”At the end of the 1980s, as the Soviet Union was already crumbling, there was of course the problem of Katyn. It was known that this case would come up. The first secretary, Comrade Gorbachev, engaged historians and archivists to come up with a topic to distract and balance Katyn. They came up with the idea of publicizing the extinction of Bolshevik prisoners of war in Polish POW camps, and this is systematically done by Russian propaganda, ‘says prof. Bogdan Musiał, historian.
READ ALSO:
The matter gained importance when the Soviets realized that they would be confronted with Katyn. In a way, it is an attempt to justify the Katyn massacre. I don’t discover anything new here. These are known things
– emphasizes the historian.
The Bolsheviks murdered Poles living in Bolshevik Russia
The journalist who wrote it was working unfairly. We know that Soviet POWs died in these POW camps. The mortality rate was high, and we also know that it was caused by infectious diseases. The conditions in the camps were terrible, but we must take into account the situation of Poland in 1920. She did not have this opportunity to create decent conditions for Bolshevik prisoners of war. First of all, there was no time, there was no possibility, there were no resources, and Poland fought for survival. If we describe it, we have to describe the background because it is a fact
– explain.
The fact is that many Soviet POWs died in POW camps – this is one thing. On the other side, we have the situation of how the Bolsheviks treated Polish prisoners of war. There were massacres, shootings, and what is important – as early as 1919 the Bolsheviks took Polish citizens who lived in these areas as hostages. They treated the Poles living in Bolshevik Russia as hostages. This is not mentioned at all! They too were murdered on a large scale
– reminds prof. He had to.
It wasn’t a planned crime
If we compare it, on the one hand, Poland is formally, legally and internationally responsible for how these prisoners live. On the other hand, we had no choice, we could not release the Bolshevik prisoners and give them weapons so that they could capture Warsaw. It was out of the question
– he notes.
The historian emphasizes that “it was not a systematic, planned crime.”
It resulted from a certain political, economic and military situation. Besides, the Bolsheviks were the aggressor, which is not mentioned at all, and Poland fought for survival. If the Poles lost, we would have the same situation as in Ukraine, where there was nothing
– he points out.
If the Bolsheviks won, Auschwitz would not be needed, because the Bolsheviks would have arranged it. They would have done what they did to the Russian people – they massacred the elite. Nothing survived there, only a “new elite” was formed later. Thanks to the fact that we won the Battle of Warsaw, we have a diverse society; we had twenty years to strengthen this Polish awareness. Poland did not waste this chance
– notes.
The aftermath of Russian propaganda
Of course, Soviet propaganda, and today Putin and Russian propaganda, repeats this, followed by various epigones in Poland who pick it up and think that they are critical of Polish history. Meanwhile, they are not critical, but blinded by propaganda
– he says prof. He had.
When asked what was the purpose of publishing such texts on such an important anniversary, prof. He must have replied:
It is a question of journalistic provocation to elicit a reaction, and thus such a journalist is glad to be quoted.
In the Polish edition of “Newsweek” on the occasion of the 100th anniversary Battle of Warsaw An article by Igor T. Miecik was published describing the Polish-Bolshevik war from the perspective of Russian prisoners of war. Miecik writes about the alleged ill-treatment of Bolshevik soldiers. There are even words about “barbaric labor camps of the Second Polish Republic”. In turn, Onet.pl on the same occasion recalled the “memories” of a Soviet doctor of the Red Army, who wrote that “what the Poles are doing cannot be told.”
and
–
