When:
From May 26, 2015 until December 31, 2015
Where:
Consulate General of the Republic of Poland
233 Madison Avenue
(Jan Karski Corner)
New York, NY 10016
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 thebench at 233 Madison Ave and 37 St. (Jan Karski Corner) in New York and post it on social networkswith 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.
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 totheir 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 notbelieve 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 thePoles, 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
Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in New York