Katyn: How the Soviets Manufactured War Crime Documents

Courtesy of CODOH & AHRS

 

"After this fearful tale, which will remain seared into my memory for an entire lifetime, I felt sorry for Jegorow and invited him into my apartment so he could warm up and hide until he regained his strength. But Jegorow refused. He said he absolutely had to leave that night in order to cross the front line. But he didn't leave that night. The next morning, I found him still in the shed. As it turned out, he had made repeated attempts to go away during the night, but after he had gone fifty steps he felt weak and was forced to return. It was probably the result of the continual malnutrition in the camp and the starvation during the last few days. We agreed that he would stay one or two days with me, in order to recover his strength. I gave him food and went to work.

"When I came back that evening, my neighbours, BARANOWA MARIA IWANOWNA and KABANOWSKAJA KATHERINA VIKTOROWNA, told me that the German police had discovered a Red Army prisoner of war in my shed during their patrol, whom they took away with them."

Since a prisoner of war had been found in Moskowskaja's shed, she was told to report to the Gestapo, where she was accused of hiding a prisoner of war. During her interrogation by the Gestapo, Moskowskaja denied her relations with this prisoner of war and claimed that she knew nothing of his presence in her shed. Since Moskowskaja did not admit her guilt and the prisoner of war Jegorow did not betray her, she was released by the Gestapo.

Jegorow also told Moskowskaja that a group of prisoners of war working in the Katyn forest, in addition to digging up the bodies were further occupied with bringing corpses from other locations. The corpses transported to the Katyn forest were piled up in the graves, together with the corpses which had previously been dug up.

The fact that a great number of corpses of persons shot by the Germans at other locations were transported to the graves at Katyn is also confirmed by the testimony of the mechanic SUCHATSCHEW.

SUCHATSCHEW P.F. (born 1912), a mechanical engineer from "Roskglawchjleb", who worked for the Germans as a machinist in the city mills of Smolensk, filed a request on 8.10.43 to be permitted to testify.

When he appeared, he stated:

"In the mill, during the second half of March 1943, I once talked to a German driver who spoke a little Russian. After it came out that he was carrying meal for a division in the village of Sawenky and would be coming back to Smolensk the next day, I asked him to take him with me in order that I might have the opportunity to buy fats. In so doing, I was calculating that riding in a German truck would eliminate the risk of my being stopped at a checkpoint.

"The German driver agreed for a sum of money. We left the same day at about 10:00 P.M., taking the SmolenskWitebsk highway.

"There were two of us in the truck: me and the German driver. It was a bright night; the moon was shining, but the fog hindered visibility. About 2223 kilometres from Smolensk, there was a curve at a destroyed bridge with a rather steep embankment. We left the highway and travelled down the embankment; then a truck suddenly appeared out of the fog. Either our brakes were not very good or the driver was not very experienced; we could not brake the truck, and, since the road was rather narrow, we had a collision with the truck coming in the opposite direction. The collision was not a bad one, since the driver of the oncoming truck succeeded in swerving out of the way, as a result only scraping the sides of both trucks. The oncoming truck turned over however, and fell down the embankment. Our truck stayed where it was. The driver and I got out of the driver's seat and went to the overturned truck.

"I immediately smelt a very strong stench of corpses, which probably came from the truck. I came closer, and saw that the truck was loaded with a cargo covered with tarpaulins and tied down with ropes. The ropes broke due to the fall, and part of the cargo fell out. It was a cruel cargo.

"They were human corpses in military uniforms. As I remember, 67 men, including a German driver and 2 Germans armed with machine guns, stood around the truck. The others were Russian prisoners of war, since they spoke Russian and were clothed correspondingly.

"The Germans began to curse my driver, then they tried to get the truck back up onto its wheels again. After two minutes, another two trucks arrived at the scene of the accident and stopped there. From these trucks came a group of Germans and Russian prisoners of war, a total of 10 men, and came up to us. Using our combined strength, we began to lift the truck. I took the opportunity and quietly asked one of the Russian prisoners of war: 'What's that?' Just as quietly, he answered: 'I don't know how many nights we've already spent transporting corpses into the Katyn forest'."

