Karski Eagle Award Presented in Lublin

, 16 November 2016
Former President Aleksander Kwaśniewski, the Kozielewski family and representatives of Rotary International were all honoured with the Jan Karski Eagle award on 24th June 2014 in Lublin. The award was established by Jan Karski to recognise humanitarian service to others.

Kwaśniewski was honoured for, as Waldemar Piasecki of the Jan Karski Society stated, leading Poland into Europe and into the democratic standards of the Western world. The Karski Eagle was also presented to the Kozielewski family “for cultivating values, which were created by its most outstanding representative, namely Jan Karski. Karski’s niece, Wiesława Kozielewska-Trzaska accepted the award. “For performing good works for a better Poland” was the reason Rotary International was presented with the award. Worldwide, Rotary currently has around 1.3 million members. Its motto is “service beyond self-interest”.

The Karski Eagle awards were presented during the “Jan Karski – Mission Accomplished” conference held in Lublin to mark the 100th birthday of the legendary courier.

On Monday, the award was presented to Harvard University historian, and expert on Russia, Prof. Richard Pipes. It was accepted by his wife, Irena Pipes.

The award is presented by the Jan Karsky Society, whose offices are in Kazimierz Dolny. It comprises a certificate and an eagle statuette, being a replica of a bronze eagle on a marble base. The award committee is comprised of previous award winners. The first recipients, in 2000, were Jacek Kuroń and Rev.Prof. Józef Tischner. Others to be recognised include, among others, Marek Edelman, Tadeusz Mazowiecki, Adam Michnik, Eli Wiesel, Lech Wałęsa, and also the Tygodnik Powszechny,film  Pokłosie.

Source: PAP