On the occasion of this year's 80th anniversary of the Augustów Oblast, the Branch of the Institute of National Memory in Białystok prepared an exhibition devoted to the memory of events which, according to historians, were the largest crime committed in Poles after planet War II.
The exhibition “And They Never Came Home. The Augustowska Siege alphabet" was opened in the main hall of the Polish Parliament. The beginning of the exhibition was accompanied by a conference devoted to events from 80 years ago.
The initiators of the ceremony were MPs of Law and Justice, among others deputy prime minister, head of the PiS club Mariusz Błaszczak, Jarosław Zieliński and Anna Ewa Cicholska, and many guests attended, including the management of the National Memorial Institute.
Dr. Karol Polejowski, president of the Institute of Public Administration, said that the aim of the exhibition was to remind about the tragic destiny of the victims of the Augustów Oblast, and besides to worship them.
He recalled that from the very beginning this event was “a lie”. “This crime was to be forgotten. Not only was it not to be spoken of, but it was not even to be remembered," he said.
During the ceremony Mr Zieliński besides spoke, who said that Oław Augustowska was a "great pacification action" carried out at Stalin's command after the end of the war units in Europe. "This crime deserves to be remembered and to become an increasingly crucial part of the patriotic awareness of all Poles," he said.
He pointed out that the crime was intended to organize the russian business of this part of Poland, where opposition was strong. "The aim was to pacify the area and bring about full control by the authority that was put in place," he added.
He recalled that over 7,000 people were detained during these tragic events, many never returned to their homes. "We do not know the exact list of people murdered, and we do not know where they rest," he said.
Present at the ceremony of b. Deputy Prime Minister, b. Minister of Culture Piotr Gliński expressed his satisfaction with the creation of the exhibition. "Parliament should talk about the most crucial events, anniversaries, phenomena that are applicable to the Polish identity, and the Augustów Siege is simply a symbol of the large tragedy that Poland experienced after planet War II," he said. "It was a terrorist and genocide action, due to the fact that all those who refused to submit or could possibly be considered opponents of the fresh communist government were physically eliminated," he added.
He estimated that "Oława Augustowska is simply a symbol of the enslavement of Poland, but besides a symbol of resistance" due to the fact that – as he stressed – not all wanted to accept the fresh political order imposed on them by the russian Union against the Allied's resolve. "This is simply a terrifying symbol of terror, but besides a symbol of something more, namely the desire to annihilate the Polish state and Polish identity, which fortunately has not been realised," he said.
The Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki spoke in a akin tone. “He who has no awareness of the mistakes and tragedy of past will be condemned to repeat it. Therefore, 1 needs to know about what communist crimes were, in order to be able to admit traces and signs of upcoming totalitarian, authoritarian systems and to counter them immediately" - he noted.
In his opinion, especially young people should know that after planet War II, there was a terrible crime that the communist authorities tried to wipe out and do everything possible to prevent the fact from seeing the light of day.
“This exhibition is simply a large lesson in history. Today, I had the chance to talk to household members who were murdered at the time, and so to people who were inactive children during those events. So there were quite a few emotions, tears, but besides thanks for the fact that the Polish state stood up to the task and behaved properly" - he added.
Augustów's siege is according to historians the largest unexplained crime committed in Poles after planet War II. On 12 July 1945, the NKVD and Memorsz troops launched an operation in Suwałczyz where, according to first estimates, nearly 600 underground activists of independency died. At present, however, it is estimated that there could have been more victims, even about 2,000 people.
It was assumed that in July 1945, about 600 people were killed in the previously unestablished place in Augustov, Suwałki and Sokólski districts. They were detained by soldiers of the russian Military Counterintelligence Death of the 3rd Front of the Belarusian Red Army with the participation of officers of Polish Public safety bodies, MO and soldiers of the First Army of the Polish Army.
Many people detained by NKWD then never returned to their homes – they were murdered and buried in an unknown place. To this day, it has not been explained what happened to them or where their graves are located.
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