Badylak Memorial Plaque, Krakow

In the north west corner of the Old Town Square stands a small, green water pump with a small plaque affixed to it. On this spot on March 21, 1980, Walentyn Badylak doused himself in gasoline and burned himself alive. The 76 year-old Badylak, a veteran of the Home Army underground resistance movement during World War II, burned himself in protest against the Communist regime and its refusal to recognize the Soviet murder of 15,000 Polish Army officers in Katyn in 1940. Stand here and remember one man's courage and sacrifice.