The Katyn Button: a social and educational campaign
on the 86th anniversary of the Katyn Massacre
As the 86th anniversary of the Katyn Massacre approaches, a new edition of the nationwide social and educational campaign “I Remember. Katyn 1940” is being launched.
The symbol of the campaign is a commemorative pin – a replica of a military uniform button, inspired by Zbigniew Herbert’s poem “Buttons”. It serves as a sign of remembrance for the victims of the Katyn Massacre and an expression of opposition to the distortion of one of the most tragic chapters in Polish history.
The campaign is organised by the Katyn Museum, the National Centre for Culture, the Pilecki Institute, and the Institute of National Remembrance.
The Katyn Button: a social and educational campaign
in the Profiles of Katyn Massacre Victims database.
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The Katyn Button forms part of the social and educational campaign “I Remember. Katyn 1940”, launched in April 2007 by the National Centre for Culture. This was in the run-up to the premiere of Andrzej Wajda’s film “Katyn”.
The Katyn Button, in the form of a pin, is a replica of an artefact found in the mass graves, a silent witness to the crime, which today connects generations – says Michał Kosiorek, deputy director of the National Centre for Culture. We encourage everyone to collect the pins at designated points throughout the country and abroad. We invite re-enactment groups and local memorial centres to join the campaign and distribute these symbolic buttons. Everyone who wears a Katyn Button becomes an ambassador for the memory of the victims of the Katyn Massacre – emphasises the deputy director of the Nationa Centre for Culture.
The continuation of this long-running campaign has taken on particular significance in recent years, against the backdrop of Russian aggression in Ukraine and the spread of anti-Polish rhetoric.
Given the limited access to memorial sites, the need to nurture symbolic space and restore memory through symbolic gestures becomes particularly pressing.
–For several years now, we have had no access to the forests in Katyn, Mednoye and Kuropaty, and it is difficult to reach the cemeteries in Bykivnia and Kharkiv – emphasises Sebastian Karwat, director of the Katyn Museum. We cannot pay our heroes the tribute they deserve at the site where their bodies were laid to rest. The Katyn Museum currently fulfils this function in a symbolic way, as a place where the memory of the victims of the Soviet massacre 86 years ago remains alive – he adds.
The “Pin on a Button of Remembrance” campaign
From 11–13 April, as part of the “Pin on a Button of Remembrance” campaign, the pin will be available, amongst other places, at the Katyn Museum in Warsaw, at Kordegarda – the NCC gallery on Krakowskie Przedmieście Street, at IPN branches and offices throughout the country, as well as at the Pilecki Institute in Warsaw and its branches: the branch in Augustów – the House of Remembrance for the Victims of the Augustów Round-up, as well as in Berlin and New York.
Educational package
A key element of the project is an educational pack aimed at schools, prepared jointly by the partners. It will include, amongst other things, the mini-series “Sztafeta” (The Relay), which tells the story of a young man searching for traces of his great-grandfather murdered in Katyn, as well as the audiovisual material “Widziałem na własne oczy” (I Saw It With My Own Eyes) – an account by Józef Mackiewicz illustrated with photographs from the Katyn Museum’s collection – and the virtual exhibition “Niepamięci” – an artistic narrative about the fate of Poles imprisoned in Soviet labour camps.
The “I Remember. Katyn 1940” campaign is an expression of concern for historical memory and responsibility for the truth. In the face of contemporary attempts to undermine it, it constitutes an important element in building an informed civic community – in Poland and beyond its borders.
Timeline of campaign
Warsaw – 9 April – Dom Bez Kantów
Lecture: “Before the Extermination: The Situation of Polish POWs in Soviet Camps in Kozelsk, Starobilsk and Ostashkov” by Piotr Kolanek, followed by a violin concert by Kamila Wąsik-Janiak (Pilecki Institute)
Warsaw – 10 April – Pilecki Institute, Sienna Street 82
Screening of “Where Strawberries Grow” (dir. A. Ferens) and discussion panel “I Hope to Return to You Soon” with experts on the Katyn Massacre
New York – 10–11 April – Pilecki Institute
Information campaign and distribution of commemorative buttons in Greenpoint, at the Krakus Senior Club, and in the World Trade Center area.
Augustów – 11 April – House of Memory of the Augustów Roundup Victims
Distribution of buttons during the TrekTour 2026 rally
Warsaw – 11 April – Pilecki Institute, Sienna Street 82
Screening of Andrzej Wajda’s “Katyn”
New York – 11 April – Pilecki Institute (New York)Screening of Andrzej Wajda’s “Katyn”
Warsaw – 12 April – Katyn Museum
Official ceremonies marking the 86th anniversary of the Katyn Massacre, including participation of victims’ families and opening of a temporary exhibition
Warsaw – 12 April
19th Katyn March of Shadows through the streets of Warsaw (organiser: Historical Group Association “Zgrupowanie Radosław”)
Warsaw – 13 April – Kordegarda Gallery, Krakowskie Przedmieście 15
Distribution of commemorative buttons at Kordegarda Gallery, 15 Krakowskie Przedmieście – an accompanying event to the exhibition “Meridian 21”, inspired by the work of Józef Czapski
Augustów – 13–16 April – House of Memory of the Augustów Roundup VictimsEducational workshops and meetings
Berlin – 13 April – Pilecki Institute / Brandenburg Gate area
Screening of the documentary “Józef Czapski – Witness of the Century (1896–1993)” followed by a discussion; distribution of buttons near the Brandenburg Gate
Warsaw – 14–27 April – Dom Bez Kantów, Krakowskie Przedmieście 11Educational week featuring workshops “The Katyn Investigation” for secondary school students
Warsaw – 15 April – Central History Stop, Marszałkowska Street 107Historical debate on the Katyn disinformation campaign
April – regional branches of the Institute of National Remembrance
Workshops titled “The Katyn Investigation” held at regional Education Offices and branches of the Institute of National Remembrance in: | Białystok | Częstochowa | Gdańsk | Gorzów Wielkopolski | Katowice | Kielce | Koszalin | Kraków | Lublin | Łódź | Olsztyn | Opole | Poznań | Rzeszów | Szczecin | Warszawa | Wrocław (organizator: Instytut Pamięci Narodowej)
