Temporary exhibitions

The exhibition, prepared by the Central Museum of Prisoners-of-War, is devoted to Polish citizens who after 17 of September 1939 found themselves in Soviet captivity. A very important part of the exhibit is the fate of soldiers of different military formations who were interned in the three special camps run by the NKVD: Kozelsk, Starobilsk and Ostashkov and, in the spring of 1940, were killed following an order of the top political leadership of the Soviet Union, and buried in Katyń, Kharkov and Mednoye. The expositions also refers to Polish citizens who were detained in prisons of western Belarus and Ukraine and privates non-commission officers who, in the autumn of 1939, were sent to labour camps, e.g. in southern Ukraine. Those of them who had managed to survive lived to see the "amnesty" and, from August 1941, were allowed to join the ranks of General Anders's army.

The expositions also refers to the important and still live issue, of political exploitation of the Katyń Massacre, its falsification and manipulation, and the repercussions it had on international politics. Moreover, there are showed attempts, taken over the years, to commemorate the Polish officers and the long process of finding the truth about their fate.

There are also included Opole reminiscences in there. The published photographs and documents concern, among others, officers of the Polish Army and the State Police, such as Lieutenant Kazimierz Ściślewski or Senior Warrant Officer Stefan Podkówka, whose families, after 1945, settled in the Opole region and are still active in promoting the memory of their relatives who were victims of the Katyń massacre.

The exhibition will be presented until 11 May, in front of the Opole seat of the Central Museum of Prisoners-of-War at 3 Minorytów Street.