The “I Remember. Katyn 1940” campaign
In connection with the approaching 86th anniversary of the Katyn massacre, the latest edition of the nationwide social and educational campaign “I Remember. Katyn 1940” is being launched. The symbol of the campaign is a pin – a replica of a button from a military uniform, referencing Zbigniew Herbert’s poem “Buttons”. It is a symbol 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 National Centre for Culture, the Katyn Museum, the Pilecki Institute and the Institute of National Remembrance.
The Katyn Massacre
In the spring of 1940, on the orders of the highest authorities of the Soviet Union, the Soviets carried out a genocide against over 22,000 Poles. Among them were professional officers of the Polish Army, police officers, reserve officers, doctors, teachers, lawyers, civil servants and scientists. The victims’ graves were discovered in Katyn, Kharkiv, Mednoye and Bykivnia. The truth about these events was suppressed in the People’s Republic of Poland. Although the USSR admitted to committing the Katyn massacre in 1990, Russia has now returned to spreading the Katyn lie. Those responsible for this crime have not been brought to justice in an international court.
Katyn Button: a campaign and social initiative
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 NCC.
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.
As Rafał Kościański, PhD, spokesperson for the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN), explains, “we are currently witnessing a return to the Kremlin’s imperialist policy, including the resurgence of Russian propaganda promoting the narrative that the Katyn Massacre was committed by the Germans”.
– A symbol of this process is the removal in 2025, by the Russian authorities, of Polish military symbols from the cemeteries in Mednoye and Katyn: the Order of Virtuti Militari, with which Poland commemorated its victory over the Russians in 1792, and the September Campaign Cross, commemorating the German-Soviet invasion of 1939,” says Rafał Kościański, PhD.
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.
Victims of the Soviet crime
The symbolic pins will be accompanied by badges featuring the profiles of twenty selected victims of the Katyn massacre, whose stories will be highlighted in an information campaign run, amongst other places, on social media. One pin represents one human story, cut short suddenly and distorted for many years.
– Since its inception, the Pilecki Institute has been dedicated to commemorating the victims of totalitarian regimes; that is why our participation in the ‘Pin on a Katyn Button’ initiative, which forms part of the educational and social campaign ‘I Remember. Katyn 1940’, is a natural step in fulfilling this mission,” explains Karol Madaj, acting director of the Pilecki Institute. – In this way, we wish to focus on the memory of a specific individual, their passions, family and service to the Republic of Poland. By distributing replica buttons in Warsaw, Berlin and New York, we remind people that behind each of the 22,000 victims lies a personal tragedy. It is our duty to internationalise this remembrance, especially now that Russian imperialism once again threatens Europe. The crimes in Bucha show that totalitarian mechanisms are not a thing of the past, which is why the voices of the Katyn victims must be heard particularly loudly today,” adds Karol Madaj.
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 pack
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 EVENTS
The “I Remember. Katyn 1940” campaign
Workshops entitled “The Katyn Investigation” at regional National Education Offices and IPN branches | Białystok | Częstochowa | Gdańsk | Gorzów Wielkopolski. | Katowice | Kielce | Koszalin | Kraków | Lublin | Łódź | Olsztyn | Opole | Poznań | Rzeszów | Szczecin | Warsaw | Wrocław (organiser: Institute of National Remembrance)
Warsaw, 10–20 April: mini-exhibition of artefacts from Katyn, including the original copy of W. Wasilewska’s book *The Truth About Katyn* (organiser: Pilecki Institute)
Warsaw, 12 April: Anniversary commemorations at the Katyn Museum attended by the families of the victims of the Katyn massacre, combined with the opening of a new temporary exhibition.
Warsaw, 12 April: the Katyn March of Shadows, which will pass through the streets of Warsaw (organised by the “Zgrupowanie Radosław” Historical Group Association)
Warsaw, 13 April: Distribution of Katyn buttons at the Kordegarda gallery at 15 Krakowskie Przedmieście Street – an event accompanying the exhibition “Meridian 21”, which opened on 9 April and refers to the work of Józef Czapski – a prisoner of the Starobelsk camp who escaped death in Katyn. Czapski left the USSR with Anders’ Army and devoted a significant part of his later life to the struggle to reveal the truth about the Katyn massacre and to commemorate its victims (organiser: National Centre for Culture)
Augustów, 13 April: An educational initiative comprising lessons and meetings at partner educational institutions (organised by the Pilecki Institute)
Berlin, 13 April: A lecture and debate on the discovery of the Katyn graves, led by a German researcher (organised by the Pilecki Institute)
New York, 13 April: Leafleting and information campaign at the Pilecki Institute’s New York office and at the Katyn Memorial in Jersey City (organised by the Pilecki Institute)
Warsaw, 13–20 April: Educational week at Dom Bez Kantów featuring the ‘Katyn Investigation’ workshops for secondary school pupils and Year 8 primary school pupils – Krakowskie Przedmieście 11 Street (organised by the Pilecki Institute)
