Jan Karski

Jan Karski was a longtime Georgetown professor, a Polish resistance figure during World War II, and a prominent witness to the Holocaust. Born in Poland, Karski first came to the US as a courier for the Polish government in exile during WWII and, after a brief postwar stay in Venezuela, spent the rest of his life in Washington, DC. He taught at Georgetown from 1952-1994 and died in 2000.

Early life and WWII

Karski was born in Poland in 1914 as Jan Kozielewski1, later adopting "Jan Karski" as a nom de guerre during World War II. He initially joined the Polish diplomatic corps, but enlisted in the Polish military as WWII approached2. His unit, initially stationed in western Poland, was quickly forced to retreat east after the German invasion on September 1, 19393. Karski was captured by Soviet forces, who invaded eastern Poland on September 17, and joined the Polish underground after escaping4. While traveling through Slovakia as a courier in 1940, he was captured and tortured by the German Gestapo, but escaped with the help of fellow resistance fighters5. 

Karski's most important task yet in the Polish underground came in 1943 with his visits to London and Washington, DC. While he was preparing for these visits in 1942, a pair of Jewish leaders from the Warsaw Ghetto approached Karski, relaying information about Nazi atrocities and asking him to observe the Warsaw Ghetto firsthand6.

Karski agreed, disguising himself as a Jew and sneaking into the ghetto with Leon Feiner7. As the two proceeded, Feiner repeatedly told Karski "Remember this" as they observed the horrific atrocities of the ghetto8. Among other horrors, Karski witnessed murders committed by Hitler Youth members9. After his visit to the Warsaw Ghetto, Karski agreed to visit the Belzec death camp, though he was instead taken to the Izbica concentration camp10. Disguised as a guard, Karski saw the Nazis cram an estimated thousands of people into boxcars and fire indiscriminately into the crowds about to enter the cars11. The usually composed Karski had a visceral emotional response, which led his escort to end the visit to the camp out of fear that Karski might expose them12. 

In February 1943, Karski met with British Foreign Minister and future Prime Minister Anthony Eden in London, later recalling that Eden insisted Britain had already accepted enough refugees13. Karski went on to Washington, DC, where he met with President Franklin D. Roosevelt and informed him of the plight of Poland's Jews14. However, contrary to some reports, Karski stated that he did not inform Roosevelt of his personal visits to the Warsaw Ghetto15. Karski met with other prominent American leaders before and after his meeting with Roosevelt. Justice Felix Frankfurter, to the shock of Polish ambassador Jan Ciechanowski, expressed disbelief upon hearing Karski's account16. While Karski apparently believed his mission failed, John Pehle, the first director of the War Refugee Board, argued that the meeting with Roosevelt led the president to establish the board in January 194417. 

The Story of a Secret State

Karski continued to publicize the Polish underground movement. Though he had hoped to develop a film about the Polish underground, he struggled to find backing and decided to publish a book instead18. Due to security concerns, Karski fictionalized and dramatized many details of his story19.

Karski embarked on a series of lectures to publicize his book before and after its release. During a brief tour in Canada, Karski stayed with the family of future National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski20. Brzezinski, a child at the time, later recalled Karski's description of the Holocaust as a deeply memorable and disturbing moment21.

"The Story of a Secret State" was released on November 28, 194422. The book received largely positive reviews and widespread publicity, garnering strong sales and over $100,000 in royalties23. Karski conducted a monthslong book tour throughout the US immediately after the book's publication24. However, a negative 1945 review in Soviet Russia Today, which according to Karski's biography "denounced [him] as an aristocrat with inadequate feeling for the working man", diminished Karski's lecture invites25 and led him to look for new opportunities.

Postwar

Karski moved to Venezuela in 1946, where he served on a factory's board of directors26. However, his time in the country was brief, as he returned to the US in 1948 when the Venezuelan military overthrew President Romulo Betancourt27.

Karski's career prospects at the time seemed unpromising, as Poland was ruled by a communist government and Karski's Polish nationality would therefore prevent him from advancing in the State Department28. A potential staff position at the UN fell through because Karski, who had to receive a formal nomination from the Polish government, refused to thank the Polish ambassador as a condition of the offer29.

