Monument to the executions done during World War II in Kielce

Monument to the executions in Kielce.

The Death Monument is located in the forest at the "Stadion" in Kielce, on the slope of Mount Pierścienica.

The monument is dedicated to "Compatriots murdered by the Nazi invaders in the years 1939 - 1945", and it was erected in this place in 1960.

During the occupation, the area of ​​the Kielce Stadium, which was completely under the control of the Nazis, was a place of mass murder. Immediately after 1939, a POW camp was established in this area. Local people, hostages and partisans were brought here, and then shot and buried in mass graves in various parts of the forest. According to sources, probably several thousand people died here, hence some people call this place "Kielecki Katyń".

Executions were particularly intense in the years 1942 - 1943. The first execution took place on June 12, 1940, in the place where the monument stands today. Dozens of Poles were shot at that time.

The monument consists of several elements. The basic part is a large reinforced concrete wall (approx. 6 x 8 m) with a sculpture of an eagle placed on it (made of cast iron) and a hole in the concrete wall symbolizing a bullet impact. At the base of the wall there are plaques: with a description of the monument and with the names of the fallen. The monument can be reached from the intersection of Kusocińskiego and Na Stadion streets along a forest path along which there are stone obelisks with quotes: J. Słowacki, Edward Słoński, Władysław Bełza and from Warszawianka.