; Whereas Poland’s embrace of democratic values dates back to the 1700s, culminating in the historic adoption of Europe’s first constitution in 1791, embodying the principles of liberty and constitutional monarchy; Whereas Poland became the first European nation to strive toward ensuring liberty for all its citizens when Tadeusz Kosciuszko, upon his return from the American Revolution, issued the Proclamation of Połaniec on May 7, 1794, which provided for personal freedoms to Polish serfs and reduced compulsory serfdom, among other liberties and rights; Whereas, in the wake of Poland’s remarkable constitutional achievement, the nation would face tragic annihilation in history, including the third partition of Poland in 1795, that resulted in Poland being erased from the map of Europe for 123 years and its territory divided among the empires of adjoining nations Russia, Prussia, and the Hapsburg Empire; Whereas, despite centuries of adversity, Poland’s resilient spirit endured, as evidenced by the November Uprising of 1830 and the January Uprising of 1863, where countless Poles laid down their lives to preserve the dream of Polish sovereignty; Whereas, during this period of foreign domination, Poland persevered in safeguarding its national identity through initiatives such as the organic work ideology, which recognized the importance of modernizing Polish society to ensure the survival of Polish nationhood; Whereas, on November 11, 1918, the Regency Council of Poland appointed Józef Piłsudski as Commander in Chief of Poland, marking the formation of the Second Republic of Poland and a triumphant return to independence; Whereas the brave Polish resistance fighters and soldiers valiantly fought against tyranny on all fronts during World War II, only to find their liberation from Nazi oppression followed by domination by the Soviet Union