Katyn massacre
The Katyn massacre is the name of a series of killings by the Soviet army during World War II. Members of the NKVD killed between 14,500 and 25,000 Polish prisoners of war in a forest near Katyn, about 20 kilometres (12 mi) from Smolensk.[1][2][3][4][5][1][6] Many of the prisoners killed were officers. The Katyn massacre happened in April and May 1940. Stalin ordered it on Beria's advice.
| Katyn massacre | |
|---|---|
| Part of the aftermath of the Soviet invasion of Poland (during World War II) and Soviet repressions of Polish citizens (1939–1946) | |
 Katyn-Kharkov-Mednoye memorial in Świętokrzyskie Mountains, Poland | |
  | |
| Location | Katyn Forest, Kalinin and Kharkiv prisons in Soviet Union |
| Date | April–May 1940 |
Attack type | Mass murder |
| Deaths | between 14,500 and 25,000 |
| Victims | Poles |
| Perpetrators | Soviet Union (NKVD) |
In April 1990, the Soviet Union/Russia admitted it was responsible. In 1990, Mikhail Gorbachev officially apologised. The Katyn massacre is one in a series of similar massacres where up to 100,000 people were killed. Between 400 and 450 prisoners survived. People used their stories to change Soviet history books after the apology.
Lavrenty Beria was later accused of treason. He was executed in 1953. Vsevolod Merkulov was also executed in 1953 for being close to Beria. They were never tried for what they did at Katyn. In the 1980s, Michail Gorbachev said that they were responsible. He said that the Katyn massacre was one of Stalin's atrocities.
References
change- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Zawodny, J. K. (2015-11-06). Death In The Forest; The Story Of The Katyn Forest Massacre. Pickle Partners Publishing. ISBN 978-1-78625-167-1.
- ↑ Rogoyska, Jane (2021-05-06). Surviving Katyn: Stalin's Polish Massacre and the Search for Truth. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-78607-893-3.
- ↑ Kaczorowska, Teresa (2015-08-13). Children of the Katyn Massacre: Accounts of Life After the 1940 Soviet Murder of Polish POWs. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-8376-1.
- ↑ Sanford, George (2007-05-07). Katyn and the Soviet Massacre of 1940: Truth, Justice and Memory. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-30299-4.
- ↑ Urban, Thomas (2025-01-31). The Katyn Massacre 1940: History of a Crime. Pen and Sword Military. ISBN 978-1-5267-7538-2.
- ↑ Szonert, M. B. (2012-08-20). Katyn: State-Sponsored Extermination: Collection of Essays. Xlibris Corporation. ISBN 978-1-4771-5580-6.
