I hesitated to buy it – due to the fact that what “new aspects”? At the time I wrote that the Polish side, long before the war in Ukraine and the applicable break-up of technological contacts with Russia – adopted the strategy of continuous herniation.
And despite the fact that, unlike Ukraine, the russian authorities inactive confessed to the work of the russian authorities for the murders on Polish officers, they revealed (this is Russia) papers classified so far, agreed to exhumation and construction of the Polish cemetery, apologized (Jeltyn), and yet the State Duma adopted a resolution condemning the crime in 2010.
On this occasion, it is worth recalling its content, especially as it is presently completely omitted in Poland as non-existent, as it does not fit our narrative. The resolution adopted SINGLE November 26, 2010 reads:
"Seventy years ago thousands of Polish citizens were shot, who were held in camps for POWs of the USSR, as well as in prisons of Western Ukrainian SRR and Belarusian SRR circuits.
In authoritative russian propaganda, work for this crime, which was collectively called the Katyn tragedy, was attributed to Nazi criminals. This version was the subject of the latents for many years, which does not mean that the little fierce discussions in russian society, and invariably caused anger, insult and distrust of the Polish people. In the early 1990s, our country made crucial steps on the way to the fact of the Katyn tragedy. It was considered that the mass demolition of Polish citizens in the USSR during planet War II was an act of force by a totalitarian state which besides subjected hundreds of thousands of russian people to repression as political and spiritual beliefs, according to social and another criteria.
Published materials, which for many years have been kept in secret archives, not only uncover the scale of this terrible tragedy, but besides prove that the Katyn crime was carried out by direct orders from Stalin and another russian leaders. condemning the panic and mass persecution of citizens of their country and citizens of another countries as incompatible with the thought of the primacy of law and justice, The State pride of the national Assembly of the Russian Federation expresses deep sympathy for all victims of unjustified repression, their families and loved ones.
Copies of many papers which were stored in the closed archive of the KC KPZR Politburo have already been submitted to the Polish website. Members of the State Duma are convinced that this work should continue. It is essential to further examine the archives, verify the lists of the killed, reconstruct the good name of those who died in Katyn and another places, explain all the circumstances of the tragedy.
By sharing sadness with the Polish people, Members of the State Duma remember that Katyń is simply a tragic place for our country as well. Thousands of russian citizens, killed by the Stalinist government from 1936 to 1938, remainder in the Katyń pits. It was on them that mass execution technology was practiced, which was later applied in the same place to Polish prisoners of war. There are besides graves of russian prisoners shot by Nazi executioners during the large Patriotic War. Our nations have paid a immense price for the crimes of totalitarianism. powerfully condemning the regime, which despised the rights and lives of people, the Members of the State Duma on behalf of the Russian people extend a friendly hand to the Polish people. They besides express hope for the beginning of a fresh phase in relations between our countries, which will make on the basis of democratic values. The accomplishment of specified a consequence will be the best monument to the victims of the Katyn tragedy, which has already been rehabilitated by history, soldiers-red-arms died in Poland and russian soldiers who gave their lives for its liberation from Nazi Nazism.”
However, in Poland all of this was considered non-provoking, the issue of compensation, the designation of this crime as genocide by global bodies, it was claimed that Russia inactive hides many documents, etc. alternatively of working in a purely historical field with Russia, we did not want to recognise that Katyń could halt acting as a political baton drawn against Russia at all chance (professor Bogusław Wolniewicz made this clear in 2009). Then came the Kiev maydays and war – and Katyń returned to his assigned – according to Polish creators of “historical politics” – the role.
With specified thoughts I began to read the book. It mostly confirmed my concerns and observations. However, after reading, I note at least a fewer notable texts. The first is an article Dr. Witold Wasilewski about talks of Polish officers (Berlin, Gorczyński, Lis, Bukojemski) with Beria and Mierkulov from October 1940, erstwhile the leadership of the USSR, or at least Beria, realized that the war with Germany was coming faster than Stalin expected. And abruptly the Polish card and the thought of creating the seeds of the Polish army alongside the USSR became burning. And then the celebrated words about officers from Kozielska and Starobielska fell out of the mouth of either Beria or Meerculova (or both): “We with them have sedated Bolshus the smith.”
The author of the text considers various aspects of this problem, but does not take on a substance that is possibly equally crucial – a change in Moscow's approach to the Polish issue after the defeat of France. The word “mistake” was a confession to the miscalculation of March 1940, erstwhile Beria himself considered that Polish officers were the hellish enemies of the USSR and, in the event of their release, they would fight against him. Already 3 months later, Beria realized that this was a cardinal mistake in calculations and that Germany was the main enemy of the USSR. But it was besides late. Nevertheless, he began talking to those who survived. It is rather astonishing that the author of the text did not pay any attention to this aspect of the case, but it was of importance to the destiny of Poland after 1941, erstwhile the USSR ceased to question the right of Poland to be as a state, which took place between 1939 and 1941. I besides do not realize why the author omitted memories of the gene in his analysis. Mariana Januszajtis, who spoke to Beria for at least a twelve hours. Although he was not a prisoner of any of the “cathins” camps, his assessments of the Berii motives may have been helpful to the author.
