Changes

In 1942, after the [[Soviet Army]] had withdrawn from the region{{#tag:ref|The Soviets had occupied the Eastern part of Poland in agreement with the Secret Amendment of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Non-Aggression Pact since the beginning of the Polish-German war in 1939. Article II of that agreement stated: ''"In the event of a territorial and political rearrangement of the areas belonging to the Polish state, the spheres of influence of Germany and the U.S.S.R. shall be bounded approximately by the line of the rivers Narev, Vistula and San. The question of whether the interests of both parties make desirable the maintenance of an independent Polish States and how such a state should be bounded can only be definitely determined in the course of further political developments. In any event both Governments will resolve this question by means of a friendly agreement."''<ref>{{cite web |title=The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, 1939 |publisher=Modern History Sourcebook, the History Department of  Fordham University, New York |url=http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1939pact.html |accesssdate=September 17, 2013}}</ref> The Germans, who declared the war to Soviet Russia on June 21, 1941,<ref>{{cite web |title=German Declaration of War on the Soviet Union |publisher=Public Broadcasting Service|url=http://www-tc.pbs.org/behindcloseddoors/pdfs/NaziInvasionDeclaration.pdf |accessdate=November 24, 2013}}</ref> had not arrived into this region until the Summer or Autumn of 1941, after the first successes of their offensive in the direction of Smolensk, which however together with Katyn are actually situated already in an area which lay inside the borders of the USSR before 1939.  

In 1942, after the [[Soviet Army]] had withdrawn from the region{{#tag:ref|The Soviets had occupied the Eastern part of Poland in agreement with the Secret Amendment of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Non-Aggression Pact since the beginning of the Polish-German war in 1939. Article II of that agreement stated: ''"In the event of a territorial and political rearrangement of the areas belonging to the Polish state, the spheres of influence of Germany and the U.S.S.R. shall be bounded approximately by the line of the rivers Narev, Vistula and San. The question of whether the interests of both parties make desirable the maintenance of an independent Polish States and how such a state should be bounded can only be definitely determined in the course of further political developments. In any event both Governments will resolve this question by means of a friendly agreement."''<ref>{{cite web |title=The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, 1939 |publisher=Modern History Sourcebook, the History Department of  Fordham University, New York |url=http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1939pact.html |accesssdate=September 17, 2013}}</ref> The Germans, who declared the war to Soviet Russia on June 21, 1941,<ref>{{cite web |title=German Declaration of War on the Soviet Union |publisher=Public Broadcasting Service|url=http://www-tc.pbs.org/behindcloseddoors/pdfs/NaziInvasionDeclaration.pdf |accessdate=November 24, 2013}}</ref> had not arrived into this region until the Summer or Autumn of 1941, after the first successes of their offensive in the direction of Smolensk, which however together with Katyn are actually situated already in an area which lay inside the borders of the USSR before 1939.  

*If the killings took place in 1940 or the Winter of 1940-41, then these men were executed by the Soviets.  

*If the killings took place in 1940 or the Winter of 1940-41, then these men were executed by the Soviets.  

*If the corpses dated from the Autumn of 1941 or from 1942, then the murderers were Germans.<ref name="Amthches Material"/>|group=note}}, the advancing German troops found a mass grave of thousands of Polish officers near Smolensk.<ref name="Russiapedia">{{cite web |title=Prominent Russians: Nikolay Burdenko |author=Olga Prodan |publisher=Russiapedia, RT.com |url=http://russiapedia.rt.com/prominent-russians/science-and-technology/nikolay-burdenko/ |accessdate=September 17, 2013}}</ref> The Germans refused to take responsibility for the murders and organized exhumations witnessed by International [[Red Cross]] and foreign independent [[Forensics|forensic scientist]]s, among them, for example, a forensic pathologist Professor Ljudevit Jurak of Zagreb University.<ref name="Jurak">{{cite web |title=Professor Ljudevit Jurak of Zagreb University  |url=http://katyn.org.au/jurak.html |accessdate=September 17, 2013}}</ref> After making the Official Statement Concerning the Mass Murder at Katyn prepared by the German Information Bureau on direct special order of the German Foreign Office, they accused the Soviet forces and attempted to make the case an international scandal.<ref name="Amthches Material">{{cite web |title=Official German Documentary Evidence Of The Katyn Case |url=http://www.allworldwars.com/Katyn-Files.html |accessdate=September 17, 2013 |quote=In 1943 the German authorities published a special report under the title: "The Official Statement Concerning the Mass Murder at Katyn. Collected, prepared and edited by the German Information Bureau on the basis of documentary evidence by order of the German Foreign Office."[Amthches Material zum Massenmord van Katyn. Im Auftrage aea Auswartigen Amtes auf Grund urkundlichen Beweismaterials zusammengestellt, bearbeitet und herauagegeben von der Deutschen mjormationastelle"—Berlin 1943.] This volume of 330 pages begins with a short introductory section entitled "General Outline", followed by the "Documentary Evidence", divided in five chapters.}}</ref> Being familiar with Nazi atrocities, many Poles themselves regarded the effort for being just another masterpiece of Nazi propaganda.<ref name="Katyn crime">{{cite web |title=From a report on the Katyn crime prepared by the Soviet Special Commission headed by Nikolai Burdenko |publisher= Katyn crime

