Pamiętam. Katyń 1940

Pamiętam. Katyń 1940 Originally uploaded by georgiana1815

Pamiętam means "I remember" in Polish...

Do not let arguments of expediency persuade you. That is the slow road to oblivion. That is the tortured path to undoing step by step, bit by bit, as the river creates a canyon, the way of life that we love. (Charles Schumer)

67 years ago today, the mass graves at Katyń Forest were discovered. In this location (and others), the U.S.S.R. perpetrated the mass murder of not only the Polish Army Officer Corps but also the cream of Polish life - doctors, priests, thinkers & professors.

When virtue is lost, benevolence appears, when benevolence is lost right conduct appears, when right conduct is lost, expedience appears. Expediency is the mere shadow of right and truth; it is the beginning of disorder. (Lao Tzu)

The horror of the crash this weekend of the Polish plane carrying the leadership of Poland is simply multiplied by the fact that these people were going to Katyń to honor those who were murdered.

Katyn became a painful wound in Polish history, and has for many decades poisoned the relations between Poles and Russians. May this wound fully and finally heal. We are already on this path. We Poles acknowledge and value the actions of Russians of recent years. This path, which is bringing our nations together, we should continue to travel, not halting on the way or retreating back. (from a transcript of the speech President Kaczynski planned to give at the Katyń Memorial)

I choose to remember the massacre rather than to turn away... though it would be so much easier to forget. At the same time, I choose justice over vengeance.

Eye for eye, tooth for tooth; a fair, satisfying and rapid way to a sightless, toothless world. (Calvin Miller, The Singer)