Jan Karski / Kto nie potępia, ten przyzwala

At 30/32 Lubelska Street in Warsaw’s Praga-Południe district, a large-scale mural commemorates Jan Karski (1914–2000), the Polish resistance courier and wartime emissary. The mural shows a stylised portrait of Karski, rendered predominantly in shades of blue. Beside it is the Polish statement “Kto nie potępia – ten przyzwala” (“Whoever does not condemn, consents”), accompanied by versions of the phrase in German and Hebrew. Speech bubbles and geometric colour fields reinforce the theme of communication and social responsibility.

The mural was designed by Polish artist Marcin “Malik” Malicki and created together with a group of 14 young people from Poland, Germany and Israel. They participated in a two-week workshop programme focusing on discrimination and tolerance. The workshops were organised by the German JGD, the Israeli Metukenet and the Polish Fundacja Wspólna Europa. The mural was unveiled on 9 August 2014. The central quotation is not by Karski himself. It comes from “Protest!”, a 1942 appeal written by Polish writer and resistance activist Zofia Kossak-Szczucka.

The location adds an important historical context. According to the project organisers, during the German occupation the site housed a transit camp for people who were subsequently deported, among other destinations, to Treblinka. This historical background gives the memorial mural an additional significance.