets of Kania’s life, including his direct involvement with the Museum, and give a new appreciation for this outstanding Pole.

 Joseph Kania was a man of action. As a young boy, his father would say, “Świat zaczyna się tu pod wierzbą, trzeba tylko zacząć iść” [the world begins here, under this willow, you only need to go forward]. Kania interpreted this as his own credo in life: anything can be done, you must only begin.

 Kania was born in southeastern Poland on April 17, 1897. In 1902, he immigrated to America with his mother and brother to join his father in Philadelphia. The family moved to Detroit in 1905, where Kania received his formal education at St. Hedwig School. As a member of St. Hedwig Church and its choir, Kania organized the Drama Circle and directed productions of comedies and historical and biblical dramas.

 As a natural leader, Kania was appointed by Detroit’s Mayor Charles Bowles to the Public Lighting Commission; shortly, he was promoted to Vice-President of the Commission. In 1921, Kania began a career in banking. He was promoted to branch manager of the Michigan State Bank in 1926, and later of the Guardian National Bank of Commerce in 1931. Kania was also employed in the Wayne County Treasurer’s Office. In 1928, he was elected as national vice-president of the PRCUA. At the 41st convention in 1934 in Springfield, Massachusetts, Kania was elected to his first term as PRCUA President. He and his family moved to Chicago, where he created a new success in founding a museum for Polonia.

 In 1978, on the 25th anniversary of his passing, Kania’s daughter, Josephine Piegzik, wrote about her father’s life in “From Immigrant to President” (Polish Museum of America Quarterly, v.7, no.1&2). She wrote:

For many years it was Joseph Kania’s great wish to establish a repository for the mementos, artifacts, and documents that reflected Polonia’s contributions to the welfare of its adopted country and to the heritage of its mother country. Without relaxing his hold on reforms with the PRCUA, Kania drew up a plan to staff and house an archives and museum in the PRCUA building and presented this plan to the PRCUA Board of Directors in October, 1935.

In his chapter “Trzynaście lat Muzeum Polonii” in Księga Diamentowa Zjednoczenia Polskiego Rzymsko-Katolickiego 1873-1948, Arthur L. Waldo quotes Kania:

Having concluded after extensive study that it is the museums and archives that most accurately reflect national culture and historic events, and that they not only record the high degree of a nation’s learning but serve also as a center and workshop for academic and scientific research, contributing to the growth of enlightenment, and that there, in Polonia, they will evoke the respect of others for Poles in America, I propose the establishment of a permanent Museum and Archives of Polonia at the Polish Roman Catholic Union.

The plan was approved unanimously.

 The beginnings of the PMA are integrally connected with the life and works of the two great figures of Joseph Kania and Mieczysław Haiman. Haiman, Associate Editor of the PRCUA daily, Dziennik Zjednoczenia, had earlier been assigned by Kania to reorganize the Library of the PRCUA. According to an October 17, 1935 article in the Dziennik Zjednoczenia, the rich and valuable document collection of the Polish National Committee provided the basis for the Archives; Haiman had already spent a year organizing and researching these papers as well. Kania now appointed Haiman as the first curator of the Archives and Museum.

 The collections grew immediately and regularly. On a consistent basis, the Dziennik Zjednoczonia ran articles about new acquisitions. Almost daily, appeals to the Polish-American public requested donations of a variety of items: old books and newspapers, printed matter of all kinds, especially souvenirs celebrating the jubilees of parishes and associations, proclamations, photographs, letters, convention badges and buttons from various celebrations, medals, old coins - all suited to the Archives and Museum. In January 1937, the Museum formally opened to the public. According to Piegzik, it “was greeted on both sides of the Atlantic as a major event in the history of Polonia.”

 Several articles in the Dziennik Zjednoczenia appeared about the Museum’s opening during that first month, and by February 13th, the daily reported on the first members of the Polskie Towarzystwo Historyczno-Muzealne/ Polish Museum & Historical Society, which was formed under Kania’s initiative. On March 4, Kania sent out a further appeal for others to join the society. By April 17, over one hundred members had joined. The society’s first convention was held on January 9, 1938.

