Six stars unveiled on Avenue of Croatian Stars in Krakow

Ceremonial unveiling of stars on the Avenue of Croatian Stars (Photo: Consulate General of the Republic of Croatia in Krakow)

During the 5th Croatian Picnic, a ceremony was held to unveil another 6 Croatian stars dedicated to famous native Croats and those of Polish origin who had a significant impact on building Polish-Croatian relations.

The unveiling of the stars took place in the presence of a guard of honour of Polish soldiers from the Krakow garrison and a fanfare played by the trumpeters of the OSP orchestra from Węglowka.

Fedro Becić

The first star was dedicated to the poet Fedro Becić, born in Przemyśl. He is a well-known and respected Croatian poet and writer, his poems and prose have been translated into many languages, including Polish.

Becić published popular articles on management and artificial aquaculture, and also tried, with less success, technical inventions. He was a storyteller with romantic tendencies.

The star of Fedro Bećić was unveiled by the founder, the president of Przemyśl, Mr. Wojciech Bakun, accompanied by the First Secretary of the Embassy of the Republic of Croatia, Dr. Ana Kodrić-Gagro.

(Photo: Consulate General of the Republic of Croatia in Krakow)

Alfred Krupa

The second star was dedicated to Alfred Krupa, a famous Croatian painter of Polish origin, born in Mikołow. He studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow, and during World War II he had to flee from the Germans to Croatia.

Apart from painting, he was an extremely talented and versatile man. He practiced boxing and martial arts, taught fencing and shooting, and was also a clever inventor. His most famous invention was a suitcase on two wheels.

The star of Alfred Krupa was unveiled by the founder, the mayor of Mikołow, Mr. Stanisław Piechula, accompanied by Alfred Krupa’s granddaughter, Mrs. Margareta Krupa Jurić, and his grandson, Prof. Alfred Freddy Krupa, a well-known painter in Croatia who followed in the footsteps of his grandfather.

(Photo: Consulate General of the Republic of Croatia in Krakow)

Cardinal Alojzije Wiktor Stepinac

The star of Cardinal Alojzije Wiktor Stepinac is another star unveiled by the founder – the Order of the Knights of Saint John Paul II the Great, in the person of the Grand Master of Ceremonies of the Order Jacek Skoczen, Commander of the Order Marcin Kukla accompanied by the Honorary Consul General of the Republic of Croatia Mr. Paweł Włodarczyk.

The life of the Cardinal and his life path is very similar to the life and path of the Polish Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski, both were persecuted, both were arrested and imprisoned, both were appointed cardinals in the same year.

Both cardinals maintained contact with each other. He defended the victims of war and all those in danger, whether Jews, Serbs, Gypsies, Poles or Croats. During World War II, the Cardinal played a major role in saving Poles who had fled the country to avoid arrest.

(Photo: Consulate General of the Republic of Croatia in Krakow)

Stepinac financially helped dozens of Poles who were staying and hiding in Crikvenica and later on the island of Krk during and immediately after the war. Pope John Paul II beatified Cardinal Stepinac, which took place on October 3, 1998, in the sanctuary of Our Lady in Marija Bistrica in Croatia.

Adolf Moszynski

Another star was dedicated to Adolf Moszynski, former mayor of Zagreb, a descendant of the Bar Confederates. Moszynski became mayor of Zagreb in 1892 and was elected to this position three times.

During his term, the city experienced a kind of economic and infrastructural boom. One of his most important achievements was building the Zagreb water and sewage system from scratch, which was a condition for the city’s further development and the transformation of the Medveśczak stream into an underground canal.

Some of the most famous buildings in Zagreb were built at that time: the Croatian National Theatre, the Art Pavilion and the building of the Real Gymnasium, which today houses the Mimara Museum.

The star of Adolf Moszynski was unveiled, on behalf of the founder, the mayor of Zagreb Tomislav Tomasevic, advisor Dr. Nela Popović, accompanied by the representative of the Mayor of Krakow Aleksander Miszalski, Director of the Office of International Cooperation of the Chancellery of the Mayor Beata Sabatowicz.

(Photo: Consulate General of the Republic of Croatia in Krakow)

Ludomir Michał Rogowski

The fifth star was dedicated to a Pole who felt Croat, it was the star of Ludomir Michał Rogowski, a composer and conductor born in Lublin. In December 1926, Rogowski moved permanently to Dubrovnik. Living abroad, he continued to be interested in the musical life in Poland.

After 1939, the city authorities of Dubrovnik offered him a room in the former monastery of St. James and granted him a pension. He continued to compose, wrote fantasy-occult stories, memoirs and a diary entitled “Mój monastery”. Ludomir Michał Rogowski died on 13th March 1954 in Dubrovnik.

The unveiling of Ludomir Michał Rogowski’s star was unveiled, on behalf of the founder, the mayor of Lublin Krzysztof Żuk, the vice-mayor of Lublin, Mrs. Beata Stepaniuk Kuśmierzak and His Excellency the Ambassador of the Republic of Croatia Tomislav Vidosević.

Photo: Consulate General of the Republic of Croatia in Krakow)

Eduard Lucas Miloslavić

The last sixth star was dedicated to Eduard Lucas Miloslavić – a Croatian professor of pathology. He was a volunteer, one of twelve doctors who in April in 1943, they went to Katyn as part of the International Commission to personally perform autopsies on the bodies of murdered Polish officers and determine the time of the crime.

Professor Miloslavić is the first expert to answer questions from the American Katyn Commission. In 1951–1952, he took part in the hearings of the US Senate Committee on the Katyn crime, once again confirming the Soviets’ guilt. In communist Yugoslavia, he was sentenced to death in absentia for giving testimony incriminating the then USSR in the Katyn crime. He never returned to his country.

The star dedicated to Eduard Lucas Miloslavić was unveiled by the president of the Federation of Katyn Families, Izabella Sariusz-Skąpska, and vice-president Magdalena Wolska.

Photo: Consulate General of the Republic of Croatia in Krakow)

After the unveiling of the star, the Brass Band from Węglowka played the Polish and Croatian anthems, paying tribute to those murdered in Katyn and those who confirmed the Soviet crime against Polish officers with their courage.

During the unveiling of the star, it began to rain – did the sky cry over the tragedy in Katyn?

The Avenue of Croatian Stars in the Little Croatia park in Krakow (Photo: Consulate General of the Republic of Croatia in Krakow)