Katyń Memorial in Jersey City
Katyń Memorial in Jersey City is a monument by Polish-American sculptor Andrzej Pitynski dedicated to the victims of the 1940 Katyn massacre. Located at Exchange Place in Jersey City, New Jersey, near the Hudson River waterfront, it was unveiled in June 1991. The memorial features a 34-foot-tall bronze statue of a bound, gagged soldier impaled in the back by a rifle with a bayonet. The figure stands on a granite base containing soil from Katyn. The east side of the pediment includes a bronze relief showing the hunger suffered by Poles deported during Soviet occupation, when more than a million Polish citizens were sent to Siberia and many never returned.
January 2012 © Dipankan001 · CC BY-SA 3.0
April 2016 © fot. P. Tracz / KPRM · Public domain
April 2016 © fot. P. Tracz / KPRM · Public domain
Identification | |
| Title | Katyń Memorial in Jersey City |
| Type | memorial sculpture |
Historical context | |
| Dedicated to | the victims of the Katyn massacre |
| Historical event commemorated | the Katyn massacre of 1940 |
| Date of commemorated event | April and May 1940 |
| Victims commemorated | more than 20,000 Polish prisoners of war, including Polish Army officers and intellectual leaders |
| Perpetrator | the Soviet NKVD, on the order of Joseph Stalin and the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) |
| Broader historical context | after the Soviet invasion of eastern Poland and the partition of Poland between Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia during World War II |
Creator | |
| Creator | Andrzej Pitynski |
| Creator nationality | Polish-American |
Discovery and provenance | |
| Proposed relocation site | a prominent site on the Hudson River waterfront opposite Manhattan |
| Proposed relocation site | the end of York Street, Jersey City |
| Original site | Exchange Place on the Jersey City waterfront |
| Nearby geographic feature | near the mouth of the Hudson River along the Hudson River waterfront walkway |
| Location | Exchange Place, Jersey City, New Jersey, United States |
Physical characteristics | |
| Height | about 12 meters (34 feet) |
| Base weight | 120 tons |
| Main figure weight | 6 tons |
Materials | |
| Main figure material | bronze |
| Base material | granite |
| Base contents | soil from Katyn |
Appearance | |
| Plaque image | an image of the Virgin Mary |
| Plaque translation | Nigdy nie zapomnij! Módl się za niewinne ofiary i bohaterów, którzy zginęli w ataku terrorystycznym na Amerykę 11 września 2001 |
| Plaque inscription language | English |
| Plaque inscription | NEVER FORGET! PRAY FOR ALL THE INNOCENT VICTIMS AND HEROES WHO DIED IN THE TERRORIST ATTACK ON AMERICA SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 |
| Plaque location | on the front side of the pediment |
| Inscription on front of base | KATYŃ and the date 1940 |
| Base decoration | a Polish woman carrying her starving child |
| Main figure | a bound and gagged Polish soldier with his hands tied behind his back and a bayoneted rifle driven through his back |
| Relief on eastern side of base | a bronze bas-relief commemorating starving Poles deported to Siberia |
History and restoration | |
| Petition to the White House | on 7 May 2018, a petition asked President Donald Trump to condemn attempts to remove the memorial from Jersey City |
| Current status | the monument remains at Exchange Place under a perpetual use right |
| Relocation outcome | the planned relocation was rescinded and the monument was agreed to remain on the waterfront in a dignified and practical location |
| Possible future action | if the city council could not resolve the matter, it would likely have led to a citywide referendum |
| Council size | nine members |
| Council vote | on 20 December 2018, the nine-member Jersey City Council unanimously adopted an ordinance requiring the monument to remain in Exchange Place in perpetuity |
| Referendum petition | the protests led to the first citizen referendum petition in the history of New Jersey, with nearly 7,500 valid signatures collected |
| Protesters present during visit | two groups of protesters gathered at the site |
| Actions during visit | he placed a wreath on the monument, spoke briefly with Mayor Steven Fulop, and did not speak to the press |
| Visit by Polish president | Andrzej Duda visited the monument on 16 May 2018 |
| Support for removal | Mike DeMarco, chair of the Exchange Place Special Improvement District, supported removal and described the monument as politically incorrect and a little gruesome |
| Mayor's position change | in November 2018, Mayor Steven Fulop withdrew his support for the removal plan |
| Public concern quoted | he said he could not imagine how many mothers would have to explain it to their children |
| Opposition to removal | Polish-Americans and Polish officials opposed the removal plan |
| Controversy | the proposed relocation site was controversial |
| Planned removal reason | Exchange Place was to be converted into a park |
| Planned relocation distance | 200 feet |
| Relocation controversy announcement | April 2018 |
| Memorial event | The memory of Lech Kaczyński, Maria Kaczyńska, and other victims of the Polish Tu-154 crash in Smolensk was honored at the memorial in April 2010 |
| Plaque dedication | the September 11, 2001 attacks |
| Commemorative plaque added | 12 September 2004 |
| Unveiled | June 1991 |
Other | |
| Subject | victims of the Katyn massacre |