Russia once again returns to the Polish-Bolshevik war. The chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federation wants an official investigation into the “murder and torture of Red Army prisoners of war” in Poland. His statement is based on unconfirmed theses and Kremlin propaganda. It mentions, among other things, about death camps.
Russia wants to hold accountable for… war crimes. “More than 30,000 Soviet soldiers and officers were shot and tortured in Poland at the time when the country was ruled by Józef Piłsudski, this must be investigated,” the speaker of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, Vyacheslav Volodin, wrote on Telegram on Sunday (June 4). His position – quite bold for a politician whose country attacked Ukraine, where not only soldiers but also civilians, including children, are killed – was published on the official website of the parliament.
Russia wants an investigation into “war crimes” on Polish territory
“It is imperative that the Investigative Committee and the Prosecutor General’s Office conduct a comprehensive investigation into the circumstances of the deaths of our soldiers and officers. Poland must be held responsible for the murder and torture of Red Army prisoners of war,” reads the entry of Vyacheslav Volodin, who stated that in 1919-1921 people died of “constant hunger, cold and disease” and that Polish POW camps were ” same as the Nazi camps. In the years 1941-1945, not thousands, but millions of Soviets were taken prisoner by the Nazis. The Soviet authorities regarded the survivors as traitors, therefore they lost the possibility of returning.
Moreover, the chairman of the State Duma stated that the Polish authorities currently “follow the ideology of the dictator Piłsudski, whose policy was based on hatred of Russia.” According to him, Warsaw refuses to investigate the crime and “denies the existence of death camps in the country and the extermination of Red Army prisoners of war.”
Vyacheslav Volodin: “Poland must be held accountable”
“The Polish leadership is unable to admit its mistakes. Such bloody crimes have no statute of limitations. We must do everything so that the victims of this tragedy are not forgotten,” Volodin’s post continues. “It is necessary for the Investigative Committee and the General Prosecutor’s Office to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the circumstances of the deaths of our soldiers and officers,” he pointed out. “Poland must be held accountable for the murders and tortures of Red Army prisoners of war,” the Russian politician appealed.
Polish-Soviet War. An epidemic not only among prisoners
The war between the reborn Polish Republic (Second Polish Republic) and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic lasted from 1919 to 1921. The main reason for the outbreak of the conflict were the aspirations of Vladimir Lenin, who started the so-called collecting the lands of the former empire. In accordance with the ideology of the Russian Communist Party, he intended to transform them into Soviet republics. Currently, many Kremlin propagandists are returning to the events of the early 20th century to justify, among other things, the Katyn massacre. They claim that the Polish authorities carried out the extermination of prisoners – soldiers of the Red Army – which is not confirmed by any evidence, documents or testimonies.
Soviet POWs stayed, among others, in in Strzałków, Dąbie, Pikulice and Wadowice. The Polish side, as far as possible, tried to provide them with proper living conditions, but it was a difficult, practically impossible task. The authorities faced overcrowding of the camps (especially after the Battle of Warsaw), and above all, epidemics of infectious diseases not only among the military, but also among the civilian population.
“Based on the numerous preserved sources, it can be established that about 14,000-16,000 Soviet prisoners of war died in Polish captivity throughout their stay in Poland. They were buried in mass graves in the camp cemeteries. Throughout the interwar period, they were under the care of the Polish authorities. According to the repatriation treaty, from mid-March to mid-October 1921, 65,797 Soviet prisoners of war were sent from Poland, and another 965 by the beginning of 1922. 2,001 civilians also returned to Soviet Russia. About 1,000 people declared their willingness to stay in Poland. In addition, about 1,000 former Red Army soldiers returned from Polish captivity to other countries.
Source: gazeta.pl
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