Tom Wood, Karski's biographer
Saint Mary's University in Halifax, Nova Scotia hosted a special evening to unveil The World Knew: Jan Karski's Mission for Humanity at the Patrick Power Library on campus on Thursday, May 8.
This festive, two-part event opened with a welcome by Saint Mary's associate Vice President for external affairs, Margaret Murphy, who introduced the Honorable Andrzej Szydlo, Consul General of the Republic of Poland in Montreal, and the Honorable Joel Lion, Consul General of Israel in Montreal. Both men spoke movingly about Karski as well as the strong friendship the two men enjoy.
After a program break in which guests were invited to view the exhibit and enjoy Polish food and beverages, Jan Karski Educational Foundation President Wanda Urbanska and Karski biographer Tom Wood spoke about the Karski legacy. Urbanska talked about the importance of the Polish Underground that Karski represented. In researching his book, Wood described his lengthy interviews with Karski, who smoked unfiltered Larks nonstop. "These sessions took years off my life," said Wood. "But it was worth it." A new centennial edition of Wood's 1994 biography, written with Stanislaw M. Jankowski, will be released in June.
Additional speakers included Professor Dorota Glowacka of King's College, who spoke about the role of messenger girls in the Polish Underground; John Soosaar, Honorary Consul General of Estonia in Halifax; and Dr. Bosko Loncarevic, a former Yugoslavian. Honorary Consul General of the Republic of Poland in Halifax Jan Skora and Saint Mary's Professor Fred Young moderated the panel.