*If the corpses dated from the Autumn of 1941 or from 1942, then the murderers were Germans.<ref name="Amthches Material"/>|group=note}}, the advancing German troops found a mass grave of thousands of Polish officers near Smolensk.<ref name="Russiapedia">{{cite web |title=Prominent Russians: Nikolay Burdenko |author=Olga Prodan |publisher=Russiapedia, RT.com |url=http://russiapedia.rt.com/prominent-russians/science-and-technology/nikolay-burdenko/ |accessdate=September 17, 2013}}</ref> The Germans refused to take responsibility for the murders and organized exhumations witnessed by International [[Red Cross]] and foreign independent [[Forensics|forensic scientist]]s, among them, for example, a forensic pathologist Professor Ljudevit Jurak of Zagreb University.<ref name="Jurak">{{cite web |title=Professor Ljudevit Jurak of Zagreb University  |url=http://katyn.org.au/jurak.html |accessdate=September 17, 2013}}</ref> After making the Official Statement Concerning the Mass Murder at Katyn prepared by the German Information Bureau on direct special order of the German Foreign Office, they accused the Soviet forces and attempted to make the case an international scandal.<ref name="Amthches Material">{{cite web |title=Official German Documentary Evidence Of The Katyn Case |url=http://www.allworldwars.com/Katyn-Files.html |accessdate=September 17, 2013 |quote=In 1943 the German authorities published a special report under the title: "The Official Statement Concerning the Mass Murder at Katyn. Collected, prepared and edited by the German Information Bureau on the basis of documentary evidence by order of the German Foreign Office."[Amthches Material zum Massenmord van Katyn. Im Auftrage aea Auswartigen Amtes auf Grund urkundlichen Beweismaterials zusammengestellt, bearbeitet und herauagegeben von der Deutschen mjormationastelle"—Berlin 1943.] This volume of 330 pages begins with a short introductory section entitled "General Outline", followed by the "Documentary Evidence", divided in five chapters.}}</ref> Being familiar with [[Nazi]] atrocities, many Poles themselves regarded the effort for being just another masterpiece of Nazi [[propaganda]].<ref name="Katyn crime">{{cite web |title=From a report on the Katyn crime prepared by the Soviet Special Commission headed by Nikolai Burdenko |publisher= Katyn crime

  |url=http://katyncrime.pl/From,a,report,on,the,Katyn,crime,prepared,by,the,Soviet,Special,Commission,headed,by,Nikolai,Burdenko,363.html

  |url=http://katyncrime.pl/From,a,report,on,the,Katyn,crime,prepared,by,the,Soviet,Special,Commission,headed,by,Nikolai,Burdenko,363.html

|accessdate=September 9, 2013|quote=And then we heard the shocking, unexpected news in spring 1943: the Nazis discovered Katyn graves of murdered Polish officers The graves were uncovered and exhumed in presence of the Polish Red Cross, Swiss Red Cross and forensic experts from a few countries. Even a group of Polish officers held prisoners in some Nazi POW (Prisoner Of War) camps were brought to the scene.  I remember a story that has never been published as far as know. Brandys said one of these Polish officers had survived the war and told Brandys the following story: While the officer stood one one side over the graves, a Nazi colonel asked him from the other side: „Captain, how long do you think these bodies have been buried?“ And the Polish officer gave a very specific answer. The colonel asked how the captain could be so specific. And the captain said: „I was your forensic medicine student in Berlin, so I learnt.“ The story demonstrates how indisputable was the fact that it was Soviets who was responsible for the massacre.  We were far from the territories invaded by Soviet Union in 1939 and we did not know what the Red Army had done to Poles living there. We knew very little about the Soviet Union. On the other hand, we knew by own experience what Nazis were capable of.  I saw executions in Radom with my own eyes. We heard about Auschwitz, street executions and other atrocities, so we suspected Nazis. My mother, brother and I learned about Katyn massacre from an article published in Zycie Radomskie, a newspaper controlled by [[Nazi]] propaganda, like all other newspapers. Later on, the newspaper published lists of victims and the names.}}</ref>  

