| In their quest to ‘bury the West’, Soviet Socialists were anxious to project an image of a happy, prosperous and peaceful USSR. This image would be shattered if people of the free world learned the truth about ‘Katyn’. Desperate to keep the mask in place, Soviet authorities used their super power status to suppress any mention of the Katyn massacres, anywhere and in any form. For instance, in a document smuggled into Sweden in 1977 by a Polish Propaganda department defector, the Soviet Union ordered their Polish puppets to make sure that these strict instructions were adhered to:
Under no circumstances, nor in any way, should the Soviet Union be blamed for the massacre or any responsibility be imputed to it.
The favoured formulations to be allowed in academic works, biographies and memoirs were `shot by the Hitlerites at Katyn', `perished at Katyn' and `died at Katyn'.
The only permissible dates of death must be later than July 1941.
The term `prisoners of war' must be replaced by `internees'.
Failure to comply brought harsh punishment, including death sentences, especially in the immediate post war period.
People around the world who knew the truth yearned to be able to commemorate the faith and moral fortitude of the 22,000 martyrs so monstrously murdered by the Soviet State. They wanted a place where they could pray, reflect and pay homage to people who paid the ultimate price for the freedom that they enjoyed. Poles within their new communities in the Polish diaspora, and in Poland itself, started to organise, raise funds and erect plaques, shrines and monuments that bore testimony to the ‘when, how and why’ of the killings.
Many of the monuments on display in this exhibition were built only after formidable institutional opposition was overcome. The opposition was driven by fear which arose from the persistent threats made to the governments of the host nations by authorities of the Soviet Socialist super power. Each monument has a story behind it. What became known in England as ‘The Battle of the Katyn Monument’ is illustrative. Faith and moral courage triumphed over unlimited earthly physical power.
Felix Molski - text and photos
Baltimore |
Chicago |
London |
Toronto |
Katyn Chapel in Gdynia |
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