National Katyn Memorial Committee Records

The origins of the effort to establish the National Katyn Memorial began in 1947 with Major Clement A. Knefel, when he learned of a 1940 massacre of Polish army officers in the Katyn Forest. Knefel began collecting funds for a monument to honor victims; by 1989, he appealed to the Maryland Division of the Polish American Congress, which approved the idea to erect a monument and agreed to form the Katyn Memorial Committee of Baltimore.

Among the earliest members and officers were Clement Kenefel, Melvin Laszczynski, W. Milan-Kamski, Alfred Wisniewski, Lucjan Antosiak, Frank Lanocha, Jerzy Miegon, Barbara Miegon, Stanislaw Jamrosz, Alfreda Jamrosz, Stella E. Spies, and Stanely A. May. In 1994, the National Katyn Memorial Committee was incorporated and attained nonprofit status. Baltimore's mayor, Kurt Schmoke, proposed a site located east of the Baltimore Inner Harbor for the memorial. The Polish born sculptor, Andrzej Pitynski, was commissioned to design the monument, which was completed and dedicated in 2000. Upon completion of the project, the National Katyn Memorial Committee was disbanded and was succeeded by the National Katyn Memorial Foundation.