Article

2004-12-02 Europe

Poland opens 1940 Katyn Forest massacre probe

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Posted by Dar 2004-12-02 14:58|| || Front Page|| [2 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 Better late than never, I guess.

Posted by Sgt. Mom 2004-12-02 3:44:05 PM|| [http://www.sgtstryker.com] 2004-12-02 3:44:05 PM|| Front Page Top

#2 Almost as quick as the French investigation of Nazi collaborators in the Vichy govt a few years ago. Wait until all the involved parties are dead, then act lhorrified that nothing was done.

Posted by Weird Al 2004-12-02 5:03:35 PM|| 2004-12-02 5:03:35 PM|| Front Page Top

#3 Er, the Poles were the victims of Katyn Forest, not the perpetrators. The delay has more to do with WWII politics (Churchill didn't want to anger Stalin, so arm-twisted the Polish exiles into holding off) and the Soviet occupation of Poland until the fall of Communism.

Since then, I suspect the Poles have been busier dealing with more recent history. That they've "finally" gotten around to this is a good sign. Also, probably, a sign that they're not all that interested in cozying up to the Russians.

Posted by Robert Crawford 2004-12-02 8:17:45 PM|| [http://www.kloognome.com] 2004-12-02 8:17:45 PM|| Front Page Top

#4
A couple years ago I read a rather recent (post-Soviet) book about the Katyn massacres written by a Russian author. He had become interested in the subject long ago, and after Glasnost began, he wrote a series of article about it that were published. He subsequently received many, many letters from various Soviet citizens who knew little bits and pieces of the story from their own experiences or from older relatives. For example, people remember seeing and talking with Polish POWs in certain places within certain timeframes. So, even now after so many years, additional progress can be made in piecing the puzzle together.

I don't remember the name of the author or book, but it had been translated into English, and I read it in that language. I worked for a while for a Polish-American newspaper, and the owner had the book in his personal library.

Anyway, this author suggested an interesting explanation that I had never heard before. My memory is somewhat vague, because I read this a couple years ago, but he suggested that the Germans knew all along where the bodies had been buried, and so the Germans did not find them by accident whey they occupied Katyn. As I recall, the idea was that during the months before Germany invaded the Soviet Union, the Soviet leadership decided to kill all those Polish officers in part to please the Germans, so that the Germans would not invade the Soviet Union. In fact, the author suggested, the Soviets invaded a German delegation to come to the Soviet Union, to Katyn, to observe the massacre.

Therefore, when the Germans occupied Katyn, they went straight to the burial site and dug it up. A story was concocted to explain the discovery, something along the lines that a dog in the neighborhood was sniffing and digging in the area, and the dog's owner dug in the area, found the bodies, and reported his find to the German occupiers.

I don't remember exactly what evidence the author provided for this suggestion, but I do remember that the evidence was pretty slight and only circumstantial. I think, though, that even at this late date it might be worthwhile to thoroughly investigate the Germans' story about how they discovered the burial site.
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Posted by Mike Sylwester 2004-12-02 11:07:12 PM|| 2004-12-02 11:07:12 PM|| Front Page Top

#5
the Soviets invaded a German delegation

I meant to write, invited a German delegation.
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Posted by Mike Sylwester 2004-12-02 11:10:01 PM|| 2004-12-02 11:10:01 PM|| Front Page Top

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