 In 1939, Kania, along with several delegates of the PRCUA, visited Poland, establishing close contacts with Polish institutions and organizations. Among these included the Związek Polaków z Zagranicy/ World League of Poles Abroad, which aided Poles tremendously during the Second World War. Although the group did not know it at the time, their return voyage was the last trip of the MS Batory prior to the German attack on Poland initiating World War II. Captain Eustaszy Borkowski, known as the “Wilk Morski” (Sea Wolf), was left without a position or a ship after this voyage was completed. Based on Haiman’s correspondence files and many press clippings, we know that Kania and Haiman tried to help alleviate Borkowski’s situation. On several occasions, Borkowski lectured at the Museum, helping to raise money for his livelihood.  

 With the outbreak of WWII, the Museum focused on new responsibilities of protecting items of Polish national heritage. Following the 1939-1940 New York’s World Fair, the exhibits featured in the Polish Pavilion could not be returned to Poland. Due to issues of storage and security, Commissioner General Stefan de Ropp, as a representative of the Polish government, decided selections of the exhibition must be auctioned. Thanks to efforts led by Kania and Haiman, the Museum was able to purchase a large part of this collection for $24,000, paid in $500 monthly installments. Other items from the Polish Pavilion were also moved to the Museum on deposit from the Polish government.

 Due to the influx of such a large quantity of art and artifacts, alongside the ever increasing donations which intensified during the war, Kania’s earlier decision to expand the Museum into the PRCUA’s grand ballroom on the third floor proved wise. Exhibits of the new acquisitions as arranged in this space opened on May 3, 1941; the ceremonies were attended by Polish Deputy Prime Minister Stanisław Mikołajczyk. Prime Minister Władysław Sikorski viewed an early presentation of the new exhibits on April 19 as one of the first visitors prior to the official opening.

 More successes came in 1941. On November 3rd, the original room housing the Museum was rededicated to an exhibit of souvenirs and artifacts once belonging to Igancy Jan Paderewski. The collection was given to the Museum following his death on June 29, 1941. As stated in an October 10, 1941 document, its core consists of a:

Collection of memorabilia, in holy memory of President I.J. Paderewski, willed to the ownership of American Polonia, and assigned for preservation to PRCUA Archives and Museum in Chicago, by the holy memory of Antonina Paderewska-Wilkonska, Consul General Sylwin Strakacz, and Ignacy G. Kołłupajło.

This exhibit and what is now known as the Paderewski Room were fully renovated in 2009.

 As PRCUA President, Kania also permitted its printing division to publish the written works of Haiman and Arthur L. Waldo. Subjects covered all matters concerning Polonia, including biographies of Kosciuszko and the histories of Polish immigration throughout the United States, such as in Polish Past in America. Between the years of 1936 to 1947, the Annals of the Archives and Museum of the PRCUA was issued yearly. These materials continue to help researchers, not only in knowing the history of the Museum, but also the history of Poles in America.

 Although the Museum grew significantly during this time, the war brought additional duties to Kania. He served as Chairman of the Polish American Council’s Committee on Polish Refugees, and as Director of both the National Catholic Resettlement Council and the Inter-Catholic Press Agency. Following the war, in the early 1950s, Kania agreed the Archives should preserve the files of Rada Polonii Amerykańskiej/ American Relief for Poland (RPA/ARP). This charitable organization operated in the United States from 1938-1973. Once concluded, the final batch of files and documents were received by the Archives, making it the largest, most complete, and most important archival collection at the PMA. Kania was also active in the RPA/ ARP. Documents he authored that are part of the collection include the "Statement of Policy on DP Program," January 15, 1949, and the "Report on Displaced Person Activities of ARP," May 1, 1950, as Chairman of Displaced Persons Activities.

 Joseph Kania’s efforts did not go unnoticed; throughout his life, he received many accolades from military and lay organizations.  He was awarded the Papal Knighthood from His Holiness, Pope Pius XII, and inducted into the Order of St. Gregory the Great by Samuel Cardinal Stritch in September 1949. Kania died in Chicago on April 12, 1953, during his fourth term as President of the PRCUA. His earnest spirit continues in the efforts of the Museum, and in the rich history of Polonia.

 Written by H. Misterka

Translated by T. Sromek