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→Katyn and the Soviet pressure
Similar slogans were expressed by the Soviet Union propaganda until 1989. The official propaganda in all [[Eastern Bloc]] countries stated that Poland was betrayed and the only ally Poland could rely on was the [[Kremlin]].
Similar slogans were expressed by the Soviet Union propaganda until 1989. The official propaganda in all [[Eastern Bloc]] countries stated that Poland was betrayed and the only ally Poland could rely on was the [[Kremlin]].
====Katyn and the Soviet pressure====
====Katyn massacre====
The Katyń Massacre was the [[mass murder]] of 21,768 Polish army officers and members of the intelligentsia and middle classes by Soviet [[NKVD]] killers at the Katyn Forest in western [[Russia]] and other locations in [[Poland]], [[Belarus]], [[Russia]] and [[Ukraine]]. The killings were directly ordered by [[Stalin]], on the suggestion of his secret police chief [[Lavrenty Beria]], following the Soviet annexation of eastern Poland in 1939. The crime was discovered and announced to the world by the invading [[German]] forces in 1943, and led to the breaking-off of diplomatic relations between the [[London]]-based Polish Government-in-exile and the Soviet Government. The leadership of one Allied country fighting the Nazis had essentially liquidated the political and military leadership of another Allied country.
The executions carried out in Katyn were ruthless and efficient. Most prisoners had their hands bound and were either led to a mass grave, where the were subsequently shot in the back of the head or neck. In some cases, especially high-ranking officers were led into a nearby slaughterhouse where their identity could be firmly established with identity cards and files. They were then led into an adjoining room where they were also shot in the back of the head. The bodies were dumped in large trucks and driven to mass grave sites.
Among those murdered at Katyn were an admiral, two generals, 24 colonels, 79 lieutenant colonels, 258 majors, 654 captains, 17 naval captains, 3,420 Non-Commissioned officers, seven chaplains, three landowners, a prince, 43 officials, 85 privates, and 131 refugees.
Among the civilian victims were 20 university professors, 300 physicians, several hundred lawyers, engineers, and teachers; and more than 100 writers and journalists as well as about 200 pilots.<ref>https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/winter99-00/art6.html</ref>
From the very beginning of Polish-Soviet talks in 1941, the government of Poland was searching for approximately 20,000 Polish officers missing in Russia. Stalin always replied that they either ''must have fled to Mongolia'' or ''are somewhere in Russia, which is a big country and it's easy to get lost here''. In April 1943 German news agencies reported finding mass graves of Polish soldiers in [[Katyn]]. The Polish government requested the Soviet Union examine the case and at the same time asked the [[Red Cross|International Red Cross]] for help in verifying the German reports.
From the very beginning of Polish-Soviet talks in 1941, the government of Poland was searching for approximately 20,000 Polish officers missing in Russia. Stalin always replied that they either ''must have fled to Mongolia'' or ''are somewhere in Russia, which is a big country and it's easy to get lost here''. In April 1943 German news agencies reported finding mass graves of Polish soldiers in [[Katyn]]. The Polish government requested the Soviet Union examine the case and at the same time asked the [[Red Cross|International Red Cross]] for help in verifying the German reports.
On April 24, 1943, Sikorski met with Eden and demanded Allied help in releasing Polish prisoners in the [[gulag]]s and Soviet prisons. Sikorski also declined the Soviet demand that Poland withdraw their plea to have the Red Cross investigate Katyn. [[Anthony Eden]] refused to help and the Soviet Union broke diplomatic relations with Poland on the following day, arguing that the Polish government was collaborating with [[Nazi Germany]]. Despite Polish pleas for help, the [[United States]] and the United Kingdom decided not to put pressure on the USSR.
On April 24, 1943, Sikorski met with [[Anthony Eden]] and demanded Allied help in releasing Polish prisoners in the [[gulag]]s and Soviet prisons. Sikorski also declined the Soviet demand that Poland withdraw their plea to have the Red Cross investigate Katyn. Eden refused to help and the Soviet Union broke diplomatic relations with Poland on the following day, arguing that the Polish government-in-exile was collaborating with [[Nazi Germany]]. Despite Polish pleas for help, the [[United States]] and the [[United Kingdom]] decided not to pursue the matter the USSR.
After the Soviets stopped the German advance on the Eastern Front, Poland lost its significance as the main Eastern ally. This was made obvious by the German [[Battle of Stalingrad|defeat at Stalingrad]].
After the Soviets stopped the German advance on the Eastern Front, Poland lost its significance as the main Eastern ally. This was made obvious by the German [[Battle of Stalingrad|defeat at Stalingrad]].
While a wartime International Red Cross investigation established the murders occurred in Soviet-occupied Poland before the German advance into those territories where they discovered the mass graves, the Supreme Allied prosecutors and judges at the [[Nuremberg War Crimes Tribunal]] assented to Soviet demands that this war crime be included in the indictment against top Nazis, for which the defendants were convicted, along with all the other charges of [[genocide]].
The Soviet Union denied responsibility for the murders until 1990. In 2010, the [[Duma]] of the [[Russian Federation]] officially condemned the crime and apologized to Poland.
===1940s===
===1940s===