On 26 February 2026, at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw, the names of 16 individuals whose remains were discovered and identified through the work of the Instytut Pamięci Narodowej were officially announced.

The ceremony of presenting identification notes was attended by the President of the Republic of Poland, Karol Nawrocki, as well as Deputy Presidents of the IPN: Dr. Hab. Karol Polejowski, Dr. Mateusz Szpytma, and Dr. Hab. Krzysztof Szwagrzyk. The event was also attended by the Director of IPN Gdańsk, Dr. Marek Szymaniak, together with members of his team.

Victims of Terror – Restored to Name and Memory

The ceremony revealed the identities of victims found in Kraków, Gdańsk, Lublin, Rzeszów, Jawornik Ruski, in the Opole and Przemyśl districts, and in Lithuania.

They were victims of German and communist terror, as well as Ukrainian nationalist violence — men and women loyal to Poland who paid the ultimate price for that loyalty.

Among those identified were:

a five-member family from the Opole district murdered in the winter of 1943 for sheltering people of Jewish nationality, a Home Army soldier from the Vilnius region who fell in battle against the Red Army near Drużyle in Lithuania, victims of communist military court sentences executed in Lublin, Rzeszów, and Gdańsk.

Thanks to the work of the IPN Bureau of Search and Identification, Henryk Ernest was also identified. His remains were discovered at the Garrison Cemetery in Gdańsk.

After years of anonymous burial, he returns to the history and memory of the Republic — with his name restored, with dignity, and with due honour. The identification note was received by a relative of the Hero.

“The Republic Will Always Return for Its Sons”

President Karol Nawrocki stated during the ceremony:

“Even if it takes 80 years, the Republic of Poland will always return for its sons. It will return for those who are ready to fight for her, ready to defend her — and Poland will never abandon those who serve the Republic.”

Deputy President of the IPN, Dr. Hab. Karol Polejowski, emphasised:

“Our task is to find the victims of totalitarian regimes, hidden in unmarked pits of death — those who are still waiting to rest in consecrated ground. This is our duty.”

Dr. Hab. Krzysztof Szwagrzyk, who heads the Bureau of Search and Identification, reaffirmed the Institute’s mission:

“We return for our own.”

Since December 2012, the IPN has organised cyclical identification conferences at the Presidential Palace and the Belweder in Warsaw, during which victims of German, Soviet, communist, and Ukrainian crimes are called by name — identified thanks to years of painstaking search and forensic work.

Today’s ceremony in Warsaw was not merely a report on the activities of the Institute of National Remembrance.

It was a commitment — to the past and to future generations.

An unending roll call of remembrance in which, instead of saying “fallen on the field of glory,” we can now say:

“They have been found.”

“They are among us.”

🇵🇱 The Polish State always returns for its own.

Honour and glory to the Heroes.

Text: POLISH SUE

Source: IPN

Photos: KPRP