Brodnica Pays Tribute to Siberian Exiles

A ceremony commemorating the 86th Anniversary of the Deportation of Poles to Siberia took place at the Centre for Vocational and Continuing Education (CKZiU) in Brodnica. On Tuesday, March 24, 2026, the community of Brodnica County paid tribute to Poles exiled deep into Russia and tormented in Soviet forced labor camps and prisons.

Delegation and Participants

On behalf of the county residents, a delegation representing the Starost of Brodnica, Arkadiusz Orłowski, and the Brodnica County Board laid a wreath before the stone with a commemorative plaque dedicated to the victims of the "Golgota of the East." The delegation included: Jacek Kwas (Board member) and county office employees – Dorota Bibik (Head of the Education, Culture, and Sport Department) and Kamil Suchocki (County Consumer Advocate).

The ceremony, held at the Technikum im. Zesłańców Sybiru (Siberian Exiles Technical School, part of CKZiU), was also attended by Siberian Exiles themselves and representatives of Exiles' families, associated with the Brodnica Branch of the Union of Siberian Exiles. The Branch is led by President Justyna Bartoszewska, a teacher actively involved in promoting knowledge about the history, dramas, and tragedies of the deportations.

Contests and Remembrance

The gathering was also an occasion to present awards to the winners of local contests. Distinctions were awarded in plastic arts, poetry, song, knowledge, and multimedia presentation contests. Their shared goal is to maintain the memory of the "Golgota of the East" among successive generations.

Additionally, during the ceremony, prizes were distributed for the "Princess Anna's Herbarium" contest. This contest, organized by the school under the patronage of the Starost of Brodnica, was held to mark the Year of Princess Anna Vasa in Brodnica County, celebrated in 2025.

The ceremony in Brodnica constituted an important moment of reflection and homage to the victims of Soviet repression, and also highlighted the role of education in transmitting historical memory.