By Paul Tuthill
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wamc/local-wamc-964098.mp3
Chicopee, MA – A traveling international exhibit detailing the massacre of Polish nationals by Soviet secret police in 1940 has made a stop in Western Massachusetts.. WAMC's Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill reports .
The story of the Katyn massacre little known in the vast history of World War Two .until only recently is shown in text, official documents, and photographs on 44 panels.. The exhibit prepared by the Polish Council for the Protection of Memory, Struggle and Martyrdom has been shown at European Union Headquarters, the Library of Congress, Stanford University and now Chicopee Massachusetts..
Stas Radosz is executive director of the Polish Center of Discovery and Learning in Chicopee, where the Katyn exhibition opened earlier this month. It tells the story of the murder of thousands of Polish military officers,teachers, lawyers, doctors, civil servants the cultural elite of Poland by the order of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. More than 25 thousand were killed many of them buried in the Katyn forest..
The story of the Katyn Massacre was covered up for decades...
Radosz says the exhibition has drawn a lot of visitors to the small Polish cultural center located near Elms College in Chicopee .
There is a lot of text in the exhibition, and going through it thoroughly can take close to 2 hours. There are also graphic images, not recommended for viewing by children.
Marie Jablonski of Springfield said the exhibition was an eye opener for her ..
One panel she said stood out shows American born Poles, killed in the Katyn massacre including a young man from nearby Palmer Massachusetts..
In conjunction with the exhibition, there was a play and a film shown at Elms College. A panel discussion is scheduled for Wednesday night at Westfield State University.
The Katyn exhibit moves on to the Massachusetts Statehouse in Boston at the end of the week..