|accessdate=September 9, 2013|quote=And then we heard the shocking, unexpected news in spring 1943: the Nazis discovered Katyn graves of murdered Polish officers The graves were uncovered and exhumed in presence of the Polish Red Cross, Swiss Red Cross and forensic experts from a few countries. Even a group of Polish officers held prisoners in some Nazi POW (Prisoner Of War) camps were brought to the scene.  I remember a story that has never been published as far as know. Brandys said one of these Polish officers had survived the war and told Brandys the following story: While the officer stood one one side over the graves, a Nazi colonel asked him from the other side: „Captain, how long do you think these bodies have been buried?“ And the Polish officer gave a very specific answer. The colonel asked how the captain could be so specific. And the captain said: „I was your forensic medicine student in Berlin, so I learnt.“ The story demonstrates how indisputable was the fact that it was Soviets who was responsible for the massacre.  We were far from the territories invaded by Soviet Union in 1939 and we did not know what the Red Army had done to Poles living there. We knew very little about the Soviet Union. On the other hand, we knew by own experience what Nazis were capable of.  I saw executions in Radom with my own eyes. We heard about Auschwitz, street executions and other atrocities, so we suspected Nazis. My mother, brother and I learned about Katyn massacre from an article published in Zycie Radomskie, a newspaper controlled by [[Nazi]] propaganda, like all other newspapers. Later on, the newspaper published lists of victims and the names.}}</ref>  

Among experts from 12 countries in the german guided investigation commission was also [[Slovak]] František Šubík, M.D. Professor of Pathological Anatomy at [[Bratislava]] University, and [[Czech]] Professor of Forensic medicine and Criminology František Hájek from Charles University of [[Prague]].<ref>{{cite web |title=O’Malley report 11 Feb 1944 |url=http://katyn.ru/forums/viewtopic.php?id=44 |quote=Dr. Hajek, Professor of Forensic Medicine and Criminology in Prague; Dr.Subik, Professor of Pathological Anatomy at the University of Bratislava and head of the Public Health Service of Slovakia. |accessdate=27 Dec 2016}}</ref>

Among experts from 12 countries in the german guided investigation commission was also [[Slovak]] František Šubík, M.D. Professor of Pathological Anatomy at [[Bratislava]] University, and [[Czech]] Professor of Forensic medicine and Criminology František Hájek from Charles University of [[Prague]].<ref>{{cite web |title=O’Malley report 11 Feb 1944 |url=http://katyn.ru/forums/viewtopic.php?id=44 |quote=Dr. Hajek, Professor of Forensic Medicine and Criminology in Prague; Dr.Subik, Professor of Pathological Anatomy at the University of Bratislava and head of the Public Health Service of Slovakia. |accessdate=27 Dec 2016}}</ref>

