Jan Karski, a former Georgetown government professor, who passed away last July, was honored for his time at Georgetown and for his role as a witness to the World War II concentration camps.
A discussion panel held Monday entitled “Jan Karski and Poland in the 21st Century” opened a week of events honoring the life of Karski and other former Georgetown faculty. Former National Security advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski, Polish Ambassador Przemyslaw Grudzinski and Professor Emeritus Karl H. Cerney spoke at the event.
Karski, born in 1914 in Poland, was a member of the Polish Army during World War II where he witnessed Nazi atrocities in concentration camps. In 1942 Karski was selected by the Polish government to go to London and America as an informant of Nazi activities.
After the war, Karski remained in America, where he went on to receive his doctorate from Georgetown and to teach for over 30 years. At the time of his death, Karski was a Professor Emeritus in the School of Foreign Service.
University President Leo J. O’Donovan , S.J. opened the event and said Karski’s courage, dignity, humanity and sense of moral duty should serve as an example to all.
“Remembering him we remember the atrocities that he witnessed, the injustice he fought, and we remember our responsibility for shaping a more peaceful and just human community,” O’Donovan said.
Grudzinski said he remembered Karski as a man who remained true to his beliefs.
“Morality was, for Jan Karski, the basis for everything he did his whole life,” Grudzinski said.
Grudzinski said Karski had an amazing comprehension for international issues and his work is still valued as a source of inspiration when approaching the issues of public policy.
Cerney, who met Karski in 1950 as a Georgetown professor, spoke on Karski’s role as a teacher and friend. Cerney said Karski was loved by students, in part because of his ability to add humor to his lectures by impersonating Communist leaders.
Cerney said Karski did not want to be remembered of for his contributions during World War II but rather for his role as a teacher and mentor.
“It was not just as a scholar that Jan gained our profound respect,” Cerney said. “He was indeed … a classical old word gentleman in the truest sense of the word.”
Brzezinski, who met Karski as a young man in Poland, said if one thing should be learned through Karski’s life it is that indifference is everywhere and people must take a stand in the face of evil like Karski did.
“He was first of all a patriot … He was secondly a hero of the Polish underground. He was also a symbolic Jew by choice. He was also a witness to something unforgettable. He was almost a martyr in a personal and intellectual sense. He was, as we have heard, a teacher. He was a diplomatic historian, and most of his life he was in exile and through much of his last years, in some respects, a voice in the wilderness.”
This week’s events also included an exhibition remembering European Catholic intellectuals at Georgetown, a panel on Poles and Jews in the 20th century, a Memorial Mass and a program entitled “World of Refugees Between Anguish and Hope to be held on Thursday in the ICC auditorium.
