Title: The destruction of the Polish elite
Description: The exhibition, Destruction of the Polish Elite: Operation AB - Katyn, commemorates the 70th anniversary of the Katyn massacre after the partition of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union in 1939. Using historical photographs and imagery, it tells the stories of the mass killings of Polish nationals by the Soviet secret police, the NKVD, in 1940, as part of the Soviet plan to suppress resistance and prevent Poland's resurgence by destroying its army corp and its social elite. It has been estimated that some 22,000 Poles in total were shot and buried in mass graves at the site of the Katyn Forest, located west of Smolensk in Russia, as well as other Soviet prison camp sites during this period. Those killed were Polish officers and members of the Polish intelligentsia, including university professors, doctors, lawyers, teachers, engineers, writers and journalists, and other public servants. The exhibition not only pays respect to the thousands of lives lost during this period in World War II history, but also serves as a reminder of the importance of truth telling in order to set on a path to healing.
Subjects: Polish people, Exhibitions, Crimes against, World War, 1939-1945, Atrocities, Katyn Massacre, Katynʹ, Russia, 1940, Politics and government, History
Places: Soviet Union, Poland
Time periods: 1918-1945, 1945-, Occupation, 1939-1945