Jan Karski: A Polish Underground Courier and Gentleman

Jan Karski was a Polish underground courier who played a significant role in bringing information about the Holocaust to his government-in-exile and to the western Allies. Although he had not saved individual Jews, The Commission for the Designation of the Righteous recognized him as a Righteous Among the Nations for having risked his life in order to alert the world to the murder of the Jews. He had incurred enormous risk in penetrating into the Warsaw ghetto and a camp, and then committed himself wholly to the case of rescuing the Jews. Karski’s case is quite exceptional in many ways. While other rescuers had taken the difficult decision to leave the side of the bystanders, not to remain silent but rather to stand up and act, Karski, after he reached the West, brought this dilemma to the doorstep of the free world's leaders, including British Foreign Minister Anthony Eden and President Roosevelt. “I am a practicing Catholic… My faith tells me the second original sin has been committed by humanity. This sin will haunt humanity to the end of time. And I want it to be so”. Join Dr. David Silberklang, Senior Historian at Yad Vashem's International Institute for Holocaust Research, as he examines Karski's mission, his role in disseminating reliable information, his place in the story of the Holocaust, and his postwar perspective on the events.