• Results come in from General Sikorski's autopsy
  • Audio3.68 MB
  • 30.01.2009

 

After two months of forensic analysis following a ten-hour autopsy in Poland's southern city of Kraków, the results are in, and not surprisingly not as spectacular as many hoped. General Władysław Sikorski died as a result of an air crash in 1943 in Gibraltar. The results from the general's autopsy have proved this, with no foul play being found, after speculation abounded with conspiracies of murder...

Report by John Beauchamp.

After years of speculation over the actual cause of Władysław Sikorski's death in 1943, the curate in Kraków gave the go-ahead to perform an autopsy on the General in November last year. Following ten hours of tests, the body of the general was placed back in his resting place at the Wawel Cathedral in the southern city of Kraków, and the public had to wait for two months while the boffins at the Jagiellonian University's forensic labs did further analysis on their findings.

The results do not show anything spectacular, and further results have shown that the General was not poisoned. The Institute of National Remembrance has now said that it might perform autopsies on other individuals involved with the crash, and would like to see as much documentation as possible from the British military, including Britain's foreign secret service MI6.

The mystery surrounding the death of General Sikorski is still very much alive, especially in Poland, where many believe that was an element of foul play involved. With certain facts now coming to light over the general's death, attention now turns to historical detail: but without greater cooperation from British historians and institutions, finding the truth behind the Gibraltar incident may seem more difficult than ever. In particular one question still remains: if General Sikorski died as a result of the accident, was the helicopter in which he was flying in good working order? Some sources say yes of course, yet historical circumstances still drive some to believe sabotage of the aircraft was possible. Even after a rigorous inspection and successfully conducted autopsy, the case is still open, and to be continued...

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