Photos of victims of the Katyn annihilation acts, illustrious persons killed during the World War II confrontations in Poland were displayed within an exhibition mounted at the Center of Military Culture and History in Chisinau with the support of the Polish Army Museum and the Institute of National Remembrance of Poland, IPN reports.

Polish Ambassador to Moldova Artur Michalski reiterated the importance of the Katyn events for the Polish people. “We came together here to discuss important issues and to remember the history. We must know the history so as to build a better future. We recollect today those crimes so as to remember the victims and build our relations with other states based on truth,” stated the diplomat.

“The essence of Soviet communism was best expressed probably in Katyn, when the elite of the Polish national were annihilated. The goal of the totalitarian communist regime was to remove the elites of the people that they occupied. Without elites and without memory, any people can be easily controlled and led. Our fate was similar as tens of thousands of people were taken to Siberia and hundreds of thousands were eliminated by the organized famine,” said Minister of Defense Anatol Salaru.

Historians approved of the works, saying the exhibition is very important from historical viewpoint. “These are very tragic events in the history of the Polish people. Russia’s Ambassador to Poland recently said that Warsaw is also to blame for the start of World War II. This is not true as Warsaw pursued a very correct and equidistant policy then and in the period before the war,” said historian Anatol Petrencu.

The exhibited works were provided by the Institute of National Remembrance of Poland and can be seen at the Center of Military Culture and History until October 25.