Tchorek plaques

Tchorek plaques are a common design of memorial plaque in Warsaw, Poland, used to commemorate places where battles or executions took place during the German occupation of the city during World War II. They are based on an original design by sculptor Karol Tchorek from 1949.

These plaques were installed at various locations in Warsaw from the 1950s until the end of the communist era in Poland, and are one of the most characteristic elements of the landscape of the capital. Many of the original plaques no longer exist, having been removed or destroyed during the ongoing modernisation and expansion of the city and its transport network. However, in 2013 there were still more than 160 Tchorek plaques within the administrative borders of Warsaw.

Warsaw was almost completely destroyed during World War II, and after the Warsaw Uprising of 1944 the entire population of the city was expelled en masse by the Germans. After the Soviet army entered Warsaw in January 1945, following the departure of the Germans, inhabitants returning to the ruined city began to spontaneously commemorate places where battles or executions had taken place during the period of German occupation and the Warsaw Uprising, with crosses and makeshift memorials.

After some time, the authorities of the nascent People's Republic of Poland decided to give these memorials a more formal and organised character. This task was entrusted to the Committee for Protection of Monuments of Struggle and Martyrdom, established by the city of Warsaw. In the second half of the 1940s the committee decided to use memorial plaques made to a uniform design, which initially consisted of black metal plates adorned with white crosses and a brief description of the events that had taken place at the location.

In 1948, a nationwide competition was announced to create a formal design of memorial plaque to commemorate Polish struggle and martyrdom under German occupation. A year later the first prize was awarded to Warsaw sculptor Karol Tchorek who designed a type of array-relief, forged in grey sandstone, with a Maltese cross in the middle. Starting from the 1950s, "Tchorek plaques" were used to commemorate martyrdom sites in Warsaw and the surrounding suburban towns (including Marki and Opacz Kolonia). Tchorek's design continued to be used until the end of the communist era, and even as late as 1994. According to Ella Chmielewska, the plaques have merged into the landscape of the city to the extent that they are often treated not as works of art, but as a specific element of the urban information system.

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Wikipedia