Katyn - 1940 Soviet massacre of 22,000 Poles

Katyn (english subs) part 6

Not for the faint of heart, but for anyone who cries at injustice and man's inhumanity to man, Katyn is an exquisite and heart-wrenching film about one of the worst war crimes ever committed - the 1940 execution of nearly 22,000 Polish military leaders, professors, factory owners, lawyers, officials and priests by the Soviet Army in a Russian forest.

Directed by The Academy Honorary Award recipient Andrzej Wajda - whose father was murdered during that time - the film focuses on the fate of some of the mothers, wives and daughters of the Polish officers slaughtered by the Soviets. There is something deeply resonating about Polish films, writing and acting sensibilities. As you can see from the clip above, each shot is carefully framed and packed just beneath the surface with carefully controlled emotion as these women face dangerous situations because of their relationship to their dead husbands.

In 1940, Poland was in the hands of both the Nazis and the Soviets - both aiming at domination (I'm putting this very simply, because the history as Tripp explained it to me is so very complex). In the film clip above, the Katyn Massacre has just been completed and the names of the dead - the Katyn List - are being read on the public loudspeakers. The younger woman in the first scene is thrilled that her husband's name is not on the list, but her mother-in-law is not so sure, as her son's best friend - whose name is on the list and who was in in prisoner's camp with her son - has been to see them. Perhaps she intuits that they switched places?

The second scene is the wife of a murdered general who is brought in by the Nazis to sign a statement that her husband was killed by the Soviets. The tension is that the Soviets - who have the upper hand - are broadcasting propaganda that the Nazis committed the massacre, showing films of the mass graves in the public square and claiming the Nazis did it. The general's wife doesn't know that the statement is true and refuses to sign, so the Nazis show her the truth with film footage.

In the third scene, the maid of the general's wife returns his sword to her. Because her husband was allied with the Soviets, she is now in a position of power and wealth, even as the general's wife and daughter have lost everything.

Through such dramatic scenes, the history of the Polish people - squeezed between two godless and totalitarian regimes becomes so real you wish you could somehow take on some of their pain for them.

Once the Soviets took over Poland, the history of Katyn was wiped on and lived only in the minds of the people. Those who tried to document or speak the truth were denied jobs, university placement - and even killed.

This is the kind of film that earns a 92% from movie critics collected at Rotten Tomatoes, yet only 75% from audiences - not a piece of entertainment, but a film lover's film. Katyn will move you, change the way you look at the world. If you use film as part of your homeschool curriculum, this could be an important part of your child's understanding of the difference between a culture based on Christianity and one where man prevails.

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Tripp and I watched this together last night (seeking out unusual films has been a cornerstone of our relationship since we met in 1982). It helped that he knew some of the finer historical details.

We got our copy from Netflix, but you can buy it at Amazon (check out the reviews there, too) or ask your library to order Katyn.

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On April 10, 2010, on their way to a memorial service at Katyn arranged by Vladmir Putin, the jet bearing Polish president Lech Kaczyński and his wife, the chief of the Polish General Staff and other senior Polish military officers, the president of the National Bank of Poland, Poland's deputy foreign minister, Polish government officials, 15 members of the Polish parliament, senior members of the Polish clergy, and relatives of victims of the Katyn massacre crashed in the forest, killing 96. The Soviets quickly took command, placing Putin in charge of the investigation. Despite some cries of conspiracy. if you read Wikipedia today, it was all just an accident.