In the midst of World War II, Jan Karski was dispatched by the Polish Underground to inform the West about the situation in Poland, including the atrocities being committed by the German Nazis – the ongoing slaughter of the entire Jewish population – and to seek their intervention. Karski’s courageous mission against all odds in the darkest of hours qualifies him as Humanity’s Hero. His testimony, delivered much later that set the record straight about what the world did know about the Holocaust when there was still time to act, qualifies him as a great educator, a voice of conscience.
The purpose of the Jan Karski US Centennial Campaign is to shine the spotlight on this great man and to propagate the Karski legacy with international educational activities, public events and artistic performances, leading up to the centennial year of his birth in 2014. The culmination of this campaign will be having the Presidential Medal of Freedom – America’s highest civilian honor – awarded posthumously to Professor Karski.
See the list of Congressional Representatives and Senators who signed a letter in support of Jan Karski being awarded the Medal on our News/Activities page, http://jankarski.net/1/619/News/Activities.html.
*As the Presidential Medal of Honor nomination is currently being reviewed by President Obama, please call the White House at 202.456.1111 and leave a message for the President urging him to confer this honor on Jan Karski in 2012. Make your request brief, simply mentioning Karski's heroism in World War II and throughout his life. Attached is the Congressional letter which you may want to refer to: www.jankarski.net/pliki_user/File/Dear Colleague Letter.pdf
The Karski legacy campaign will continue as long as young and old need to learn about the horrors of the Holocaust, which occurred in war-torn, occupied Poland. This campaign will continue as long as people seek inspiration about how to act with courage when conditions are at their worst and how to become messengers for truth. Humanity’s Hero’s calls each of us to act on behalf of oppressed peoples everywhere.
