133:. The question of an American cover-up was less clear cut. In its final report, the committee concluded that American officials failed to properly evaluate and act upon clear danger signals in Russian behavior evident as early as 1942. In addition, the committee found that American policy toward the Soviet Union might have been different if information deliberately withheld from the public had been made available sooner.
86:
when the area was under Soviet control—a determination which was then used as a propaganda tool intended to disrupt the alliance between the US, Great
Britain, and the Soviet Union. This effort was successful in part, as Polish intelligence sources immediately blamed the Soviets for the atrocities, leading to a break in diplomatic relations between Poland and the USSR.
277:
232:
161:
subsequently made it a priority to process and declassify all known documents related not only to the initial events of the 1940s but also to the Madden
Committee and the ongoing American response. This special effort has led to the declassification of over a thousand pages not previously released to
77:
in the Soviet Union, occupying German troops discovered eight large graves containing the remains of thousands of the Polish Army officers and intellectual leaders who had been interned at the prisoner-of-war camp at
Kozielsk. Bodies of the prisoners who had been housed at Ostashkov and Starobielsk
85:
An internationally staffed medical commission organized by the
Germans excavated the area in early spring 1943. As the excavation progressed, the Germans brought in several groups of observers, including some American prisoners-of-war. This commission determined that the massacre occurred in 1940,
254:
Before the Select
Committee to Conduct an Investigation of the Facts, Evidence And Circumstances of the Katyn Forest Massacre, Eighty-second Congress, First- Session, On Investigation of the Murder of Thousands of Polish Officers In the Katyn Forest Near Smolensk, Russia. Washington: U.S. Govt.
101:
was grounded "upon the obvious necessity of creating the most favorable conditions for bringing the full weight of the armed forces of all the United
Nations to bear upon the common enemy. ... The winning of the war is the paramount objective for all of us. For this unity is necessary."
89:
After their recapture of
Smolensk in the autumn of 1943, the Soviet government organized its own excavation. This second enquiry concluded that the Polish prisoners of war had been captured and executed by invading German units in August 1941.
315:
270:
Pursuant to H. Res. 390 And H. Res. 539, Eighty-second
Congress, a Resolution to Authorize the Investigation of the Mass Murder of Polish Officers In the Katyn Forest Near Smolensk, Russia. Washington: U. S. Govt. Print. Off.,
262:
Pursuant to H. Res. 390 And H. Res. 539, Eighty-second
Congress, a Resolution to Authorize the Investigation of the Mass Murder of Polish Officers In the Katyn Forest Near Smolensk, Russia. Washington: U. S. Govt. Print. Off.,
305:
65:
during their occupation of eastern Poland. Prisoners of war and civilian internees captured by the
Soviets were placed in several camps in the western USSR, run by the Soviet People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs, or
126:, in addition to hearing extensive witness testimony. Their purpose was to determine which nation was responsible for the atrocities and whether any American officials had engaged in covering up the massacre.
182:
157:
requesting the identification, declassification and public release of all records of permanent value in the custody of the US Government relating to the events at Katyn. The National Archives via the
114:
established the Select Committee to Conduct an Investigation and Study of the Facts, Evidence, and Circumstances of the Katyn Forest Massacre, known as the Madden Committee after its chairman, Rep.
247:
United States. Congress. House. Select Committee to Conduct an Investigation and Study of the Facts, Evidence, and Circumstances on the Katyn Forest Massacre. The Katyn Forest Massacre: Hearings
266:
United States. Congress. House. Select Committee to Conduct an Investigation and Study of the Facts, Evidence, and Circumstances on the Katyn Forest Massacre. The Katyn Forest Massacre:
258:
United States. Congress. House. Select Committee to Conduct an Investigation and Study of the Facts, Evidence, and Circumstances on the Katyn Forest Massacre. The Katyn Forest Massacre:
61:. While the Germans began a massacre of Jews and Poles in western occupied Poland, the Red Army arrested and imprisoned thousands of Polish military officers, policemen, and
310:
285:
142:
111:
23:
300:
130:
162:
the public, and the launch of a project to highlight Katyn material declassified by the National Archives over the previous few decades.