"The overturned truck was still not upright when a German noncommissioned officer approached me and my driver, and ordered us to drive on immediately.

"Since we had not suffered any real damage during the collision, my driver turned the truck back onto the highway and then drove on.

"As we drove past the two trucks that had arrived later and were covered with tarpaulins, I smelt a fearful stench of corpses."

SUCHATSCHEW's testimony is confirmed by the testimony of Jegorow Wladimir Afansjewitsch, who served in the police during the occupation.

Jegorow testified that, at the end of March and the early days of April 1943, as he guarded the bridges in the line of duty at the intersection of the MoscowMinsk and SmolenskWitebsk highways, he repeatedly observed large trucks covered with tarpaulins, exuding the stench of corpses, passing in the direction of Smolensk. Several persons, some of who carried weapons and doubtlessly were German, always sat in the truck cabins and on top of the tarpaulins.

Jegorow mentioned his observations to the chief of police at the police station in the village of Archipowka, Golownew Kuzma Demjanowitsch, who advised him to keep quiet about it and added: "That has nothing to do with us, we don't need to get mixed up in German affairs."

That the Germans transported corpses by truck to the Katyn forest was also stated by JAKOWLEWSOKOLOW FLOR MAKSINOWITSCH, born 1896, former supply agent for the canteen of the Smolensk Trusts for dining rooms, and chief of the police district of Katyn during the German occupation.

He reported that, in early April 1943, he personally observed four trucks covered with tarpaulins on which sat several men armed with machine guns and weapons, turning off the highway into the Katyn forest. A strong stench of corpses was perceptible from the trucks.

All the above mentioned eyewitness testimony permits the conclusion that the Germans also shot Poles at other locations. In bringing the corpses to the Katyn forest, the Germans pursued a triple objective: first, to wipe out all traces of their own crimes; second, to blame all their crimes on the Soviets, and third, to multiple the number of "victims of Bolshevism" in the graves in the Katyn forest.

"Visits" to the graves at Katyn

In April 1943, after the German invaders had finished all preparatory measures at the graves in the Katyn forest, they began a widespread agitation in the press and radio, attempting to blame the Soviets for the atrocities which they had themselves committed against the Polish prisoners of war. One of their methods of provocative agitation consisted of organizing "visits" to the graves at Katyn by the residents of Smolensk and neighbouring areas, as well as by "delegations" from the countries occupied by the German invaders and in a position of subservience to them.

The Special Commission interrogated a number of witnesses who participated in the "visit" to the graves at Katyn.

The witness, SUBKOW K.P., an anatomical pathologist working in Smolensk in his capacity as forensic expert, testified to the Special Commission:

"...The clothing on the corpses, especially the officers' greatcoats, boots, and belts, held together rather well. The metallic parts of their clothing, such as belt buckles, buttons, hooks, boot nails, etc. were not completely rusted and still retained their metallic lustre at places. The tissue of the corpses made available for examination, the tissue of the face, neck, and hands, was chiefly grey in colour, in individual cases greenish brown; but there was no complete decomposition of the tissues, there was no putrefaction. In individual cases, tendons lay exposed, whitish in colour; a number of muscles were visible. During my stay at the excavations, people were working on the floor of a deep ditch, separating the bodies and carrying them up out of the grave. They used spades and other tools to do so, grabbing the corpses with their hands, and dragging them by the arms, feet, and clothing from one place to another. In no individual case could one observe that the bodies fell apart, or that individual parts of them came away.

"With respect to the above, I came to the conclusion that the period of time during which the corpses had remained in the earth absolutely could not amount to three years, as the Germans claimed, but must be much less. Since I know that the decomposition of bodies in mass graves, especially without coffins, occurs much more rapidly than in individual graves, I came to the conclusion that the mass shootings of the Poles must have been carried out about one and a half years ago, and must date from the autumn of 1941 or early 1942.

"As a result of visiting the excavations, I became firmly convinced that this gigantic atrocity was the act of the Germans."

