Wlodzimierz Ledóchowski, S.J. (1866 - 1942)

Let us introduce another Pole in the interesting history of Jospeh Retinger's life. General Wlodzmierz Ledóchowski, General of the Society of Jesus, the Jesuits. 

In the earlier quoted letter from Ms. Taverne to Dr. Ian Paisley's magazine "The Revivalist" a close contact from Joseph Retinger with father Ledóchowski is assumed. Without any doubt those great Poles must have known about each other and possibly they even knew each other personally.  Also without any doubt father Lédochowski will definitely have played his role as a mediator in World War I and it is very well possible that Retinger was a liaison. 

Apart from Ms. Taverne's letter I did nof find any connection yet between the General and Joseph Retinger, but it is safe to assume there was one. Both being Polish from the same region, both being involved in affairs with world wide magnitude, both operating in the same time frame.

Poland (966 - 1922)

Poland as we know it today has a long and rich history with ups and downs like any other country in the world. Thinking of Poland two things come up in my mind. The first one is connected to the role Poland had in the falling apart of the Soviet Union. The second one has to do with the strange role of the country during World War II, being used by the Germans as the base for their "Endlösung", the final solution.  Having seen, years ago, Alan J. Pakula's dramatic movie Sophie's choice, I cannot help to think that "the final solution" initially might have been a Polish solution and that therefore it might not be totally coincidental that Poland played such an import role in "the final solution". 

The borders of Poland as it is today were more or less established about 1000 years ago. The baptizing of Miezco I in 966 is seen as the start of Poland. Miezco's wars might have been inspired by greed but his religion is the message he wanted to broadcast: he christianized Poland. Before he died he gifted the state to the Pope and in return Rome gave Papal protection as described in the "Dagome Iudex" and reserved the rights for reigning Poland to Miezco's second wife and sons. Nevertheless, it was the son born out of the first marriage, Boleslaw I, who kept Poland together by expelling Miesco's second wife and sons, and, after some wars Boleslaw I became the first king of Poland short before he died in 1025.

Boleslaw's son, Miezco II, was king for 9 years and had troubles keeping the country together. He died in 1034 under suspicious circumstances. From 1037 till 1058 the country was unified again and stable under king Casimir I.

Casimir's son, Boleslaw II, crowned himself king in 1076 after having reigned Poland as a Duke for 18 years. But due to conflicts with Polish landlords he had to abdicate and to hand over power to his brother Wladyslaw I Herman in 1079. Wladyslaw abdicted to his two sons, Zbigniew and Boleslaw III in 1102. Boleslaw reunited the country and effectively got rid of his brother in 1107. He defended Poland with success against the Holy Roman Empire (remember: they lost power with Boleslaw I when he kicked out the second wife of his father). Before his death, Boleslaw III split the country into 5 principalities (Silezia, Greater Poland, Mazovia, Sandomir and Kraków) to be devided under his 4 sons. The oldest, Wladislaw II, got 2 principalities and the power to represent the whole of Poland.

Wladislaw II wants to be sole reigner and seeks the help of the Church. But as a division of Poland would get the Church into a stronger position, this is the beginning of the fragmentation of Poland. And although the Duke of Kraków in theory had the power to reign, Poland was no longer a solid political entity in the 13th century.

In 1241 the area suffered a Mongol invasion, after which a Germanization of important parts of formar Poland started. Crusades in other parts of Europe resulted in severe persecution of Jews but in Poland they were protected by law, even against the common  slander, through the whole of Europe, that they were committing ritual murders.

Rich Germans living in the towns of formar Poland increased their power and influence. With their help Leszek II got the power over Kraków from 1278 till 1288 and after him Henryk IV from 1289 till 1290. The Polonization, the wish to make Poland Polish again, was a reaction on this.

Thanks to heritance, secret agreements and help of the Church, between 1278 and 1295, Przemysl II was crowned king over Poland in 1295 by the Archbishop of Gniezno. Poland was reunited again and under the control of Rome. Although one year later the king was kidnapped and killed by other people under direct control of Rome, the Electors of Brandenburg, the kingdom Poland would exist for nearly 500 years.

As in 1492 Jews were expelled from Spain and subsequently from other areas in Europe, Poland became a safe haven for many of them. By the midth of the 16th century about 80 % of the world population of Jews were claimed to have lived in Poland, making it the center of the Jewish world, creating their own Jewish culture in Poland, permitted to have their own leader and their own no-go areas for Christians, allowed to raise their own taxes of which 70% had to be paid to the official government for protection, and living in prosperity next to the original Polish citizens.

In 1648 the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (started in 1410) was falling apart, partly as the consequence of the Khmelnytsky uprising. Khmelnytsky, a Jesuit from Ukrainian origin, lead the military operation that was the result of many things, some of them being the envy against the Polish-Jewish welfare and the stimulated feeling of being exploited.

When the Swedish invasion, known as "The Deluge" began in 1655, Poland's golden age ended and the country slowly degraded into anarchy giving eventually space to a partition of the old Commonwealth between Prussia, Russia and Habsburg Austria. The partitions found place in 1772, 1793 and 1795.

After this, the Poles every now and then tried to get back into control and to regain their independance. They were counting on Napolean who recreated a Polish state in 1807 but when Napoleon lost his battle at Waterloo in 1815, their hope vanished again and Poland was split up another time. Europe was redesigned during the Congress of Vienna and Poland came under the control of Russia and Prussia, while later the Austrian controlled Galicia became the centre of Polish cultural life.

In this timeframe we meet Joseph Conrad,  Count Wladyslaw Zamoyski, the young Jospeh Retinger and the spirit to live one day again in a free and independent Poland which eventually was established in 1922, after World War I as the second Polish Republic.

Intermezzo

From a chess point of view I might already have been using too much intermezzos, in music this would be my first one. Maybe a better word would have been recapitulation.

I started with the olympic games having the intention to demonstrate that the true power of the USA is in marketing. Marketing only the results makes people forget about the true position, being a lot less interesting than the number of medals.

To cover myself for the things I was going to put on this blog I had a chat about freedom of speech, information and the search for information. But the real goal I had was to reveal a different view on the Russian-Georgian war. Involving some historical facts, putting a different light on them, I tried to make my point: the USA is cheating and is preparing a new cold war to distract attention from their real problems.

With the example of 9/11 I try to create more doubt about the US intentions but with a combination of names I involve conspiracy theories that might even lead to the Netherlands as the center of all evil. The Bilderberg Group is introduced.

Then I start my search to the founders and motives of the Bilderberg group and find an interesting man that I want to know more about: Joseph Retinger. Through Retinger I am tempted again to have a look at a conspiracy theory related to the Jesuits and the search for Retinger makes me aware of the past of Europe.

To continue from the point where I am now, I need to know more about Poland and I do not know what tracks will show up that I have to follow before I move with Retinger to Spain. 

And at the same time I am filling this Blog, the world is suffering a financial crisis that might bring us back to Retinger's younger years. Can I resist the temptation involving this crisis in my posts?

Conspiracy theories (2)

Was Joseph Retinger used in a Jesuit conspiracy to achieve their goals or were Jesuits used by Joseph Retinger to achieve his goals? Might it have been a win-win situation?

To those who might conclude from my earlier posts that I am going to find proof about a Jesuit manipulation towards a new world order, I have to say that they should go and look somewhere else.

True, I have copied and pasted from and even linked to some conspiracy thinkers, but only with the objective to find out the influences that have been working on Joseph Retinger. I am trying to find the motivation for his acts, I am trying to find out what made Joseph Retinger the man who can be held responsible for a European Union and a Bilderberg Group. I do not believe in the creation of a new world order as his objective, although the consequences of his work might be leading to it.  

I am not going to hold a group of 20.000 people responsible for the creation of a new world order using Retinger as one of their instruments. The Jesuits might have the goal to conquer the world, it would even be senseless to deny it. They have always been very open about their mission:  to bring the message of Jesus to all the people of this world. The Jesuits are known for their intelligence and you probably will never win a discussion with one of them. Their goal is their power, they will convince you about their truth. I have known quite some people who were educated by Jesuits, Belgium is full of them. And it is true that many people that were educated by Jesuits achieve higher positions in life than others. But like in sports, well trained people will achieve better results. 

It might be a nice game to link the Jesuits to the Jews, Freemasons, Rotary, Lions and Bilderberg Group and without any doubt you will find a lot of links. Using these links as proof for a conspiracy would not only be not fair, it would be an insult to many great and well intending people who really have tried to make this world a better one.

And this does not mean that all members of forementioned organizations are good and well intending people, nor does it mean that Joseph Retinger was not part of some conspiracy or that Jesuits are not involved in any conspiracy.

Wladyslaw Zamoyski (1853-1924)

Wladyslaw Zamoyski was the "godfather" of Joseph Retinger. Wladyslaw Zamoyski was of noble origin and was a spokesman for property owners in Greater Poland. He was not only a devoted patriot but also a very devout catholic. 

His protegee Retinger wrote about him: 

"If ever there was a saint on earth Zamoyski was one. Ascetic to the point of sleeping on bare boards until his death at the age of sixty-six, he never spent an unnecessary penny on himself, at the same time distributing his whole enormous revenues anonymously - sometimes through me as an intermediary - for charitable ends. When Poland was reborn he offered his whole fortune to public institutions; hundreds of thousands of acres of land, factories, palaces, fabulous collections of art, a famed library, reserving for himself until he died just one room... Fanatically self-sacrificing, he never married, because he dedicated his life to the purpose he cared for; the service of his country and his religion."

And he also wrote:

"One of the most handsome men of his generation,' he continues, 'he was so strong that I once saw him stop a carriage drawn by four horses by catching its wheel with his bare hands."

This makes clear a couple of things. Joseph Retinger was a great admirer of the man who protected him after the death of his father. He exagerated as the child he must have been when his father died by giving Zamoyski super power.  Another thing that becomes clear is that Zamoyski was a self-sacrificing and deep religious man who never married.

