Lindenwood University, Spellman Center Lobby (Photo: www.lindenwood.edu)
St. Charles, MO – on November 12, Lindenwood University hosted an inspiring event in connection with the opening of the exhibition The World Knew – Jan Karski’s Mission for Humanity, attended by many important guests, faculty members and students. Andrzej Rojek, Chairman of the Board of the Jan Karski Educational Foundation, commenced the evening by presenting the Foundation’s history, mission and programs. It was followed by an excellent and enlightening presentation by Thomas Wood, author of Karski’s biography Karski: How One Man Tried to Stop the Holocaust, who summarized the major events in Karski’s life and his accomplishments. Mr. Wood provided his personal insight into understanding Jan Karski’s character and personality, based on his extensive interviews with Karski.
These presentations were followed by a panel discussion with Andrzej Rojek, Thomas Wood and several other panelists, including 85-year-old Jerry Koenig, a Holocaust survivor, who described the horror of the Warsaw Ghetto, where he lived as a teenager, just as Karski had reported. After living in the desperate conditions of the ghetto for over a year, he and his family made a harrowing escape by paying bribes to various people. His family owned 60 acres of land in rural Poland, which they turned over to some Polish farmers. Mr. Koenig and his family of four, along seven other Jews were hidden on the property, in a narrow underground structure under a barn, for two years until the end of the war. Some students in the audience were in tears following his account.
Also on the panel was Dr. Anika Walke, a historian of the Holocaust, born and raised in Germany, whose doctoral research at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC focused on the Jewish survivors’ experiences immediately before, during, and after the War. She commented on how we need to think about Karski’s report in light of other genocides that happen in the world, such as Rwanda, the former Yugoslavia, Cambodia, and Darfur. She noted that Karski was a heroic figure who publicized the Holocaust as well as he could, but the fact that nothing was done reflects the difficulties of decision making when a state needs to intervene to protect victims of a genocide.
Dr. Donald Heidenreich, a historian, political scientist, international relations scholar and a Lindenwood faculty member also participated in the panel discussion. Dr. Heidenreich was trained as an intelligence officer in the US Army and specializes in military history. He talked about his deep and abiding interest in the Holocaust and genocide, in what causes them and how they might be stopped or prevented. He noted that after Karski’s reports and the confirmation from other intelligence from Europe, the Roosevelt administration debated plans to bomb the rail lines to concentration camps in Nazi occupied Poland, including Auschwitz. However, they decided against these strategies.
All those fascinating stories and comments incited a lively discussion and full participation of the audience.
Dr. Raymond Scupin, Director of the Center for International and Global Studies Anthropology and Sociology at Lindenwood University contributed to this report.
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.
