Polish President Andrzej Duda last week issued a message to mark 79 years since the massacre.
Duda's message was published on Friday, July 12, which is the national Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Augustów Roundup, state news agency PAP reported.
The president wrote: "On the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Augustów Roundup, I honour my fellow citizens who paid the highest price for their loyalty to their homeland. I would also like to express my appreciation to all those who contribute to disseminating knowledge about this tragic page in our history."
Duda added that "the events of 79 years ago are a warning for us ... and an obligation to work to strengthen the security and sovereignty of our country."
He also said that "over 7,000 people were detained and almost 600 ended up in the hands of the Soviets" at the time.
"The Augustów Roundup was one of the most terrible crimes committed by the new occupiers of our country immediately after the war," Duda stated.
He likened “the events of July 12, 1945" to the 1940 Soviet massacre of thousands of Polish officers and intellectuals, calling the tragedy "the Small Katyn.”
Both crimes were perpetrated by the Soviet Red Army and NKVD secret police.
According to historians, the 1945 Soviet operation known as the Augustów Roundup could have claimed the lives of some 2,000 Polish anti-communist fighters.
The 1945 massacre is regarded as the worst crime against the Polish nation after World War II, the state-run Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) said.
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Source: IAR, PAP, prezydent.pl
