Jan Karski Exhibit On Display At University of Wisconsin
The Jan Karski Exhibit featuring humanity’s hero, Jan Karski, will be on display at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee Library from Thursday, August 28 through September 8, 2014.
Dr. Neal Pease, Professor of History, will be speaking at the official opening ceremony of the exhibit at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, September 3rd, 2014. Light Refreshments will be served.
The exhibit “The World Knew” is about the life of Jan Karski, a diplomat, WWII Polish Underground State & resistance fighter and eye-witness to the German Nazi death camp atrocities who brought the reports of the Holocaust to the Free World as early as in 1942 asking them to take military action while there was still time to save hundreds of thousands of lives.
For more information, contact Dr. Mark Pienkos, President, Polish American Congress – Wisconsin Division, 262-325-8039 or email: markpienkos2012@gmail.com
The exhibit is sponsored in Wisconsin by the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Chicago and is being co-presented thanks to cooperation between the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Library, the Polish Consulate General in Chicago, and the Polish American Congress – Wisconsin Division. The exhibit was made by the Polish History Museum in Warsaw and was made available by Poland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Jan Karski Educational Foundation.
This educational exhibit conveys a timeless civic message about people’s moral choices that even a single person’s actions can make a difference. “Through the words of Jan Karski, the WWII Underground Polish State implored the Western Allies to take military action to save Polish-Jews – citizens of the Republic of Poland – who were being exterminated in German Nazi death camps in occupied Poland. The purpose of this educational exhibit is to teach about civic ideals of those humanity heroes who tried to stop the Holocaust. This exhibit also teaches about the moral responsibility of individuals within society so that the terrible history never repeats itself” – says Polish Consul General Paulina Kapuścińska.
A democratic, successful country with a vibrant economy, nowadays Poland is a staunch ally of the United States. Polish heroes, like Thaddeus Kościuszko and Casimir Pułaski, fought for the American independence and ties between the two nations have been strong over the past two centuries with many Poles immigrating to the United States. Currently, Poland has supported the United States in the War on Terror sending troops to Iraq and Afghanistan. Jan Karski immigrated to the United States and became a professor at Georgetown University. He received numerous recognitions, including posthumously the United States Medal of Freedom by President Obama in 2012. This award is the highest civilian honor that can be bestowed upon an individual. Jan Karski died in 2000.