Remains of the victims

Will mass graves of Polish soldiers in Volodymyr Volynskyi, western Ukraine, account for the missing thousands of victims of the Katyń genocide? Polish Radio Lublin reporters, together with Rzeczpospolita daily journalists reached the location of the massacre. Why hasn't proper investigation been launched? Why aren't the victims commemorated in any way? 
 

Joanna Najfeld reports

 

In 1940 at Stalin's personal order, the Soviet NKVD murdered about 22 thousand Polish POWs. Several thousand victims of the 1940 Katyn genocide are still unaccounted for. This includes three and a half thousand of those held by the NKVD in West Ukraine.

 

Polish Radio reporters together with Rzeczpospolita daily journalists investigated the issue and came across the town of Volodymyr Volynskyi in West Ukraine, where 12 years ago local historians uncovered great numbers of human remains. Elements of Polish army uniforms were found in the mass graves. The bodies also showed signs of the same type of execution method, as in the case of other Katyń genocide victims. Similar ammunition was used to shoot the victims in the head from the back, and victims' hands were tied with barb wire.

 

Although the mass graves in Volodymyr Volynskyi were found 12 years ago, no cemetery or monument was built at the site of the massacre. The last Polish investigation into the matter was discontinued in 2005 due to the alleged inability to pinpoint those responsible for the crime. Is there still a chance to investigate the issue and remember the victims properly? 
 

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