They were killed only because they were Polish patriots. Because they vowed to defend Polish independence and were ready to serve their daily work – wrote President Andrzej Duda in a message on the occasion of the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Katyn Massacre. “Our memory of Katyn is a moral duty and a great commitment to serve the homeland. The victims of this massacre have left us with a testament to steadfast, proud patriotism,” he added.
Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Katyn Massacre is celebrated every year on April 13.
“Every April 13, we honour in a special way the memory of nearly 22.000 Poles who have been the victims of a terrible communist crime against peace, humanity and the Polish people. The act of genocide, which was the Katyn massacre, continues in our historical memory as a painful wound and a warning” – stressed Andrzej Duda.
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki also addressed today’s anniversary, stressing that “there are supporters not to talk much about the Katyn massacre”.
‘Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Katyn Massacre, established by the Polish Parliament of the Republic of Poland in 2007 and celebrated on April 13th, commemorates this terrible massacre, the victims of which were Poles. They were murdered because they were Poles. This was a sufficient and only argument for Soviet criminals. The perpetrators of this crime, as well as many others, have never been punished. In the Polish People’s Republic, those who demanded the truth were punished for this. Even today there are supporters not to talk much about the Katyn massacre, not to spread the truth about it because it is inconvenient truth’ – added the Head of Government.
“More – some try to whitewash criminals, accusing victims of actions they never committed. This confusion of notion, of mixing good with evil, is intended to abate the truth, to create the conviction that “everyone has their truth”. Therefore, on days like today, we must take care of the truth and pass it on to future generations” – emphasized Morawiecki.
In the spring of 1940, about 22,000 Polish officers, soldiers and policemen interned in Soviet prisons and camps were murdered upon the orders of the highest authorities of communist Russia (including Joseph Stalin). Poles were to be killed without trial by officers of the Soviet political police – NKVD. This mass killing is referred to as the Katyń Massacre, the name deriving from the town of Katyń – one of several places where Polish officers were murdered.
