Katyń – Memorial Cross in Székesfehérvár

Szöveg: Gábor Kálmánfi – The local government of Székesfehérvár | 2012. március 31. 6:06

On March 24 the unveiling ceremony of a memorial cross took place in Székesfehérvár. The cross was erected to commemorate the Polish victims of the Katyń massacre in World War II. Roman Kowalski, the Ambassador of the Republic of Poland to Hungary honored the ceremony with his presence.

In his speech, Roman Kowalski called the Katyń massacre a historic tragedy and an unparalleled crime. He pointed out that “the Hungarians have always shown a special sensitivity and understanding with respect to this scandal of world history. Their attitude is evidenced by the recently erected monuments to Katyń in Hungary". After the speech the ambassador handed over to Zoltán Bobory, the President of the Don Comradeship and Funerary Association a decoration awarded by the Council for the Protection of Struggle and Martyrdom Sites.

Dr. András Cser-Palkovics, the mayor of Székesfehérvár stressed that the friendship between the two nations means that “we stay with each other through thick and thin, being friends in the fields of culture, education and sports, and give support to each other if needed".

The mayor and the ambassador unveiled the cross together. Created by sculptor János Horváth, the memorial commemorates the nearly 22.000 Polish policemen, officers and civilian members of the intelligentsia who were executed by Soviet troops in spring 1940 and buried in unmarked mass graves in the forests around Katyn. The massacre was kept secret for years.