Statement by the Director of the Polish Army Museum
On behalf of the Polish Army Museum, which also encompasses the Katyn Museum — a place of profound national remembrance and the guardian of the relics and personal belongings of the Victims of the Katyn Massacre — I wish to express my unequivocal support for the position presented by Ms Izabella Sariusz-Skąpska, President of the Federation of Katyn Families, concerning attempts to auction abroad memorabilia belonging to Polish prisoners of war murdered by the NKVD in 1940.
I welcome with the utmost appreciation the immediate response of the Federation of Katyn Families, as well as the commitment shown by numerous state institutions, thanks to which the planned sale of these artefacts at Auktionshaus Felzmann was successfully prevented. It must be stressed that the very attempt to place memorabilia connected with the Victims of the Katyn Massacre on the market constitutes an affront not only to the families of the victims but also to the foundations of Poland’s historical memory.
I fully share the Federation’s view that memorabilia belonging to the Victims of the Katyn Massacre should remain solely in the care of their families or — where this is the wish of the heirs — in the custody of the Katyn Museum, the institution established to preserve, safeguard and present them to the public with dignity and respect. These objects are not commodities; they are testimonies of history, relics of suffering, sacrifice and truth about one of the greatest crimes of the twentieth century.
For many years, the Polish Army Museum and the Katyn Museum have monitored the appearance of artefacts connected with the Victims on the antiquarian market. However, the effective protection of this heritage requires the cooperation of the entire community. I therefore join the Federation of Katyn Families in appealing to report immediately any attempts to sell Katyn-related artefacts, both in Poland and abroad.
Our national memory is a shared responsibility. Katyn relics must never become objects of trade.
Memory is not for sale.
Professor Bogusław Pacek
Director of the Polish Army Museum
