Karski, Jan, 1914-2000

Liaison officer and courier of the Polish government-in-exile to the Polish underground, 1939-1943; author, Story of a Secret State (1944).

From the description of Jan Karski papers, 1922-2007. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 754868753

Biographical Note

• 1914 June 24: Born Jan Kozielewski in Lodz
• 1935: Law student at University of Lwow
• 1939: Recruited into the Polish diplomatic service Mobilized, September campaign - escapes Soviet imprisonment First mission to the West, France
• 1940: Second mission - Failed
• 1942: Smuggled into Warsaw ghetto and a concentration camp to prepare a report on Nazi war crimes Reports on his mission to representatives of governments of Poland and Great Britain
• 1943: Reports about situation in Poland to President Franklin D. Roosevelt and other U.S. officials
• 1944: Publishes Story of a Secret State
• 1952: Receives PhD from Georgetown University
• 1953: Enrolls at School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University
• 1954: Naturalized as American citizen. Works for United States Information Service
• 1965: Marries Pola Nirenska
• 1984: Retires from Georgetown University
• 1985: Publishes The Great Powers and Poland
• 1994: Made honorary citizen of Israel
• 2000 July 13: Dies in Washington D.C.

From the guide to the Jan Karski papers, 1939-2007, (Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace)