Katyn

This is the story of the Katyn massacre, a World War Two story not often heard. In 1940 22,000 Polish prisoners were systematically slaughtered by the Soviets, who for years afterward blamed it on the Nazis. Even after the end of the Second World War the remaining Soviet forces in Poland insisted that the Nazis were responsible, and it was extremely dangerous to even speak of Katyn in public. This secrecy continued until 1990 when finally the Russians revealed documents ordering the massacre, signed by Stalin.

This film follows several Polish prisoners of war and their families as Poland is being invaded both by the Nazis and the Soviets. Officer Andrzej is taken by the Soviets and begins to document everything that happens to him in a notebook, recording the names of every man in the camp, their numbers getting smaller every day as those on a special list are taken away in trains to an unknown fate. After the war the Polish Army, under the direction of the Soviets, cracks down on anyone who speaks the truth about Katyn. It is only at the end of the film that the final resting place of so many people is finally shown.

When it comes to history, a film can express what a textbook cannot. This film is not trying to open old wounds; it is here to educate us about the horrific events at Katyn, but also about the horrors of human history. The World Wars may feel distant to our generation but having been born in their century our lives have been impacted by them. To our children and theirs those darkest years will seem more like a story. But films such as Katyn help to cement the true horrors that we can commit against each other. Something we must never forget.

Rebecca Brett