Great Performances

Remember This

Adapted from the play by Clark Young and Derek Goldman, and starring Academy Award-nominee David Strathairn in a virtuoso solo performance as World War II Polish resistance fighter Jan Karski in a genre-defying true story of a reluctant hero and Holocaust witness. After surviving the devastation of the Blitzkrieg, Karski swears allegiance to the Polish Underground and risks his life to carry the first eyewitness reports of war-torn Poland to the Western world, and ultimately, the Oval Office. Escaping a Gestapo prison, bearing witness to the despair of the Warsaw ghetto and confronted by the inhumanity of a death camp, Karski endures unspeakable mental anguish and physical torture to stand tall in the halls of power and speak the truth. Strathairn captures the complexity and legacy of this self-described "insignificant, little man" whose timely story of moral courage and individual responsibility can still shake the conscience of the world. The program also includes an exclusive behind-the-scenes companion film produced by The WNET Group's Exploring Hate initiative that examines the ongoing relevance of Jan Karski's story for today's world.