Jan Nowak, Courier from Warsaw, Courier of Truth

Just four months ago, I was fortunate to visit Warsaw—my own father’s birthplace. It was a beautiful fall day, and a vivid sun shone on Poland—at peace, whole and free. I was fortunate on that occasion to be able to visit Jan Nowak in his apartment in Warsaw, close to the place where he’d lived as a young man. The room’s large windows seemed to invite in the brilliance of the early morning sun. The sunlight filled every corner and brought out the colors of the fresh-cut roses that were spread in vases and vases all around the room. Jan Nowak’s apartment was elegantly simple—almost spare—yet it seemed to overflow with life and optimism and joy. It called to mind the passage with which Jan Nowak closed his account of his World War II experiences. In 1982, with Poland still under the Soviet yoke, Jan Nowak wrote that, “One day, the sun will shine on crowds of singing and dancing people drunk with joy in the streets of Warsaw. The free soul of Poland will survive until that day.” Read on. (Memorial Service, Polish Embassy, Washington, DC. 1 February 2005).