Established by the Warsaw Rising Museum, the Medal of the Courier from Warsaw is a distinction awarded in recognition of outstanding contributions to strengthening Poland’s ties with the West, maintaining good Euro-Atlantic relations, and promoting ideas and attitudes close to those of the Warsaw Rising: striving for freedom and independence, as well as building community and democracy. This year, the Medal will be awarded for the second time.
The Medal of the Courier from Warsaw commemorates Jan Nowak-Jeziorański – a politician, social activist, director of the Polish section of Radio Free Europe, officer of the Polish Army and the Home Army, Warsaw insurgent, legendary courier and emissary of the Home Army General Staff and the Polish government, Knight of the Order of the White Eagle, and friend of the Warsaw Rising Museum.
The Medal of the Courier from Warsaw Award Gala will take place on 21 January 2024 at 8pm at the Warsaw Rising Museum.
The event will be broadcast on TVN24 and on the Warsaw Rising Museum’s YouTube channel
Jan Nowak-Jeziorański, born Zdzisław Jeziorański (1914-2005), was a politician, social activist; director of the Polish section of Radio Free Europe, Polish Army and Home Army officer, Warsaw insurgent, and the legendary courier and emissary of the Home Army General Staff and Polish Government, and a Knight of the Order of the White Eagle.
When Poland regained its freedom in 1989, Jan Nowak-Jeziorański devoted all his energy to ensuring the country’s international security and its anchoring to the transatlantic community. He lobbied intensively for Poland’s membership of NATO, even though initially the project might have seemed unrealistic. Thanks to the determination of the Courier from Warsaw, the goal was finally achieved in 1999, thus concluding the insurgents’ efforts to secure Poland’s place among the free, independent and secure countries of the West.
Jan Nowak-Jeziorański. Ossolineum
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The first recipient of the Medal of the Courier from Warsaw was Daniel Fried, a prominent specialist in Sovietology, Russian studies and matters concerning Central and Eastern European. Fried played a key role in the admission of new members to NATO, including Poland, which contributed to the stabilisation of this region of Europe and the emergence from a security ‘grey zone’ of countries that had freed themselves from the communist yoke. Thanks to his activities, old Cold War divisions could be abolished and the transatlantic community strengthened. In carrying out these tasks, he worked closely with the Medal’s patron, Jan Nowak-Jeziorański.
Daniel Fried. Warsaw Rising Museum
Daniel Fried – Sovietologist, diplomat who played a key role in Poland’s NATO admission, first recipient of the Medal of the Courier from Warsaw. A graduate of Cornell University, he held important positions in the United States Foreign Service: from 1997 to 2000, as US ambassador to Poland, he supported the country’s transformation; he later became involved in curbing Russia’s imperial ambitions as coordinator for sanctions policy at the US Department of State. Honorary member of the Atlantic Council.
Adolf Juzwenko – historian, doctor of humanities, democratic opposition activist, chairman of the Lower Silesian delegation to the 1st National Congress of Delegates of the Solidarity Trade Union. From 1990 to 2022, director of the Ossolineum Library and then the Ossolineum National Institute in Wrocław. Member of the Polish-Ukrainian Commission for Common Cultural Heritage. Honorary Chairman of the Board at the Jan Nowak-Jeziorański College of Eastern Europe.
Łukasz Kamiński – historian, doctor of humanities. Author of several hundred scientific and popular publications. Since 2000, he has been associated with the Institute of National Remembrance; in 2011-2016, President of the Institute of National Remembrance. Since 2022, director of the Ossolineum National Institute. President and founder of the Paweł Włodkowic Institute. President of the European Platform of Memory and Conscience from 2017 to 2021.
Paweł Kowal – politician, political scientist, historian, PhD in social sciences, former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and MEP. Member of the Polish Sejm. Professor at the Institute of Political Studies at the Polish Academy of Sciences. Co-founder of the Warsaw Rising Museum. Editor-in-Chief of the journal Sprawy Międzynarodowe (International Affairs), author of numerous academic, popular science and journalistic publications.
Jerzy Koźmiński – between 1989 and 1993 Director-General and Undersecretary of State in the Office of the Council of Ministers, then Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. Between 1994 and 2000, Ambassador of the Republic of Poland to the United States. President of the Polish-American Freedom Foundation, Chairman of the Council of the Information Society Development Foundation and the Council of the Good Education Foundation. Member of the Council of the Polish Institute of International Affairs and the College of Eastern Europe. Winner of the Jan Nowak-Jeziorański Award. Decorated with the Commander’s Cross with Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta.
Ewa Ośniecka-Tamecka – Vice-Rector of the College of Europe in Natolin (since 2007). In 2006-2007, Minister for European Affairs, National Coordinator for Foreign Aid and Polish negotiator (Sherpa) of the Lisbon Treaty.
Wioletta Paprocka-Ślusarska – Chief of Staff of the Mayor of Warsaw Rafał Trzaskowski. Member of the Mazovian Voivodeship Regional Council (Sejmik). Previously worked in the City Marketing Office at the Warsaw Municipal Council, as well as in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration and in the Sejm Parliamentary Chancellery of the Republic of Poland. Member of the Council of the Warsaw Rising Museum.
Leszek Żukowski – engineer, academic teacher, professor of technical sciences. Soldier of the Grey Ranks and the Home Army, participant of the Warsaw Rising in the “Łukasiński” Battalion (under the pseudonym Antek), prisoner of Flossenbürg and Dachau concentration camps. Social activist, among others in the Foundation for Polish-German Reconciliation and the Polish Underground State Foundation. Former president of the World Association of Home Army Soldiers.
