Katyn: the massacre of Polish officers. The story of the Katyn tragedy

During the Second world war, both sides committed many crimes against humanity. Killed millions of civilians and soldiers. One of the controversial chapters in that story is the shooting of Polish officers at Katyn. The truth long concealed, accusing it of the crime the other, we try to find out.

More than half a century these events in Katyn was hidden from the world community. Today information is not secret, although opinion on this matter is ambiguous as historians, politicians, and ordinary citizens involved in conflict countries.

Katyn massacre

For many, a symbol of the brutal murder was the Katyn. The execution of Polish officers it is impossible to justify or understand. It was here, in the Katyn forest in Smolensk region, in the spring of 1940 were destroyed thousands of Polish officers. Mass murder of Polish citizens was not limited to only this place. Documents were made public, which in April and may 1940 in the different camps of the NKVD destroyed more than 20 thousand of Polish citizens.

The Massacre at Katyn has long complicated Polish-Russian relations. Since 2010, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and the state Duma admitted that the mass murder of Polish citizens in the Katyn forest was the activity of the Stalinist regime. It was promulgated in a statement, “On the Katyn tragedy and its victims”. However, not all public and political figures in Russia agree with this statement.

The capture of the Polish officers

The Second world war for Poland began 01.09.1939, when Germany entered its territory. Britain and France did not join in the conflict, waiting for the isolation of further developments. 10.09.1939 already entered Poland troops of the USSR with the official purpose to protect the Ukrainian and Belarusian population of Poland. Modern historiography calls such actions of the aggressor countries “fourth partition of Poland". The red army occupied the territory of Western Ukraine, Western Belarus. According to the decision of the Versailles Treaty, these lands became part of Poland.

The Polish military, defending their land, are unable to resist the two armies. They quickly defeated. On the ground the NKVD was established eight camps for Polish prisoners of war. They are directly connected with the tragic event, dubbed "execution in Katyn."

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Just captured by the red army got to half a million of Polish citizens, most of whom were released and the camps were about 130 thousand people. After a time of the rank and file of the military, natives of Poland, was sent home, more than 40 thousand were transported to Germany, the rest (about 40 thousand) were distributed in five camps:

• Starobilsk (Luhansk) – officers in the amount of 4 thousand.
• Kozelsk (Kaluga) – officers in the amount of 5 thousand.
• Ostashkov (Tver) – the gendarmes and police in the amount of 4700 people.
• Aimed at the construction of roads – ordinary in the amount of 18 thousand.
• Sent to work in the Krivoy Rog basin – the ordinary in the amount of 10 thousand.

By the spring of 1940 from the prisoners of the three camps stopped coming letters to relatives that are regularly transmitted through the Red Cross. The reason for the silence became prisoners of war in Katyn, the story of the tragedy which tied the fates of tens of thousands of poles.

The Execution of prisoners

In 1992 was published the document is a proposal 03.08.1940 L. Beria to the Politburo, which dealt with the question of the shooting of Polish prisoners of war. The decision on the death penalty adopted March 5, 1940.

In late March, the NKVD completed the development of the plan. POWs from Starobelsk and Kozelsk camps taken in Kiev, Kherson, Kharkiv, Minsk. Former gendarmes and policemen from the Ostashkov camp were transported to Kalinin prison, which had previously taken the ordinary prisoners. Near the prison was dug a huge pit (the Copper village).

In April, the prisoners began to export to the execution of 350-400 people. Sentenced to death thought that they were released. Many left in cars in high spirits, not even knowing of the imminent death.

As the men were shot at Katyn:

• The prisoners were bound;
• Throws a head overcoat (not always, just a particularly strong and young);
• Dug down to the pit;
• Kill shot in the head from a Walther or Browning.

That last fact for a long time testified that the crime against Polish citizens guilty of German troops.

Prisoners from the prison of Kalinin was killed in the chambers.

From April to may 1940 was shot:

• Katyn – the prisoner 4421;
• Starobelsk and Ostashkov camps – 10131;
• In other camps – 7305.

Who were shot in Katyn? Those executed were not only personnel officers, but also mobilized during the war, lawyers, teachers, engineers, doctors, professors and other intellectuals.

“Missing” officers

When Germany attacked the Soviet Union, negotiations began between the Polish and Soviet government to join forces against the enemy. Then began the search taken to the Soviet camp officers. But the truth about Katyn was still unknown.

