First, he challenges us to find the courage to see terrible things. To give witness to reality. Going back for Karski meant entering the inferno of his memory, offering himself up to relive the horrors he had witnessed in order that others may see and learn. In bearing witness, Karski accepted a responsibility that we share as well. A responsibility to remember.
Remembrance is the way to redemption.
In 1943, during his first visit to inform American leaders of the extermination of the Jews, he had met Fr. Edmund Walsh, the founder and then Regent of the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. In 1949 he returned to visit Fr. Walsh and ask for his advice. Walsh informed him that even at 35 he must go back to school and begin a full doctoral program.