Officials gathered Monday to kick off an exhibit on the legacy of Jan Karski, who during World War II alerted the United States and the Western Allies that the Nazis were perpetrating the Holocaust in German-occupied Poland.
State Treasurer Dan Rutherford and Polish Consul Paulina Kapuscinska led the ceremony, which was organized by the Consulate of the Republic of Poland in Chicago. The exhibit, which explores the legacy of Karski, whom some call a "real-life James Bond," is on loan from the Polish History Museum in Poland.
The exhibit may be viewed through April 23 at the Daley Center, 50 W. Washington Street, Chicago, from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The ceremony took place on April 8, known as Holocaust Remembrance Day, or Yom Hashoah.
As a young officer in the Polish government in exile, Karski was the first to bring the free world an eyewitness account of the destruction of the Jewish people in German-occupied Poland while there was still time to act, according to a statement from Rutherford's office.
Karski is deeply respected by many today for his attempt to stop the Holocaust. On May 29, 2012, President Barack Obama posthumously awarded Karski with America’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. It was presented to Adam Daniel Rotfeld, Poland’s former foreign minister and himself a Jewish Holocaust survivor, according to Rutherford's office.
For more information, see the Jan Karski Educational Foundation site.