WWII memorial hopes to educate public about Polish history with ‘friendraiser’

TROY/ROYAL OAK — The board of the Michigan World War II Memorial is inviting the public to join them for an educational night at the American Polish Cultural Center in Troy as they provide updates on the memorial project and feature opportunities to learn more about Poland’s history during the war.

Since 2007, the board and its supporters have been advocating for a World War II memorial in metro Detroit. The project is now nearing fruition, as construction on the first elements of the memorial began this month at its site in Royal Oak, near the intersection of 13 Mile Road and Woodward Avenue.

“The fencing is going up for the memorial this week,” said board member Judy Maten. “Construction on the footings are beginning. In the spring, they will lay the bricks and install the statue. That’s the other reason we wanted to host this event at the American Polish Cultural Center, was to give people an update on the state of the project.”

The first phase of the memorial is due to complete construction in the spring.

The event will take place at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2023, at the American Polish Cultural Center, located at 2975 E. Maple Road in Troy. The cost to attend is $60 per person. Reservations must be received no later than Friday, Jan. 13, 2023. To register, visit www.michiganww2memorial.org.

A dinner and information about the memorial will be offered at the event, as well as a keynote speech by Christophe Skutela, who will address the attendees from Krakow, Poland. Memorial board member Debi Hollis met Skutela while she was visiting Poland and several World War II historical sites.

“I was in Europe for two weeks. In each of the cities we went to, we toured the Jewish quarters and learned a lot about World War II history there. We had a day at Auschwitz, and that was the day we met Chris Skutela,” said Hollis. “We spent several hours talking with him. He is extraordinarily knowledgeable and is a very kind and compassionate man. He has a Ph.D. in the philosophy of travel, which I found so interesting. He owns his own tour company and runs tours of historical sites, such as Auschwitz. He is an expert in Polish history.”

Hollis saw how Poland, in many ways, saw the worst horror of the war, both on the battlefield and on the homefront. Her trip included a tour of the Auschwitz death camp, where thousands of Jewish Polish people and other targets of the Nazi regime were killed.

“Everybody expects the day to be rather horrifying, and that was not untrue,” Hollis said. “There’s still a sense of something there where you can feel death. The vastness is what really shocked me. You can read the accounts of those who went through those camps, but when you stand there, it’s so different.”

Hollis immediately thought of Skutela when the board was thinking of ways they could promote the memorial and provide educational opportunities for the public about the war.

“When we were with Chris that day, we told him about the memorial project, and we spoke to him about speaking via Zoom at such an event,” she said. “We loved him and his approach. At a board meeting when I got back, we started talking about potential events, and we brought up Chris and the Polish Cultural Center, so it all seemed like a very natural fit. Chris was very thrilled to do it.”

It is the hope of both Maten and Hollis to shed some light on this piece of history as the World War II Memorial in Michigan moves forward.

“I really encourage people to come,” Hollis said. “We think of World War II from an American perspective and what we did to fight the war and win, but you need to see it from those other perspectives, too. Anyone with an interest in history would really get something from attending.”

Maten said Michigan’s role in World War II can’t be overstated and that residents of the state should make an effort to remember the war and the cost that was paid to win it — both in Michigan and in nations such as Poland.

“We wouldn’t have won World War II if it wasn’t for Michigan, both in our warfront contributions and our homefront contributions,” she said. “The changes that came out of the war changed the face of this country. Education, civil rights, industrial innovation and more came out of that effort in the war. We want to honor their legacy and their sacrifices and educate people so they can continue to carry that torch.”

The memorial board is calling the Jan. 21 event a “friendraiser” as they hope to both educate members of the public and give them the opportunity to join their efforts in supporting the memorial project.

“It’s a ‘friendraiser,’ so it’s to spread the word about our project,” Maten said. “Poland was really significant, since it was the first country invaded by Germany in the war and they were hit by both sides. They then had to confront communism and its fall for decades after the war. I don’t know if people in this country know as much about it as they should.”