Testimonies that the clothing on the corpses, the metal parts, the shoes and the corpses themselves, were well preserved, were offered by all the witnesses who had participated in "visits" to the graves at Katyn and were then heard by the Special Commission, i.e.,: the foreman of the Smolensk water pipeline network, KUTZEW J.S.; the female head of the school at Katyn, WETROVA E.N.; the female telephonist of the Smolensk transport office, SCHTSCHEDROVA N.G.; the resident of the village of Borok, ALEZEJEW M.A.; the resident of the village of Nowye Bateki, KRISWOSERZEW N.G.; the duty officer at Gnesdowo station, SAWWATEJEW J.W.; the female resident of Smolensk, PUSCHTSCHINA E.A.; the doctor of medicine from the 2nd hospital at Smolensk, SIDORUK T.A.; the doctor of medicine from the same hospital, KESSAREW P.M., and others.

German attempts to wipe away the traces of their crime

The "visits" organized by the Germans failed to achieve their aim. All persons who visited the graves became convinced that they were witnessing the gross and obvious provocation of the German fascists.

Therefore measures were taken by the Germans to silence all doubters.

The Special Commission interrogated a number of witnesses who have reported how the Germans persecuted persons who doubted the truth of the provocation or did not believe it. They were fired from their jobs, arrested, and threatened with shooting. The Commission has established two cases of shooting of persons who "couldn't keep their mouths shut". This tactic of violence was carried out against the former German policeman SAGAINOW and against JEGOREW A.M., who participated in the excavations in the Katyn forest.

Testimonies relating to the persecution by the Germans of those persons who expressed doubt after visiting the graves in the Katyn forest were offered by:

The female attendant at pharmacy no. 1 of Smolensk, SUBAREWA M.S.; the assistant to the doctor of hygiene for the Health Division of the Stalinist District of Smolensk, KOSLOWA W.F.; and others.

The former head of the Katyn police district, JAKOWLEWSOKOLOW F.M. testified:

"A situation arose which caused the most serious disquiet among the German command, and urgent instructions were issued to all local police offices to prohibit all harmful talk and to arrest all those persons who expressed mistrust regarding the 'Katyn affair'".

"Such instructions were personally issued to me, as head of the police district, by the following persons: at the end of May 1943, by the German commander of the Katyn village, Lt. Col. BRAUN, and, at the beginning of June, by the head of the police district of Smolensk, KAMANEZKII.

"I issued instructions to the police in my district stating that all persons expressing mistrust, and all doubters of the truthfulness of the German communications on the shooting of the Polish prisoners of war by the Bolsheviks, were to be arrested and brought to police headquarters.

"In forwarding these instructions from the German authorities, I hypocritically concealed the fact that I was myself convinced that the 'Katyn affair' was a German provocation. I became completely convinced of it after participating in the 'excursion' in the Katyn forest."

When the German occupation troops noticed that the "excursions" by the local populace to the graves at Katyn were not successful, they issued an order in the summer of 1943 to fill in the graves.

Before their withdrawal from Smolensk, the Germans hastily began to wipe away the traces of their atrocities. The country house occupied by the "Staff of the Construction Battalion 537" was burnt to the ground. The Germans searched for the three girls, Aleksejewa, Michailowa, and Konachowskaja, in the village of Borok, in order to take them with them or to annihilate them. They also sought their "chief witness" KISSELEW P.G., who was, however, successful in concealing himself and his family. The Germans burnt his house.

They also attempted to arrest other "witnesses": the former foreman of Gnesdowo station, IWANOW S.W.; the former duty officer of the same station, SAWWATEJEW J.W.; and the former railway carriage coupler at the station at Smolensk, SACHAROW M.D.

During the very last days before the withdrawal from Smolensk the German fascist occupiers also searched for the professors Basilewski and Jefimow. These only succeeded in escaping kidnapping or death by hiding themselves in the nick of time.

But the German fascist invaders were still not successful in covering their traces and concealing their crime.

