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Wrzasowice, 14 November 2002 The Polish embassy in Riga informed us that the Polish school in Kraslaw had obtained a major grant from the Polish government through its program Polish Commonwealth (Wspolnola Polska) mandated to assist Polish minorities in other countries. The grant was designated for the construction of a new, Polish-language school. It was proposed that the new school should be named after the Plater family and it was suggested that the Platers should donate a school standard. And of course, family members were invited to attend the official opening of the school on September 14, 2002. It then became our responsibility to inform family members of the event and the request. The response of the Plater family was quick and generous. Some raised money for the school standard and others began organizing the trip. The standard was mostly paid for by those who were unable to attend the celebrations because of distance (the U.S.A., Canada and Australia), age, or ill-health. The 28 people who took part in the expedition to Kraslaw came not only from Poland but also from Switzerland, France, Belgium and Canada. The family trip had the following objectives: to celebrate the opening of the school to visit family estates in Lithuania, Latvia and Belarus to get better acquainted
And so, on September 7, 2002 we met at Dabrowski Square in Warsaw to take our seats on the bus and head to the East. We arrived in Kraslaw on the 13th September, one day prior to the official opening of the school. At 6 pm that evening, on the initiative of the prelate Joseph Lapkowski, we celebrated mass in the crypt of the Cathedral for the repose of the souls of our forefathers. At the entrance to the crypts, a crowd waited for us and we entered first, as space was restricted in the crypts. The townspeople were enthusiastic and friendly. The Ambassador of the Republic of Poland, Dr. Tadeusz Fiszbach and his wife, also attended the mass. The mass was celebrated by three priests, the choir sang beautifully, it was very emotional. The prelate celebrated the service in Polish repeating a large part in Latvian. In his homily, Father Lapkowski reminded those present of the contribution of the first Platers to the foundation and development of Kraslaw but equally to the flourishing of Polish Livonia. After mass we were invited to the parsonage for tea. The premises were modest but the atmosphere was convivial even familial. Prelate Lapkowski, born in 1920, the oldest Polish priest in Latvia, was thrilled to have seen the service through for the family (he was to be hospitalized a few days later).
September 14 was the most important day of our expedition being the official opening of the school. The celebrations began with a mass in St. Louis Cathedral. We gathered in front of the main entrance to the Cathedral. Six male representatives of the Plater family arranged themselves in pairs holding the school standard. The Prelate led the procession into the Cathedral. It was a very emotional moment and a fitting return home. Inside the Cathedral, besides the numerous residents of Kraslaw, there were waiting in the patrons' pews, on the left-side, government representatives of the States of Poland and Latvia, and on the right side, members of the family. The Platers who held the standard stood in front of the altar. Prior to the mass and on behalf of the family, Jacek Ludwik Broel-Plater welcomed all and expressed thanks for the naming of the school after the Family of the Counts Plater. During the homily, spoken in Polish and Latvian, Father Lapkowski reminded the youth present that though their mothers were Polish, they were Latvian citizens. Following the consecration of the standard by the Prelate, the members of the Plater family holding the standard kissed it with reverence. After fastening the standard to a staff, it was presented to the Director of the School and then passsed to the students who formed ranks around the standard. The young standard bearers wore Polish and Latvian ribbands.
After the mass we formed a procession behind the standard and proceeded from the Cathedral to the new school. On our way we stopped at the Catholic cemetery. Here, the Prelate said a prayer and placed flowers at a monument dedicated to the Polish legionnaires who died in 1920 while fighting the Soviet army. We then went to the new school. Latvian and Polish national anthems were sung. Then the Deputy Speaker of the Polish Senate, Jolanta Danielak and Richard Piks, her Latvian equivalent, and the head of the family, Stanislas Plater-Zyberk, cut the ribbon to open the facility. The Director of the school, Regina Muraszkina, welcomed the guests with the traditional bread and salt. The Prelate blessed each school room with salt. The school is beautiful. It has bright, large classrooms, science and computer rooms, a library, a gym as well as a well-furnished, modern canteen serving hot meals. This is an essential element of the school's attraction because standards of living are low in this part of Latvia and a school lunch is welcome. The next part of the program consisted of a meeting with the mayor of Kraslaw, and then attendance at a Polish folkloric concert. That evening the Deputy Speaker of the Polish Senate, the Ambassador of the Republic of Poland, the Mayor of Kraslaw and representatives of the Plater family met to discuss further assistance to the school, the Cathedral, and the Kraslaw palace which required extensive renovations. Polish schools in Latvia and Lithuania have good reputations and high academic standards. Despite low population growth, Polish schools attract large numbers of students. In addition, Polish teachers who come to teach in Polish schools in both countries do so out of a spirit of conviction and serve their vocation to the fullest.
The second goal of our trip was to visit family estates and to find traces of the family in Lithuania, Latvia and Belarus. It was to be a personal experience. In Lithuania we visited Biala Waka, Zatrocze, Abramowsk, Czerwony Dwor, Szweksznie, Polaga, Kretynga, the museum in Telsze, Tyszki, Kurtowiany, Plinksze. At Gora Krzyzy (The Hill of the Crosses) near Szawle we set up our cross with the inscription "Platers' Pilgrimage 2002". In Latvia, the Platers visited Rundale Palace and then the family estates - Rubin, Bebra, Schlossberg, Lixna, and Kraslaw. And in Belarus we visited Horodziec. It was heartwarming to find that many of our former homes have been turned into schools, museums or government buildings. Often, however, we found ruins or empty spaces. Sometimes we found our homes restored and occupied by strangers giving rise to mixed emotions.
We met two family members in Lithuania who were attempting to recover and maintain family properties. In both cases there was no promise of success. In Lithuania, or rather in Zmudz, in the town of Szweksznie where the family settled in 1766 exists a "totem" with the arms of the Counts Plater in the main square facing the Church. The Szweksznie Plater line was very committed to the development of the local population. They worked out the basics for the grammar of the Lithuanian language. Their descendants managed to leave Lithuania prior to Soviet occupation. But decades later they returned to their Lithuanian home. In Szweksznie we were welcomed by our 81 year-old cousin Felicia, widow of Alexander. She divides her time between the United States and Lithuania. She showed us around "Willa Genowefa" currently being restored and then showed us the local family museum. What is the future of this estate since Alexander and Felicia were childless? The second meeting took place in Wilno where we met Dominik Broel-Plater, grandson of Michael, the step-brother of Emilia. The family of Dominik had lived for 200 years in Lithuanian Kowno, at Degula. In 1941, when Dominik was 13 years old, they were deported to Siberia. In Siberia he worked as a lumberjack and later as a lorry driver in Alma-Ata, Kazahkstan. Eight years ago, Dominik was repatriated to Lithuania, as he held Lithuanian citizenship, and repossessed Degula. He hoped that his older sister, Stefania, her son and grandson would be repatriated too. Given her advanced age and poor health this may not be possible.
Present Lithuanian authorities are well disposed towards the Plater family. In Kopciowo where Emilia Plater is buried, the municipal government has erected a monument to her memory with an inscription from Mickiewicz' "Death of the Colonel": "...a maiden, a heroine, a Lithuanian, a leader of the insurrectionists, Emilia Plater." (Citation on the pedestal of the monument). Dominik erected a cross on the spot where Emilia was wounded, and its unveiling was attended by the President of Lithuania and other government officials. So our main aims had been achieved. We had met as an extended family and had developed friendships. Although not everything was successful and according to plan, and although sometimes the bus was subject to delays, no one objected. One can hope, that family ties strained by dispersion, war, and the Iron Curtain, have been strengthened by this Plateriada.
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