Ultimately, Karski met with Fr. Edmund A. Walsh, S.J., about a teaching position at Georgetown. Walsh and Karski shared a strong Catholic faith and staunch opposition to communism, but Walsh requested that Karski first receive his doctorate at Georgetown and provided him with substantial financial aid30. While still a doctoral student, Karski helped organize a lecture series featuring Alexander Kerensky, the head of Russia's 1917 provisional government that was overthrown by the Bolsheviks31. Karski received his PhD from Georgetown in 1952 and began teaching full-time at the university in the fall32. He became a US citizen in 195433. 

Georgetown

Karski was a staunch anticommunist and was openly critical of both communist governments and efforts to coexist with them. He lectured to the International Relations Club in 1949 about communist conspiracies and asserted the importance of promoting democracy34. In a 1961 lecture sponsored by the conservative group Young Americans for Freedom, Karski argued that the nature of communism would prevent any true coexistence35. Karski conducted two international speaking tours in Asia organized by the US government, first in 1955 and then from late 1966 to early 1967, which promoted American values and condemned communism36. 

Karski's courses focused on communism and Eastern Europe. He continued to analyze Polish affairs, writing a commentary on the Solidarity movement for The Hoya in 198137. In 1967, Karski taught an International Communism course in Georgetown's Free University, which offered no-credit courses38.

By all accounts, Karski was a remarkably popular professor and his courses were always in high demand. In an interview with The Hoya, Karski's former student Samuel Visner (SFS '76) recalled the professor as engaging and demanding, setting high expectations for his classes39.

In 1974, Karski received a Fulbright grant to write an extensive account of Poland's historic relations with its neighbors40. The culmination of this work, The Great Powers and Poland: 1919-1945, was published in 198541. 

Karski retired in 1984, though he continued to teach some courses42. He fully retired a decade later after teaching at Georgetown for over 40 years. 

Legacy

While Karski always downplayed his own wartime role, his courageous actions have left a profound legacy. Today, Karski is remembered not only as a dedicated professor, but as an important witness to the Holocaust.

Karski seldom spoke of his wartime experience in the postwar years. However, Karski agreed to a set of interviews with French filmmaker Claude Lanzmann in 1978 after some initial resistance43. Released in 1985, Lanzmann's 9-hour documentary "Shoah" featured about 40 minutes of Lanzmann's interviews with Karski, focused on his experience in the Warsaw Ghetto44. At a 1981 conference organized by Elie Wiesel, Karski spoke publicly about his wartime experiences for the first time in over 30 years, declaring that the Holocaust "will haunt humanity until the end of time"45.

In honor of his efforts to alert the world of the Holocaust, Karski was named one of the "righteous among nations" on his 1982 trip to Israel and planted a tree at the Yad Vashem memorial46. In 1984, the Israeli Embassy donated a 19th century Torah to Georgetown in recognition of Karski47. He received honorary Israeli citizenship in May 199448.

In August 1991, journalist E. Thomas Wood contacted Karski about writing a biography49. Though Karski initially denied Wood's request, he assented in 1992 after Wood conducted intensive research50. The biography, Karski: How One Man Tried to Stop the Holocaust, was published in 1994.

President Barack Obama posthumously awarded Karski the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the US's highest civilian honor, in 201251. Speaking at the Holocaust Museum, Obama noted that Karski "told the truth, all the way to President Roosevelt himself"52. 

The play Remember This: The Lesson of Jan Karski, a solo performance starring David Strathairn, commemorates Karski's life and resistance efforts53. First performed in its solo format in 2019 in Gaston Hall, the play returned to DC in 2021 after a pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic54. It has since run in other cities and received a positive review in The New York Times in September 202255.

At Georgetown, a statue near White-Gravenor commemorates Karski, depicting him sitting on a bench playing chess56. 

