Posted on 9/19/2007, 6:19:05 PM by lizol
Russian media blame Poland for the death of Soviet POWs in 1920
19.09.2007
On the 68th anniversary of the Soviet aggression on Poland, Russian media question the Soviet responsibility for Katyn and blame Poland for the death of tens of thousands Soviet POWs in Poland back in 1920. Polish commentators respond that such statements from the Russian side are pure propaganda supposed to counterbalance their responsibility for the Katyn massacre.
Joanna Najfeld reports
Commemorating the 68th anniversary of the Soviet aggression on Poland on September 17th, 1939, Polish president Lech Kaczynski visited Katyn - the site of mass murder of Polish POWs by NKVD at Stalin's personal order in 1940.
In his speech, Polish president called the Katyn Forest Massacre a genocide:
'It was an act of genocide of officers of a foreign army, who had been taken captive.'
Stressing the importance of good Polish - Russian relations, but relations based on the truth, the Polish president sounded a conciliatory tone:
'We will remember, because historical memory is a very significant thing. The memory of both good and bad things. But this does not mean, that we are going to live only on that memory.'
Another gesture of reconciliation on the part of the Polish president was his visit to a military cemetery where Russian soldiers murdered by Germans are buried. Lech Kaczynski honored the Russian victims before he went to pay tribute at the Polish memorial.
Despite the efforts of the Polish delegation to make the visit focused on both truth and reconciliation, the coverage by some Russian media, and most prominently by the Kremlin - controlled Russia Today television channel was hostile and unjustly biased, say commentators.
The Russian media questioned the Russian responsibility for the Katyn mass murder and blamed Poland for the death of Russian POWs in 1920, during the Polish - Soviet war.
Wojciech Konończuk of the Warsaw - based Center for Eastern Studies.
'Russia is trying to balance its responsibility for the Katyn massacre by trying to show that Poland is not so innocent either. Such statements from the Russian side are pure propaganda and instruments to counterbalance the Katyn massacre.'
Polish historians have for a long time now presented evidence that the death of Russian POWs in 1920 in Poland was in no way comparable to the Katyn murders. Russian captives died in an epidemic, which killed many Polish soldiers and civilians alike, while Polish officers in Katyn were individually shot in the head by the NKVD at Stalin's personal order.
History professor Andrzej Ajnenkiel says the Russian side has not shown openness to an honest scholarly debate on this issue:
'Very many works have been written about this. Most importantly by professor Zbigniew Karpus, published also in Russian and in English. The Polish side repeatedly invited Russians to examine the evidence. Russians never took interest in these materials.'
Professor Ajnenkiel explains what happened to the thousands of Soviet soldiers who never returned to Russia after the 1920 war.
'Part of the Soviet POWs taken captive in Poland in 1920 quickly joined the anti-Soviet forces and started fighting on the Polish side. Others went to POW camps. It was the year 1920, Poland was very much destroyed by the war. Our soldiers often times walked barefoot, even in the battlefield. So naturally, the living conditions for the Soviet POWs were also hard. An epidemic of the Spanish flu and typhus broke out in the winter. Both Soviet and Polish soldiers were dying in large numbers. But Poland did not execute them or do anything to hasten their death. We have a lot of documents that prove this.'
The treatment of the Soviet POWs in Poland was humane and in no way comparable to the fate of Polish officers shot to death in Katyn, continues professor Ejnenkiel:
'In the winter, many Soviet POWs were released so they could work on farms. They volunteered, because they had better food there. They could leave the camps, they were not isolated. Some of these soldiers did not want to come back to Russia after the war. They settled in Poland or other European countries.'
Russia is repeating the unfounded accusations whenever the Katyn Forest Massacre is reminded, comments professor Ajnenkiel:
'To distract the public attention from Katyn, they are blaming us for some crimes on Soviet soldiers. Let me reiterate, that these crimes never took place.'
And in the Russian school textbooks for many years now, often times it was the Katyn murder that either never took place, or Soviets were not to blame.
'I cannot recall such a bad atmosphere around the issue of Katyn since the collapse of the Soviet Union,' comments Poland's former Foreign Affairs Minister Władysław Bartoszewski in the Dziennik daily. 'This undermines the great act of Boris Yeltsin, who had the courage to hand over to Poland the evidence of the communist party's involvement in the decision to exterminate half of Poland's officers corps,' adds Professor Bartoszewski.
Besides they're starting up the Cold War again so that thug Putin can have an excuse to stay in office indefinetely.
L
Today’s Russia has changed very little from the old USSR, and Putin is rapidly heading toward Stalinism. Boilerplate propaganda, military provocations, support for international thugs, etc.
The very idea of the Russians complaining about any other nation’s treatment of their POWs is laughable. How many foriegn POWs have survived imprisonment in the USSR/Russia? I’d guess 10% at the very most.
The Poles’ explanation about Spanish Influenza is dead on right. There was a horrible pandemic at about the end of WWI and this was a part.
leftist do do never stinks.
Yet another sign that Russia has not yet decided to join the civilized world. (When they do, I suggest we have a parade. But first, an apology).
==Russian media question the Soviet responsibility for Katyn and blame Poland for the death of tens of thousands Soviet POWs in Poland back in 1920. Polish commentators respond that such statements from the Russian side are pure propaganda...==
Actually, THIS statement of Polish Radio is a pure lie and propaganda.
I live in Russia and I don’t remember any “such statements”. Media simply covered the voyage of Lech Kachinsky to Smolensk region and the new film of Andjey Waida (with participation of famous Russian actor).
http://rian.ru/society/20070917/79098123.html
http://www.izvestia.ru/world/article3108454/
http://www.pravda.ru/news/world/17-09-2007/238712-polsha-0
Nothing about 1920, Soviet POWs, etc.
“Actually, THIS statement of Polish Radio is a pure lie and propaganda.”
Yawn...
http://russiatoday.ru/features/news/14259
http://russiatoday.ru/features/news/14259/video
Russia Today is not “Russian media”, it’s just one channel among many others.
==Our Polish colleagues still refuse to form a commission and let us investigate the causes of their deaths==
Hm, is it true?
“Hm, is it true?”
No.
We have a lot of documents that prove this.’
It’s pointless to show any documents to the Soviets, sorry, to the Russians.==
That is why Poles did never show those allerged “documents”:).
How many foriegn POWs have survived imprisonment in the USSR/Russia? I’d guess 10% at the very most.==
Yeah it may be so but it was Poland in 1920 and nazi Germany in 1941 who started those wars. Soviet Union was on defensive so all the extremes are resposibility of those who started wars.
Besides they’re starting up the Cold War again==
AGIAN?! How quickly you foregot who started the ColdWar I in the first place. Recall the 1949 Fulton speech of Chirchill.
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