New display unveiled during LMC Polish Tour Reunion weekend

Natalie Brodine, a graduate of Seaman High School in Topeka, unveils the newest display at the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes Saturday evening. Brodine and fellow student Jeremy Wells produced History Day documentary on the work of Eugene Lazowski, who saved thousands of Polish Jews during the Holocaust by creating the illusion the Jews were inflicted with typhus. Wells was unable to attend the ceremony.

Tammy Helm

The Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes hosted Seaman High School students Natalie Brodine and Jeremy Wells Saturday for the first viewing of their award-winning unsung hero project panel “Dr. Eugene Lazowski: The Weapon of Intelligence.” The project was facilitated by LMC Fellow and history teacher Susan Sittenauer.

The panel was unveiled in conjunction with the 2017 Poland Reunion, which included a visit by award-winning “Life in a Jar: the Irena Sendler Project” author Jack Mayer and a performance of the play “Life in a Jar.”

Eugene Lazowski was a recent medical school graduate when the Nazis invaded Poland in 1939. Using his medical knowledge, Lazowski created the illusion of typhus, saving 8,000 Polish Jews at the height of the Holocaust.

“I was not able to fight with a gun or sword, but I found a way to scare the Germans,” he was quoted.

Lazowski’s brave and heroic actions were chronicled in a documentary produced by Brodine and Wells.

Brodine said when looking for a subject for a History Day project, she and Wells wanted a fresh topic. While doing a search on the internet, they came across a two or three-sentence paragraph about Lazowski. She said their break came when they discovered his memoir, which was written in Polish. Using a computer program, they were able to translate much of the memoir.

“It’s so great to bring this story to life,” Brodine said.

Wells was unable to attend the unveiling ceremony, but Brodine, members of her family, and Sittenaur were in attendance.

“This is extrememly humbling,” Brodine said following the unveiling. “This is the first time I’ve seen it.”

For more information regarding the Polish reunion events, call the Lowell Milken Center at (620) 223-1312 or email Norm Conard (nconard@terraworld.net).