[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 117 (Tuesday, September 17, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Page S8669]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       IN REMEMBRANCE OF THE VICTIMS OF THE KATYN FOREST MASSACRE

 Mr. TORRICELLI. Mr. President, I rise today to honor the 
memory of the victims of the Katyn Forest Massacre in 1940.
  On September 17, 1939, Soviet troops invaded Poland in accordance 
with the German-Soviet agreement. While Polish troops fought bravely, 
they ultimately were overwhelmed by the Soviet forces.
  In an effort to eliminate potential threats to Soviet control of 
Poland, Soviet troops, under Stalin's orders, committed what some have 
called one of the most heinous war crimes in history. Over 15,000 
Polish soldiers, officers, intellectual leaders, prisoners of war and 
other Polish citizens were executed. Between four and five thousand 
Polish bodies were buried in a mass grave in the Katyn Forest. There 
were no trials, no justice for these innocent victims.
  While the Soviet government denied complicity, on February 19, 1989 
it finally released documents confirming their role in this massacre. 
However, an admission of complicity does not ease the pain of a nation 
whose entire population was affected by this horrible event.
  I am hopeful that as more people learn of the Katyn Forest Massacre, 
we will be able to come to terms with this tragedy and the pain that it 
has caused so many. We must continue to honor the memories of those who 
were lost that day, so that we will not be destined to repeat this 
century the horrors which so often affected the last.

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