Katyn

For Poland, Katyn is more than a historical event; it is a symbol of national martyrdom. This trauma was tragically compounded on April 10, 2010, when a plane carrying Polish President Lech Kaczyński and 95 others crashed in Smolensk while they were en route to a 70th-anniversary commemoration of the massacre. 📍

In April 1943, Nazi German forces occupying the region discovered mass graves in the Katyn forest near Smolensk. They publicized the find to drive a wedge between the Western Allies and the Soviet Union. For Poland, Katyn is more than a historical

Locations of other mass burial sites discovered later. They publicized the find to drive a wedge

The Soviet Union officially acknowledged that the NKVD had carried out the executions. The USSR immediately blamed the Nazis for the

The USSR immediately blamed the Nazis for the killings, claiming the Poles were executed during the German advance in 1941.

NKVD officers shot victims individually in the back of the head, often using German-made Walther pistols to potentially deflect future blame. Discovery and the "Big Lie"

Home to the Katyń Museum , which preserves the memory of those lost.