740.00116 European War 1939/1301½: Telegram
The Ambassador in the Soviet Union ( Harriman ) to the Secretary of State
[Received February 2—5:01 p.m.]
320. Pravda for January 31 and Izvestiya for February 1 contain long special articles describing ceremonies in which members of the Polish corps in the USSR honored the Polish officers murdered in the Katyn Forest.
These articles quoted Polish soldiers on the good treatment they had received in Soviet camps long after the Germans claimed that Poles in these camps had been killed. General Berling, the Priest Kupsz, and Major General Swierczewski and Major Zawadski, deputies of General Berling, took the most prominent part in the ceremonies.64 Divine services were held, tribute was paid to the murdered Polish patriots and vows of vengeance against the Germans were taken. Solidarity of the Polish and Soviet people was again affirmed.
Sent to Department. Repeated to London.
- These dedication ceremonies, a religious service, and a parade of Polish troops were held on January 30, 1944, at a new grave site in the Katyn Forest.↩