Delegation of the Katyn Museum at the “Katyn Days” Commemorations in Orzysz
On 25 May 2023, regional commemorations of the Katyn Crime anniversary were held in Orzysz. The events were organised by the Town of Orzysz and the Krechowce Uhlans Tank Battalion stationed in the town. Support in organising the commemorations was provided by, among others, the Museum of the Military, Military History and the Orzysz Region, the Olsztyn Branch of the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN), the Katyn Museum, the Katyn Family Association of Olsztyn, and the Parafiada Association.
During the ceremonies, Oaks of Remembrance were planted in honour of soldiers of the 1st Krechowce Uhlan Regiment, whose traditions are continued today by the Krechowce Uhlans Tank Battalion of the 15th Giżycko Mechanised Brigade. The oaks commemorated both those murdered in the Katyn Massacre and those who fell in combat against the Bolsheviks.
Following Mass at the garrison church, participants, accompanied by a military honour guard from the 15th Giżycko Mechanised Brigade, proceeded to the military unit, where the ceremonial planting of the Oaks of Remembrance took place. Further oaks were then planted along Victims of Katyn and Siberia Street, a name officially given to one of the town’s streets shortly before the commemorative events.
The programme continued in the hall of Orzysz Town Hall with the presentation of the IPN panel exhibition “The Katyn Crime 1940: The Extermination of the Polish Elites”. The exhibition was introduced by Dr Krzysztof Kierski of the Historical Research Office of the Olsztyn Delegation of the Institute of National Remembrance. This was followed by an academic conference held at the Town Hall.
The Katyn Museum was represented by Sławomir Frątczak, Director of the Museum, and Dr Tomasz Szczepański, who delivered a paper entitled “For Truth and Remembrance – The Struggle for the Truth about the Katyn Crime, 1943–1990”.