260:
Interim Report of the Select Committee to Conduct an Investigation of the Facts, Evidence And Circumstances of the Katyn Forest Massacre
268:
Final Report of the Select Committee to Conduct an Investigation of the Facts, Evidence And Circumstances of the Katyn Forest Massacre
158:
129:
The Madden Committee determined unanimously that the NKVD was responsible for the executions, and recommended a trial before the
20:
The Select Committee to Conduct an Investigation and Study of the Facts, Evidence, and Circumstances of the Katyn Forest Massacre
118:
of Indiana. The committee assembled records relating to the massacre and its aftermath, including records from the files of the
123:
58:
78:
were discovered near Piatykhatky and Mednoye, respectively. Collectively, these murders are known as the
70:, a predecessor organization to the modern FSB-camps including Kozielsk, Ostashkov, and Starobielsk.
214:
93:
The official American response at the time was one of non-involvement. In a June 1943 telegram to
54:
94:
119:
57:
in September 1939, having divided the country into separate spheres of influence under the
154:
79:
62:
31:
294:
236:
150:
146:
50:
46:
251:
248:
267:
259:
115:
27:
35:
74:
215:"Records Relating to the Katyn Forest Massacre at the National Archives"
316:
Investigations conducted by the United States House of Representatives
98:
235:
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the
306:
Defunct committees of the United States House of Representatives
281:
67:
97:, Roosevelt expressed approval that the British approach to
38:" for the execution of U.S. troops by Communist forces.
16:Investigation Commission into the Katyn Massacre
137:Declassification and release of related records
183:The Katyn Controversy: Stalin's Killing Field
8:
286:National Archives and Records Administration
30:. At that time, there was concern that the
177:
175:
311:1951 establishments in the United States
73:In April 1943, in the Katyn Forest near
171:
209:
207:
205:
203:
201:
199:
197:
195:
112:United States House of Representatives
24:United States House of Representatives
7:
131:International World Court of Justice
145:responded to a letter to President
284:from websites or documents of the
110:Later, on September 18, 1951, the
14:
280: This article incorporates
275:
230:
159:National Declassification Center
1:
301:Katyn massacre investigators
332:
106:Formation of the Committee
34:could have served as a "
187:Studies in Intelligence
141:In September 2011, the
59:Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact
282:public domain material
181:Fischer, Benjamin B. "
80:Katyn Forest Massacre
26:in 1951, during the
153:and Representative
22:was established by
189:Winter, 1999–2000.
149:by Representative
255:Print. Off, 1952.
219:National Archives
143:National Archives
323:
279:
278:
240:
234:
233:
229:
227:
225:
211:
190:
179:
331:
330:
326:
325:
324:
322:
321:
320:
291:
290:
276:
244:
243:
231:
223:
221:
213:
212:
193:
180:
173:
168:
155:Daniel Lipinski
139:
124:War Departments
108:
44:
17:
12:
11:
5:
329:
327:
319:
318:
313:
308:
303:
293:
292:
273:
272:
264:
256:
242:
241:
191:
170:
169:
167:
164:
138:
135:
107:
104:
63:intelligentsia
55:invaded Poland
43:
40:
32:Katyn Massacre
15:
13:
10:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
328:
317:
314:
312:
309:
307:
304:
302:
299:
298:
296:
289:
287:
283:
269:
265:
261:
257:
253:
250:
246:
245:
238:
237:public domain
220:
216:
210:
208:
206:
204:
202:
200:
198:
196:
192:
188:
184:
178:
176:
172:
165:
163:
160:
156:
152:
148:
144:
136:
134:
132:
127:
125:
121:
117:
116:Ray J. Madden
113:
105:
103:
100:
96:
91:
87:
83:
81:
76:
71:
69:
64:
60:
56:
52:
48:
41:
39:
37:
33:
29:
25:
21:
274:
222:. Retrieved
218:
186:
151:Marcy Kaptur
147:Barack Obama
140:
128:
109:
92:
88:
84:
72:
51:Soviet Union
47:Nazi Germany
45:
19:
18:
295:Categories
166:References
42:Background
28:Korean War
252:Parts 5-7
249:Parts 1-4
95:Churchill
36:blueprint
75:Smolensk
49:and the
224:7 April
99:Stalin
271:1952.
263:1952.
120:State
53:each
226:2017
122:and
68:NKVD
297::
288:.
217:.
194:^
185:"
174:^
82:.
239:.
228:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.