Hájek, who as representative of the so-called Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia dissected two exhumed corpses in Katyn, was later, after the war and [[Communist]] [[putsch]] in [[Czechoslovakia]], forced to give public "testimony" that was in 1952 published by main communist newpaper "Rudé právo. There in he asserted, contrary to implication of the report that he had signed, that Polish officers were killed by Nazis.<ref>{{cite web |url=ttp://kniznica-sgzp.webnode.sk/news/doktora-subika-zahubila-pravda-o-katyni-andrej-zarnov/ |title=Doktora Šubíka zahubila pravda o Katyni - Andrej Žarnov |accessdate=31 Dec 2016 |quote=Písal sa rok 1952 a zase tu bola jar. Šubíkovho kolegu doktora Františka Hájka práve prinútili v Prahe, aby znovu verejne vystúpil a tvrdil, že poľských dôstojníkov v Katyni postrieľali nemeckí nacisti. Jeho "svedectvo" uverejnilo Rudé právo. Šubík podobnému tlaku neustúpil ani tentoraz. Šubík a Hájek boli členmi medzinárodnej komisie, ktorá sa o deväť rokov skôr, v apríli 1943 zúčastnila v Katynskom lese na obhliadke masových hrobov a na pitve niektorých zavraždených.... Keď navyše Katyn koncom roku 1943 znovu ovládali jednotky Červenej armády, zorganizovala Moskva vlastnú akciu. Poslala tam komisiu súdneho lekárstva vedenú akademikom Nikolajom Burdenkom, ktorá vydala z "obhliadky" vlastné svedectvo, vyhovujúce politike Kremľa.|language=Slovak}}</ref> Šubík however, unlike Hájek, never delivered similar "testimony" that communists expected of him    and after severe persecution secretely emigrated through [[iron curain]] into [[USA]].<ref name="Subik">{{cite web |url=ttp://www.24hod.sk/slovak-skumal-hroby-v-katyni-pravda-sa-mu-kruto-vypomstila-cl227978.html |title=Slovák skúmal hroby v Katyni, pravda sa mu kruto vypomstila |date=28. apríla 2013 |quote=„Ak by bol o Katynskom lese opak pravdou, neváhal by som to povedať úplne otvorene, alebo by som protokol rozhodne nepodpísal. Nie som človekom ani zadných dvierok, ani človekom, ktorého možno podplatiť alebo dokonca prinútiť popísať nepravdu“ |accessdate=27 Dec 2016 |language=Slovak}}</ref>   

Hájek, who as representative of the so-called Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia dissected two exhumed corpses in Katyn, was later, after the war and 1948 [[Communist]] [[putsch]] in [[Czechoslovakia]], forced to give public "testimony" that was in 1952 published by main communist newpaper ''"Rudé právo"''. There in he asserted, contrary to implication of the 1943 report that he had signed, that Polish officers were killed by Nazis.<ref>{{cite web |url=ttp://kniznica-sgzp.webnode.sk/news/doktora-subika-zahubila-pravda-o-katyni-andrej-zarnov/ |title=Doktora Šubíka zahubila pravda o Katyni - Andrej Žarnov |accessdate=31 Dec 2016 |quote=Písal sa rok 1952 a zase tu bola jar. Šubíkovho kolegu doktora Františka Hájka práve prinútili v Prahe, aby znovu verejne vystúpil a tvrdil, že poľských dôstojníkov v Katyni postrieľali nemeckí nacisti. Jeho "svedectvo" uverejnilo Rudé právo. Šubík podobnému tlaku neustúpil ani tentoraz. Šubík a Hájek boli členmi medzinárodnej komisie, ktorá sa o deväť rokov skôr, v apríli 1943 zúčastnila v Katynskom lese na obhliadke masových hrobov a na pitve niektorých zavraždených.... Keď navyše Katyn koncom roku 1943 znovu ovládali jednotky Červenej armády, zorganizovala Moskva vlastnú akciu. Poslala tam komisiu súdneho lekárstva vedenú akademikom Nikolajom Burdenkom, ktorá vydala z "obhliadky" vlastné svedectvo, vyhovujúce politike Kremľa.|language=Slovak}}</ref> Šubík however, unlike Hájek, never delivered similar "testimony" that communists expected of him    and after severe persecution secretely emigrated through [[Iron curtain]] into [[USA]].<ref name="Subik">{{cite web |url=ttp://www.24hod.sk/slovak-skumal-hroby-v-katyni-pravda-sa-mu-kruto-vypomstila-cl227978.html |title=Slovák skúmal hroby v Katyni, pravda sa mu kruto vypomstila |date=28. apríla 2013 |quote=„Ak by bol o Katynskom lese opak pravdou, neváhal by som to povedať úplne otvorene, alebo by som protokol rozhodne nepodpísal. Nie som človekom ani zadných dvierok, ani človekom, ktorého možno podplatiť alebo dokonca prinútiť popísať nepravdu“ |accessdate=27 Dec 2016 |language=Slovak}}</ref>   

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 [[Lavrenty Beria|Beria]], where it is stated that the People's Commissar of Internal Affairs ''de facto'' suggests 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 [[Lavrenty Beria|Beria]], where it is stated that the People's Commissar of Internal Affairs ''de facto'' suggests 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>