Katyn memorial vandalised in Sweden
PR dla Zagranicy
John Beauchamp
23.05.2011 15:16
Unknown perpetrators have vandalised the Monument of the Katyn Victims, located at a cemetery in the centre of Stockholm.
A vulgar inscription was scribbled with a green felt-tip pen on the plaque of the memorial site.
The Polish Congress in Sweden has reported the act to Swedish authorities and police. Michał Bieniasz, head of the organisation, stressed the importance of the site to the Polish diaspora.
“The incident has sparked speculation among the Polish community,” Bieniasz said. “Some call it a provocation, some say that a drunken Pole did it. To us it’s all the same. The mere fact is in itself so saddening that we thought we should speak out that such things are taking place.”
The inscription has already been removed from the plaque.
The Monument of the Katyn Victims was unveiled in 1975 and placed behind the building of the Centre for Polish Independence Organisations. It is one of the first such memorial sites to commemorate the 22,000 Polish officers murdered under Stalinist rule in 1940.
The monument was moved to the site of an old cemetery at St. John’s church, located close to the city centre. Rented out from a Protestant parish, the church is the hub of the Polish community in Stockholm. (aba/jb)