[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 119 (Thursday, September 13, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1645]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E1645]]
       IN REMEMBRANCE OF THE VICTIMS OF THE KATYN FOREST MASSACRE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ROBERT MENENDEZ

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 13, 2001

  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the victims of the 
Katyn Forest Massacre, sixty-two years after the horrible tragedy. 
Memorial Services will be held on September 16, 2001, at the Katyn 
Monument site in Jersey City, New Jersey.
  Following Nazi Germany's unprovoked attack on Poland on September 1, 
1939, Polish troops stood up to a better-equipped and larger army, 
eventually succumbing to the incredible odds several weeks after Soviet 
troops viciously attacked from the East. While Polish forces were 
vastly outnumbered and overextended, they fought vigorously and 
valiantly on two fronts. Following its defeat, Soviet and Nazi victors 
immediately placed Poland under their harsh and brutal occupation.
  In the Spring of 1940, Soviet-led forces brutally killed and tortured 
over fifteen thousand Polish men, women, and children. One of the sites 
of these barbaric and inhumane acts was the Katyn Forest, where four 
thousand bodies were later discovered.
  Today, I honor the victims of the Katyn Forest Massacre. I commend 
their courage and sacrifice. They stood strong in the face of genocide 
and appalling brutality.
  I ask that my colleagues join me in remembering the victims of the 
Katyn Forest Massacre, and I ask that we honor their sacrifice for 
freedom.

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