On December 13, 1981 Ewa Slusarek-Hitchener read in the paper that General Wojciech Jaruzelski had declared Martial Law in Poland to subdue the “Solidarnosc” Trade Union (Solidarity).

Immediately, Ewa, now 67, began organizing the Rhode Island Solidarity Support Committee, which hosted rallies, lobbied politicians and raised funds to support the Polish Solidarity movement.

In part through Ewa’s leadership, support committees nationally and abroad came together to form the Conference of Solidarity Support Organizations (CSSO); Ewa would be the North American coordinator for the loose affiliation, which would grow to 46 groups throughout 14 countries.

To recognize Ewa’s help not only towards the Solidarity movement but also the eventual reestablishment of Poland’s sovereignty from Soviet control, she was recently awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland.

On June 3 Ewa was decorated with the Knight’s Cross by Marek Lesniewski-Laas, Honorary Consul of the Republic of Poland, and received a Senate Citation from Senator William Walaska at a State House ceremony.

The president of Poland, Bronislaw Komorowski bestows the award upon a foreigner or Pole living abroad for “distinguished contribution to international cooperation and cooperation between Poland and other countries.” It is the highest award the Polish government can give to someone not living within the country.

Ewa was born in Scotland to Polish war immigrants and moved to the United States in 1958 when she was about 10 years old. She moved to Rhode Island in 1975.

Polish was her first language, and she grew up as part of the Polish Scouting Organization, which is not unlike the American Boy or Girl Scouts. This scouting group was a way for children of Polish descent to learn about their culture, history and customs.

“We were a family of proud Poles,” Ewa said.

Both her parents had served in the Polish Allied Forces during World War II. Previously, they had been imprisoned in the Siberian labor camps under Soviet rule before Joseph Stalin signed on with the Allies. They then traveled to Iraq and Iran to be trained with the rest of Polish forces.

Her uncle had been a captain in the Army stationed in Warsaw and ran an underground effort to help people living in the ghetto.

“My family is the main reason I became involved in the solidarity movement,” Ewa said. “I guess I followed in my family’s footsteps in a sense. I didn’t carry a gun but I did fight for the country.”

Less than a week after she had heard martial law was declared in Poland, Ewa orchestrated a rally at the State House with over 1,000 people.

She went on to found the Rhode Island Solidarity Support Committee and then become the North American coordinator for the CSSO.

“The Internet wasn’t really popular back then so it was just a lot of time spent on the phone making sure people were doing what they were supposed to,” Ewa said.

Although the organization did not directly interfere with Polish politics, they were trying to help the Unions as well as underground presses, providing them with supplies and finances, to make people aware of what was really going on.

“We needed to get the word out there,” Ewa said, “Union leaders were being imprisoned not for criminal acts but for political reasons.”

One reason Ewa thought he CSSO was so successful was because there were no by-laws but simply an agreement among members that spanned America and Europe.

“Each organization was in their own different political, social and geographic surrounding, so everyone did what they were capable of within their own region,” Ewa said. “We were all fighting the same fight, and if you didn’t believe in the cause you weren’t there anyway.”

With just over 40 organizations worldwide, each with anywhere from five to 100 members, the CSSO was a relatively small initiative. However, Ewa said, “What we did counted more than how many we had.” Ewa hosted the first of many international meetings of the CSSO in Providence, often having members from around the world stay in her home.

Ewa was able to secure an audience with Rhode Island Senator Claiborne Pell for one of these international meetings, where pro-Solidarity activists and CSSO members were able to gain an ally in the fight for Poland’s sovereignty.

Pell would later become the chair of the United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee. 

“For those 10 years every vacation and all my money went to the support committee,” Ewa said.

The final meeting of the CSSO was held in 1989 in Aachen, Germany and the loose affiliation officially disbanded in 1990.

Ewa said she felt it was her responsibility to help the country of her ancestors and never expected to have the kind of recognition she has now received.

“It’s nice that people acknowledge that we worked our butts off to help establish an independent Poland,” Ewa said. “This is quite rare. It’s close to my heart.”