Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Poland
dedicated a monument to Dr. Jan Karski at Georgetown University

Polish Foreign Minister Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz
on the bench with Dr. Jan Karski

Jan Karski cherished a good game of chess.
The other love of young Jan Kozielewski was to become a diplomat. His first professional decision, after graduating on top of his class from a military cadet school in 1936, was to join the Polish foreign service. Ultimately his dream of becoming Poland’s Ambassador was shattered by the Nazis in September of 1939.
The chess board, on Jan Karski’s side, symbolizes more than just an unfinished game, played with a young Polish diplomat just moments before his sudden departure over a year ago.
Chess, his favorite hobby, epitomizes his whole professional life - as an underground fighter who was an eyewitness to the Holocaust, as a courier who took the message to the leaders of the free world and as a professor and author in political sciences - he had always planned his moves ahead. The setup of figures on the board is by no means coincidental. This combination (made famous in 1861 by Samuel Loyd) gives the Professor a definite victory win in the fifth move.
In his powerful work The Great Powers and Poland, 1919-1945: From Versailles to Yalta he documented his beloved Poland’s inability to play, “an independent and effective role in the international arena”. The tragic consequences of that inability are all too familiar to all of us.
Eventually this game was won. Today when Poland is a free, democratic nation and a member of the transatlantic community, we are well aware that this victory we owe to people such as Jan Karski.
Jan Karski’s story is one of man who understood the poisonous effects of bigotry and hatred. His fight against Nazi oppression came to an end in 1945 but his fight against anti-Semitism continued to his last days. All those who knew Jan Karski, do know that both his legend and his legacy will forever be an inspiration and a driving force for generations of people who understand that simply being just is what humanity is about.
Ultimately Jan Karski’s dream did come true. He was indeed Poland’s greatest Ambassador representing the values that for all of us, and for generations to come, will serve as beacon into the future. His life remains the most compelling story of moral courage against all odds.
One could only hope that whoever enjoys the afternoon sun on this bench, will not only share a game of good chess with Professor but also carry on his Message.
I would like to take this opportunity and express my deep gratitude to the President and members of the Georgetown University for allowing this project to be completed. Special words of appreciation should go to the American Center of Polish Culture in Washington DC, and personally to Mrs. Kaja Ploss and Mr. Albin Obal for their financial support, and to Mr. Karol Badyna, an artist from Cracow who took upon himself the difficult task to accomplish the project on such short notice.

Prince Kazimierz Lubomirski’s Comeback

After 80 years Prince Kazimierz Lubomirski is once again present in the Polish Embassy in Washington. Thanks to Józef Piłsudski Institute of America the portrait of the first Polish Envoy to the US will decorate one of the most beautiful rooms of the Embassy during the next 3 years. The ceremony, which was jointly organized by the Embassy, Józef Piłsudski Institute of America and the Polish Library in Washington D.C., was opened by Ambassador Przemysław Grudziński. Afterwards, Ambassador Grudziński together with Andrzej Beck, a son of the well known Polish foreign minister Józef Beck, unveiled the painting. As the Ambassador mentioned in his opening speech, 3 pairs of eyes of his predecessors, including Michał Kwapiszewski and Kazimierz Dziewanowski, would be looking from the walls at him performing the job.
The ceremony was followed by a symposium on the beginnings of Polish diplomacy in the US. All guests, mostly Poles living in the Washington area, had a unique opportunity to listen to fascinating lectures delivered by Professor Mieczysław Biskupski of the Central Connecticut State University, Doctor Bogusław Winid of the Embassy and professor Piotr Wandycz of Yale University. This memorable evening ended with a traditional reception.