Two Day Event Programme Remembering Katyń

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Includes talk at POSK and walk from memorial in Gunnersbury Cemetery

The Katyń Memorial in Gunnersbury Cemetery

November 7, 2025

Talking and Exploring, in partnership with The Polish Social and Cultural Association (POSK) and The Polonia Aid Foundation Trust (PAFT), is staging a two -day programme in London to mark the 85th anniversary of the 1940 Katyń massacre. The events aim to honour the victims, deepen public understanding of the atrocity and its legacy, and strengthen ties within the Polish and wider local communities.

The programme opens on Saturday 15 November at POSK, 238 King Street, Hammersmith, where an evening of reflection will begin at 5:00pm. The session includes a lecture and panel discussion on the historical and contemporary significance of Katyń, followed by a screening of the feature film The Last Witness and a post -screening conversation with the film ’s director, Piotr Szkopiak. The organisers say the evening is intended to place the massacre in historical context while encouraging public dialogue about truth, memory and reconciliation.

The second day takes place on Saturday 22 November at 11:00am at the Katyń Memorial in Gunnersbury Cemetery. Delegates will gather at the memorial for a short commemorative service before a guided walk around Gunnersbury Cemetery and a visit to Gunnersbury Park Museum. The museum visit will highlight the story of Poles in the United Kingdom, their wartime contribution and post -war community life, and will place the Katyń remembrance within the broader narrative of Polish -British history.

The Katyń Memorial at Gunnersbury Cemetery is a focal point for annual remembrance. Erected to mark the memory of those murdered in the mass executions of Polish officers and intelligentsia in 1940, the memorial is sited within the cemetery close to Gunnersbury Park and serves as a place for wreath -laying, quiet reflection and civic commemoration. The cemetery and nearby park together form an important landscape of Polish heritage in the area, where memorials and commemorative events connect local communities with a difficult chapter of 20th -century history.

Both days of the programme are free to attend, but places must be reserved in advance. Registration is handled separately for each day via Eventbrite

Those who prefer can register or enquire by telephone on 07964 765 799. Talking and Exploring encourages anyone interested in Polish history, community remembrance or the ongoing significance of Katyń to reserve a place early, as spaces are limited.

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