Monument to World War II Orthodox victims, Białystok

Monument to World War II Orthodox victims in Białystok is a privately funded memorial commemorating the memory of 5,000 Orthodox Christians from the Białystok region who perished in World War II as well as, during the postwar repressions in Stalinist Poland.[1]

Monument to World War II Orthodox victims in Białystok
Pomnik prawosławnych ofiar II Wojny Światowej
The monument, with Orthodox church in the background
Coordinates53°08′48.2″N 23°07′17.9″E
LocationBiałystok
Beginning date2009
Completion date2012
Dedicated toOrthodox Christians of Podlachia

History

The monument was unveiled in 2012 adjacent to the Orthodox Church of the Holy Spirit in Białystok, which is the largest Orthodox church in Poland. The monument is placed in the wall surrounding the church, and features a memorial plaque written in two languages, reading: "To Orthodox victims of World War II, martyrs for faith and nationality in the years 1939–1956. The saints of Podlachia." ("Prawosławnym ofiarom II wojny światowej, męczennikom za wiarę i narodowość w latach 1939-1956. Świętym Ziemi Podlaskiej").[1] There is a boulder build into the monument, listing names of villages pacified in 1946 during the anticommunist insurrection – no other locations of wartime atrocities or categories of victims are mentioned. The memorial was built with private donations from the parishioners, at the cost of 70,000 Polish złoty. The centrepiece boulder lists mainly villages pacified by cursed soldiers from PAS NZW; inhabited by Christians and non-Christians of ethnic Belarusian background including: Końcowizna, Popówka, Potoka, Sypnie, Szpaki, Wólka Wygonowska, Zaleszany, and Zanie[2] and village of Rajsk destroyed by Nazi occupants (SS and Ordnungspolizei).[3]

See also

References
  1. Staff writer (4 June 2012). "W Białymstoku stanął pomnik poświęcony prawosławnym ofiarom II Wojny Światowej". Polskie Radio Białystok.
  2. IPN (2005). "Informacja o ustaleniach końcowych śledztwa S 28/02/Zi w sprawie pozbawienia życia 79 osób – mieszkańców powiatu Bielsk Podlaski w tym 30 osób tzw. furmanów w lesie koło Puchał Starych, dokonanych w okresie od dnia 29 stycznia 1946 r. do dnia 2 lutego 1946" (pdf). Report with final findings of IPN investigation into the violent death of 79 people from Bielsk Podlaski County, between 29 January and 2 February 1946. Warszawa: Instytut Pamięci Narodowej, Komisja Ścigania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu (Komunikaty: 2005–06–30): 1–29.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  3. Michał Gnatowski, Waldemar Monkiewicz, Józef Kowalczyk: Wieś białostocka oskarża. Ze studiów nad eksterminacją wsi na Białostocczyźnie w latach wojny i okupacji hitlerowskiej. Białystok: OKBZH i Ośrodek Badań Naukowych w Białymstoku, 1981. ISBN 83-00-00323-1, p. 146.
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