History of the Katyn Museum

At the end of 1990, representatives of the families of victims of the Katyn massacre began extensive efforts to commemorate their loved ones. Their aim was no longer limited to symbolic graves or memorials, but to establish a permanent, official exhibition presenting the truth about Soviet crimes committed against defenceless prisoners of war, while also honouring all known and unknown victims of this unprecedented mass murder.
The first planned exhibition was intended to present copies of Soviet documents confirming the responsibility of NKVD officers, alongside family keepsakes preserved for decades and, until then, rarely shown publicly. Only in a free Poland could these personal artefacts be presented to a wider audience.
At the beginning of 1991, Bożena Mamontowicz-Łojek, Chair of the Federation of Katyn Families, issued an appeal to all regional branches and families of victims to begin collecting memorabilia. After conservation, these items were to be presented in a temporary exhibition organised by the Polish Army Museum in Warsaw. More than 1,500 objects were ultimately gathered and displayed in the exhibition Nie tylko Katyń (in English: Not only Katyn), demonstrating that the discussion on a dignified place of remembrance for all victims had only just begun.

Around the same time, artefacts recovered from mass graves in Kharkiv and Mednoye were brought to Poland. Some were transferred to the Polish Army Museum and, after conservation, presented in the exhibition Evidence of Crime – Ostashkov–Mednoye, Starobilsk–Kharkiv. These objects formed the foundation of the future Katyn Museum. The idea of establishing the Museum was formally raised for the first time in December 1991 in an official appeal by the Federation of Katyn Families to the President of Poland, Lech Wałęsa. Similar letters were also sent to the Marshals of the Sejm and Senate, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Justice, and Culture, the Primate of Poland, the Chair of the Council for the Protection of Struggle and Martyrdom Sites, and the President of the Polish Red Cross.
Thanks to the efforts of numerous institutions and organisations — including the Federation of Katyn Families, the Independent Historical Committee for the Investigation of the Katyn Crime, the Council of the Polish Katyn Foundation, and the Social Board of the Military Fund for the Memory of Murdered Polish Soldiers, in cooperation with the Ministry of National Defence, the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, and the General Prosecutor’s Office — funding was secured for the establishment of the future museum.
The chosen location was the 19th-century fortifications of the Warsaw Fortress on Powsińska Street. Fort IX “Dąbrowskiego” (also known as Fort Czerniaków or Fort Sadyba) was designated as the future home of the Katyn Museum. This was considered a highly appropriate setting, as the site itself reflects many layers of Polish and Warsaw history. In the second half of 1992, Deputy Minister of National Defence Bronisław Komorowski approved the proposal submitted by the Director of the Polish Army Museum. In December of the same year, a plaque was placed at the entrance to the fort stating: Katyn Museum under construction – branch of the Polish Army Museum.
At the beginning of 1993, approximately 5,000 artefacts recovered during exhumations in Kharkiv and Mednoye in 1991 were transferred to the Polish Army Museum. Conservation and research work was carried out by the Microbiology Laboratory of the Military Institute of Aviation Medicine in Warsaw, the Central Forensic Laboratory of the Police, and conservation studios of both the National Museum in Warsaw and the Polish Army Museum.
The permanent exhibition, designed by Maria Irzyk and titled after Feliks Konarski’s poem Pamięć nie dała się zgładzić (in English: Memory could not be erased), presented artefacts, documents, family keepsakes and photographs of victims, creating a tangible museum shaped by the efforts of the Katyn families. The official opening took place on 29 June 1993, attended by the highest state authorities and numerous family members of the victims. The establishment of the Museum, then under the authority of the Ministry of National Defence, marked a major step in fulfilling the expectations of the Katyn families and advancing research into Soviet crimes. The Museum also took on the responsibility of safeguarding “Katyn relics”, collecting memorabilia, and conducting educational activities.
Originally occupying just two rooms of around 200 m², the exhibition gradually expanded. By 1997 it covered approximately 500 m², as new donations from families and artefacts from subsequent exhumations in Katyn, Kharkiv and Mednoye (1994–1996) were added to the collection. A significant role in this development was played by the Council for the Protection of Struggle and Martyrdom Sites, which deposited nearly two-thirds of the exhumed artefacts, financed their initial conservation, and coordinated research.
Throughout its existence at Fort IX, the Museum preserved its original narrative concept, combining the history of the Second Polish Republic with the universal story of crime, loss, and the search for truth. Alongside artefacts, the exhibition included educational elements such as models of burial and execution sites, and plans of the POW camps in Kozelsk, Starobilsk and Ostashkov. These were complemented by parallel narratives presenting the origins of the crime, the fate of the victims, pre-war photographs, and family memorabilia sent from around the world.
In 2009, due to serious technical issues, the exhibition at Fort IX was closed to visitors, and the Katyn Museum ceased operations at that site. This decision met with criticism and protest from families and descendants of the victims, but it was necessary to secure the collections and begin planning a new, suitable location.

At the same time, the Ministry of National Defence, together with the Polish Army Museum and in cooperation with the Council for the Protection of Struggle and Martyrdom Sites and the Katyn families, prepared a temporary exhibition at the Polish Army Museum entitled Pamięć nie dała się zgładzić (in English: Memory could not be erased…), dedicated to the vitims of the Katyn massacre. The artistic concept was created by Jerzy Kalina, with scholarly support from Andrzej Krzysztof Kunert, Izabella Sariusz-Skąpska and Sławomir Frątczak.

In 2010, the artillery Caponier within the Warsaw Citadel was selected as the Museum’s new home. On 17 September 2011, the temporary exhibition was opened at the Polish Army Museum. Its title directly referenced the Museum’s first exhibition at its previous location. This temporary display served as a pilot for the future permanent exhibition, with many artistic and multimedia solutions later developed further in the final design.
The positive reception of the exhibition generated significant interest in the construction of the new Katyn Museum at the Warsaw Citadel. The artistic vision of Jerzy Kalina, the experience of Zbigniew Mikielewicz, and the innovative approach of architects Konrad Grabowiecki and Jan Belina-Brzozowski, supported by the design studio MAKS Ltd, resulted in a remarkable architectural and curatorial achievement.
On 17 September 2015, the new Katyn Museum was officially opened by the President of Poland Andrzej Duda, Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz, Minister of National Defence Tomasz Siemoniak, Minister of Culture and National Heritage Małgorzata Omilanowska, representatives of the Polish Army Museum, and members of the Katyn and Police Families.
The opening marked a symbolic moment, highlighting the importance of the Katyn massacre in national memory and the ongoing responsibility to preserve historical heritage, including the traditions of the Polish Armed Forces, the Police, and other uniformed services, as well as the civilian victims and their families deported deep into the Soviet Union.

 

Today, the Katyn Museum collection is a unique, world-class assemblage of artefacts, serving both as historical testimony and as evidence of crimes committed against defenceless citizens of the Republic of Poland. It comprises tens of thousands of objects, including grave artefacts, key documents recovered from mass graves in Katyn, Kharkiv and Mednoye, archival materials, personal documents and photographs, as well as thousands of family donations. These continue to arrive at the Museum, reflecting the belief of victims’ descendants that the Katyn Museum is a true “home of the Katyn families”, where every object is given its rightful place.

See also our publication

B. Bydoń, S.Z. Frątczak, The Katyn Museum: The Martyrology Branch of the Polish Army Museum in Warsaw, “Institute of National Remembrance Review” 2022, no 4, pp. 5–117.