• 1Kaufman, Michael T. "Jan Karski Dies At 86; Warned West About Holocaust." The New York Times. 15 July 2000.
• 2Kaufman, Michael T. "Jan Karski Dies At 86; Warned West About Holocaust." The New York Times. 15 July 2000.
• 3Wood, E. Thomas and Stanislaw M. Jankowski. "Karski: How One Man Tried to Stop the Holocaust." New York, Wiley, 1994, p. 6-7.
• 4Kaufman, Michael T. "Jan Karski Dies At 86; Warned West About Holocaust." The New York Times. 15 July 2000.
• 5Kaufman, Michael T. "Jan Karski Dies At 86; Warned West About Holocaust." The New York Times. 15 July 2000.
• 6Kaufman, Michael T. "Jan Karski Dies At 86; Warned West About Holocaust." The New York Times. 15 July 2000.
• 7Wood, E. Thomas and Stanislaw M. Jankowski. "Karski: How One Man Tried to Stop the Holocaust." New York, Wiley, 1994, p. 121.
• 8Wood, E. Thomas and Stanislaw M. Jankowski. "Karski: How One Man Tried to Stop the Holocaust." New York, Wiley, 1994, p. 122.
• 9Wood, E. Thomas and Stanislaw M. Jankowski. "Karski: How One Man Tried to Stop the Holocaust." New York, Wiley, 1994, p. 123.
• 10Wood, E. Thomas and Stanislaw M. Jankowski. "Karski: How One Man Tried to Stop the Holocaust." New York, Wiley, 1994, p. 128-129.
• 11Wood, E. Thomas and Stanislaw M. Jankowski. "Karski: How One Man Tried to Stop the Holocaust." New York, Wiley, 1994, p. 126.
• 12Wood, E. Thomas and Stanislaw M. Jankowski. "Karski: How One Man Tried to Stop the Holocaust." New York, Wiley, 1994, p. 127.
• 13Kaufman, Michael T. "Jan Karski Dies At 86; Warned West About Holocaust." The New York Times. 15 July 2000.
• 14Kaufman, Michael T. "Jan Karski Dies At 86; Warned West About Holocaust." The New York Times. 15 July 2000.
• 15Wood, E. Thomas and Stanislaw M. Jankowski. "Karski: How One Man Tried to Stop the Holocaust." New York, Wiley, 1994, p. 200.
• 16Wood, E. Thomas and Stanislaw M. Jankowski. "Karski: How One Man Tried to Stop the Holocaust." New York, Wiley, 1994, p. 188-189.
• 17Wood, E. Thomas and Stanislaw M. Jankowski. "Karski: How One Man Tried to Stop the Holocaust." New York, Wiley, 1994, p. 201.
• 18Wood, E. Thomas and Stanislaw M. Jankowski. "Karski: How One Man Tried to Stop the Holocaust." New York, Wiley, 1994, p. 223-224.
• 19Wood, E. Thomas and Stanislaw M. Jankowski. "Karski: How One Man Tried to Stop the Holocaust." New York, Wiley, 1994, p. 227.
• 20Wood, E. Thomas and Stanislaw M. Jankowski. "Karski: How One Man Tried to Stop the Holocaust." New York, Wiley, 1994, p. 233.
• 21Wood, E. Thomas and Stanislaw M. Jankowski. "Karski: How One Man Tried to Stop the Holocaust." New York, Wiley, 1994, p. 233.
• 22Wood, E. Thomas and Stanislaw M. Jankowski. "Karski: How One Man Tried to Stop the Holocaust." New York, Wiley, 1994, p. 236.
• 23Wood, E. Thomas and Stanislaw M. Jankowski. "Karski: How One Man Tried to Stop the Holocaust." New York, Wiley, 1994, p. 236.
• 24Wood, E. Thomas and Stanislaw M. Jankowski. "Karski: How One Man Tried to Stop the Holocaust." New York, Wiley, 1994, p. 236.
• 25Wood, E. Thomas and Stanislaw M. Jankowski. "Karski: How One Man Tried to Stop the Holocaust." New York, Wiley, 1994, p. 239-240.
• 26Horan, Jim. "Karski Set to Retire After Thirty-Two Years." The Hoya. 13 April 1984.
• 27Horan, Jim. "Karski Set to Retire After Thirty-Two Years." The Hoya. 13 April 1984.
• 28Wood, E. Thomas and Stanislaw M. Jankowski. "Karski: How One Man Tried to Stop the Holocaust." New York, Wiley, 1994, p. 244.
