Katyn massacre

E11166

crime against humanity massacre political repression war crime

The Katyn massacre was a World War II mass execution of thousands of Polish military officers and intelligentsia carried out by the Soviet NKVD in 1940.

Aliases (4)

Statements (49)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	crime against humanity → massacre → political repression → war crime →
admissionDate	1990 →
alsoKnownAs	Katyn Forest massacre → Katyń massacre →
blamedOn	Nazi Germany →
cause	Soviet policy to eliminate Polish elites →
commemoratedOn	Katyń Memorial Day →
conflict	World War II →
countryAtTime	Soviet Union →
countryCommemorating	Poland →
coverUpBy	Soviet Union →
date	1940 →
decisionMaker	Joseph Stalin → Soviet Politburo →
discoveredBy	Nazi Germany →
discoveryDate	1943 →
endDate	1940-05 →
hasMediaCoverage	Katyn (2007 film) → numerous historical studies →
investigatedBy	International Red Cross observers →
justificationClaimedByPerpetrator	alleged security concerns →
location	Katyn Forest → near Smolensk →
memorialsAt	Katyn war cemetery → Warsaw →
method	execution by shooting →
numberOfVictims	approximately 22000 → over 20000 →
officialAdmissionBy	Soviet Union →
partOf	Soviet political repressions → Soviet repressions against Poles →
perpetrator	NKVD → Soviet Union →
recognizedAs	war crime by Poland →
relatedEvent	Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact → Soviet invasion of Poland →
relatedTo	Soviet war crimes →
responsibleOrganization	People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs →
startDate	1940-04 →
subjectOf	international controversy →
targetedGroup	Polish intelligentsia → Polish police → Second Polish Republic officer corps →
victim	Polish intelligentsia → Polish military officers → Polish prisoners of war →

Referenced by (10)

Subject (surface form when different)	Predicate
Katyn massacre ("Katyn Forest massacre") → Katyn massacre ("Katyń massacre") →	alsoKnownAs
Poles → Polish POWs →	victimOf
Polish–Soviet relations →	hasKeyEvent
Katyn massacre ("Katyn Forest") →	location
Inhuman Land →	mainSubject
German occupation of Poland ("Palmiry massacres") →	notableEvent
NKVD →	responsibleFor
Soviet occupation of Eastern Poland →	significantEvent