Operation of the NKVD in Soviet Ukraine 2019The-opening-of-the-quot...1937-1938" exhibition – Odessa, 9-12 September 2019 On 9-12 September representatives of the Institute of National

Institute of NationalRemembrancehttps://ipn.gov.pl/en/news/2344,The-opening-of-the-quotOrder-No-00485-Anti-Polish-Operation-of-the-NKVD-in-Sovie.html2021-07-28, 22:1306.09.2019

The opening of the "Order No. 00485. Anti-PolishOperation of the NKVD in Soviet Ukraine1937-1938" exhibition – Odessa, 9-12 September2019On 9-12 September representatives of the Institute of NationalRemembrance will be visiting Odessa. During the stay in Ukraine,Dr Jarosław Szarek, President of the Institute of NationalRemembrance, will officially open the IPN exhibition: "Order No.00485. Anti-Polish Operation of the NKVD in Soviet Ukraine1937-1938".

The IPN delegation headed by President Jarosław Szarek began theirvisit to Odessa by laying flowers under a plaque commemorating thelate President of Poland, Lech Kaczyński and at the memorial site atthe II Christian Cemetery, where the IPN representatives visited thePolish quarters. The IPN representatives were accompanied by PolishConsul Andrzej Szmidtke, the Director of the State Regional Archives inOdessa Petro Łukjanczuk and Poles from Odessa representing the‘Polska Nuta’ organization.

The exhibition "Order No. 00485. Anti-Polish Operation of the NKVD inSoviet Ukraine 1937-1938", prepared by the Archive of the IPN incooperation with Ukrainian archivists, was officially opened at 10:30 inthe Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Odessa. The ceremonialopening was conducted jointly by Bishop Bronisław Bernacki, ordinaryof the Diocese of Odessa-Simferopol, the President of the IPN DrJarosław Szarek, the Consul of the Republic of Poland AndrzejSzmidtke, the Director of the State Regional Archives in Odessa, PetroŁukjanczuk, and the Head of the department of culture in the regionaladministration Jarosław Reznikow and Paweł Zielony from the Archiveof the IPN.

The exhibition, prepared by the Archive of the IPN, consists of 16boards presenting the fate of people persecuted as part of the "Polishoperation" carried out by the NKVD in the Soviet Union in 1937-1938.

The first five boards show the situation of Poles after the Treaty of Rigaand the course of the "Polish operation" in the USSR. The followingones portray the personal stories of the repressed. Additionally, 3boards present photographs of the reenactment of arrests,interrogations and shootings.

The exhibition is based on photos and documents from the collectionsof the Ukrainian State Regional Archives in Vinnytsia, Khmelnytskyi andOdessa as well as documents obtained from the Memorial Society andthe Center for Polish-Russian Dialogue and Understanding.

So far, the exhibition has been presented in Vinnytsia and inKhmelnytskyi.

After the ceremonial opening of the exhibition, a round tablediscussion devoted to the activities of social organizations

commemorating the victims of political repression in the region ofOdessa took place. The IPN was represented by the Director of theNational Education Office, Adam Hlebowicz and the senior specialistfrom the Archive of the Institute of National Remembrance PawełZielony. During the meeting, lectures were given by: - Dr OłenaSztepko, Dr Lidia Kowalczuk, Jewhen Biłyj, Aleks Köhler and AdamHlebowicz.

The representatives of the Institute also paid a visit to theheadquarters of the Odessa archives, where they were able to seedocuments, among others, produced by the Soviet special services. DrJarosław Szarek, the President of the Institute of NationalRemembrance and the Director of the IPN Archive, Marzena Krukdiscussed future archival cooperation between the two institutions withDirector Petro Łukjanczuk.

During the next day in Odessa, on 10 September, the delegation of theInstitute of National Remembrance headed by President, Dr JarosławSzarek, the Director of the IPN Archive Marzena Kruk and the Directorof the Historical Research Office, Adam Hlebowicz, together with

Consul Andrzej Szmidtke, laid flowers on a mass grave located on theroute to Ovidopol. Fiodor Bartkowski, a descendant of Poles shot therein 1938 and the person who marked the exhumation site with a crossin 2007, was their guide.

Then, representatives of the Institute laid flowers at a plaquecommemorating the victims of Stalinist repression at the place ofburial of the exhumed remains, at the Western Cemetery and paid ashort visit to the parish of St Margaret the Virgin, where they met withFather Aleksander Wioncek.

In the evening, the delegation met with Father Bernacki, the firstCatholic bishop in the Odessa-Simferopol Diocese, and visited the Polesof the "Polska Nuta" ["Polish Note"] Association.

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