Take A Picture With Jan Karski
- PostEagle
- June 2, 2015
- Uncategorized
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Promotional Campaign of the Jan Karski Bench in New York City.
The Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in New York invites you to participate in a promotion of the name of Jan Karski. Just take a picture on the bench at 233 Madison Ave and 37 St. (Jan Karski Corner) in New York and post it on social networks with the hashtag #Karski NYC. With such a small effort each of us can make keep his story alive. The first who did it was famous jazz musician Michal Urbaniak, who is currently touring in the U.S.
In photo: Jazz musician Michal Urbaniak sitting on the Jan Karski Bench.
Photo by: K. Kasperska
One can sit on a bench to relax, forget for a while about the fast pace of the city and reflect on the great Pole who, risking his life, told the world about the atrocities of the World War II.
Jan Karski was born in 1914 in Lodz, Poland, and died in Washington, D.C in 2000. He was a courier, political emissary and a witness to the Holocaust. He was able to visit the Warsaw ghetto and the camp from which the Germans were transporting Jews to their deaths. He took pictures and microfilms and become a living witness to the atrocities of war. He presented his reports to the leaders of England and the U.S., and asked them to help occupied Poland.
Karski gave his report to whom he could reach – politicians, bishops, representatives of the media, Hollywood’s film industry. Many people could not believe in the cruelty depicted in the report and were inclined to see it as propaganda of the Polish government-in-exile. In 1944 Karski wrote a book “Secret State”, which made a big impact in the United States. It was only then the Americans learned about the struggle and suffering of the Poles, the role of the underground state, as well as about the extermination of the Jews.
As long as he lived, Jan Karski reminded others about the horrors of war. Today, when he is gone, it has become our duty to keep his memory alive.
We invite everyone to participate in the campaign #KarskiNYC
The campaign started on May 26, 2015 and will run until December 31, 2015.
Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in New York
newyork.publicaffairs@msz.gov.pl
646-237-2114