Karski: How One Man Tried to Stop the Holocaust

Modern Jewish History

by E. Thomas Wood, Stanislaw M. Jankowski, Elie Wiesel (Foreword)

Working for the Polish Underground, Jan Karski witnessed first hand the horrors of the Holocaust. Surviving Soviet captivity and Gestapo torture, he escaped Poland in 1942 and embarked on a heroic crusade to give Allied leaders his eye witness report of Nazi extermination of European Jews. Karski is the first definitive account of the little-known episode--one of the earliest documentations of atrocities to reach the west and perhaps the most significant warning of the genocide to come. Karski's story introduces vital new insights about the Polish Underground, and about the Allies' reaction to the Holocaust.

Genres: Holocaust, World War II, Poland, Biography, History

316 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

E. Thomas Wood worked as a journalist for more than 25 years, mainly for media outlets in Nashville but also as a longtime stringer for The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. He is presently employed as a staff writer for an international law firm.

Wood is a graduate of Vanderbilt University and earned an M.Phil. in European Studies at Pembroke College, Cambridge. He is married to food writer Nicki Pendleton Wood. They have one daughter.

Reviews

[Lewis Weinstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an incredible story, a true story, an inspiration, a frustration. Jan Karski was a member of the Polish underground during the Nazi occupation of Poland. He performed several life-threatening missions as a courier, but that was just a warm-up. Designated to go to London to deliver information to the Polish government in exile, Karski was approached by Jewish leaders from Warsaw's ghetto, from which Jews thousands of Jews per day were already being exported to their deaths. They told him what was happening, but insisted it was so horrible nobody would believe it. Karski went twice into the ghetto and once to a deportation collection center to see for himself. Then he set off to London, on a route that had been planned by the Polish underground. Somehow he made it and delivered his report in late 1942, when millions of Jews were still alive. The report was made public, after which not a single world leader did anything. Saving Jews was nobody's priority.

[Stefanie Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jan Karski was born in 1914 in Poland. Karski completed military training in 1936. He worked in politics, taking a position at the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1939. During World War II, Karski found himself in some pretty harrowing situations. He just narrowly managed to escape being a victim of the Katyn massacre. He was a prisoner of war, however, before escaping and joining the resistance movement. Part of his work in the resistance was gathering intelligence and reporting on the death camps and conditions of the targeted members of European society. After the war, Karski relocated to the United States where he lived out his days. His documentation and eyewitness accounts of German war crimes was very important.

This book was well done, providing a decent biography of this man and his activities during World War II. I had never heard of him prior to reading this book, and I am glad to have learned about him. It took a lot of courage and determination to get through a lot of things he went through, and then to remain sane and be successful afterwards. Decent read.

[Jim O'shaughnessy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had him as a professor at the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown and this is the story of his amazing life. The best part of his class was office hours when he would tell us what he went through as part of the Polish underground during WWII.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provided me with a better understanding of the turbulent world that was the Polish underground during WWII. It also shed some light on the life and actions of Karski, a very interest man.

[Elizabeth Duhl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great book detailing one man’s attempt to educate the world on the atrocities committed by the Natzis prior to any actual involvement by the Allies. Great read for anyone interested in a first person account by a Non-Jew.

[Clifford · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was well intentioned but lacked details that would have made it a more compelling read. I am glad I read it but I would necessarily recommend it.