Some things will have to be verified. The rebirth of Poland and the charitable goals that made him give away everything but one room. Also it is not clear to me when and where Retinger made his statements about Zamoyski. And what about Zamoyski's death at 66? Didn't he die at the age of 70? I have the feeling that earlier mentioned quotes cannot be trusted.

What is clear to me is how Retinger almost certainly must have been under the influence of devout catholics from the moment of his birth. Maybe it were Jesuits, but I have a reason tho believe it were Franciscans. It looks to me like he was a chosen person. Chosen to play his role in the liberation of "Greater" Poland. 

Servant leadership

How to describe the power of Joseph Retinger? Simply put it can be described as servant leadership.

What is servant leadership? Let's have a look in Wikipedia:

"Servant-leadership emphasizes the leader's role as steward of the resources (human, financial and otherwise) provided by the organization . It encourages leaders to serve others while staying focused on achieving results in line with the organization's values and integrity."

Leaders that serve others while staying focused on achieving results.....

Okay, Retinger was clearly focused on a result and I am sure that when he died in 1960 he knew that the work was not done. But being a serving leader he must have known that others were going to continue where he had to stop.

I did not invent Servant Leadership, Robert Greenleaf seems to have invented it. In 1958. But he was honest and said that he got the idea based on a work from Hermann Hesse: Journey to the East, published in 1932.

Actually, I believe that servant leadership is the type of leadership Ignatius had in mind. Is it a coincidence that searching with Google for the combination of jezuits and servant leadership gives about 9.500 hits? And how about this link to a dutch Jesuit website: 23 Jesuit scholars discussing about servant leadership. And, translated back from dutch to english, the quotes from their General Adolfo Nicolàs (the black pope) during that meeting: “ Good leadership is in the love for being a servant" and "When Jezuits succeed in good cooperation, succes always is guaranteed". Adolfo Nicolás is a new general. The previous general was dutch. Are we really that powerful?

Joseph Retinger definitely was a brilliant student and as a devout catholic he could not have said it better. But he did better: he served and lead the world into a new era: Europe was born.

His mission did not stop with the birth of Europe. The Bilderberg reunion was organised to find a way to change the negative image that was rising in Europe on the USA.

I am puzzled again. Retinger was a Polish Patriot. The freedom of his country was prevalent and yet he goes further, significantly further. Might this have been caused by the bond between Poland and the Soviet Union?

The power of the word

A picture is worth a thousand words. A well chosen symbol can be used to summarise a culture. Our western world has chosen the cross to symbolise its culture. We find it in many flags, we find it in many organisations. The cross can be seen as a symbol for the four elements or as a symbol for the meeting of the devine with the world but is mostly known as a symbol for christianity. A Roman device for torturing people became the symbol for religions based on the life of Jesus.

According to the Bible, the symbol of the cross itself was not powerful enough, not even with the body of Jesus hanging on it. In John 19:19 /19:22 is explained how Pilatus added the words: "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews" to the symbol. Some of the Jewish high priests did not agree and wanted him to change the words but Pilatus ended the discussion with:"What I have written, I have written". According to the story it was written in Hebrew, Latin and Greek.

Many think that the abbreviation INRI was put on the cross, but John's story makes clear that it was the intention to be read by the people. But were the people from Jerusalem so well educated? There were Roman soldiers, but what were Greeks doing there? Anyway, INRI was never put on the cross.

It is not even sure that John was right. Matthew says it was: "This is Jesus, the King of the Jews", Luke claims it was: "This is the King of the Jews" and Mark wants us to believe it simply was "King of the Jews". Were things lost in translation?

Nevertheless, many of us know the cross with the abbreviation INRI and believe it was put there by the Romans.

The game with abbreviations is a game we all like to play. Many false abbreviations are known and became truth afterwards. SABENA was "Such A Bad Experience, Never Again!" and indeed, never again. IBM became "I Blame Microsoft", and so on.

I don't know who started with abbreviations, I don't know when they became fashion, I don't know who started with the abbreviation INRI. But somewhere somehow someone decided to make it part of the symbol. And someone somehow gave it another meaning:

It was (according to John): Iesvs Nazarenvs Rex Ivdaeorvm or Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaerorum (the latin version only?)

It became (according to others): Ivstvm Necar Reges Impivs or Iustum Necar Reges Impius.

From the statement "King of the Jews" to a justification for wars: "It is right to destroy those who do not respect". In combination with the cross this means clearly that it is right to destroy those who do not respect the cross but it is the believe of many preachers that it is right to destroy those who are thinking different. This message is also very clear in the Bhagavad Gita, standard work for Hindus and looking for it, I am sure that I will find it in the Torah, the Bible and the Koran too.

By the way, "Iustum Necar Reges Impius" is believed to be part of the holy oath that Jesuits have to undersign with their own blood, taken above their hart with a dagger.

“Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop -- thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times what was sown.” -- Mark4:20

The power of the word and if you don't see it our way, we will use the sword. But as history learned, words might be shorter than swords but are significantly mightier: "The pen is mightier than the sword".

Oops, biblical stories to understand Joseph Retinger. Do I have to go back to the life of Ignatius (Iñigo Lopez de Loyola) to understand it all? One thing is sure, looking at their websites, Jesuits really love abbreviations.