THE KATYN MASSACRE
LTC Roman Krzyżanowski is one of the nearly 22,000 Polish military officers and policemen and intelligentsia reserve officers taken captive by the Soviet Union after its attack on Poland on 17 September 1939, made prisoners of war and then murdered in cold blood in April and May 1940 by the NKVD in a planned holocaust known collectively as the Katyn Massacre. According to the resolution of the Polish Lower House of Parliament or Sejm the Katyn Massacre has the hallmarks of genocide and is qualified as: A war crime; a crime against humanity; a crime against peace; a communist crime.
The Polish prisoners were held at three main prisons by the NKVD:
- in Kozielsk
- in Ostaszków
- in Starobielsk.
Each of these places is related to a place of murder and a place of hiding the bodies mass graves.
The PoWs from Kozielsk were taken to a recreational centre of the NKVD in the Katyń forest near Smolensk and murdered there. Their bodies were hidden in mass graves in the Katyń forest. They numbered ca 4,400 people.
The PoWs held in Ostaszków were murdered in at the District Directorate of the NKVD in Kalinin (nowadays Tver). Their bodies were hidden in mass graves in the Mednoye. They numbered ca 6,300 people.
The PoWs. held in Starobielsk were murdered at the District Directorate of the NKVD in Kharkov. Their bodies were hidden in mass graves in Piatikhatki near Kharkov. They numbered ca 3,800 people.
Another place of execution and burial was Kiev. They numbered 3,435 people.
In all, the NKVD executed almost half the Polish officer corps.
All victims were shot in the head or neck from behind.
ABOUT
LTC Roman Krzyżanowski, Polish citizen, was the son of Rudolf Krzyżanowski and Ludwika née Krukowska. He joined the Polish Army as a captain. In 1920 he took part in the Polish defensive war against the Soviet onslaught of 1919-1920. He was the commander of local District Supplement Commands centers, the last one being for the Warsaw District. Krzyżanowski was promoted to lieutenant colonel on 15 August 15 1924.
Krzyżanowski was married to Janina née Dawidowska. The couple had three children: daughters Krystyna and Aleksandra, and son Ryszard.
REFERENCES
For a list of "The Victims of the Katyń Massacre who were Murdered in Katyń", see:
https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ofiary_zbrodni_katyńskiej_–_zamordowani_w_Katyniu
https://ksiegicmentarne.muzeumkatynskie.pl/wpis/1873
For a short documentary on the holocaust of the Polish officers and its historical background and its cover-up see:
"Katyn - WWII's Forgotten Massacre" by Mark Felton, 2021:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2djnWw751s
Written by Ivonna Nowicka, 2024
THE KATYN MASSACRE
LTC Roman Krzyżanowski is one of the nearly 22,000 Polish military officers and policemen and intelligentsia reserve officers taken captive by the Soviet Union after its attack on Poland on 17 September 1939, made prisoners of war and then murdered in cold blood in April and May 1940 by the NKVD in a planned holocaust known collectively as the Katyn Massacre. According to the resolution of the Polish Lower House of Parliament or Sejm the Katyn Massacre has the hallmarks of genocide and is qualified as: A war crime; a crime against humanity; a crime against peace; a communist crime.
The Polish prisoners were held at three main prisons by the NKVD:
- in Kozielsk
- in Ostaszków
- in Starobielsk.
Each of these places is related to a place of murder and a place of hiding the bodies mass graves.
The PoWs from Kozielsk were taken to a recreational centre of the NKVD in the Katyń forest near Smolensk and murdered there. Their bodies were hidden in mass graves in the Katyń forest. They numbered ca 4,400 people.
The PoWs held in Ostaszków were murdered in at the District Directorate of the NKVD in Kalinin (nowadays Tver). Their bodies were hidden in mass graves in the Mednoye. They numbered ca 6,300 people.
The PoWs. held in Starobielsk were murdered at the District Directorate of the NKVD in Kharkov. Their bodies were hidden in mass graves in Piatikhatki near Kharkov. They numbered ca 3,800 people.
Another place of execution and burial was Kiev. They numbered 3,435 people.
In all, the NKVD executed almost half the Polish officer corps.
All victims were shot in the head or neck from behind.
ABOUT
LTC Roman Krzyżanowski, Polish citizen, was the son of Rudolf Krzyżanowski and Ludwika née Krukowska. He joined the Polish Army as a captain. In 1920 he took part in the Polish defensive war against the Soviet onslaught of 1919-1920. He was the commander of local District Supplement Commands centers, the last one being for the Warsaw District. Krzyżanowski was promoted to lieutenant colonel on 15 August 15 1924.
Krzyżanowski was married to Janina née Dawidowska. The couple had three children: daughters Krystyna and Aleksandra, and son Ryszard.
REFERENCES
For a list of "The Victims of the Katyń Massacre who were Murdered in Katyń", see:
https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ofiary_zbrodni_katyńskiej_–_zamordowani_w_Katyniu
https://ksiegicmentarne.muzeumkatynskie.pl/wpis/1873
For a short documentary on the holocaust of the Polish officers and its historical background and its cover-up see:
"Katyn - WWII's Forgotten Massacre" by Mark Felton, 2021:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2djnWw751s
Written by Ivonna Nowicka, 2024
Gravesite Details
POW – Victim of Stalinism (Soviet totalitarianism)
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
