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During the Cold War, the Soviets refused to discuss Katyn. Though circumstantial evidence of Soviet guilt was considerable, definitive proof remained elusive. It was only in the early 1990s, with President Gorbachev's admission of Moscow's culpability and the subsequent release by President Yeltsin of documents identifying Stalin and Beria as the principal perpetrators, that the truth was finally exposed. This served the process of reconciliation between Poland and Russia.
Successive British governments had no illusions about the likelihood of Soviet responsibility for the massacre. But in the absence of conclusive evidence, they like other Western governments, remained reluctant to accuse the Soviet authorities of the crime. Though they condemned the massacres in the strongest terms, the refusal publicly to charge the USSR with responsibility for Katyn angered many, in this country and beyond, who wished to see justice done. It is in recognition of those feelings that this report is published today.
The report, whose publication coincides with the 60th anniversary of the discovery by the Germans of the mass graves in Katyn, traces the development of the British response to the massacre.
The centrepiece is a previously unpublished memorandum by the late Dr. Rohan D'Olier Butler, Historical Adviser to Secretaries of State from 1963-1982. He was set the task in 1972 of bringing together, for internal use, all the available evidence from British official records. The 'Butler memorandum' documents in detail the views of the British Government on Katyn from 1943 on. It therefore gives an accurate account of what the British Government knew about Katyn, and why they maintained the public line about the massacre throughout the Cold War.
To bring the Katyn story up to the present day, the FCO Historians have supplemented the Butler memorandum with an introduction, which covers the whole period 1943-2003, along with a small selection of further documents.
This is more than a historical compilation. It raises the issue of how ministers and officials handle public discussion about crimes and allegations of crimes against humanity. As the former Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd said 'we have learned that we should be braver about separating our need to deal with tyrannies from our need to avoid offence to them.' We should remember his words as we deal with the evil still done to our fellow human beings in the world.
The terrible suffering inflicted on the people of Poland under the Nazi occupation is well known. Far less is known about the sufferings inflicted during the 1939-41 Soviet occupation of eastern Poland, of which the Katyn Massacre was a part.
Large numbers of Poles were forced to leave their country for good during and after the War. Many settled in this country where we have been honoured to welcome them as fellow citizens. The publication of this History is an opportunity to reflect on the sacrifices and bravery of the Polish nation which contributed so much to the final Allied victory.
The publication also serves as a reminder of the Europe we have left behind. We now live in a more secure, prosperous and democratic Europe, in which historic enmities are replaced by co-operation. As the Polish Prime Minister noted at the time of the 60th anniversary of the massacre, Russians were also severely hurt by the totalitarian system. We welcome the fact that in changed times the UK, Poland and Russia can work together in building the new Europe.
Denis MacShane
Minister for Europe
April 2003
