Tribute to the Memory of the Victims of the Execution of Poles on November 11, 1939, in the Piaśnica Forest

On the eve of National Independence Day, the director of the Piaśnica Museum, Dr. Magdalena Sacha, together with her staff, paid tribute to the victims of the execution of Poles on November 11, 1939, in the Piaśnica Forest. Candles in the national colors were lit at the Monument to the 100th Anniversary of Poland's Independence at the Piaśnica Gate on Piaśnica Victims Square in Wejherowo.

From the post-war reconstruction of the Piaśnica crime, we know that on Polish Independence Day, November 11, 1939, the Germans deliberately carried out the largest execution in the Piaśnica Forest. On that day, they shot about 350 Poles from Gdynia, Wejherowo, Puck, and many surrounding towns. It is known that the victims were forced to strip down to their underwear before the execution. Men, women, and children were separated. They were shot individually and collectively, away from the dug graves, as well as standing or kneeling directly above the grave. Some of the victims, especially clergy, were tortured and insulted before being killed. Among those who died that day were sisters Stanisława and Kazimiera Pankówna and sister Alicja Kotowska, a nun of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Resurrection, superior of the convent in Wejherowo and also director of the school run by the sisters. In 1999, Pope John Paul II, together with 107 Polish martyrs of World War II, declared her blessed. Today, Blessed Alicja Kotowska is the patron saint of the Piaśnica sanctuary.