Neither one of the missing officers was able to find, and the assumption that they have escaped from the camps, wasunfounded. Any news or mention of those who fall in the aforementioned camp, it was not.

To Find the officers, or rather their bodies, were only able to in 1943. In Katyn were discovered in the mass graves of executed Polish citizens.

Investigating the German side

The First mass graves in Katyn forest was discovered by the German troops. They carried out the exhumation of the bodies excavated and conducted its own investigation.

The Exhumation of the bodies was conducted Gerhard Butz. To work in the village of Katyn was attracted by the international Commission, which included doctors from German-controlled Europe, and also the representatives of Switzerland and the poles of the red cross (Polish). Not present were representatives of the International red cross because of the ban by the government of the USSR.

The German report includes the following information about Katyn (massacre of Polish officers):

• As a result of excavations was discovered eight mass graves of them pulled out again and reburied 4143 person. The majority of those killed have been identified. In graves No. 1 to 7 people were buried in winter clothes (heavy jackets, overcoats, sweaters, scarves), and in grave No. 8 – during summer. Also in graves №1-7 were found scraps of papers, dated April-March 1940, and on the bodies of insects. This testified to the fact that the execution of poles at Katyn was on a cool time of year, in the spring.
• The slain were found many personal belongings, they testified that the victims were in the Kozelsk camp. For example, letters from home addressed to Kozelsk. Also had many snuff boxes and other objects with inscriptions «city».
• Sections of the trees showed that they were planted on the graves about three years ago from the detection time. This indicated that the pit was filled in 1940. At this time the territory was controlled by Soviet troops.
• All the Polish officers in Katyn were shot in the head by the bullets of German manufacture. However, they were released in the 20-30-ies of XX century and was exported in large quantities in the Baltic States and the Soviet Union.
• Hands executed was tied with a cord so that when you try to divide the loop was tightened even more. The victims from the grave No. 5 was wrapped up head so that when you try to make any movement the noose was strangling her prey. In other graves the head was also bound, but only to those who were provided with adequate physical strength. Some of those killed had traces of the tetrahedral bayonet, like Soviet weapons. The Germans used flat with bayonets.
• Commission interviewed local residents and found that in the spring of 1940, at Gnezdovo station came a large number of Polish prisoners of war who were loaded into trucks and taken away towards the forest. More locals these people have not seen.

Polish Commission, who was at the exhumation and the investigation, confirmed the German findings in this case, found no obvious traces of manipulation of documents. The only thing was trying to hide from the Germans about Katyn (massacre of Polish officers), is the origin of the bullets that were killing. However, the poles knew that such a weapon could be the representatives of the NKVD.

Soviet version

In the autumn of 1943 for the investigation of the Katyn tragedy came from the representatives of the NKVD. According to them, the Polish prisoners of war doing road works, and with the advent of the summer of 1941 in the Smolensk region the Germans did not have time to evacuate.

According to the assumption of the NKVD in August-September of the same year, the remaining prisoners were shot by the Germans. To hide the traces of their crimes, the representatives of the Wehrmacht opened the graves in 1943 and took out all the documents dated after 1940.

The Soviet government has prepared a large number of witnesses to your version of events, but in 1990, the remaining living witnesses have recanted their testimony in 1943.

Soviet Commission carried out re-excavation, falsified some documents, and some graves completely destroyed. But Katyn, the story of the tragedy which haunted the Polish citizens, still revealed its secrets.

The Katyn case at Nuremberg

After the war, from 1945 to 1946 was the so-called Nuremberg trials, the purpose of which was to punish war criminals. The Katyn issue was also raised at the trial. The massacre of Polish POWs by the Soviet side has accused the German troops.

Many of the witnesses in the case changed his testimony, they refused to support the findings of the German Commission, although they took part in it. Despite all attempts of the Soviet Union, the Tribunal did not support the prosecution on the issue of Katyn, which actually gave rise to the idea that the Katyn massacre was guilty of Soviet troops.

Formal recognition of responsibility for the Katyn

Katyn (massacre of Polish officers) and what happened there, was considered by different countries many times. USA conducted its investigations in 1951-1952., at the end of XX century on this case worked for the Soviet-Polish Commission in 1991 in Poland, opened the Institute of national remembrance.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in the Russian Federation re-engaged on this issue. Since 1990 began a criminal investigationthe military Prosecutor's office. It received No. 159. In 2004 the criminal case was dismissed due to the death of the accused in it.