Forensic examination of the exhumed corpses proves with irrefutable clarity that the shooting of the Polish prisoners of war was committed by the Germans themselves.

We proceed now to the files of the forensic expert Commission

Files of the forensic expert Commission

By order of the Special Commission for the examination and investigation of the circumstances of the shooting of the Polish officer prisoners of war by the German fascist invaders in the Katyn forest (in the vicinity of the city of Smolensk), the forensic investigative commission, consisting of: the superior forensic expert of the People's Commissariat for Health Matters of the USSR, Director of the State Scientific Research Institute for Forensic Medicine of the People's Commissariat for Health Matters of the USSR, W.J. PROZOROWSKI;

Professor for Forensic Medicine of the 2nd Moscow State Medical Institute, Dr. W.M. SMOLJANINOW;

Professor of anatomical pathology, Dr. D.N. WYROPAIJEW;

the eldest Scientific Official of the anatomical medical division of the State Scientific Research Institute for Forensic Medicine of the People's Commissariat for Health Matters of the USSR, Dr. P.S. SEMENOWSKI;

the eldest Scientific Official of the anatomical medical division of the State Scientific Research Institute for Forensic Medicine of the People's Commissariat for Health Matters of the USSR, Professor Ph.D. SCWAIKOW;

with the participation of:

the head forensic medical expert of the West front, Major of the medical services, NIKOLSKI;

the forensic medical expert for Army N., Captain of the medical services, BUSSOEDOW:

the chief of the anatomical pathology laboratory 92, Major of the medical services, SUBBOTIN;

the Major of the medical services, OGLOBIN;

Doctor of medicine and Lt. Col. of Medicine, SADYKOW;

Lt. of Medicine PUSCHKARJOWA;

The exhumation and forensic examination of the corpses of the Polish prisoners of war from the grounds of Kosji Gori in the Katyn forest, 15 kilometres from the city of Smolensk, was carried out in the period from 16 to 23 January 1944. The bodies of the Polish prisoners of war were buried in a common grave measuring 60 x 60 x 3 m, in addition to another grave measuring 7 x 6 x 3.5 m. From the graves, 925 bodies were exhumed and examined. The exhumation and forensic examination of the bodies were carried out to determine the following:

a) the identity of the dead

b) the cause of death

c) the length of time they had been in the ground.

The circumstances of the matter (see document of the Special Commission);

Objective data: (see the record of the forensic medical examination of the bodies).

CONCLUSION

The forensic medical expert commission, based on the findings of the forensic medical examination of the bodies, came to the following conclusion:

Following the excavation of the graves and exposure of the corpses, it was established that:

a) among the great number of bodies of the Polish prisoners of war were corpses in civilian clothing, the number of which, compared to the total number of the examined bodies (2:925 of the exhumed bodies) is slight; the bodies wore military footwear;

b) the clothing of the dead prisoners of war testifies to their belonging to the officers and noncommissioned officers of the Polish army;

c) incisions in the pockets, which were turned inside out, as well as in the boots, were discovered during the examination, revealing, as a rule, traces of previous examination of the articles of clothing (military greatcoats, trousers, etc.) on the bodies;

d) in some cases, the pockets of the articles of clothing bore no incisions. In these cases, just in the pockets which had been cut or torn open, inside the jacket linings, trouserbands, foot rags and socks, newspaper clippings, brochures, prayer books, postage stamps, opened and unopened letters, receipts, medals, and other documents such as valuables (1 gold piece, golden dollars, tobacco pipes, pocket knives, cigarette paper, handkerchiefs and other articles, were discovered;

e) some of the documents (which were not subjected to any particular examination) exhibited dates from the period between 12 November 1940 to 20.6.1941;

f) the material of the clothing, especially the military greatcoats, jackets, trousers, and underwear, are well preserved and could only be torn by hand with difficulty;

g) a small number of bodies (20:925 of the exhumed bodies) had their hands tied behind their backs with white braided cord;

h) the condition of the clothing on the bodies, particularly the fact that the jackets, shirts,military belts, trousers, and underwear were buttoned up, boots or shoes tied, neckerchiefs and neckties bound around the necks, suspenders buttoned up and the shirts tucked into the trousers, shows that no exterior examination of the torso and limbs had been undertaken;

The well preserved condition skin tissues of the head, and the nonexistence of any incisions therein or in the skin tissues of the chest or abdomen (except for 3:925 cases), or other signs of expert activity, shows that the bodies had not been subjected to forensic examination, a conclusion confirmed by an examination of the bodies exhumed by the forensic expert commission.

