More than 20,000 Poles were killed by the Soviets in the Katyn woods near Smolensk in 1940. Another tens of thousands were affected by the Katyn massacre through the loss of their loved ones. Polish community in Bari, Italy, paid tribute to the Katyn victims by launching the IPN exhibition entitled "The Katyn Massacre of 1940: Extermination of the Polish Elite" in Italian language version.

The opening of the exhibition was accompanied by the screening of the film produced by the IPN, "20-40-20," showing the biographies of four of the victims of the Soviet crime in Katyn. The opening of the exhibition proved to be an opportunity to present the IPN "Ambassador of Polish History" award to the Puglia Polish-Italian Association headed by Aneta Banasik. The following day, the IPN representatives met with Italian students to talk about the common threads of Polish and Italian history in the context of the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Monte Cassino. The audience was also interested in the significance of the Ulma family martyrdom.

The exhibition "Katyn Massacre 1940: The Extermination of the Polish Elites" will be on display in Bari at the parish of the Salesian Fathers Santissimo Redentore in Via Martiri d'Otranto 65 until 11 May 2024.