Andrzej Rojek, Chairman of the Jan Karski Educational Foundation's Board speaking at the opening of the Karski exhibition at St. Louis University (Photo: Kegan Phillips)
St. Louis, MO – The opening of the widely admired and sought-after exhibition The World Knew: Jan Karski’s Mission for Humanity at St. Louis University on September 24, 2015 inaugurated Jan Karski Days in Saint Louis, which will run until November 15 and will include an opening of the same exhibition at Lindenwood University and two seminars devoted to Karski.
The opening event was attended by Robert Ogrodnik, Honorary Consul of the Republic of Poland in St. Louis, Andrzej Rojek, Chairman of the Board of the Jan Karski Educational Foundation; John Kurowski, Founder and Managing Attorney, at Kurowski Shultz, LLC, and Visiting Professor of Law at the Nicolaus Copernicus; Daniel A. Reich, Curator and Director of Education at the Holocaust Museum and Learning Center in St. Louis; Ewa Dyk, Vice-President of St. Louis Polonia Inc.; as well as notable representatives of St. Louis University and local Polish-American community.
The opening at St. Louis University started with the reading of a letter from Consul General of Republic of Poland in Chicago, Paulina Kapuścińska, who observed that “Jan Karski was not an ordinary man. He carried with him a certain sense of noble consideration for others. He was a good listener, he understood people and trusted them.” She also remarked that “Today, the spirit of Jan Karski's belief in humanity lives on – also in this exhibit. It teaches about the values that are universal and ascribed to all people, yet sometimes falter because of fear, hesitation or a wish to remain anonymous. Let us carry Jan Karski's message and ethos in order to build responsibility, integrity and a sense of civic duty.”
John Kurowski spoke at length about Jan Karski, his life and legacy and Andrzej Rojek talked about the mission of Jan Karski Educational Foundation and presented main features and objectives of the exhibit. The opening was concluded with a light refreshment reception offered by Saint Louis Polonia Inc., during which participants and audience had an opportunity to exchange their comments about the exhibit.
On October 1, the SLU Law School hosted a seminar devoted to Jan Karski with notable speakers: Slawomir Grunberg, a film maker, who spoke about his newly released documentary “Karski and the Lords of the Humanity” and Andrew Nagorski, a renowned author and journalist, and a former foreign correspondent and editor for Newsweek, who interviewed Karski twice in his career and who shared his impressions of this righteous and humble man.
The event was organized in collaboration with the St. Louis Polonia Inc., the Holocaust Museum and Learning Center in St. Louis, Missouri, St. Louis University, and the Consulate of the Republic of Poland in St. Louis. The Karski exhibit will be on display at St. Louis University until the end of October.
The tour of The World Knew: Jan Karski's Mission for Humanity traveling exhibition is organized by the Jan Karski Educational Foundation. The exhibition was created by the Polish History Museum with a major support from the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Additional funding was provided by the National Endowment for Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this exhibition publication do not necessarily reflect those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
