Plaque on Katyn Monument on Jersey City Waterfront Facing WTC
Jersey City’s Katyn Memorial on the waterfront facing the WTC was almost pulled down to be replaced by the city’s 911 memorial.
After an outcry from the city’s sizeable Polish community, a plaque donated by S. Pazul was added to commemorate the attack. The memorial takes on a special impact with the soldier stabbed in the back.
The memorial is at Exchange Place a block south of the Exchange Place PATH station. It is sculpted by Andrzej Pitynski and commemorates the Russian massacre of Polish prisoners after they had been fighting the Nazis in 1940. The bronze soldier, bayoneted rifle sprung from his back, stands atop a granite base which holds Katyn soil. In an earlier time the monument commemorating wars in another country might have seemed inappropriate given its postcard view spot on the waterfront opposite the Downtown NYC skyline. But now it takes on special significance.
Our Photo Gallery of Jersey City 911 Memorials
Photos of the Memorial after the 911 Attack and During the Tribute in Lights (the site has extensive links and information about the massacre which is a touchstone for the Polish community)
The Memorial Plaque
