Poznan

Woodrow Wilson

Former US president Woodrow Wilson can be found fittingly in the park bearing his name (Park Wilsona). Though it may seem an unexpected honour, put simply, few outsiders did more than Wilson to ensure Poland’s existence and independence after WWI. The Poles were so grateful that upon his sudden passing a competition to sculpt his likeness was undertaken and won by John Gutzon de la Mothe Borglum, who at the same time was famously profaning the Black Hills of South Dakota with the profiles of four other former American presidents (now known as Mount Rushmore National Monument). Erected in the presence of Wilson's widow in 1931, the original monument was soon toppled by the Nazis, and after the war the communist authorities were quick to rename the park after Marcin Kasprzak. The fall of communism reversed the renaming and an original design proposal by Polish sculptress Zofia Trzcińska-Kamińska was uncovered and executed by Jerzy Petruk, whose work has stood in the park since 1994.

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28.05.2013
J Burdic

There is a video of the making of the original statue. a search for criticalpast video woodrow wilson borglum should find it. Borglum is shown in the video.
13.11.2012
Editor IYP

Thanks for the comment, Eric. Right you are, and as a result we've updated the text to explain the more complex origin of the Wilson monument visitors see today. Thanks for your vigilant readership.
02.11.2012
Eric Stott

That is not an "identical replica" at all. The original monument was a full length bronze statue of Wilson in front of an inscribed wall. This rather brutal bust has no resemblance to it.
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