A powerful remembrance of the lessons and legacy of Jan Karski, who risked his life to share the truth with the world—and a cautionary tale for our times.

Richly illustrated with stills from the black-and-white film adaptation of the acclaimed stage play, Remember This: The Lesson of Jan Karski tells the story of World War II hero, Holocaust witness, and Georgetown University professor Jan Karski. A messenger of truth, Karski risked his life to carry his harrowing reports of the Holocaust from war-torn Poland to the Allied nations and, ultimately, the Oval Office, only to be ignored and disbelieved. Despite the West's unwillingness to act, Karski continued to tell others about the atrocities he saw, and, after a period of silence, would do so for the remainder of his life. This play carries forward his legacy of bearing witness so that future generations might be inspired to follow his example and "shake the conscience of the world."

Accompanying the text of the stage play in this volume are essays and conversations from leading diplomats, thinkers, artists, and writers who reckon with Karski's legacy, including Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Ambassador Stuart Eizenstat, award-winning author Aminatta Forna, best-selling author Azar Nafisi, President Emeritus of Georgetown Leo J. O'Donovan, SJ, Ambassador Samantha Power, Ambassador Cynthia P. Schneider, historian Timothy Snyder, Academy Award nominated actor David Strathairn, and best-selling author Deborah Tannen.

Clark Young is a writer and teacher based in Brooklyn, New York, and originally from Portland, Maine. He cocreated every iteration of Remember This from Warsaw and New York City to London and Washington, DC.

Derek Goldman is the chair of Georgetown University’s Department of Performing Arts and director of the Theater and Performance Studies Program, and he is the cofounding director of the Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics. He is an award-winning international stage director, producer, playwright, and educator whose work has been seen off-Broadway, nationally, and at numerous leading theaters around the world.

"Recruited into the Polish Underground in the midst of the Second World War, Jan Karski was given a mission. He was to be a witness to the world, a witness to the Holocaust. Remember This takes us into the thoughts and inner struggles of Karski as he grappled with this mission. A true work of art, the play is disturbing, moving, and inspiring. It is a unique window into the life of this man, this hero, Jan Karski."

Foreword Samantha Power

The Simple Teaching of “An Insignificant Man” Madeleine Albright

Jan Karski: A Brief Biography Timothy Snyder

Production History

Remember This: The Lesson of Jan Karski

A Conversation on Remember This with Derek Goldman, David Strathairn, and Clark Young moderated by Deborah Tannen

Do Something, Anything Aminatta Forna

A Life in Service: The Inspiration of Jan Karski Stuart Eizentstat

Bearing Witness and Speaking Truth to Power: A Conversation Azar Nafisi and Cynthia Schneider

Afterword Leo O’Donovan, SJ

Acknowledgments

References

Further Reading

List of Contributors