RUSSIA: The Katyn Massacre

The Katyn Massacre stands as a dark chapter in the history of World War II, encapsulating the tragic fate of thousands of Polish military officers, police, and intellectuals. Occurring in the spring of 1940 in the heart of the Katyn Forest, this massacre remains a terrible symbol of the complex relationships and geopolitical maneuvers that characterized the early stages of the war.

In this blog post, we will delve into the historical context, exploring the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, the Soviet invasion of Poland, and the subsequent occupation of its eastern territories in a bid to understand what happened at Katyn.

THE MOLOTOV-RIBBENTROP PACT

The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, signed on August 23, 1939, between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, marked a pivotal moment in the prelude to World War II. It was made between Joachim von Ribbentrop, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Third Reich, and Vyacheslav Molotov, the People’s Commissioner for Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union. Ostensibly a non-aggression treaty, its secret protocol laid out the spheres of influence in Eastern Europe, effectively sealing the fate of nations like Poland. For Poland, the pact meant a coordinated invasion, with German forces from the west and Soviet forces from the east, leading to the swift occupation and division of the country. The collaboration between these two ideologically opposed regimes not only shocked the international community but set the stage for broader hostilities.

The Red Army attacked Poland from the east on September 17, 1939. This was about two weeks after the Germans attacked the nation. There was little resistance from the Polish forces, including the Polish Border Protection Corps and some military units. The Red Army made a swift dash across the country, occupying towns rapidly. The decision was made to evacuate the highest authorities of the Republic of Poland to other countries. At the same time, there were very unclear directives from the Commander-in-Chief of the defense forces ordering troops to go to neighboring countries, Romania and Hungary, to avoid a conflict with the Red Army. However, some units and garrisons decided to stay and fight, leading to uneven battles and a disastrous result.

The pact's impact on Poland was devastating, resulting in widespread displacement, loss of life, and the disintegration of its social fabric. Polish citizens found themselves subjected to the oppressive regimes of both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.

Joachim von Ribbentrop, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Third Reich, and Vyacheslav Molotov, the People’s Commissioner for Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union

SOVIET CAPTIVITY

After the Soviets overtook Poland, they systematically arrested or took into captivity all sorts of civilians and military personnel. There were about 240,000 to 250,000 Poles in total being held prisoners. Part of this number consisted of about 10,000 Polish Army officers. Laws mandated that all non-exempt university students had to be part of the reserves, and as a result, the Red Army also arrested many of the Polish intelligentsia.

The Soviets set up three special gulags for these captives. Two camps, in Starobielsk and Kozielsk, were designated for officers and senior state and military officials. Additionally, one camp in Ostashkow was allocated for soldiers of the Border Protection Corps and officers of the State Police, intelligence and counterintelligence personnel, as well as those working for the Prison Guard and the Border Guard. These three establishments held about 14,500 prisoners, and the conditions were atrocious, characterized by overcrowding, lack of water and food, and cleanliness and hygiene issues.

Each prisoner underwent interrogation about their political views, professional position, wealth and assets, and any associations with foreign countries or proficiency in foreign languages. A network of informers operated to report on daily life in the camp to their NKVD handlers. The Soviets found that even after many months of interrogations, indoctrinations, and harsh conditions, there was little effect in turning the Poles. Many still professed their patriotism for Poland, and very few broke down.

At the end of 1939, NKVD officers expedited their investigations into the prisoners and forwarded all documentation to the Special Council, which decided what to do with the POWs and other prisoners in the NKVD camps.

STALIN APPROVES BERIA'S DEATH SENTENCE REQUEST

The decision to execute the Polish POWs was made by Lavrentiy Beria, the People’s Commissioner of Internal Affairs of the Soviet Union. Josef Stalin personally accepted this decision. In a letter written on March 5, 1940, Beria called for the case to be considered "in a special procedure and giving them the maximum penalty – execution." He also wanted the prisoners not arrested, presented with charges, or given a trial. The verdict was signed by Kliment Voroshilov, Vyacheslav Molotov, and Anastas Mikoyan, who were members of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The acceptance of Mikhail Kalinin and Lazar Kaganovich was also confirmed by adding their names to the margin of the document. On the same day, the Politburo formally accepted Beria’s proposal.

