THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MARCH 2025 45 On the Poznan-Warsaw train, Dec. 1, 1995—We closed the U.S. Information Service in Poznan today. A small band of Polish civic leaders and American officials did the honors on a cold, sunny morning in the courtyard of the building that has housed USIS, and the consulate of which it was part, since 1959. There were fine speeches by the ambassador, governor, mayor, and consul general. The mayor said the Americans had always been there since he was a boy; he hoped they might come back one day, not because the difficult times of the past had returned, but for just the opposite reason. He had in mind a Polish economic boom that would make Americans see value in being on the spot. Speaking for the 25 employees of the consulate and USIS, Public Affairs Specialist Urszula Dziuba talked with dignity and eloquence about the pride Poles took in representing both America and their fatherland, in going to work every day in an office where values like integrity, fairness, and mutual respect were honored. Poles share America’s passion for freedom, Ms. Dziuba observed, “the more so since it was present in our daily work.” The paradox, she added, is that “it is freedom that is now taking the Americans away from us.” When the speaking was done, a memorial plaque was un- veiled. It reads, in Polish, as follows: “This building in the years 1959 to 1995 proudly served as the headquarters of the consulate general of the United States of America. In the most difficult years of the Polish nation, the consulate was a living symbol of the engagement of America in the return of freedom and independence to Poland. A grateful nation and government of the United States of America dedicates this plaque to the Polish employees of the consulate, who throughout those years faithfully served the cause of Polish-American friendship.” The craftsman who chiseled the handsome plaque, Mr. Eugeniusz Holderny, refused to accept any payment for his work, saying it was his contribution to the Americans, who had liberated his father from Buchenwald. One reason why posts like USIS Poznan had so much to offer: they were closer to the people. This sunlit building housed the U.S. consulate general and associated United States Information Service (USIS) branch post in Poznan from 1959 until 1995. COURTESY OF URSZULA DZIUBA USIS Poznan Closes, Leaves Proud Legacy [A Report by Dick Virden, 1995]
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