Das Ende des Schweigens – Katyn-Denkmäler in Polen seit 1989
The End of Silence – Katyń Memorials in Poland since 1989

Summary/Abstract: Katyń, for Poles, is a place of remembrance. It is precisely because Soviet propaganda had tried to present the murders as a German atrocity, and because Stalin’s crime had remained a taboo subject in communist Poland long after the end of the war, that it has become such an important part of national identity. The example of Katyń serves as an excellent illustration of the collision between the state-sanctioned and unofficial forms of commemoration and the latter’s rise to become the new official form of commemoration since the 1990s. It allows us to document the identity-forming constants of a commonly remembered history in Poland. And where is the nation particularly apparent to its citizens? Above all in the realm of public life. So a closer examination of public memorials lends itself to following and analysing developments and changes, customs and traditions in Polish forms of commemoration. The article deals with a number of Katyń Memorials in Poland that have been set up since 1989. Since the disaster in Smolensk, Katyń has gained even greater significance as a place of remembrance. In addition, there are the regular political disputes between Poland and Russia about this war crime is to be handled. Interest in this case will not diminish until a symbolic apology permits a dialogue with the perpetrators of this crime and hence provides a chance to come to terms with the past. While there still has been no judicial investigation or settlement, it will remain a formidable historical task to bring the commemoration of this event to a conclusion acceptable to all concerned.

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