After this, meetings were held in Moscow, and on March 14th, 1940, the order to murder the Polish prisoners was given to the heads of the regional directorates of Smolensk, Kalinin, and Kharkiv regions, as well as the military commanders of the NKVD regional directorates. A week later, Beria gave the official order to start murdering the NKVD prisoners. Among those to be killed were the cream of Polish intelligentsia, such as lawyers, writers, judges, prosecutors, government officials, retired and current military officers, and those who worked in state services, landowners, political activists, and others deemed "smart and a threat to the Soviet Union." The aim of this murder rampage was to make it difficult for Poland to regain strength by eliminating the brightest of Polish society.

Lavrentiy Beria, the People’s Commissioner of Internal Affairs of the Soviet Union

THE POLISH PRISONERS ARE MASSACRED

The NKVD planned a swift and secretive operation to exterminate the Polish prisoners starting on March 16, 1940. NKVD investigative units gathered documentation on the intended victims. Due to fears of a prisoner uprising, a comprehensive disinformation campaign was started, meaning that POWs did not know their fate until the last minute. Survivors of the prison camps emphasized the unpredictability of selection criteria for the departing groups, highlighting the pervasive uncertainty and anxiety among the prisoners as they awaited their turn to be listed. The departure process, marked by farewells with false promises from the commandant, culminated in the prisoners being transported to execution sites in Smolensk, Kharkiv, and Kalinin.

As the prisoners were moved from camps to execution locations, stringent security measures were enforced, including thorough searches for sharp objects and photograph inspections. The prisoners were confined in prison wagons, enduring dehumanizing conditions akin to "wild animals in cages." Concurrently, preparations were made to "unload" prisons in Western Belarus and Western Ukraine, with arrested individuals transported to prisons in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Minsk, and Kherson. The NKVD's Special Council compiled "death lists," approved by the NKVD troika, consisting of Vsevolod Merkulov, Bogdan Kobulov, and Leonid Bashtakov, who oversaw the execution orders. The methods employed by the Soviet authorities in carrying out the killings were ruthless and systematic. The victims, often bound and blindfolded, were led to mass graves where they were shot in the back of the head.

The information we have on the executions in the Katyn forests is quite limited; mostly, we know what was gathered from the exhumations. Shells discovered from the death pits suggest that the executions were performed directly at the site. Before being led to the mass graves, victims were taken to a villa that used to be a former resort for important NKVD officers. There, a search was conducted by the NKVD officers, and potentially executions were performed shortly after. Prisoners who resisted often had their hands bound, and some had coats covering their heads that were tied with ropes connecting with the hand bonds.

There is some uncertainty about the number of casualties in these mass graves. Soviet documentation that emerged puts the total at 21,857 Polish prisoners and POWs. This includes around 7,305 detained in prisons. Some researchers believe this number is lower than the reality.

The mass graves were discovered and IRC started running investigations 

THE POWS WENT "MISSING IN MANCHURIA"

After Operation Barbarossa, when the German Third Reich invaded the Soviet Union, the Polish government in exile decided to resume diplomatic ties with the Soviet Union. They essentially withdrew the declaration that the countries were at war and became allies. An agreement was made on July 30, 1941, called the Sikorski-Mayski Agreement, which normalized relations between the two nations. Additionally, an agreement was made to release the Polish citizens who were captured and to formally announce the formation of the Polish army in the USSR.

People eager to join the Polish Armed Forces in the USSR began to gather from remote prisons, Gulag camps, and places of exile. General Wladyslaw Anders was released from Moscow’s Lubyanka prison and took command. The absence of officers among all the incoming Polish volunteers raised concerns. The plenipotentiary for missing persons was writer and painter Jozef Czapski, a cavalry captain, and survivor from the Starobelsk POW camp, who collected information about Poles in the USSR. When Prime Minister Sikorski and General Anders raised the issue of missing Polish officers in a face-to-face conversation with Stalin on December 3, 1941, they were told that the officers "had fled to Manchuria."

THE GRAVES ARE FOUND

The discovery of the mass graves in the Katyn forest containing Polish officers was announced on Radio Berlin by the Germans on April 13, 1943. They used it as a propaganda tool to garner support for fighting against the Soviet Union and to attempt to break up the Soviet Union's alliances against the Germans.

