The Katyń Museum was designed by Jan Belina Brzozowski and Konrad Grabowiecki with the team BBGK Architects, Jerzy Kalina (installations, site-specific) with the team Plasma Project, Justyna Derwisz, Adam Kozak and Krzysztof Lang with the team Maksa. It presents the tragic events of the Katyń massacre that took place during World War II and commemorates 22,000 Polish Prisoners of War murdered by Red Army.

The museum is located in the southern part of a 19th-century fortress – the Warsaw Citadel – and includes three historical buildings. The whole complex was designed as a park, with a symbolic Katyń forest in the centre of the main square. The 100 trees planted there refer to the truth about the dreadful war crime, which used to be concealed in the woods for more than 50 years. The main exposition is arranged on two levels of the Caponier – a historic fortification structure. The first level contains information about the Katyń massacre, where the visitors can learn about historical facts and see exhibits found in the mass graves in Katyń forest. The second level of the exhibition is devoted to personal tragedies of the victims’ families, constituting a place for contemplation.

The exit of the museum turns into the Death Tunnel – a 20-metre-long passage constructed from black concrete, designed by Jerzy Kalina. This dark corridor opens towards the Alley of the Missing Ones. “Missing” because the alley is filled with empty pedestals, on which only the professions of the deceased are engraved: “police officer, doctor, lawyer, architect…” The path leads further to the third building – the arcaded cannon stand with glazed arcades, displaying 15 plaques with the names of the 21,768 murdered.

Wherever the narration of the exhibition required it, the architects used stained concrete, turning it into a means of architectural expression. Parts of letters and other personal belongings of the victims are imprinted on the concrete, continuing the exhibition outside the buildings. The architectural expression here is especially strong. The gap between 12-meter-high walls dividing the Citadel leads in two directions: down—towards the plaques with the victims’ names, and up – towards the sky and light. An oaken cross placed among the trees concludes the dramatic story of Katyń.