PCK on the guard of memory – the involvement of the Polish Red Cross in the exhumations of the victims of the Katyń crime

In April 1943, after the Germans announced the discovery of mass graves of Polish officers in Katyń, the Main Board of the Polish Red Cross established a Technical Commission aimed at determining the nationality of the victims and their identification. Exhumation work continued until June 1943, with 12 representatives of the Polish Red Cross participating.

Of the 4243 bodies exhumed, 2805 individuals were identified thanks to personal items and military decorations secured by the German side. The remains were placed in a new burial site, which went down in history as the "Polish Red Cross cemetery." In 1945, Kazimierz Skarżyński, the then-secretary general of the Polish Red Cross, prepared an extensive, confidential report on the participation of the Polish Red Cross in the exhumation efforts – today considered one of the most important sources of knowledge about the activities of the Polish Red Cross at that time.

After the fall of communism, the Polish Red Cross again engaged in research on the burial sites of the victims of the Katyń massacre. Between 1991 and 1995, our representatives participated in exhumations in Katyń, Miednoje, and Ostaszków. The work conducted in Katyń from 1994 to 1995 unequivocally confirmed that Polish officers were buried in the former "Polish Red Cross cemetery," and the graves from 1943 had not been disturbed. This was evidenced, among other things, by the preserved PCK identification tags found with the remains.

Among the discovered items were rosaries, pocket knives, coin purses, as well as a mirror and lipstick that likely belonged to 2nd Lieutenant Janina Lewandowska – the only woman murdered in Katyń. The secured artifacts were transferred to the emerging Katyń Museum.

As a result of these efforts, a site was designated where the Polish Military Cemetery in Katyń was opened in 2000 – a national memorial site.

The Polish Red Cross, as an organization providing aid and upholding humanitarian values, remains faithful to its mission also by taking care of historical truth and honoring the victims.