Katyn -

The Polish "intelligentsia"—military officers, police, professors, lawyers, and doctors—intended to decapitate the Polish nation's leadership.

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" What began as a secret execution of the

The Katyn massacre stands as one of the most chilling and consequential atrocities of the 20th century. What began as a secret execution of the Polish elite by the Soviet Union evolved into a decades-long saga of propaganda, denial, and a search for historical justice. The Execution: Spring 1940 The Polish "intelligentsia"—military officers

Following the Soviet invasion of Poland in 1939, thousands of Polish prisoners of war were held in camps in the USSR. On March 5, 1940, Joseph Stalin and other Soviet leaders signed an order to execute "nationalists and counter-revolutionaries" held in these camps. What began as a secret execution of the