European studies blog

Exploring Europe at the British Library

18 July 2014

Jan Karski (1914–2000), a man of exceptional courage, high moral values and humanism

The Polish Parliament declared 2014 to be Jan Karski Year to celebrate the centenary of his birth. Born Jan Kozielewski in Łódź and raised in a Catholic family, he spent his early life in the parts of the city which had been populated by the Jews. He studied law and diplomacy at Lwów University and joined the Polish Foreign Service in 1935. He also completed a military training and achieved the rank of second lieutenant. At the outbreak of the Second World War Karski was imprisoned by the Soviets, but managed to escape the Katyn massacre by being handed over to the Germans during a prisoner exchange. Another lucky escape, from German hands, saved him from being imprisoned in a POW camp in the General Government.

Jan Karski

Photograph of Jan Karski from Righteous Among The Nations

He joined the Polish resistance movement soon after he had successfully reached Warsaw in November 1939 and became a courier for the Polish underground. His mission was to convey information on the situation in occupied Poland to the Polish Government in Exile, based first in France, and, after her surrender to the Germans, in London. He secretly crossed the German borders four times. During a mission in June 1940 Karski was arrested and tortured by the Gestapo, but with the help of the local resistance in Nowy Sącz (southern Poland) he made a narrow escape. He continued his underground activities until 1942. After secretly visiting the Warsaw Ghetto and a concentration camp Karski eventually had to leave Poland. He had been wanted by the Gestapo since his daring escape.  

In Britain, Karski reported on the Nazi atrocities and extermination of European Jews in German-occupied Poland to the Polish government officials and Allied leaders, also meeting with the British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden. He then travelled to America where he gave his testimony to President Roosevelt and spoke to other statesmen, politicians, journalists, diplomats and writers about what he had witnessed. However, his heroic efforts to awaken the moral conscience of the Western leaders to the horrendous plight of the Jews were to no avail. They had other priorities. This experience haunted him for the rest of his life.

He used a variety of false identities in the underground and applied for a visa to the United States in 1943 as Jan Karski. After the war he settled down in the States and became an American citizen under this name. His autobiographical book Story of a Secret State was first published in Boston in 1944 (8095.aaa.17) and was later translated into various languages and published all over Europe and republished in the United States.  

He kept silent about his war activities for over 30 years. He spoke publicly for the first time when he gave an interview for Lanzmann’s Shoah  in 1978.

A recently published illustrated biography, Jan Karski: photobiography (Warsaw, 2014; YF.2014.b.1532), is a fascinating chronicle of his life. It includes photos of Karski’s family, friends and himself alongside documents, notes, maps of his travels and quotes. Short narratives scattered throughout the book provide the historical background of the period.

Magda Szkuta, Curator Polish Studies

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