The Polish side has put forward the version about genocide of the Polish people, but the Russian side has not confirmed it. A criminal case on the fact of the genocide was stopped.

Today, the process of declassification of many volumes of the case of Katyn. Copies of these volumes are transferred to the Polish side. The first important documents on the Soviet prisoner of war camps were transferred in 1990 by Mikhail Gorbachev. The Russian side acknowledged that crime in Katyn was a Soviet power in the face of Beria, Merkulov and others.

In 1992 was published the documents on the Katyn massacre, which had been stored in the so-called Presidential archive. Modern scientific literature recognizes their authenticity.

Polish-Russian relations

The Question of the Katyn massacre from time to time appears in the Polish and Russian media. For the poles it has a significant importance in the national historical memory.

In 2008, a Moscow court dismissed the appeal of the executed Polish officers by their relatives. As a result of failure, they applied to the Russian Federation the complaint to the European court. Russia have been accused of ineffectiveness of investigation, and in disregard of close relatives of victims. In April 2012, the European court of human rights qualified the massacre of prisoners as a war crime, and ordered Russia to pay 10 of the 15 plaintiffs (relatives of the 12 killed in Katyn officers) for 5 thousand euros each. This was compensation for the legal costs of the plaintiffs. Have your poles, Katyn which was a symbol of family and national tragedy, hard to say.

The Official position of the government of the Russian Federation

The Modern leaders of Russia, Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev, hold a point of view on the Katyn massacre. They several times made statements, condemning crimes of the Stalinist regime. Vladimir Putin even expressed his assumption, which explained the role of Stalin in the murder of Polish officers. In his opinion, the Russian dictator thus avenged the defeat in 1920 in the Polish-Soviet war.

In 2010, Dmitry Medvedev initiated the publication of classified Soviet era documents from “package No. 1” on the site of Rosarkhiv. The shooting in Katyn, the official documents which are available for discussion, yet not revealed until the end. Some volumes of this case are still classified, but Polish media Dmitry Medvedev said that he condemns those who doubt the authenticity of the submitted documents.

26.11.2010, the Russian state Duma adopted the document "On the Katyn tragedy…”. Opposed to this faction of the Communist party. According to the statement of the Katyn massacre is recognized as a crime that was committed on the direct orders of Stalin. The document also expressed sympathy to the Polish people.

In 2011, Russian officials began to Express the readiness of the consideration of the question of rehabilitation of victims of the Katyn massacre.

The Memory of Katyn

Among the Polish population the memory of the Katyn massacre has always remained a part of history. In 1972 in London poles in exile Committee was established, which began collecting funds to build a monument to the victims of the mass murder of Polish officers in 1940. These efforts did not support the British government, as he feared the reaction of the Soviet authorities.

By September 1976, a monument was opened on Gundelsberger cemetery, which is located in the West of London. The monument is a small obelisk with inscriptions on the pedestal. The captions are in two languages – Polish and English. They state that the monument was built in memory of more than 10 thousands of Polish prisoners of war in the Kozelsk, Starobelsk, Ostashkov. They disappeared without a trace in 1940, and part of them (4,500) had been exhumed in 1943 at Katyn.

Like monuments erected to the victims of Katyn and in other countries of the world:

• In Toronto (Canada);
• In Johannesburg (South Africa);
• In new Britain (USA);
• The Military cemetery in Warsaw (Poland).

The Fate of the monument in 1981 at the Military cemetery was tragic. After the night he was taken by unknown people, using a construction crane and machines. The monument was in the form of a cross with the date of the ‘1940s’ and the inscription "Katyn". To cross adjacent two pillars with inscriptions «Starobelsk”, “Ostashkovo”. At the foot of the monument were the letters “VP” meaning “Eternal memory” and the coat of arms of the Commonwealth in the form of an eagle with a crown.

The Memory about the tragedy of the Polish people is well highlighted in his film "Katyn" Andrzej Wajda (2007). The Director himself is the son of Yakub Weide, a career officer, was shot in 1940.

The Film was shown in different countries, including in Russia, and in 2008 he was in the top five international awards «Oscar» in the category best foreign film.

The Plot is written based on the novel of Andrzej Mulyarchick. Describes the period from September 1939 to the fall of 1945. The film tells about the fate of four officers who were in the Soviet camp, as well as on their close relatives who do not know the truth about them, although I guess the scary part. Via the fate of several people the author has brought to all, what iswas the real story.

"Katyn" cannot remain indifferent to the viewer, regardless of nationality.