Remembering the victims of Black Saturday

"Poland is not yet lost while we live." The first sentence of the Polish national anthem summarizes what strength the Polish people have shown since Apr. 10, 2010, now referred to as "Black Saturday". The plane crash in Smolensk, Russia resulted in 96 victims, one of them being Poland's president, Lech Kaczynski.The rest of the victims included people of very high stature from within the Polish government, the Catholic church, army figures, as well as other civil figures.

The irony of this tragedy lies within the very same forest in which the airplane carrying Kaczynski crashed. 70 years ago in Katyn, nearly 30 kilometers away from the crash site, an estimated 22,000 Poles were massacred by the Russian secret service.

Victims included army officers, intellectuals, as well priests. The airplane that crashed on Black Saturday was en route to a memorial service to the event from 70 years ago.

Many people thought the crash in Smolensk would cause a meltdown. However, the Polish people have responded in great numbers and have shown their resilience throughout their misfortune. Their response has been shown much closer to Chicago than many would expect.

On Apr. 18 the Polish-American community took to the streets in an event that was called the "white march" to pay tribute to the victims of the crash. The march started at St. Stanislaus Kostka Church and made way to Holy Trinity Church. After the stop the crowd of thousands of people made way towards Holy Name Cathedral downtown in which people packed in for a memorial mass until the maximum capacity was filled

Outside of the cathedral stands a wall with the names of every person that died in the crash. One of the names on this wall shows a name with a personal connection with Chicago. Wojciech Seweryn was an artist who lived in Chicago. His father was one of the 22,000 victims of the Katyn massacre. This prominent member of the Polish community created a sculpture that stands at the St. Adalbert cemetery in Niles which pays homage to the lives that were lost 70 years ago.

The country of Poland has gone through many tragic events throughout its long and elaborate history. When Poland's border disappeared off of the map for 123 years, the Polish people never disappeared. When Poland was attacked by Germany in World War II, they did not surrender. As long as the Polish people are still alive, Poland will never be lost.