On 13 April, the Day of Memory of the Victims of Katyń Crime is celebrated, and on Sunday from morning there are celebrations commemorating the 85th anniversary of the crime.
"Almost 22,000 officers, officials, doctors, teachers – elite of the nation. The Soviets murdered absolutely. Their only “guilty” was Poland’s faithfulness,” wrote president Andrzej Duda on X. He stressed that for decades the communists systematically fought the fact about Katyn, and the perpetrators of this crime were never punished.
“To pay tribute to the murdered, we worship their honor, integrity and patriotism. Let the Day of Memory of the Victims of Katyń Crime unite us – Poles – in awe of the price of freedom. This “shadow army” is inactive standing alongside the soldiers of the Republic. Hello and glory to the Heroes!” — the president concluded.
85th anniversary celebration of Katyn crime
On Sunday in Warsaw there are central celebrations commemorating the 85th anniversary of the Katyn Crime, organized by the Office for Combatants and Represented Persons, the Federation of Katyn Families and the Museum of the Polish Army together with the Katyn Museum. The event will be attended by Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Marshal of the legislature of Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska.
The president will commemorate the anniversary in Krakow, where he will lay a wreath before the Katyń Cross in the Father Adam Studziński Square.
By decision of the Sejm, 2025 is the Year of Polish Heroes from Katyń, Mednoje, Kharkiv and Bykownia.
On 5 March 1940, the russian Political Office of KC WKP(b) decided to shoot Polish prisoners in camps in Kozielsk, Starobielsk and Ostashkov and Polish prisoners held by the NKVD in the area of pre-war east provinces of the Republic and besides in Kiev. The consequence of this decision was the Katyń Crime, which resulted in the execution of about 22 1000 Polish citizens, including almost 15 1000 officers of the Polish Army and the State Police.
