Deal Reached in Dispute Over Statue Marking Polish Massacre

JERSEY CITY (AP) —
Buildings in Lower Manhattan provide a backdrop to a statue dedicated to the victims of the Katyn massacre of 1940 in Jersey City. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

An acrimonious battle in New Jersey over plans to move a waterfront statue commemorating the 1940 massacre of Poles has ended.

Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop and local Polish groups announced late Saturday that they have reached an agreement on relocating the Katyn Memorial. Details on the deal will be announced during a news conference Monday.

City officials wanted to move the statue as part of a renovation of the plaza where it currently stands. But the Polish groups opposed that and sought a court order to block the move.

The bronze statue depicts a Polish soldier bound, gagged and impaled by a bayonet. It sparked strong emotions in Poland, where Katyn is remembered as one of the worst tragedies to befall the nation in a long tragedy-filled history.

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