Polish History Museum polski

Jan Karski Year Declared by the Polish Parliament

Polish Parliament Polish Parliament

December 6, 2013, Warsaw – Today, the Parliament of the Republic of Poland (Sejm) unanimously declared 2014 to be the Year of Jan Karski. Efforts to push for this resolution were enthusiastically supported by Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski and strongly advocated by Fundacja Edukacyjna Jana Karskiego (FEJK), the Jan Karski Educational Foundation’s sister organization in Warsaw. During the plenary discussion, members of the Polish Parliament stressed the importance of the worldwide promotion of Karski’s legacy and the values he represents. This decision represents a major achievement for the foundations and sets the stage for a busy 2014, the Centennial of Karski's birth. 

The President of the Republic of Poland, his Excellency Bronisław Komorowski, has assumed the honorary patronage over the celebrations of Jan Karski Year organized by Fundacja Edukacyjna Jana Karskiego.

The Year of Jan Karski will emphasize the special character of next year’s centennial celebration of Karski’s birth. (Karski was born on April 24, 1914 in Lodz.) The Jan Karski Educational Foundation and Fundacja Edukacyjna Jana Karskiego are organizing, co-organizing and actively participating in numerous initiatives connected with this celebration. 

 One of the most important projects for the Year of Jan Karski is a series of international conferences, at Georgetown University, Washington, DC in April; Loyola University, Chicago, IL in September; and in Warsaw in November. These conferences will focus on the historical consequences of Karski’s mission and its contemporary relevance in the context of “Responsibility to Protect,” the United Nations doctrine defining the responsibilities of individuals, organizations and states to protect civilians during times of war and to intervene when ethnic cleansing occurs. These conferences will be organized in collaboration with the Polish History Museum in Warsaw, the Polish Foreign Ministry and the respective universities. 

Jan Karski Year will include several other notable projects and milestones including: 

  • New editions of Karski’s life work, The Great Powers and Poland 1918-45 (originally published 1985) by Rowman and Littlefield in English (in January) and by Wydawnictwo Poznańskie Publishers in Polish (in the spring);
  • The issuance of the Jan Karski coin in Polish currency by the National Bank of Poland;
  • The launch of the Jan Karski Scholarship Program by the foundations;
  • The launch of the “Responsibly to Protect in Theory and Practice of Diplomacy” project for young diplomats from Poland, the Czech Republic, Sweden and Germany, organized by FEJK in collaboration with the Polish Institute for Diplomacy;
  • Karski Days organized by the Polish History Museum in several Polish towns in partnership with Fundacja Edukacyjna Jana Karskiego.