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 Blanka
A. Rosenstiel
Polish Culture Queen
Blanka Rosenstiel was born in
Warsaw, Poland. After World War II, she moved to
Brussels,
Belgium, to study art and eventually relocated to the United
States, making it her permanent home in 1956. In 1967, she married
Lewis S. Rosenstiel, humanitarian, philanthropist and the chairman
of Schenley Industries. Then she began to make her mark on the
community.
Guided by a sincere dedication to the promotion of Polish heritage
and culture, in 1972 she founded the American Institute of Polish
Culture in
Miami, an organization that fosters Polish education and culture
nationally through exhibitions, book publishing and other events
cosponsored by local universities.
Rosenstiel, widowed in 1976, now resides in
Miami Beach during the winter season and at her Blandemar Farm in
Charlottesville, Va., in the summer.
In 1977, she founded the Chopin Foundation of the
United States to promote Chopin’s music and help young American
musicians in their studies. The Chopin Foundation also organizes
the National American Chopin Competition for Pianists in Miami, an
event now so prestigious that winners are automatically admitted
as participants in the International Chopin Competition in Poland.
In 1984, Rosenstiel was elected president of the American Council
for Polish Culture, a post she held for two years, and has
initiated, among others, the establishment of an
American Center for Polish Culture in
Washington,
D.C.
She has been awarded many titles and honors including the Ellis
Island Medal of Honor in 1995, and, in 1998, she became the
Honorary Consul of the
Republic of
Poland in Florida.
Most recently, she was instrumental in holding a symposium on
stem-cell research at the
University of Miami.
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