Eighty-five years ago, on the night of February 9-10, 1940, the first mass deportation of Polish citizens deep into the Soviet Union began. Brutally uprooted from their homes on a frosty night, they packed what they could haste and fright before being deported in freight cars to Siberia and Kazakhstan. Many never returned.

Today, as every year, candles were lit on the tracks in front of the Sybir Memorial Museum to remember these tragic events and pay tribute to deportees.

The Light of Remembrance was lit by: Krzysztof Truskolaski Member of Parliament, Jacek Brzozowski, Podlaskie Voivode; Rafał Rudnicki and Tomasz Klim, Deputy Mayors of Białystok; Katarzyna Jamróz, Chairwoman of the Białystok City Council; Katarzyna Kisielewska-Martyniuk, Deputy Chairwoman of the City Council; Wojciech Śleszyński, Director of the Sybir Memorial Museum; and Sybiraks led by Teresa Borowska, who serves as the Vice President of the Białystok Branch of the Association of Siberian Deportees.

During the ceremony some fragments of the deportees’ accounts were read, recalling the tragedy of Siberia – dramatic deportations, the struggle for survival and longing for the lost homeland. The Light of Remembrance will also be visible on the facade of the Sybir Memorial Museum. It will remain illuminated in white and red from 5:00 p.m. to midnight.

The Light of Remembrance was not the only event held on February 9. At 4:00 p.m., visitors were invited to a curator guided tour of the temporary exhibition “Boundlessness in Sybir”. This event allowed attendees to view the exiles’ tragic fate through the lens of contemporary art. The curator of the exhibition, Ewelina Kamieńska presented its concept and the symbolism of the displayed works, which cover the topics of borders and boundlessness – both in geographical and emotional terms. The exhibition “Boundlessness in Sybir” will be open until May 4, 2025. Welcome!