Final of the 9th District Competition “Katyn – Golgotha of the East” in Kłodzko
On Wednesday, 5 March, the final of the 9th edition of the district competition “Katyn – Golgotha of the East” took place at the Bolesław Chrobry I Secondary School in Kłodzko. The competition brought together pupils and students from primary and secondary schools across Kłodzko.
Alongside the participants, their teachers and members of the school community, the event was attended by representatives of the local authorities, delegates from the Wrocław branch of the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN), the Kłodzko Social and Historical Association, and the Lower Silesian Katyn Family Association. The Katyn Museum was represented by Dr Tomasz Szczepański.
During the ceremony, participants lit commemorative candles beneath the Katyn Oak located on the school grounds. The tree honours Marceli Kulikowski, a prison officer and victim of the Katyn massacre, who was posthumously promoted to the rank of Warrant Officer in the Polish Prison Service. The oak was planted in 2023.
Marceli Kulikowski is included on the so-called Ukrainian Katyn List, commemorating victims buried at the memorial site in Bykivnia near Kyiv. His family settled in the Kłodzko region after the Second World War. A small exhibition dedicated to Kulikowski was presented outside the school auditorium where the competition final took place, while a separate educational display on the Katyn massacre was installed in one of the school classrooms.
Guests also listened to speeches delivered by Teresa Gwara, President of the Lower Silesian Katyn Family Association, Dr Krzysztof Łagojda representing the Institute of National Remembrance, and Leszek Bobula from the Kłodzko Social and Historical Association.
The ceremony was further enriched by artistic performances from the school’s students and choir.