The exterior and interior examination of the 925 bodies justifies the statement that the bodies exhibit gunshot wounds on the head and neck. In four cases, these are accompanied by damage to the skull caused by a hard, heavy object. In addition, some cases of injury to the abdomen, together with injuries to the head, were established. As a rule, there was one entry hole, more rarely two, in the back of the head near the nape of the neck, in the cavity in the nape of the neck, or the edge of the same cavity. In some cases, the entry wounds are on the back of the neck, at the height of the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd cervical vertebra. Most frequently, the exit holes are in the forehead, but, more rarely, in the temple or crown of the head, or in the face or neck. In 27 cases, the bullets remained in the body (without exit holes). At the terminus of the entry wound channel, under the soft tissues of the skull or bones thereof, in the cerebral membranes, or in the cerebral matter, deformed, slightly deformed, or severely deformed jacketed bullets were discovered, such as are used as ammunition for submachine guns, mostly of 7.65 m, The number of entry holes in the bones of the neck justifies the conclusion that, during the shooting, firearms of two different calibres were used, most frequently, of less than 8 mm, i.e, 7.65 mm or less; in a few cases, calibres of more than 8 mm, i.e., 9 mm, were used.

The state of the fractures of the bones of the skull, and, in many cases, residues of gunpowder discovered on the exit holes or immediately close by, show that the shots were fired at point blank range, or very close range. The superimposition of the entry and exit holes shows that the holes must have been fired from behind when the head was bent down. The entry channel traversed vital parts of the brain, or immediately adjacent to these, so that the destruction of the tissues of the brain must have caused death.

The injuries observed in the bones of the top of the skull, caused by a blunt, hard, and heavy object inflicted simultaneously with the gunshot wounds to the head, could not, by themselves, come into question as the cause of death. The forensic examinations, carried out during the period from 16 to 23 January 1944, revealed that the 925 bodies were neither in a state of decomposition nor putrefaction, i.e., they were in the initial stages of the loss of moisture (most frequently and particularly visible in the chest or abdominal regions; fat and wax separation was most particularly visible in bodies which had lain in direct contact with the ground); i.e, the tissues of the bodies exhibited a loss of moisture and a separation of fat and wax. Particularly worthy of note is the fact that the muscles of the torso and limbs retained their macroscopic condition perfectly, while their former colour was almost perfectly retained; the interior organs of the chest and abdomen were also well preserved in relation to their configuration; the heart muscle, upon incision, clearly retained its usual structure and colour. The brain exhibited characteristic structural conditions, with a clearly recognizable border between white and grey matter.

In addition to their macroscopic investigation of the tissues and bodily organs, the Forensic Expert Commission took material for the subsequent microscopic and chemical laboratory examination. The condition of the earth at the burial site must have played a certain role in the preservation of the tissues and bodily organs.

After the excavation of the graves and exposure of the corpses, the condition of the bodies, following exposure to the air for a period, began to influenced by the warmth and moisture of the spring and summer of 1943, a factor which could strongly encourage the process of decomposition. But the degree of moisture loss, and the fat and wax separation in the bodies, the especially good preservation of the muscles and interior organs, as well as the articles of clothing, justify us in stating that the bodies had only been buried a short time. If we compare the condition of the bodies in the graves at Kosji Gory with the bodies found at other burial sites in the city of Smolensk and the near vicinity (GEDEONOWKA, MAGALENSCHTISCHINA, READOWKA, camp 126 at KRASNYI BOR, etc.) (see the Report of the Forensic Medical Expert Commission of 22 October 1943), we must conclude that the bodies of the Polish prisoners of war in the Kosji Gory region were interred about 2 years ago. This is also confirmed by the findings of the documents in the articles of clothing, indicating that an earlier point in time for burial cannot be considered (see point e, page 48, and documentary table of contents).

