May 25th, 2007 | Kharkov, Travel, Ukraine |

Red Army Massacre - Mass Graves near Russia

When I was in Kharkov, Ukraine, my host drove me up to the Russian border where we visited these mass graves. It was very eerie. This is the site of the Katyn Massacre, where the Red Army executed over 20,000 Polish prisoners, many of whom were senior officers in the military that were captured in 1939.

Those who died at Katyn included an admiral, two generals, 24 colonels, 79 lieutenant colonels, 258 majors, 654 captains, 17 naval captains, 3,420 NCOs, seven chaplains, three landowners, a prince, 43 officials, 85 privates, and 131 refugees. Also among the dead were 20 university professors (including Stefan Kaczmarz); 300 physicians; several hundred lawyers, engineers, and teachers; and more than 100 writers and journalists as well as about 200 pilots. In all, the NKVD executed almost half the Polish officer corps.[1] Altogether, during the massacre the NKVD murdered 14 Polish generals. I got this information (and you can get more) at from the Wikipedia page on the Katyn Massacre.

5 Responses to “Red Army Massacre - Mass Graves near Russia”

Keith
May 25th, 2007 19:07
1

This image is strikingly beautiful. It conveys the sorrow of those lives lost.
hjuston
May 25th, 2007 21:15
2

Hi,
I am Polish (currently living in TX). During your trip, have you made to Poland?
tratcliff
May 25th, 2007 23:30
3

Thanks - no I have never been to Poland… I’ve heard it’s beautiful
Larry Keiler
May 28th, 2007 20:15
4

You may be interested to know that there is a small memorial to the Katyn massacre in Toronto’s west end.
nyc
May 30th, 2007 22:35
5

There’s also a monument in Exchange Place, Jersey City. Here is a photo: http://www.nycfoto.com/users/showPicture.php?userID=dr2000&pictureID=11918&pageStart=0&albumID=141&start=14

I was passing by it today and noticed that they stuck a marble 9/11 plaque to it. I don’t really get the connection between the two events. It looked really out of place, being just “glued” to the pedestal.