Katyn Memorial

The Katyn Memorial is a war monument at Gunnersbury Cemetery in London, featuring a 6.5-meter granite obelisk topped with an eagle encircled by barbed wire. The sculpture stands as a stark reminder of the tragedy it commemorates, with the barbed wire serving as a visual symbol of captivity and suffering.

The memorial commemorates around 14,500 Polish prisoners of war who vanished in 1940 from Soviet camps. These losses became a defining tragedy of the war and a turning point in how Poles understood their struggle during that time.

This memorial serves as a gathering place where the Polish community in London comes together to honor those who perished. Visitors can sense how the memory of this tragedy remains an important part of their shared identity and remembrance.

The memorial is located at Gunnersbury Cemetery in the London Borough of Hounslow and can be visited during the cemetery's regular opening hours. It is accessible on foot and easy to find once you enter through the main gates.

When it was unveiled in 1976, no official British government representatives attended the ceremony due to tensions with the Soviet Union at that time. This absence made the dedication ceremony itself a poignant statement about the political divisions that surrounded this tragedy.