Records of the Milwaukee Polish Millennium Committee, a group of Polish-Americans formed to
promote the celebration of the millennium of Christianity in Poland (966-1966). The group
also used the Millennium celebration to increase public awareness of the political problems
facing the people of Poland, under communist rule. Mrs. Leonne Wozinski, acting chairman to
the committee, compiled the records.
Includes correspondence, photographs, brochures, newspaper clippings, and a commemorative
stamp collection. Many of the items in this collection are written in Polish.
Most of the collection consists of correspondence between committee members, and the
various groups that were involved in the celebration of this event. The correspondence
details the evolution of specific programs, such as the development of the commemorative
stamp, the concert given by the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, the convocation of Cardinal
Wyszynski, and Poland's Millennium Achievement Awards Program. The awards program, created
in 1966, was administered by the Poland's Millennium Achievement Awards Committee. The
program awarded scholarships for an essay competition that was open to college juniors and
sophomores of Polish decent who resided in Wisconsin. The program was discontinued in
1989.
Most of the photographs in the collection are of Bishop Ladislaus Rubin, or Congressman
Clement J. Zablocki. Bishop Rubin accepted an honorary degree from Marquette University for
Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski. Cardinal Wyszynski was not allowed to leave Poland to attend his
convocation. Some of the other individuals in the photographs can be recognized because they
are identified in brochures, or newspaper clippings. Few of the photographs are dated.
The collection includes some memorabilia, such as a commemorative plaque and a stamp
collection.
