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In September, 1946, when the Nuremberg Trial was nearing its end, Soviets hired a Communist member of the Swiss Grand Council, Mr. Vincent (Swiss [[Communist]]s ostensibly belong to the "[[Labour Party]]"), who consequently deemed it expedient to launch an attack against Francois Naville, Professor of [[Forensics|Forensic]] Medicine, on account of his participation in an International Medical Commission which in 1943 had conducted an investigation at [[Katyn Massacre|Katyn]] and later published its well-known report. Mr. Vincent chose the form of an [[interpellation]] addressed to the Geneva Executive Body (State Council). Dr. Naville, who had agreed to act as legal expert at the request of the German Government in April, 1943, refused the accusations of acting under the pressure of Gestapo: ''"Mr. Vincent asserts that I was acting under constant pressure from the [[Gestapo]], which prevented us from having a free hand. This is absolutely untrue. I do not know whether the police were represented amongst those who received and accompanied us (doctors and guides), but I can definitely state that we were able to proceed undisturbed with our work as experts. I did not notice any signs of pressure being exerted on myself or on any of my colleagues. We were always able to discuss all matters freely amongst ourselves without the Germans being present."''  

In September, 1946, when the Nuremberg Trial was nearing its end, Soviets hired a Communist member of the Swiss Grand Council, Mr. Vincent (Swiss [[Communist]]s ostensibly belong to the "[[Labour Party]]"), who consequently deemed it expedient to launch an attack against Francois Naville, Professor of [[Forensics|Forensic]] Medicine, on account of his participation in an International Medical Commission which in 1943 had conducted an investigation at [[Katyn Massacre|Katyn]] and later published its well-known report. Mr. Vincent chose the form of an [[interpellation]] addressed to the Geneva Executive Body (State Council). Dr. Naville, who had agreed to act as legal expert at the request of the German Government in April, 1943, refused the accusations of acting under the pressure of Gestapo: ''"Mr. Vincent asserts that I was acting under constant pressure from the [[Gestapo]], which prevented us from having a free hand. This is absolutely untrue. I do not know whether the police were represented amongst those who received and accompanied us (doctors and guides), but I can definitely state that we were able to proceed undisturbed with our work as experts. I did not notice any signs of pressure being exerted on myself or on any of my colleagues. We were always able to discuss all matters freely amongst ourselves without the Germans being present."''  

Only in 1991 after declassification of the archives was the truth established – some 20 thousand Polish officers had been murdered on orders of the Soviet government upon their occupation of Poland in 1939. Among the declassified documents were notes by Beria, where it is stated that the People's Commissar of Internal Affairs suggests de facto to shoot 'inveterate and incorrigible "enemies of Soviet power": <blockquote>The NKVD of the USSR considers it necessary to propose to try the case of former Polish officers etc. located in the POW camps in separate proceedings by applying the highest level of punishment by shooting. The trying the case should be carried out without prompting arrestees and without announcing the formal indictment, the decision to terminate the investigation and the final judgment.</blockquote>  

Only in 1991 after declassification of the archives was the truth established – some 20 thousand Polish officers had been murdered on orders of the Soviet government upon their occupation of Poland in 1939. Among the declassified documents were notes by Beria, where it is stated that the People's Commissar of Internal Affairs suggests de facto to shoot 'inveterate and incorrigible "enemies of Soviet power": <blockquote>The [[NKVD]] of the [[USSR]] considers it necessary to propose to try the case of former Polish officers etc. located in the [[POW]] camps in separate proceedings by applying the highest level of punishment by shooting. The trying the case should be carried out without prompting arrestees and without announcing the formal indictment, the decision to terminate the investigation and the final judgment.</blockquote>  

The notes were signed by [[Stalin]], [[Vyacheslav Molotov|Molotov]], Voroshilov, Mikoyan and other Soviet leaders, all voted "for" the implementation of suggestion.<ref name"Rusarchives">{{cite web |title=Рассекречены подлинные документы по Катыни: Поляков расстреляли по приказу Сталина [Записка Берии, Постановление Политбюро И Другие Важнейшие Документы] (Declassified original documents on Katyn: Poles were shot on Stalin's orders [Beria's notes, Decision of the Politburo and other Important Documents]) |author=Елена Чинкова |date=April 28, 2010 |url=http://www.kp.ru/daily/24481/638132/|language=Russian}}</ref> According to Russian historians, the archives also contained a report dated 1946 from the then terminally ill Burdenko, in which he shared with his friend who had defected from the USSR, ''“Following the personal order of Stalin I went to Katyn where they had just excavated the graves. All bodies had been buried 4 years before. They died in 1940… For me, as a doctor, it was an obvious fact, which I couldn’t doubt. Our comrades from the NKVD [KGB predecessor] made a big mistake.”''

The notes were signed by [[Stalin]], [[Vyacheslav Molotov|Molotov]], [[Kliment Voroshilov|Voroshilov]], Mikoyan and other Soviet leaders, all voted "for" the implementation of suggestion.<ref name"Rusarchives">{{cite web |title=Рассекречены подлинные документы по Катыни: Поляков расстреляли по приказу Сталина [Записка Берии, Постановление Политбюро И Другие Важнейшие Документы] (Declassified original documents on Katyn: Poles were shot on Stalin's orders [Beria's notes, Decision of the Politburo and other Important Documents]) |author=Елена Чинкова |date=April 28, 2010 |url=http://www.kp.ru/daily/24481/638132/|language=Russian}}</ref> According to Russian historians, the archives also contained a report dated 1946 from the then terminally ill Burdenko, in which he shared with his friend who had defected from the USSR, ''“Following the personal order of Stalin I went to Katyn where they had just excavated the graves. All bodies had been buried 4 years before. They died in 1940… For me, as a doctor, it was an obvious fact, which I couldn’t doubt. Our comrades from the NKVD [KGB predecessor] made a big mistake.”''

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