The Second World War must be one of the most
debated and
written about topics of all time. From the start, those with
vested
interest, especially Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia, spread lies to
support
their causes. One of the most deceitful was regarding the Soviet
massacre
of Polish citizens at Katyn Forest
and other sites in the former Soviet Union.
The
Germans rightly blamed the Soviets, who refused for almost 50 years to
admit
the truth.
In recent weeks we have seen increasing
positive signs
from Russia
to
admit to the truth and help settle their differences with Poland.
Sadly as it seems that one major lie might be ending, the media has
started
another lesser lie. Some have claimed that it was Poland,
not the Soviet Union which broke off contact
during
World War Two.
It had been long known that Polish prisoners of
war,
especially officers, had not been released.
Still it was not until the Germans broke their alliance with
Soviet
Russia that the truth of their whereabouts would be known.
It was the Germans discover of almost four
and half thousand Polish citizens murdered by the Soviet
Union
in 1943 at the Katyn Forest
which alerted the world to what had happened. As a result the
murder of around
22,000 Polish citizens has become known as the Katyn massacre.
The German broadcast on 13 April 1943 was always meant to cause
issues for the
Allies, especially between Poland
and the Soviet Union. The Soviets almost
immediately denied responsibility and put the blamed on the
Germans. The
Polish government, then based in London,
debated what to do. Mostly this revolved around the International
Red
Cross. Some wanted merely to suggest the Red Cross raise the
matter on
their own behalf but the final decision was to formally ask the Red
Cross to
investigate.
The Soviets used the request to the Red Cross as a
pretext
for severing the diplomatic relations. Stalin
accused the Polish government of collaborating with the Germans.
The
Soviets then promptly broke off diplomatic relations with the Polish
government.
The western response was based on the fact the Soviets were fighting
the bulk
of the German army. They knew the Soviets were responsible but
failed to
support Poland.
This would eventually result in the official Polish government being
derecognised and Poland
suffering almost fifty years of Soviet domination.
It may seem unimportant to many who started this
road to
Polish suffering, but lies are only there to serve a purpose. Poland
was a true member of the allied cause. The breaking of diplomatic
relations was not in the Allies cause and blaming Poland
for another Soviet mistake is wrong. As
the Poland
and Russia
move towards reconciliation over the Katyn massacre, it is the duty of
the
media to tell the truth and not invent new lies.
Original
published at Ethiopian Review
© 2010 Support Poland Ltd