The Katyn Woods Massacre

4,250 Polish soldiers being murdered and buried at the Katyn Woods was one of the greatest atrocities of WW2. But this isn't the entire story.

The Polish army collapsed when Germany and Russia attacked from both the east and the west. even though the russians had attacked them , the polish let them in unharmed because they believed the Russians were to aid them. Once in, the red army took over many polish cities and began to capture soldiers and civilians to be imprisoned or executed, but probably both. Many nationalsists were exiled to be interrogated in other countries. It was at three particular prisons in russia that the massacre came into being.

Over 14 thousand of these prisoners were held behind their barbed wire and walls. Soldiers, statesmen, police officers, and civilians were kept at the camps. The only thing they could to do was await their fate. These camps were horrific. Bugs, lice, and filth were abundant. Food that was barely edible was all the prisoners got. There were daily interrogations, roll calls, and formations at all hours. We know most of this because from 1939-1940 there are records from prisoners at the camps to their family members. After the spring of 1940, all contact with the prisoners was lost. They simply ceased to exist.

Smolensk, one of the camps, had been in the hands of Germany since July, 1941. Near Smolensk in 1943, some Polish laborers had visited an elderly pole man near Katyn woods and there learned of the massive burial site where many Polish prisoners had been killed by the Russians. An international team of doctors was called to come and investigate the Katyn woods. In Goats Hill, the doctors found layer on layer of Polish soldiers bodies. The corpses showed signs of execution by firearms and bayonets. Through forensic analysis the scientists discovered the caliber of the guns used in the executions, where the soldiers had come from, and the approximate time they had been killed. Letters, certificates of inoculation, and other personal items were left on the bodies as they were thrown into mass graves, one on top of the other.

The ground at Katyn had a mummifying effect on the bodies so they were well preserved. The Polish uniforms easily identified their rank, and in the case of the few high ranking officers, it told who these people were.