WARSAW – NCUA Board member Michael Fryzel, the Board’s first Polish-American member, is among the mourners of Polish President and credit union pioneer Lech Kaczynski, killed in a plane crash Saturday along with his wife Maria and 95 Polish dignitaries.
The group was on its way to a site in western Russia to commemorate the 70th anniversary of summary execution of some 22,000 Polish officers by the Soviet secret police, in the forest of Katyn. The commemoration marked the first time the Soviets, who had claimed the Nazis committed the attrocity, admitted responsibility.
“It is a tragic irony that these prominent people died on their way to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the killing of thousands of Polish officers during World War II in Russia,” NCUA's Fryzel said Sunday. “A tragedy such as this will mark Poland’s future for years to come.”
President Kaczynski was one of the founders of the credit union movement in Poland in the early 1990s. In September of last year, he and his wife visited Polish & Slavic FCU in New York, which has close ties to thousands of families and organizations in Poland. U.S. organizations, including the World Council of CUs, helped transform the one-time workers’ cooperatives in Poland into credit unions during that period. Between 1990 and 1991, Kaczynski was president of the Supervisory Board of the Foundation for Polish Cooperative Savings and Credit Unions, created by WOCCU upon request from Solidarity, which overthrew the one-time Communist government.
The crash wiped out a large portion of Poland's leadership and many of the key figures in the country's struggle to overthrow communism. as well as top military and business figures.
During his visit to Polish & Slavic FCU, Kaczynski shared stories of his credit union roots and the role U.S. credit unions played in Poland's march toward democracy 20 years ago. He was awarded an honorary membership to the nation’s largest ethnic-based credit union.
“The Polish people are strong and as they have in the past, they will once again overcome the sorrow and despair that comes with such a terrible event as this. I extend my deepest sympathy and prayers to the families of these courageous and brave people,” Fryzel said.
