WE WILL REMEMBER THEM

"Nothing will be left of us but our buttons", said Vice-Consul of the Republic of Poland in Toronto, Grzegorz Jopkiewicz, paraphrasing one of the Polish officers in Andrzej Wajda's movie Katyń. Nothing could have been further from the truth on this April afternoon as over a hundred Polish-Canadians gathered at the foot of Roncesvalles Ave. in Toronto to commemorate the 73rd anniversary of the massacre. As we remembered the lives lost in this tragic moment in Polish history, we also paid our respects to the victims of the plane crash at Smolensk three years ago, which amongst many others, killed the Polish President Lech Kaczyński. Organized by the Canadian Polish Congress-Toronto Chapter, the ceremony at the Katyn monument was preceded by a march from the morning mass at St. Casimir's church. Many Polish organizations were present to lay their wreaths, among them: The Polish Combatant's Association Head Executive Board with president Andrzej Ruta and Polish Combatant's Association Branch 20 Toronto with president Zofia Śliwińska.The story of Katyń is one that is part of Polish collective memory, yet we still do not have all the facts. SPK continues to call on the Russian government to reconcile the actions of the Soviet government, the secret police, the Red Army, and of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin vis-à-vis Poland during the course of World War II.

Monika Wyrzykowska