World History Minute: Katyn Forest massacre

World History Minute: Katyn Forest massacre
World History Minute: Katyn Forest massacre

World History Minute: Katyn Forest massacre

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John Schmidt, author of On This Day in Chicago History tells us about the Katyn Forest Massacre of WW II on March 5th, 1940 - when Joseph Stalin ordered the murder of thousands of Polish officers POWs who ended up in mass graves. PHOTO: The wall contains the names of the known victims. 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; 300 physicians; several hundred lawyers, engineers, and teachers; and more than 100 writers and journalists as well as about 200 pilots. (Dennis Jarvis/Flickr)