Death In The Forest, The Story Of Katyn Massacre By J. K. Zawodny: Historical Analysis

Evaluation of Sources

The two important sources used for this investigation were

1. Death in the Forest, The story of Katyn Massacre by J. K. Zawodny (1971, Macmillan and Co Ltd)

This book was first published in 1962 in California. The author J.K. Zawodny was an associate professor at University Of Pennysylvania and is of Polish origin. As stated by him in the preface, his aim was to reconstruct the details of the Massacre and establish who killed the men. The book makes extensive use of primary and secondary sources to study the event and analyse the reasons for the stands taken by the Soviet Union, Nazi Germany, Polish government in exile and the Allies in this matter. It effectively showcases the formal positions of these governments
They got an opportunity to do so when the Polish government in exile appealed to the International Red Cross to investigate the matter and unknown to them, so did the Germans. The Soviets declared that the Polish and Germans were collaborating against them. They declared that this was a breach of diplomatic protocol by an ally and severed relationship with the Sikorski government. Stalin thus successfully switched the focus of the world from the crime, by converting it in to an international relations issue. Later at the Nuremberg trials, he was forced to include the matter of Kaytn Massacre, but he admitted it as a crime committed by the Germans. The matter did come up for hearing but was dropped for want of sufficient evidence. Soviets thus managed to successfully avoid prosecution for the crime right through to the end of the second world
To achieve this victory, it was critical to maintain the unity of allies. They did not want the Katyn issue to cause a rift between Soviets and Poles. Moreover they did not in any way wish to upset an ally as powerful as the Soviets. They were worried that the Soviets may collaborate with the Germans. Given the fact that the Soviets and Germans had fought the war on the same side just four years before this new alliance, this possibility could not be ruled out. That the Allies were very focused on the victory is evident from Churchill’s statement after meeting the Soviet Ambassador Maisky,“I did not discuss facts (about Katyn) ---- we got to beat Hitler --- this is no time for quarrels and charges.” Historian Allen Paul argues that it is indeed ironic that Britain, who was an example of moral ascendency to the world during the second world war by launching a crusade against racial aggression in Germany, chose to suppress the Soviet atrocity. This was despite the report of Sir Owen Malley, the British Ambassador to Sikorski government, to Churchill urging him that suppressing the crime could cause the British moral repercussions. The Americans followed suit. They resolved that the official response to the Katyn issue would be to call it a distraction used by the Germans and point to the atrocities committed by Germans in Poland and other countries. The Allies had huge