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Legacy of Jan Karski – “Remember This”

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The legacy of Jan Karski was honored here on June 17, 2024 at the Embassy of the Republic of Poland – Residence of the Ambassador, with an event cosponsored by the Embassy of Poland and the American Jewish Committee (AJC), with 150 guests in attendance. There was pertinent commentary from Ambassador Marek Magierowski and Jason Isaacson, Chief Policy and Political Affairs Officer of the AJC.

PHOTO: Poland’s Orders of Merit Awarded by Ambassador Marek Magierowski,  left, to Derek Goldman (Director), Clark Young (Co-Author), David Strathairn (Actor).

The pinnacle of the evening was the ceremony awarding distinguished artists Derek Goldman (Director), David Strathairn (Actor)) and Clark Young (Co-Author) with the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland for their contributions promoting the values that Jan Karski stood for with their collective work on the project “Remember This: The Lesson of Jan Karski,” an original play that was developed into the present globally acclaimed feature film “Remember This” in 2023.

The evening was also graced with an amazing Chopin recital performed by the acclaimed pianist Brian Ganz, an astute and dedicated interpreter of Frederick Chopin’s entire repertory, and a stunning showcase of Carol Harrisson’s varied and unique portraits of Jan Karski.

Jan Karski – “The Man Who Tried to Stop the Holocaust” – was born Jan Kozielewski in todz, Poland, 1914. He was a Polish World War II resistance fighter and diplomat who played a crucial, and extremely dangerous, role in informing the Western allies about the Holocaust. Karski served as a courier to the Western allies, 1940-1943, for the Polish underground, known as the Home Army/Armia Krajowa (AK). He risked his life three times to bear eye witness to the 1942-1943 Nazi German atrocities against the Polish Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto, and at the Nazi German Izbica transit camp, prior to the Jews being transported directly to their deaths, mainly at the Treblinka extermination camp. Karski again surreptiousy transited from German occupied Poland (since 1939) to England, where it was eventually arranged for him to personally meet and plead with key western leaders – including U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt – for allied intervention to stop the Holocaust… but to no avail.

In photo on right:  Ambassador Marek Magierowski is shown investing actor David Strathairn with the Knights Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland for his portrayal of Jan Karski in the Film “Remember This.” At far left is Monica Kaniewska, Embassy Chief of Protocol, who moderated the event.

After the WWIl (1939-1945), Jan Karski settled in the U.S., earned a PhD from Georgetown University, and became a tenured professor there for 40 years. He taught Eastern European affairs, comparative government, and international affairs. Karski was honored as being Righteous Among the Nations by Israel, and posthumously awarded America’s prestigious Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Photo: Last Portrait of Jan Karski taken at his home in 2000. The Portrait is by photographer Carol Harrisson.

Jan Karski died on July 13, 2000. He is interred here in Washington at Mt. Oliviet Cemetery, alongside his wife Pola Nirenska Karski, who preceded him in 1992. Karski will forever be remembered – and duly honored – for his courageous and heroic efforts to stop the Holocaust.

Text/Photos:
Richard P. Poremski
Polish American Journal
Washington, DC Bureau
June 17, 2024