Made of black marble, the monument is over two metres high, has inscriptions in Polish, Czech and English and stands in front of the Institute of Studies into Totalitarian Regimes. 59 years old Ryszard Siwiec was a father of five when he set himself ablaze on Sept 8, 1968 in front of a crowd of 100,000 in stadium in Warsaw. He died four days later.
The Soviet invasion crushed the liberal reforms of Alexander Dubcek and ended an era known as the Prague Spring.

Ryszard Siwiec posthumously received high state distinctions in Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. A film about him, Hear My Cry, by Poland’s Maciej Drygas, won the European Film Award for Best Documentary in 1991.

(Photo:Courtesy of Krakow Post)