Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Availability

Open Access Thesis

Keywords

Katyn Massacre (Katynʹ, Russia :--1940); Katyn Massacre, Katynʹ, Russia, 1940; Russia (Federation)--Katynʹ; 1940;

Abstract

The Katyn Forest Massacre is not the most widely discussed issue of the Second World War. Few Americans today could spell the word "Katyn," let alone enter into any lengthy discourse on the issue. But in 1943 the Katyn affair was perceived as so great a threat to the war effort that the Roosevelt Administration worked diligently to keep the issue from gaining too much publicity. And in 1951-52 Congress believed Katyn to be an issue of such .magnitude that a select committee was formed to investigate the matter. Those having any knowledge about the issue were encouraged to come forward. In both cases the Katyn issue was subjected to the political climate of the day. The need for Soviet cooperation in World War II caused the Roosevelt Administration to stay away from the issue, but the anti-Soviet climate in the United States after the war gave new life to the Katyn issue. This work looks at the manner in which Katyn became a servant subject to the international and domestic political needs of the United States during World War II and the Cold War. Beginning with the circumstances leading to the massacre of over 4,000 Polish officers by Soviet NKVD , the work takes one through the political reactions of the wartime governments. The question of what each had to gain from either publicizing or suppressing the Katyn story is discussed at some length. After the war the Katyn issue gradually becomes an issue with which the American Government feels comfortable enough that it can initiate a thorough investigation of the matter in 1951-52. Between 1945 and 1950, the gradual evolution of opinion about Katyn is analyzed , emphasizing the growth of American public and official interest in the issue. As the Cold War comes closer to home, what was looked upon as a Polish issue begins to lose that distinction, broadening into more of an American issue. Special attention is given the 1951-52 Select Committee inquiry into the Katyn Forest Massacre. Here the national political ammunition the issue supplied for the 1952 election becomes clear, and gives some explanation as to why Katyn was resurrected by the United States. And there is also the topic of the Korean War as it related to American interest in Katyn. As reports of atrocities being committed against American officers in that war came in, the relationship to the Katyn killings became clear. Finally Katyn played a supporting role in the anti-Communist crusade in the United States in the latter part of the 1940's. The Select Committee helped uncover what it believed were pro-Communist influences within the Roosevelt Administration, particularly the State Department. In conclusion the Katyn issue faded with the rest of the national issues fueling its popularity. Eisenhower's election, the end of the Korean War, and the McCarthy's censure by the Senate brought to a halt the rabid anti-Communist climate that provided the ripe environment for the Katyn investigation by the Congress. Thus it lost its place in the history books, and is no longer a part of the American memory.

Year of Submission

1988

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Department

Department of History

First Advisor

Donald R. Whitnah

Second Advisor

Donald E. Shepardson

Third Advisor

Roy E. Sandstrom

Date Original

1988

Object Description

1 PDF file (116 leaves)

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

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