In second place in terms of meaning, I would mention a paper Dr. Ewa Kowalski from the IPN entitled "Unknown burial sites of Katyn crime victims and disappearing signs of memory of the murdered". As we know now, there is no mention of the joint work of Polish and Russian archaeologists at memorial sites, although the Russian side plans specified work, due to the fact that even in Katyń there are besides buried citizens of the USSR victims of panic from 1937 to 1938. In this case, the author rightly believes that this fact should bring both sides together. He writes:
"At the same time, it should be remembered that the Katyn land – like the land of Kharkiv, Mednoje and Bykownia – covers thousands of remains of russian citizens of many nationalities. Polish victims are part of them, they are 1 of the links of the large chain of crimes of the NKVD. The Russian side in the name of its citizens' burial-worthy remains has been undertaking exhumation work for respective years. Their results can be read both in the Russian press and online, as well as in the local museum in Katyn artifacts found in murdered graves. The Russian works in the Katyń Forest, the exhumations likely to take place in another large cemeteries of victims of political repression, are best evidence of the efforts to remember the NKVD murdered".
Bravo, you could say. In Poland, this approach is presently not accepted. Like another text in the same collection, Maciej Wyrwa The Katyn lie in Russia 2012-2012 brings very different conclusions. According to the author, Russia takes care of its victims, builds cemeteries alongside ours – it is simply a manifestation of the deliberate “depolonization” and “relativization” of Katyń! Indeed, it is astonishing how specified things can be written. It is simply a public request that Katyn's uniqueness and his victims be considered "important" than others.
However, appreciating Kowalski's position, you gotta point out something to her. We read: “In view of this approach of contemporary Russia, it is amazing that the Russian side has no favorable mention to the initiatives of the Polish side aimed at burial and commemoration of the murdered Poles. The experience of human tragedy, the pain of many families of different nationalities, should combine the actions of all nations affected by repression, as it transcends the limits of nationality. It remains to be hoped that in the future, just as the earth of cemeteries unites the remains of the murdered will besides be joined together by the actions of many state institutions, so that the remains of the lost hidden in unfathomable resting places will be decently buried, and that what our ancestors experienced was simply a science, an experience from which to learn from, so that no further generations would be involved." Deal! but I think the author is naive to ask that question. Does he truly not know why Russia does not cooperate with the Polish side on this issue? After all, practically all authors of this volume have completely underestimated the influence of Polish “slaughter” of russian monuments in Poland on stiffening the position of the Russian side. As if we were trampling on the Red Army soldiers' memory it was something completely average and understandable and we are amazed that the Russians are outraged!
And finally, something that compromises the editors of this book. This is the text of the Ukrainian historian Yuri's been callingWho writes why Katyn is crucial to Ukraine. Therefore, according to him, he exposes the face of “Russian imperialism”. Besides, he writes about... “Katin 2” or Smolensk catastrophe! It's not a text of a historian, it's a propagandaist, and it's rather primitive. Let me remind you that Ukrainian politicians and – as you can see – historians besides play the Smolensk card, which they want to fuel in Poland and already strong anti-Russian resentivities. I have already left out that linking Katyn to “Russian imperialism”, that is, Tsaric Russia, is not only unauthorized, but is simply a crude bending of past for political purposes. I'd alternatively wonder what you gotta say about UPA crimes and Volyn. For balance, another Ukrainian researcher, Vadim Zolotariov from Kharkiv, he wrote a competent article entitled "He directed executions of Poles in Kharkiv: State safety Major Petro Safonov". Notabene was an cultural Ukrainian.
There are besides interesting texts in this volume about attempts to negate the NKVD and Stalin's work for Katyn, which rise certain environments in Russia (they advance the thesis that the papers of the Political Office... were falsified for Gorbachev), mainly related to communists, with the silent approval of the authorities (or parts of the authorities). I would peculiarly urge an article by Russian historian (so-called independent) Sergei Romanov entitled "Analysis of claims of the inautility of Katyn papers from the closed package No. 1". It is about Katyn documents, including the 1 from March 1940 with orders to kill Polish with the signatures of Stalin, Beeria, Molotov, etc. There are people in Russia who think it's a fake!
Jan Engelgard
‘Katin crime. fresh aspects" (ed. Sławomir Kalbarczyk and Witold Wasilewski), IPN, Warsaw 2025, p. 438.
Think Poland, No. 31-32 (3-10.08.201025)
