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Blanka Rosenstiel

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Blanka Rosenstiel

Blanka Aldona Rosenstiel (née Wdowiak; born 1931) is a Polish American philanthropist. She currently serves as the president, chairwoman, and chief executive of The American Institute of Polish Culture (AIPC) and president of the Chopin Foundation of the United States.

Blanka Aldona Rosenstiel (née Wdowiak) was born in Warsaw, Poland in 1931 to Wacław Wdowiak, a postal worker, and Irena Wdowiak (née Karaszewka). She was born into a Catholic family. In 1944 during the Warsaw Uprising, her father was taken to Auschwitz concentration camp, and Rosenstiel, her mother, and one of her two brothers became slave laborers at the Frankfurt railroad station, laying bricks. Other members of her family were also taken to other labor and concentration camps. Rosenstiel, her mother, and her brother were liberated from Niederhausen concentration camp in 1945 by the Allied Powers. However, her father died in Magdeburg labor camp in Germany.

Rosenstiel has stated about the experience, “Those were difficult years, but somehow and against all odds, a few of us survived. Although my mother deplored the years we lost without schooling, she instilled in us optimism and positive thinking. She convinced us that the future would be better, brighter and successful".

Rosenstiel and her family did not return to Poland following their liberation, as Poland was now under Soviet control. Her family lived in Trier for a time, before moving to Luxembourg, where she did radio work. The family then moved to Brussels, Belgium, where Rosenstiel was a cabaret singer and studied art. In 1956, she moved to the United States.

In 1972, Rosenstiel founded The American Institute of Polish Culture (AIPC). She was inspired by her interest in the arts, dedication to helping young artists succeed, and her desire to promote both Polish history and heritage and Polish-American culture. She currently serves as the President, chairman, and Chief Executive. In 1975, in collaboration with the University of Miami's School of Music, she presented the First National Chopin Piano Competition of the United States in Miami. The success of this competition inspired Rosenstiel to establish the Chopin Foundation of the United States in 1977. She currently serves the president of the foundation.

Following the death of her husband, Lewis S. Rosenstiel, in 1976, she gained control of the Rosenstiel Foundation, which funds her charitable work. She has donated millions to Brandeis University, Mount Sinai Medical Center, the Crippled Children's Society (now known as AbilityFirst), the National Symphony Orchestra, and the Washington National Opera.

Alongside AIPC, Rosenstiel helped establish the permanent Kosciuszko Chair of Polish Studies at the University of Virginia in 1998. The ownership of this chair was given back to AIPC after a period of inactivity, and then given to the Institute of World Politics to carry out the mission. Each year the Institute awards scholarships in the field of journalism, communication, or public relations to talented students of Polish origin.

She currently serves as Honorary Consul for the Polish government in Miami, Florida, an honor which was awarded in 1998. She was the first Polish Consul in the history of Florida.

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