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Katyn massacre
Tag
(08)
1940
March
05
Decision to shoot Polish prisoners
On 5 March 1940 the Politburo adopted Beria's proposal to shoot 14,700 Polish POWs and 11,000 prisoners without trial. Stalin was among the signatories.
April
03
Key event
The Katyn massacre
On 3 April 1940 the first prisoners left Kozelsk for their deaths. By mid-May the NKVD had killed almost 22,000 Polish officers, policemen and prisoners.
13
Second deportation from the eastern lands
On 13 April 1940 the NKVD deported about 61,000 people to Kazakhstan, mainly families of imprisoned officers, policemen and officials killed in those weeks.
1943
March
16
The discovery of the Katyn graves
In March 1943 the German Secret Field Police examined mass graves of Polish officers in the Katyn Forest. The world learned of them only in April.
April
13
Key event
The Germans announce the Katyn massacre
On 13 April 1943 Berlin radio announced the discovery of Polish officers’ graves near Smolensk. The dispute let Stalin break with the Polish government.
25
USSR breaks relations with the Polish government
On the night of 25-26 April 1943 Molotov read Ambassador Romer a note breaking relations with the Polish government. The pretext was an appeal to the Red Cross.
September
25
Key event
The liberation of Smolensk
On 25 September 1943 the Western Front drove the Germans from ruined Smolensk. Nearby Katyn also fell to the Soviets, and the NKVD began covering its tracks.
1944
January
24
Burdenko Commission
On 24 January 1944 the Burdenko Commission signed a communiqué blaming the Katyn massacre on the Germans. It rested on evidence forged by the NKVD.