• 29Wood, E. Thomas and Stanislaw M. Jankowski. "Karski: How One Man Tried to Stop the Holocaust." New York, Wiley, 1994, p. 244.
• 30Curry, Andrew and Clay Risen. "Testimony Unheard, Life Unsung: The Tale of Georgetown's Jan Karski." The Hoya. 24 February 1998.
• 31"Ex-Russian, Premier Kerensky To Address Grad Students." The Hoya. 21 February 1950.
• 32Horan, Jim. "Karski Set to Retire After Thirty-Two Years." The Hoya. 13 April 1984.
• 33Curry, Andrew and Clay Risen. "Testimony Unheard, Life Unsung: The Tale of Georgetown's Jan Karski." The Hoya. 24 February 1998.
• 34"Author Discusses Worldwide Red Plotting at IRC Meeting." The Hoya. 16 March 1949.
• 35Wiseman, Jim. "Communist Motives Outlined In Speech By Dr. Jan Karski." The Hoya. 4 May 1961.
• 36Wood, E. Thomas and Stanislaw M. Jankowski. "Karski: How One Man Tried to Stop the Holocaust." New York, Wiley, 1994, p. 248-249.
• 37Karski, Jan. "A Prognosis For The Problems In Poland." The Hoya. 24 April 1981.
• 38"700 Students Sign Up For' Free U.' Courses." The Hoya. 26 October 1967.
• 39Curry, Andrew and Clay Risen. "Testimony Unheard, Life Unsung: The Tale of Georgetown's Jan Karski." The Hoya. 24 February 1998.
• 40Wood, E. Thomas and Stanislaw M. Jankowski. "Karski: How One Man Tried to Stop the Holocaust." New York, Wiley, 1994, p. 252.
• 41Wood, E. Thomas and Stanislaw M. Jankowski. "Karski: How One Man Tried to Stop the Holocaust." New York, Wiley, 1994, p. 252.
• 42Horan, Jim. "Karski Set to Retire After Thirty-Two Years." The Hoya. 13 April 1984.
• 43Wood, E. Thomas and Stanislaw M. Jankowski. "Karski: How One Man Tried to Stop the Holocaust." New York, Wiley, 1994, p. 253.
• 44Wood, E. Thomas and Stanislaw M. Jankowski. "Karski: How One Man Tried to Stop the Holocaust." New York, Wiley, 1994, p. 254.
• 45Wood, E. Thomas and Stanislaw M. Jankowski. "Karski: How One Man Tried to Stop the Holocaust." New York, Wiley, 1994, p. 256.
• 46Wood, E. Thomas and Stanislaw M. Jankowski. "Karski: How One Man Tried to Stop the Holocaust." New York, Wiley, 1994, p. 256.
• 47Maier, Diana. "At Georgetown, WW II Hero Tells His Story." The Hoya. 6 March 1990.
• 48Curry, Andrew and Clay Risen. "Testimony Unheard, Life Unsung: The Tale of Georgetown's Jan Karski." The Hoya. 24 February 1998.
• 49Curry, Andrew and Clay Risen. "Testimony Unheard, Life Unsung: The Tale of Georgetown's Jan Karski." The Hoya. 24 February 1998.
• 50Curry, Andrew and Clay Risen. "Testimony Unheard, Life Unsung: The Tale of Georgetown's Jan Karski." The Hoya. 24 February 1998.
• 51Kaplan, Sarah. "Georgetown Professor Awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom." The Hoya. 23 April 2012
• 52Obama White House - National Archives and Records Administration, President Obama Announces Jan Karski as a Recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2012/04/23/president-obama-announces-jan-karski-recipient-presidential-medal-freedo.
• 53Smith, Abby. "Remember This: The Lesson of Jan Karski highlights the role of theatre in social change." The Georgetown Voice. 18 October 2022.
• 54Smith, Abby. "Remember This: The Lesson of Jan Karski highlights the role of theatre in social change." The Georgetown Voice. 18 October 2022.
• 55Soloski, Alexis. "'Remember This' Review: Finding Strength Amid Moral Failure." The New York Times. 18 September 2022.
• 56Mattrin, Emily. "Statue Honors Jan Karski." The Hoya. 17 September 2002.