Katyn Graves Discovered: Soviet Atrocity Exposed
German forces discovered mass graves in the Katyn Forest near Smolensk on April 13, 1943, containing the remains of approximately 22,000 Polish military officers, police, and intellectuals who had been prisoners of war. Each victim had been shot in the back of the head. The Soviet Union blamed Germany; Germany blamed the Soviets. An International Red Cross investigation was blocked by Moscow. The truth remained officially suppressed until 1990, when Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev admitted that Stalin's NKVD had carried out the executions in April 1940. The Katyn massacre was a deliberate attempt to eliminate Poland's educated leadership class and remains one of the most politically significant mass murders of the twentieth century.
April 13, 1943
83 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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