Temporary Exhibition of the Most Valuable Philatelic Collections at the Katyn Museum
This is a unique opportunity to see memorabilia that survived war, repression and decades of silence. The temporary exhibition at the Katyn Museum is open to visitors only until 30 August 2026.
The philatelic collections and correspondence on display belonged to victims of the Katyn massacre. Behind seemingly ordinary stamps, postcards and letters lie the personal stories of their owners – their passions, relationships with loved ones, and the places where they lived and served.
Among the collections presented in the temporary exhibition is one of exceptional value, belonging to Captain (Retd) Józef Czerwenka (1884–1940). During the First World War, he served in the Austrian Army; after the war, he became an officer of the 5th Transport Battalion of the Polish Army and subsequently served in the First Division of the General Staff until 1930. The philatelic items on display include, among other things, hand-reproduced postcards sent through the Austrian Field Post between 1915 and 1917, as well as postcards, greetings cards and picture postcards dating from 1919–1922 and 1928–1939. Of particular significance is a letter sent from the NKVD camp at Starobilsk, dated 29 November 1939, and addressed to his wife, Melania. It begins: At last I am letting you know that I am alive. Where I have been, what happened to me, what terrible days I have been through, I will tell you one day, if God allows me to be reunited with you, my dearest. The collection was discovered many years after the end of the Second World War during the renovation of a flat in Warsaw’s Praga district. It had remained intact and today constitutes an exceptionally valuable testimony to the fate of a Polish officer and his family.
Among the memorabilia on display is also the collection of Captain Karol Glazur (1891–1940), an officer of the Second Division of the General Staff and a veteran of the First World War, the Polish–Soviet War and the 1939 defensive war. Particularly poignant evidence of his passion for philately are the albums he made himself. The collection of Captain Glazur and his son Adam was donated to the Katyn Museum by Karol’s daughter, Janina Glazur. Despite receiving information that her father had been identified during the exhumations in Katyn Forest in the spring of 1943, the children continued to remove stamps from correspondence addressed to their mother – envelopes and postcards. They hoped that their father was still alive and that, upon returning home, he would be pleased to see the stamps they had collected throughout the occupation and the post-war period.
The exhibition also features memorabilia belonging to Colonel Kazimierz Burczak, a graduate of the Polish General Staff College and a recipient of the Order of the Military Virtuti Militari, an officer and commander who took part in the struggle for Polish independence. His correspondence with his wife, Zofia, occupies a special place in the collection. During their engagement and later marriage, Kazimierz Burczak sent her postcards and letters from every place where he was stationed. Sometimes a postcard bore nothing more than the name of a town or a date – a small yet deeply personal trace of his presence. Among the postcards, calling cards and correspondence bearing commemorative postmarks is a beautifully illustrated album containing the postcards he received. It was previously displayed in the Museum’s permanent exhibition, in the section presenting memorabilia donated by families and rotated periodically due to the special display requirements of paper-based objects. The collection was donated to the Katyn Museum by his daughter, Marzenna, and son, Zbigniew.
Three collections, three stories and hundreds of small objects that allow us to see the victims of the Katyn massacre not only through the prism of their service and tragic fate, but also through their everyday lives, interests and bonds with those closest to them.
We invite you to visit the Katyn Museum. The exhibition, prepared on the occasion of the Postcrossing meeting held on Polish Armed Forces Day, can be viewed in the Museum’s foyer only until Sunday, 30 August 2026.
