Katyń Monument in Niles

The Katyń Monument in Niles is a bronze sculpture depicting a Polish soldier with a bayoneted rifle piercing through his body, set upon a granite foundation. Informational plaques surrounding the statue explain the historical context and details of this memorial site.

The monument honors thousands of Polish officers and intellectuals who were executed by Soviet forces in 1940 in a forest area. Its creation in the United States served as a tribute to the victims and helped preserve knowledge of these tragic events for future generations.

The monument's name directly references the massacre site in Soviet forests and draws visitors from the Polish-American community who come to honor this shared history.

The memorial is located in a public space and is freely accessible from outside. It is best to visit during daylight hours so you can easily read the inscriptions and plaques that provide context about the site.

The granite base contains soil from the original tragedy site, physically connecting this memorial to the forest area where those historical events occurred. This connection makes the monument more than just a statue, turning it into a physical bridge between two nations and two places of remembrance.