1992, ISBN: 9780738818269

     Flowers For Kasia was inspired by a Detroit man I met in the course of my work. That was in 1988. Poland was still under communistic rule of government, the iron curtain still i… Plus…

     Flowers For Kasia was inspired by a Detroit man I met in the course of my work. That was in 1988. Poland was still under communistic rule of government, the iron curtain still in place, and Stefan, a fictional name I used in the story, was in his 49th year of exile from his homeland. Behind the scenes, though, sparks of freedom had been ignited. Oh, had they ever been ignited!      The story opens in 1992. Poland had only recently won her freedom - freedom that had been ripped away from her - and hence from Stefan - fifty-three years earlier. Much of the world was focused on Poland in 1992. That was the year President Bush visited Poland on his way to the Group of Seven Economic Summit in Germany. It was also the year the body of the famous pianist-composer and former Polish Prime Minister was returned to his beloved Poland. Ignacy Jan Paderewski was living in exile in the United States when died in 1941. He was buried in Arlington Cemetery. Before his death, he had requested his body not be returned home until Poland became a free nation. The moving of Paderewski's body from hallowed ground in a free country to a place held sacred by another country, now free, was symbolic for lovers of freedom everywhere.      In telling this story, I used the name, Stefan, to represent thousands of Polish soldiers. These were men who fought with the allies during World War II, but, in many instances, could not personally benefit from the sacrifices they had made. They could not go home again.      This is not a war story. Rather, it is a story about the continuation of one man's journey when, at last, he could attempt to pick up his life from where, decades earlier, horrific and long lasting circumstances had torn him away from his home and from his loved ones.      I thought I knew a little about separation from one's country and loved ones. But, for half a century? I could not imagine the magnitude of it! When I tried, there was a sudden unlocking of memories from the recesses of my mind. I saw scenes of my parents and a teary-eyed sister waiting for the return of our own family's loved ones after three, four, and five year absences. I winced at the thought of the duration of Stefan's separation.      I wasn't very far into my conversation with Stefan that summer evening of 1988 when it became apparent I knew very little about Poland's recent history. Worse, to my embarrassment, I discovered I knew nothing about Poland's interesting connection with the history of my own country. I didn't even know the significance of the magnificent statue of General Thaddeus Kosciuszko on horseback along a downtown Detroit avenue. In regard to Poland, I knew of the Warsaw ill-fated uprisings. I had known about the heroics of Poland's underground army, and that Polish aviators had been credited, in part, for Britain's success in the air Battle of Britain. Beyond that, my history books had taught me the Poland of 1939, with its outdated horse cavalry and inferior bi-wing Flowers for Kasia McDivitt, Carl B., Xlibris Corporation<

ISBN: 9780738818269

Xlibris Corporation. Used - Good. Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside., Xlibris Corporation

2000, ISBN: 9780738818269

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