Looking back. Looking ahead. 2020-2025

DESCENDANTS | SPEECHES   153 Descendants ©Bavarian Memorial Foundation Ladies and Gentlemen, I would first like to thank the Polish Consul General, Jan Ma ł k- iewicz, for giving me the opportunity to say a few words at this important ceremony marking the unveiling of a new memorial for the victims of the Dachau concentration camp in Munich. I also wish to extend my gratitude to all those who assisted me in tracing the memory of my relative from Poland, Father Stanis ł awW ę grzynowski. This ceremony holds a special emotional significance for me, because the ashes of my ancestor – my grandmother’s brother, Father Stanis ł awW ę grzynowski – were finally laid to rest here at Ehrenhain I in this very cemetery. Father Stanis ł awW ę grzynowski died in the Dachau concentra- tion camp on 21 March 1941. He is remembered as one of the martyrs of the 20th century. He was a priest who was brutally tortured in Dachau. The testimony of a contemporary witness has preserved the account of the suffering that led to his death. I would like to add that our family has kept many personal mementos of Father W ę grzynowski – including a rosary, his will and other items. I should also mention that my grandmother,Weronika W ę grzynowska, long wished to honour the memory of her brother Stanis ł aw during her lifetime. For nearly 80 years, our family did not know where his ashes had been laid to rest. Only last year did we discover – by chance – that the urn   containing his ashes rests at the Perlacher Forst cemetery here in Munich. Today, I am here to pay tribute to his memory.   This cemetery also holds the ashes of another compatriot, Tadeusz Winiarski, a young soldier who died at the Dachau concentration camp in 1941. Dr. Maria Kuzin Inauguration of Ehrenhain I at the Perlacher Forst cemetery  1 September 2021 Today, I honour both my ancestor and my fellow countryman. I also wish to remember all victims of Dachau and all other victims of the SecondWorldWar. May their memory live on! This collaborative project was carried out by the   Foundation for Polish-German Reconciliation, the Polish Consulate General in Munich and the Bavarian Memorial Foundation.