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Beata Bruggeman-Sekowska “What should I live for? For this system to kill me slowly and mercilessly? It would be better to end my life at once… There will never be freedom here. Even the word freedom has been forbidden.” These were the final thoughts of Romas Kalanta, a 19-year-old night-school student from Vilijampolė, Lithuania, before […]
Beata Bruggeman-Sekowska The Katyn Massacre refers to the mass execution of over 20,000 Polish military officers, police officers, and intellectuals, carried out by the Soviet NKVD in 1940. This atrocity occurred after both Germany and the Soviet Union invaded Poland in September 1939: Germany attacked from the west on September 1, while the Soviets invaded […]
By Beata Bruggeman-Sekowska On April 13, 1943, the whole world heard about the crime committed by the Soviets. On that day, the Germans announced the discovery of the graves of Polish officers in the forest near Katyn. Three years earlier, in the spring of 1940, nearly 22,000 prisoners of war captured after the Red Army’s […]
Beata Bruggeman-Sekowska On this day, 76 years ago, the Baltic nations endured one of the most harrowing events of the Soviet era. In a calculated attempt to suppress resistance and exert control over the occupied territories, the Soviet Union orchestrated the largest mass deportations in the region. Beginning on March 25, 1949, thousands of individuals-over […]
By Beata Bruggeman-Sekowska Patarei Prison, located in Tallinn, Estonia, holds a deeply painful place in the history of political repression. Originally built as a fortress in the 19th century, this imposing structure became infamous for its use as a prison by both Nazi and Soviet regimes. In particular, under Soviet occupation, it became a symbol […]
On December 16, Beata Bruggeman-Sekowska was a guest on Dutch Public Radio NPO1 for an in-depth, hour-long interview with Merel Wielaert. The discussion expanded on her earlier publication in the Dutch newspaper Trouw, titled “Georgia Also Fights for the Safety of Europe.” During the interview, Bruggeman-Sekowska delved into the historical context of Russian oppression behind […]
By Beata Bruggeman-Sekowska Grzegorz Przemyk (17 May 1964 – 14 May 1983) was an aspiring Polish poet whose untimely death became a powerful symbol of resistance against the Communist regime in Poland. His brutal killing at the hands of the Milicja Obywatelska (Citizens’ Militia) exposed the systemic violence and impunity of the communist authorities during […]
By Beata Bruggeman-Sekowska On October 19, 1984, Father Jerzy Popiełuszko, the chaplain of the Warsaw “Solidarity” movement and a human rights defender in the Polish People’s Republic, was brutally murdered by officers of the Security Service. His death shocked Poland and became a symbol of the repression inflicted by the communist regime on both the […]
By Patrick van Schie October 7 is for many a date to remember the horrific attack by the terrorist organization Hamas on random civilians in Israel, who were murdered, raped, and/or kidnapped, with an estimated nearly 100 still being held hostage. In Europe, October 7 also holds a grim significance, albeit much further back in […]
By Beata Bruggeman-Sekowska “Doctor, will I live?” These were the last words of Loreta Asanavičiūtė, a 23 year old Lithuanian freedom defender, who was run over by a Soviet tank on January 13 1991. On this day armoured Soviet forces drove through peaceful crowd which gathered to protect the symbol of Lithuania’s independence – […]
By Beata Bruggeman-Sękowska On September 8, 1968, Ryszard Siwiec committed suicide by public self-immolation in protest against the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia. He set himself on fire during the nationwide harvest festival at the Stadion Dziesięciolecia (stadium) in Warsaw, Poland in the presence of the leaders of the Polish United Workers’ Party, diplomats and 100,000 spectators. […]
By Beata Bruggeman-Sekowska On May 13th at the Nederlands Fotomuseum a launch of the ‘’Siberian Exiles’’ part 2 by a talented documentary photographer Claudia Heinermann took place, a very special project devoted to the oppression of communism, abuse of power and crimes against humanity. In part 2 of the trilogy Claudia Heinermann follows the […]
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