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The Katyn Diaries
The Katyn massacre was a series of mass executions of nearly 22,000 Polish military officers and intelligentsia that was carried out by the Soviet Union's secret police - the NKVD - in April and May 1940.
Mass graves were discovered in 1942, and with the bodies there were numerous Polish artefacts such as letters, diaries, photographs and identification tags. They were packed into crates and evacuated westward in 1944.
There was a small crate, into which were placed twenty-two diaries and personal notes. Four copies of these items were made soon afterwards in Krakow, and the Polish Home Army then delivered its transcripts to the Polish government in exile, in London.
Presented for you here are English translations of twelve of those diaries, which open a window into the individual and personal tragedies of these very different individuals. They give us an insight into their everyday lives in captivity, and the very real and very human emotions and hardships they experienced during what was undoubtedly a difficult and testing time.
“The diaries of the prisoners of Kozelsk camp, discovered on their bodies in 1943, provide a fascinating insight into daily life in the NKVD prison camps where the men were held between September 1939 and April/May 1940. By making the diaries available in English for the first time, Marek Sobieralski renders a valuable service to scholarship on this subject.”
Jane Rogoyska
Historian and biographer, acclaimed author of Gerda Inventing Robert Capa
Miraculously survived, these twelve notebooks by the victims of the Katyn massacre reveal the details of their life in captivity, and document their subjective experiences. Frozen and underfed, these young officers took their ordeal with peace of mind. “This trip is not good at all”, wrote one of them. “Will they hand us over to the Germans? Will we sit here?”, asked another. “The Bolsheviks are generally decent people”. Though conditions were worsening, letters were permitted and, sometimes, actually arriving. Crowded in the ruined monasteries, these Poles admired the beauty of the Russian woods and churches. They received vaccinations for typhus and watched Soviet films with the titles such as “Golden Taiga” or “Great Comrade”. They wrote down their nightdreams and even organised “spiritualist séances“ to see their dear ones. Until the last moments, they did not anticipate their forthcoming end. Carefully translated and commented by a grandson of Polish refugees to England, this stunning collection will be cherished by its readers.
Alexander Etkind
Professor of History, European University Institute at Florence
Mass graves were discovered in 1942, and with the bodies there were numerous Polish artefacts such as letters, diaries, photographs and identification tags. They were packed into crates and evacuated westward in 1944.
There was a small crate, into which were placed twenty-two diaries and personal notes. Four copies of these items were made soon afterwards in Krakow, and the Polish Home Army then delivered its transcripts to the Polish government in exile, in London.
Presented for you here are English translations of twelve of those diaries, which open a window into the individual and personal tragedies of these very different individuals. They give us an insight into their everyday lives in captivity, and the very real and very human emotions and hardships they experienced during what was undoubtedly a difficult and testing time.
“The diaries of the prisoners of Kozelsk camp, discovered on their bodies in 1943, provide a fascinating insight into daily life in the NKVD prison camps where the men were held between September 1939 and April/May 1940. By making the diaries available in English for the first time, Marek Sobieralski renders a valuable service to scholarship on this subject.”
Jane Rogoyska
Historian and biographer, acclaimed author of Gerda Inventing Robert Capa
Miraculously survived, these twelve notebooks by the victims of the Katyn massacre reveal the details of their life in captivity, and document their subjective experiences. Frozen and underfed, these young officers took their ordeal with peace of mind. “This trip is not good at all”, wrote one of them. “Will they hand us over to the Germans? Will we sit here?”, asked another. “The Bolsheviks are generally decent people”. Though conditions were worsening, letters were permitted and, sometimes, actually arriving. Crowded in the ruined monasteries, these Poles admired the beauty of the Russian woods and churches. They received vaccinations for typhus and watched Soviet films with the titles such as “Golden Taiga” or “Great Comrade”. They wrote down their nightdreams and even organised “spiritualist séances“ to see their dear ones. Until the last moments, they did not anticipate their forthcoming end. Carefully translated and commented by a grandson of Polish refugees to England, this stunning collection will be cherished by its readers.
Alexander Etkind
Professor of History, European University Institute at Florence
157 pages, Paperback
Published September 29, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 11, 2021
157 pages.
What made these diaries particularly poignant is that they were written contemporaneously, by Polish officers (prisoners of the Soviet Union during the second world war) who did not have the benefit of hindsight. Who did not know they would soon be murdered en masse.
Some are written as travelogues - dates and places, complaints about cold and inadequate food. Others were more detailed, circulating rumors of how the war was going on, rumors of release. How dearly his loved ones were missed back home. Longing for letters.
The story of how they were discovered is remarkable itself. The fact that these had been buried with their owners in mass graves, later exhumed, secretly copied, and smuggled into Britain. Now finally translated and published in English.
Each individuals entry is preceded by a mini biography. I really enjoyed this book.
What made these diaries particularly poignant is that they were written contemporaneously, by Polish officers (prisoners of the Soviet Union during the second world war) who did not have the benefit of hindsight. Who did not know they would soon be murdered en masse.
Some are written as travelogues - dates and places, complaints about cold and inadequate food. Others were more detailed, circulating rumors of how the war was going on, rumors of release. How dearly his loved ones were missed back home. Longing for letters.
The story of how they were discovered is remarkable itself. The fact that these had been buried with their owners in mass graves, later exhumed, secretly copied, and smuggled into Britain. Now finally translated and published in English.
Each individuals entry is preceded by a mini biography. I really enjoyed this book.
June 12, 2023
Moving accounts of some of the brave soldiers murdered at Katyn.
Extremely eerie to read, the feelings of these soldiers initially full of hope often ending in despair. Excellent piece of work producing so many answers for so many loved ones.
Extremely eerie to read, the feelings of these soldiers initially full of hope often ending in despair. Excellent piece of work producing so many answers for so many loved ones.
January 28, 2024
Nothing here other than the personal letters of depressed and abused people. Some details on the abusive behavior of Soviets but nothing new.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews