Mr.

Andrzej Melak

Member of the Polish Parliament

 

            Dear Sir,

 

The Basilica of the Holy Cross in Warsaw has become a place to soothe the pain and suffering of Polish families who lost their loved ones in a distant, foreign land. For many decades the communist authorities denied the truth and did not allow for a dignified farewell. In mass graves of Katyn, Kharkov, Tver, Mednoye, Bykivnia, Kuropat and other unknown places rested those who served their country with their knowledge or military devotion. Their death was a part of the Soviet plan of extermination of the intellectual elites of the Republic of Poland, annihilation of the Polish nation.

As painful as this crime was the Katyn lie. The families fought for years for the truth, not letting themselves be intimidated by the security apparatus. Their courage and determination, dictated by the love for their nearest and dearest and respect for their Homeland, instilled historical knowledge in the common consciousness of Poles. They caused the erection of memorial monuments in the country, especially in the places of extermination.

We owe homage and indelible memory to those murdered in the Katyn Forests. We also owe them the truth about genocide.

Joining with the congregation in prayer, I bow low to the victims of the Soviet system.

 

Marek Kuchciński