Russia acknowlesges KidKrav's family history

Discussion in 'Off Topic Area' started by KidKrav, Dec 3, 2010.

  1. KidKrav

    KidKrav Valued Member

    In a symbolic admission of guilt, Russia's parliament has declared that
    Joseph Stalin ordered his secret police to execute 22,000 Polish army
    officers and civilians in 1940, in one of the greatest mass murders of the
    20th century.

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/nov/26/russian-parliament-guilt-katyn-massacre

    My grandfather was enlisted in the Polish military at the start of World War 2. When Poland was divided between Russia and Germany he was on the Russian side. The Russians executed the officers but my grandfather was spared because he was in the enlisted ranks. They sent him to a labor camp, I believe in Siberia. As it's been explained to me the Russians were literally working the Polish soldiers to death. Not wanting to be worked to death my grandfather and a small group of other prisoners chose to escape.

    I read this article and remembered the story about my grandfather. Seeing as this is a martial arts forum I thought I'd share.
     
  2. Blade96

    Blade96 shotokan karateka

    oh that's no secret, i studied russian history for years and i always knew stalin had them killed and not the nazis.
     
  3. KidKrav

    KidKrav Valued Member

    Honestly, I was surprised to hear it was a "secret". I was always just told that was what happened, but apparently there has been Russian denial. I guess it's hard to keep things like mass murder under wraps.

    Honestly the sudden turn of events is more probably political than anything else.
     
  4. inthespirit

    inthespirit ignant

  5. Kwajman

    Kwajman Penguin in paradise....

    Well, everyone has known for years, decades even, but the Russian government has just now apologized and admitted its acts.
     
  6. Blade96

    Blade96 shotokan karateka

    yah.....denied for a long time.
     
  7. Mushroom

    Mushroom De-powered to come back better than before.

    Similarly I've had Uncles who died in China during Japanese invasion/occupation. I was only recently told this a few years ago, it was family (Brothers) that my Dad never met as they died prior to his birth in 1949.
    I never thought about it and how close family it was until my Mother mentioned it and I realised that Dad wasnt born too far from the end of WW2 and being the 5th child in the family.
    Its not confirmed how they passed away, some say it was starvation, other people said it was via other means. Records werent really kept (or kept well) back in those days.
     
  8. inthespirit

    inthespirit ignant

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