News

The presentation of the Opole edition of "The exterminated formation. The Police Force of the Silesian Voivodship 1922-1939" exhibition, prepared by the Institute of National Remembrance in Katowice and the Museum in Tarnowskie Góry and enriched by memorabilia from the collections of our Museum as well as valuable exhibits from the Chamber of Remembrance at the Provincial Police Headquarters in Opole, is coming to the end. It is still to be seen in the Opole seat of the Museum until 5 May 2023.

It is a good idea to do so, as the subject has been prepared with great diligence, is rich in facts which are not commonly known but still can be of interest not only to enthusiasts of the history of Upper Silesia. The Police Force of the Silesian Voivodship is depicted here in the context of the region's autonomy in the Second Polish Republic: its origin, everyday tasks, the off-duty life of its officers, its key values, and finally its tragic end resulting from the aggression of Germany and the USSR against Poland in 1939 – this refers mainly to the Katyń Massacre whose victims were the Silesian policemen. In total, almost 80% of them died.

The exhibition is a good add to our theme - it complements, among other things, the content presented in the permanent exhibition "Polish prisoners-of-war in the USSR". We would like to draw your attention, for example, to the subject of sport - so popular in the ranks of the Silesian Voivodship Police. It was expressed in the intense activity of the Katowice Police Sports Club, which one of its outstanding fighters was Stanisław Piłat, six-time national boxing champion, interned in Lithuania during the war, from where he escaped.

You are welcome to see it!