Zesłańcom Sybiru, Wrocław

The Memorial to Siberian Deportees is a twelve-metre monument on Skwer Sybiraków beside plac Strzelecki in Wrocław. Designed by sculptor Jarosław Perszko with architect Czesław Bielecki, it shows a Latin cross piercing a wall and commemorates Poles deported to the Soviet Union.

The twelve-metre Memorial to Siberian Deportees rises here on Skwer Sybiraków, beside plac Strzelecki. Its central image is stark: a Latin cross breaks through a wall, turning a Christian symbol into an image of force, rupture and survival. This memorial honours the Poles deported to the Soviet Union and the wider community of deportees and victims.

Sculptor Jarosław Perszko designed it in artistic collaboration with architect Czesław Bielecki. It was dedicated on the twentieth of September two thousand, exactly sixty years after the first deportation of Poles to the Soviet Union; Cardinal Henryk Gulbinowicz, then Archbishop of Wrocław, led the ceremony with Bishop Tadeusz Rybak of Legnica. Notice the open space before the monument: it serves as an outdoor altar.

Two foundation stones set into its altar table were blessed by Pope John Paul the Second in nineteen ninety-seven. Nearby, dark granite blocks carry the memorial’s message of remembrance for those sent away, gratitude for survival and return, and a warning intended for those who come after.