The Military Workshop
1st Lieutenant
- Joined
- Jul 31, 2005
- Messages
- 4,778
The other day watched a Polish production about the Katyn massacre called Katyn.
Approx 22,000 Polish POW's killed by the Russians in April / May 1940 in a forest near Smolensk. Included 14 Generals and many other senior officers as well as many Dr's, lawyers, teachers etc who had enlisted in Polish army.
A lot of the story was from the point of view of the relatives in Poland trying to find out what happened to their family members.
The Germans subsequently discovered the mass graves and naturally gave it much publicity. Later the Russians reached that area and then blamed the Germans.
Even after the war ended (ie Russia taken over Poland) family members were not able to mention their loved ones died in 1940 as that meant the Russians had carried out the massacre. In one scene a wife tries to take a head stone to a church but the priest wont let her leave it as it notes 1940 as date of death.
It is an interesting but tragic event. Both Churchill and Roosevelt knew it was the Russians but could not make an issue of it due to the alliance. An American naval officer who was assigned to report on Katyn wanted to publish his findings but it was suppressed and he was posted to American Samoa.
Worth a look if you see it on your TV schedule. Does have some grim scenes showing the executions. Grim in the sense that those going to die could clearly see what had happened to the ones before them and knew what was going to happen to them.
Brett
Approx 22,000 Polish POW's killed by the Russians in April / May 1940 in a forest near Smolensk. Included 14 Generals and many other senior officers as well as many Dr's, lawyers, teachers etc who had enlisted in Polish army.
A lot of the story was from the point of view of the relatives in Poland trying to find out what happened to their family members.
The Germans subsequently discovered the mass graves and naturally gave it much publicity. Later the Russians reached that area and then blamed the Germans.
Even after the war ended (ie Russia taken over Poland) family members were not able to mention their loved ones died in 1940 as that meant the Russians had carried out the massacre. In one scene a wife tries to take a head stone to a church but the priest wont let her leave it as it notes 1940 as date of death.
It is an interesting but tragic event. Both Churchill and Roosevelt knew it was the Russians but could not make an issue of it due to the alliance. An American naval officer who was assigned to report on Katyn wanted to publish his findings but it was suppressed and he was posted to American Samoa.
Worth a look if you see it on your TV schedule. Does have some grim scenes showing the executions. Grim in the sense that those going to die could clearly see what had happened to the ones before them and knew what was going to happen to them.
Brett