Based on the findings of the examination, the Forensic Medical Expert Commission has established that:

1) the killings of the officer and noncommissioned officer prisoners of war took place by shooting;

2) that the shootings took place during a period approximately 2 years ago, that is, in the months of September-December 1941;

3) that the valuables and documents dating from 1941 and discovered by the Forensic Expert Commission in the articles of clothing on the bodies, are proof that the German fascist authorities failed to carry out a thorough examination of the bodies in the spring and summer of 1943; the documents discovered prove that the shootings took place after the month of June 1941;

4) that the Germans dissected only a very small number of the bodies of Polish prisoners of war in 1943;

5) that the manner and type of shooting of the Polish prisoners of war is identical with the shooting of peaceful Soviet citizens and Soviet prisoners of war. This type of shooting was practised by the German fascist authorities on a broad scale in the temporarily occupied regions of the USSR, including the cities of Smolensk, Orel, Kharkow, Krasnodar, and Woronesch.

The Superior Forensic Official of the People's Commissariat for Health Matters of the USSR, Director of the State Scientific Research Institute for Health Medicine of the People's Commissariat for Health Matters of the USSR, W.J. PROZOROWSKI;

Professor of forensic medicine at the 2nd Moscow State Medical Institute, Dr. W.M. SMOLJANINOW;

Professor of anatomical pathology, Dr. D.N. WYROPAEW;

The eldest scientific official of the Thanatological Division of the State Scientific Research Institute for Forensic Medicine of the People's Commissariat for Health Matters of the USSR, Dr. P.S. SEMENOWSKI;

The eldest scientific official of the forensic medical division of the State Scientific Research Institute for Forensic Medicine of the People's Commissariat for Health Matters of the USSR, Prof. M.D. SCHWAIKOWA.

Smolensk, 24 January 1944.

Documents found on the corpses

In addition to the information proven in the documents of the forensic medical report, the time of the shootings of the Polish prisoners of war by the Germans (autumn 1941, not the spring of 1940, as claimed by the Germans), was also established by documents discovered during the excavation of the graves, dating not only from the second half of 1940, but also from the spring and summer (March -June) of 1941.

Among the documents discovered by the forensic experts, the following merit particular attention:

1) on body 92:

A letter from Warsaw in the Russian language addressed to the Central Office for Prisoners of War, Moscow, Kuibuschewstreet no. 12. In the letter, "Sophie" asks "Sigon", to let her know the whereabouts of her husband, Thomas Sigon. The letter is dated 12.9.1940. The envelope bears German postage cancellation "Warsaw IX40", and cancellation "Moscow Post Office 9 Expedition 28/IX40", as well a notice written in red ink, in the Russian language, reading "Find camp and deliver 15/XI40" (signature illegible).

2) on body 4:

A registered postcard no. 0112 from Tarnopol with cancellation "Tarnopol 12/X40". The manuscript text and address are obliterated.

3) on body 101:

Receipt no. 10293 dated 19.XII.1939, issued in camp Koselsk, for pawn of a gold watch accepted by LEWANDOWSKY EDUARD ADAMOWITSCH. The reverse of this receipt bears a note dated 14 March 1941, stating that the watch had been sold to "Juwelirtorg".

4) on body 46:

A receipt issued in Starobelskyi camp on 16.XII.1939 for the pawn of a gold watch accepted by ARASCHKEWITSCH WLADIMIR RUDOLPHOWITSCH. The reverse of the receipt bears a note dated 25 March 1941, stating that the watch had been sold to "Juwelirtorg".

5) on body 71:

A devotional image of paper with a picture of Jesus, discovered between pages 144 and 145 of a Catholic prayer book. The reverse of the devotional image bears a legible note with signature "Jadvinja" and date "4 April 1941".

