[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 49 (Wednesday, April 6, 2011)]
[House]
[Pages H2330-H2331]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 REMEMBERING APRIL 10 IN POLISH HISTORY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Ohio (Ms. Kaptur) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, I rise to honor the memory today of the 
victims of the April 10, 2010, plane crash in Smolensk, Russia, that 1 
year ago killed much of the Nation of Poland's national leadership. 
Last year, the House and Senate overwhelmingly passed resolutions to 
express America's unwavering support for the people and Government of 
Poland, and to offer our heartfelt sympathies for the families and 
loved ones of those who perished.
  April 10 has long been a day of memory for the Polish people and 
those of Polish descent, because on that day 71 years ago the Soviets 
carried out a horrific act against the Polish people. I am talking 
about the Katyn Forest massacre. Last year, Polish President Lech 
Kaczynski was leading a Polish delegation to Russia for the 70th 
commemoration of that massacre. This was to be an historic event 
because it was also to be the first time that a Russian leader was to 
attend the commemoration.
  The truth of the Katyn Forest massacre was hidden and lied about for 
decades. And today, the entire world knows that in 1940 the Soviet 
secret police were ordered by Joseph Stalin to systematically round up 
and murder all of Poland's officers, intellectuals, national leaders, 
teachers, university presidents. As many as 22,000 people were killed 
in that heinous crime.
  For decades, the Soviets tried to cover up their guilt by blaming 
this atrocity on the Nazis. There is plenty of blame for them too, but 
the truth of Katyn was never told.
  I am proud that this country and this House have long demanded that 
the truth about the Katyn massacre be exposed. In 1951, it was this 
House of Representatives that established a select committee to conduct 
and investigate the facts, evidence, and circumstances of the Katyn 
Forest massacre. One year later, the committee unanimously concluded 
that the Soviets had been responsible. Unconscionably, the Soviets 
continued to deny their actions until President Mikhail Gorbachev made 
a statement on April 13, 1990.

[[Page H2331]]

  We knew that the 70th commemoration of this atrocity was to be 
historic. But the world was further shocked that this tragic day was to 
witness yet another obliteration of the leaders of the Polish Nation. 
Last April 10, the Polish President's airliner, a Russian Tupelov TU-
154M that had been recently overhauled in Russia, crashed as it was 
landing near Smolensk. Everyone on board, all 96 people, were killed, 
including Poland's President, its first lady, the deputy foreign 
minister, the deputy defense minister, the director of national 
intelligence, dozens of members of Parliament, the chiefs of staff of 
the Army and Navy, along with the president of the Polish bank.
  Also on board the plane was Anna Walentynowicz, the former dock 
worker whose firing in 1980 sparked Poland's heroic Solidarity strike 
that ultimately overthrew the Communist Government of Poland. Ryszard 
Kaczorowski, who served as Poland's final President in exile before the 
country's return to democracy, was killed, as well as Wojciech Seweryn, 
a Chicago artist whose father was killed in Katyn.
  I want to honor their memory today and the memory of all those who 
were killed at Katyn. And I want to express our support for the Polish 
people and the Polish Government as it seeks full answers surrounding 
the plane crash, particularly access to the black boxes that were taken 
by Russia, and the government's other physical materials held related 
to this tragedy.
  Poland is a strong U.S. ally. Polish leaders like Thaddeus Kosciuszko 
helped fight for our country's freedom when our Republic was founded 
over 200 years ago. And America stood with Poland's Solidarity movement 
as it fought against the oppression of the Communists. In the face of 
these dual tragedies, at Smolensk April 10, 2010, and Katyn in 1940, 
America stands with the liberty-loving people of Poland.

                          ____________________