Anthony Walawender – has had and still has a lifelong record of initiating, leading, and participating in many endeavors and organizations for the benefit of Michigan’s Polonia, which is why he deserves to be one of the Top 25 Polish American Leaders in 2025.
Anthony was born in eastern Poland in 1929. As a young boy in 1940, shortly after World War II started, his family was among the 1 million Poles deported to Siberia by the Soviet Army, where he managed to survive after trekking through Persia, Kazakhstan, and India. From a Polish children refugee camp in India, he and a group of 75 other Polish boys were given the opportunity to come to the United States – to Orchard Lake – where Anthony finished high school and college.
From 1947-1952, Anthony was the leader in establishing the Knights of Dqbrowski (named after Father Józef Dqbrowski, the founder of the Orchard Lake Schools and SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary). This new organization held annual banquets to raise money to help finance Polish language courses at Orchard Lake St. Mary’s and to provide scholarships to financially needy Polish-American students. The Knights of Dąbrowski later moved its headquarters to Chicago, where it is still operating.
After returning from military service in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, where Anthony served in combat from 1952 to 1954, he co-organized and led the post of the Polish Army Veterans Association (PAVA) named after Tony Klik. He also established a Polish language school at this PAVA post, and taught many families Polish language.
While teaching history in public schools, in 1962 Anthony also established a Polish language program at Saginaw Valley College, where he taught over 40 students each year for severa! years, commuting to Saginaw from his home in Warren on several evenings each week.
Being a teacher, Anthony’s passion was teaching – especially teaching the Polish language. In 1971, he formally established a Polish language school in his own house, where he taught many children Polish. This Polish school became the Adam Mickiewicz Polish School – which is still thriving today in Sterling Heights as the largest Polish language School in Michigan. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s he also taught Polish language to adults through adult education programs offered by Warren Consolidated Schools and East Detroit Schools.
In addition to teaching Polish language and history, Anthony actively led and participated in many other Polish-American initiatives and projects. In 1973, he was a leader and organizer of the Copernicus Anniversary Committee, commemorating the 500th anniversary of the birth of Nicholas Copernicus. Anthony led the effort to finance and install a steel sculpture of the famous astronomer in the planetarium at Chatterton School (Fitzgerald Public Schools in Warren). He also led the Committee’s anniversary day’s events held at Belle Isle, which over 3,000 people attended.
In 1981, when the Solidarity Trade Union was crushed by the Polish government’s martial law decree, Anthony organized a mass rally at the City of Warren courthouse, which 2,500 people attended, including the American Press.
Even after he retired as a public school teacher, in 1992, he went to Chełm, Poland, where he taught a semester of English to the Polish students and adults. When he returned, the President of St. Mary’s College asked Anthony to teach Polish language at the college as a professor, to which Anthony agreed and which he did for several years.
Anthony also wrote many articles about Polish history and current events. He served as a co editor of the Polish American Congress’ newsletter in the 1960s and wrote many articles for Polish newspapers throughout the U.S. on various topics. For instance, in 2001 and 2002, he authored a series of articles for the Polish Weekly newspaper on the history of the Polish fight for independence after World War I, especially focusing on the contributions made by PolishAmericans and their participation in Haller’s Blue Army. Later, he turned this series into a program for the Polish Varieties Radio program.
He also co-published a book – Nasza Droga – describing the travail of the many Poles, who, like him, were deported to Siberia and endured incredible hardship and starvation. More recently, he published his personal memoir describing his own journey and life story.
Throughout his life, Anthony has delivered numerous speeches and lectures, both in Polish and English, to Polish organizations, youth groups, students, American audiences and the general public. He has been an active member of many Polish-American organizations. Through all these efforts he has done great work in promoting Poland’s proud history, defending the honor and pride of being Polish, and working for a free and independent Poland. For these reasons, Anthony Walawender deserves to be honored as one of the leaders of Michigan’s Polonia.
Source: Booklet “Top 25 Polish American Leaders in 2025 Awards Banquet”.
