One of the panels in the Jan Karski exhibit
The Consul General of the Republic of Poland in Chicago, Paulina Kapuścińska and the President of the Polish American Congress – Wisconsin, Mark Pienkos, will unveiling an exhibit “The World Knew” about the life of Jan Karski. He was a diplomat, WWII Polish Underground State & resistance fighter and eye-witness to the German Nazi death camp atrocities who brought the reports of the Holocaust to the Free World as early as in 1942 asking them to take military action while there was still time to save hundreds of thousands of lives.
The unveiling will take place at 12:15 on Tuesday, Sept. 24 in the Wisconsin Capitol Rotunda.
Consul General of the Republic of Poland Paulina Kapuścińska and President of the Polish American Congress - Wisconsin Mark Pienkos will also hold a meeting with Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch to discuss prospects of future cooperation between the offices to honor the memory of Jan Karski in order to educate about the moral responsibility of individuals within society so that the terrible history never repeats itself.
The exhibit at the Capitol is sponsored in Wisconsin by the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Chicago and is being co-presented thanks to cooperation between the Wisconsin State Capitol and the Polish Consulate General in Chicago. The exhibit was made by the Polish History Museum in Warsaw and was made available by Poland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Jan Karski Educational Foundation.
This educational exhibit conveys a timeless civic message about people’s moral choices that even a single person’s actions can make a difference. “Through the words of Jan Karski, the WWII Underground Polish State implored the Western Allies to take military action to save Polish Jews – citizens of the Republic of Poland – who were being exterminated in German Nazi death camps in occupied Poland. The purpose of this educational exhibit is to teach about civic ideals of those humanity heroes who tried to stop the Holocaust. This exhibit also teaches about the moral responsibility of individuals within society so that the terrible history never repeats itself” – says Polish Consul General Paulina Kapuścińska.
The exhibit will be displayed for the week of September 23-26, 2013 and is located in the Rotunda of the Wisconsin State Capitol, 2 E Main Street, Madison, WI 53703.
During the meeting with Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor, Consul General will also discuss other cooperation prospects for the future. The State of Wisconsin has the largest proportion of Polish-Americans in the whole of the United States: almost 10 percent all Wisconsinites descend from Poland. In economical terms, forging connections with Poland can be conducive to American job creation and Polish tourism-generated growth in Wisconsin.
A democratic, successful country with a vibrant economy, nowadays Poland is a staunch ally of the United States. Polish heroes, like Thaddeus Kościuszko and Casimir Pułaski, fought for the American independence and ties between the two nations have been strong over the past two centuries with many Poles immigrating to the United States. Currently, Poland has supported the United States in the War on Terror sending troops to Iraq and Afghanistan. Jan Karski immigrated to the United States and became a professor at Georgetown University. He received numerous recognitions, including posthumously the United States Medal of Freedom by President Obama in 2011. This award is the highest civilian honor that can be bestowed upon an individual. Jan Karski died in 2000.
More at the Consulate’s website: www.chicago.mfa.gov.pl and this article specifically http://www.chicago.mfa.gov.pl/en/news/polish_consul_general_in_chicago_to_meet_wisconsin_lt__governor__open_capitol_exhibit_about_humanity_s_hero_jan_karski#.UkF5N6Ir5Nw.facebook
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