From the right: Consul General of Poland Ewa Junczyk-Ziomecka, Rabbi Arthur Schneider, Sigmund Rolat and Alex Storozynski during the inaugural meeting of the campaign for the Jan Karski.

Jan Karski, who died in 2000 at the age of 86, was a Polish courier of the Polish Underground in Nazi German-occupied Poland during World War II and was the first credible witness to inform the Allies about the Holocaust.

After the war, Karski became a professor at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, teaching for 40 years from 1953 to 1993.

The U.S. Karski Campaign, launched at the end of May during a dinner meeting at the Polish Consulate General in Manhattan, is a cultural and educational effort to introduce the lifetime achievements of the famous courier from Warsaw.

The goal of the three-year campaign is to focus attention on the achievements of the renowned World War II hero, and on the 100th anniversary of his birthday—which is approaching in April 2014—to honor him with the Congressional Gold Medal, America's highest civilian honor in recognition of his lifetime achievements.

"We want to shine a light on this remarkable man of integrity, action and courage. We call him 'humanity's hero,'" said Andrzej Rojek, one of the founding members of the Jan Karski U.S. National Centennial Committee, which also includes Consul General of Poland Ewa Junczyk-Ziomecka; Museum of the History of Polish Jews treasurer Michael Berkowicz; president and executive director of the Kosciuszko Foundation, Robert Billingsley, a student of Karski's in the 1960s, and Sigmund Rolat, a founding donor for the Museum of the History of Polish Jews.

Rolat said that Jews like himself who worked in forced labor camps during World War II didn't know about the existence of Karski, but had they known, it would have helped them get through that brutal time.

"But even learning about Karski much later, as I did, can help remind us of strong historic bonds between Polish Christians and Polish Jews – bonds that had been frayed during the war. Karski helps lead us to a better future," Rolat said.

"Karski's name carries a kind of magic with it and doors open [...] I call it 'Karski Karma,'" said Billingsley.