The exhumations were led by Professor Gerhard Buhtz, Director of the Institute of Forensic Medicine and Forensic Science at the University of Breslau (now Wroclaw). Soon after, Polish-language newspapers published the names of the identified victims, and propaganda posters appeared. Stalin and the Polish communists loyal to him denounced this provocation, accusing the Third Reich of committing these crimes.

To draw public and international attention to the murders, the Germans invited the International Red Cross to carry out the exhumations and investigate the deaths. The Polish government in exile also cooperated with the IRC. This angered Stalin severely, and he accused the free Polish government of cooperating with the Nazis, causing the relationship between the two countries to sour. Moscow refused to contribute anything to the IRC's findings.

Experts from all over Europe were invited to investigate the crimes committed in the Katyn Forest. They all confirmed beyond any reasonable doubt that it was the Soviet Union that committed the crimes. With the permission of the Polish government in exile, the Technical Committee of the Polish Red Cross worked in Katyn. They identified about 2,733 of the 4,243 bodies discovered in the mass graves.

Officials of the International Red Cross and other experts examining the exhumed graves in Katyn Forest

FIGHTING FOR THE TRUTH 

The Allies did not want to give too much publicity to the issue, as the alliance with Stalin against Hitler and winning the war was the top priority for America and the United Kingdom. Churchill said that winning the war should be "above all else."

After the Soviet annexation of the region, an NKVD-NKGB team was tasked with falsifying evidence and preparing witnesses to promote a new false version that the Germans were responsible for these crimes in 1941. In January 1944, witnesses were trotted out in front of an ad hoc Soviet Committee spearheaded by Nikolai Burdenko and a group of foreign journalists.

At the Nuremberg trials, the Soviet Union tried to include the Katyn massacre in the indictment against the top German war criminals. There were several inconsistent witness testimonies and various errors and inaccuracies in the case brought by the Soviet Union. The International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg did not indict the Germans for killing the Polish officers.

After this, for many decades, the Soviet Union tried to promote official lies that the Germans were responsible for this. They even went as far as to harass the families of the victims by having the widows fired from their jobs, and the children had a hard time enrolling in upper schools such as universities. The families also received false documentation showing dates of death from the end of the Second World War.

During the Cold War, the United States House of Representatives established a committee to investigate the Katyn Forest Massacre. This was done in 1951 and was chaired by Mr. Ray John Madden. The final report was finished in 1952 and held the Soviet Union responsible for the crimes.

Finally, on April 13, 1990, the truth was admitted by Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. He handed over several documents on the Katyn Massacre to Polish President Wojciech Jaruzelski. A statement was released by the TASS press agency that the blame for the Katyn Massacre laid with "Beria, Merkulov, and their helpers." Then they apologized for the crimes and declared the massacre to be "one of the grave crimes of Josef Stalin."

Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and Polish President Wojciech Jaruzelski

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, the Katyn Massacre stands as an enduring testament to the profound impact of World War II, etching a haunting image on the historical canvas. The clandestine executions within the Katyn Forest and the intricate cover-up meticulously conducted by the Soviet Union encapsulate the intricate web of moral and political dilemmas that unfolded during this tumultuous era.

The resonance of Katyn transcends mere historical documentation, weaving itself into the shared memory of nations and individuals scarred by the massacre. The protracted years of denial and deception, eventually giving way to a reluctant admission of guilt, serve as a poignant reminder of the arduous journey in confronting and acknowledging historical atrocities. Katyn remains an indomitable symbol, challenging us to confront the darker aspects of our shared past and fostering a collective commitment to truth and remembrance.

References

• The Warsaw Institute: The Katyn Massacre – Mechanisms of Genocide
• Children in History: Soviet Attrocities in Poland: Katyn Massacres (April-May 1940)
• National Archives: Records Relating to the Katyn Forest Massacre at the National Archives
• Katyn Pro Memoria: The history of Katyń Massacre
• Polish History: THE KATYN MASSACRE: ITS CHRONOLOGY, SCALE, VICTIMS AND UNPUNISHED PERPETRATORS
• The Warsaw Institute Review: The Katyn Massacre – the Way to the Truth