6) on body 46:

A receipt issued in camp no. 1ON on 5 May 1941 for the deposit of a sum of money in the amount of 225 rubles accepted by ARASCHKEWITSCH.

7) on the same body (46):

A receipt issued in camp no. 1ON on 6 April 1941 for the deposit of a sum of money in the amount of 102 rubles accepted by ARASCHKEWITSCH.

8) on body 101:

A receipt issued in camp no. 1ON on 18 May 1941 for the deposit of a sum of money in the amount of 175 rubles accepted by LEWANDOWSKY.

9) on body 53:

An unforwarded postcard in the Polish language with the address:

Warsaw, Bagatelja 15, house 47,

Irene Kutschinskaja, date: 20 June 1941.

Sender: Stanislav Kutschinskij.

Conclusions

From the totality of material available to the Special Commission, particularly from the testimonies of the 100 witnesses interrogated by the Commission, the facts of the case as examined by the forensic experts, and the documents and valuables taken from the graves in the Katyn forest, the following conclusions may be drawn with irrefutable clarity:

1. The Polish prisoners of war in the three camps west of Smolensk were housed there until the beginning of the war, were engaged in road construction work, and remained there even after the invasion of Smolensk by the German conqueror, until September 1943.

2. In the autumn of 1941, mass shootings of Polish prisoners of war taken from the above mentioned camps were carried out by the German occupying power in the Katyn forest.

3. The mass shootings of the Polish prisoners of war in the Katyn forest was carried out by the German armed forces under the cover name "Staff 537 of the Construction Battalion", led by Lt. Col. Arnes and his associates Lt. Reckst and Lt. Hott.

4. As a result of the deterioration of the general military situation for Germany in early 1943, the German occupier took measures, provocative in nature and intended to attribute their own crime to the Soviets, with a view to causing hostility between the Russians and the Poles;

5. To this purpose,

a) the German fascist invaders attempted, through the use of persuasion, threats, and barbaric tortures, to find "witnesses" among the Soviet citizens from whom perjured statements were extorted to the effect that the Polish prisoners of war had been shot by the Soviets in the spring of 1940;

b) the German occupation authorities, in the spring of 1943, transported the corpses of Polish prisoners of war from other locations and shot by them at other sites, and laid them in the excavated graves of the Katyn forest in an attempt to wipe away the traces of their own bestiality and to increase the number of the "victims of Bolshevism" in the Katyn forest;

c) while the German occupation authorities spread their provocation, they used approximately 500 Russian prisoners of war for the job of excavating the graves at Katyn in order to remove all documents and exhibits which might prove German authorship of the crime. The Russian prisoners of war were shot immediately after termination of this work.

6. The findings of the Forensic Expert Commission have established beyond doubt:

a) the time of the shootings: the autumn of 1941;

b) the German executioners, in shooting the Polish prisoners of war, used the same methods (pistol shots in the back of the neck), as in the mass shootings of Soviet citizens in other cities, particularly, Orel, Woronesch,Krasnodar, and Smolensk.

7. The conclusions drawn from the statements of eyewitnesses and the forensic report on the shootings of the Polish prisoners of war by the Germans in the autumn of 1941 are fully confirmed by the exhibits and documents discovered in the graves at Katyn.

8. In shooting the Polish prisoners of war in the Katyn forest, the German fascist invaders were pursuing a consistent policy of the physical extermination of the Slavic peoples.

President of the Special Commission, Member of the Special State Commission, Academician BURDENKO;

Member of the Special State Commission, Academician ALEKSEJ TOLSTOI;

Member of the Special State Commission, Mythropolitos NIKOLAI;

President of the AllSlavic Committee, Lieutenant General GUNDOROW A.S.;

President of the Executive Committee of the Association of the Red Cross and Red Half Moon, S.A. POLESNIKOW;

People's Commissar for Education of the RSFSR, Academician W.P. POTEMKIN;

Chief of the Forensic Head Office of the Red Army, CoronelGeneral E.J. SMIRNOW;

President of the Executive Committee for the Region of Smolensk, R.E. MEINIKOW.

Smolensk, 24 January 1944

 

 

 

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