Eugenia Maresch - Katyn 1940

Douglas L. Savory, MP (1878–1969) son of Rev Lloyd Savory from Suffolk, educated at Malborough College and St John’s College Oxford, read French and English, became Professor at Queens University Belfast in 1909. Worked in Intelligence during the First World War as Secretary to the British Minister in Sweden 1918–1919. Left academia in 1940, elected as a Unionist MP. 1950–1955 an MP for South Antrim. Knighted in 1952.

TNA FCO 28/1475, copy of a letter written in Polish to Ambassador Raczyński by Maria Elżbieta Lach [Lachówna], former civilian employee of IV Dept. of Oddział II , who had worked in the general section (interpreters subsection) of the Polish General Staff Intelligence Service. Dated 26 April 1971, it refers to the fact that she typed the manuscript Zbrodnia Katyńska w świetle dokumentów (The Katyn massacre in the light of documents), edited by Professor Wiktor Sukiennicki. Documents were brought from Mr Heitzman’s office in London to Oxford for typing. Later, some chapters were typed in London under supervision of Professor Swianiewicz, prisoner at Kozelsk, who contributed much to the work.

TNA FO 371 /56474 N 1386/108/55, an open letter by the Polish Parliamentary Group 74 signed by Józef Godlewski, requesting a signature from Minister Kwapiński, dated 31 January 1946. Also PISM, KOL 9/7, Professor Savory’s correspondence file, includes a printed open letter dated 7 December 1945, printed by the Polish Parliamentary Group, 74 Cornwall Gardens, London SW1, entitled ‘An Appeal to members of the Parliaments of all the Nations from the former Deputies and Senators of the Polish Parliament’ ; signed by following Senators: Ignacy Baliński, Józef Godlewski, Aleksander Heiman Jarecki, Wojciech Jastrzębowski, Jerzy Iwanowski, Tadeusz Katelbach, Adam Koc, Wanda Norwid-Neugebauer, Karol Niezabytowski, Konstanty Rdultowski,(sic) Stefan Rosada; Deputies: Konstanty Dzieduszycki, Stanisław Jóźwiak, Kornel Krzeczunowicz, Jerzy Paciorkowski, Tadeusz Schaetzel, Antoni Zalewski, Bronisław Wanke, Marian Zyndram-Kościałkowski, Władysław Wielhorski, Witold Zyborski.

TNA FO 371/47734 N 16482/664/55 and N 17514/664/G, minute from Denis Allen FO, with comments by Thomas Brimelow and Patrick Dean, Leading Prosecution Counsel, BWCE, indicating that Allen’s draft was ‘amended accordingly’, 26.10.1945.

Ibid. The underlined sentence was crossed out by Patrick Dean, the British Leading Prosecution Council, BWCE and he substituted: ‘So long as this evidence is still being assembled and the case has not been heard, the matter remains sub judice. ’

TNA FO 371/71610 N 2599/2599/55, ‘ Most Secret’ Memorandum dated October 1947, entitled ‘The Mass Murder of Polish Prisoners of War in Katyn’, 31-page, stapled brochure, typed in March 1946, marked ‘not for publication’.

TNA FO 371/56475 N 4406/108/55G, second copy of a report on the Katyn massacre dated 25 March 1946; together with the documents and comments of the FO officials from 4 April to 10 May 1946.

TNA FO 371/56475 N4406/664/55G, 10 April 1946.

TNA FO 371/56474 N 569/108/55, draft reply by Sir Hartley Shawcross in answer to the Earl of Mansfield, whether any arrests were made in connection with the murders of the prisoners at Katyn, 23 January 1946; also N 568, letter from Lt Col Harry Phillimore, BWCE at Nuremberg to David Scott Fox, dated 3 January 1946.

TNA FO 371/56474 N 108/108/55, letter of reply from the Attorney-General Sir Hartley Shawcross to the Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin, dated 28 December 1945 on the subject of memorandum prepared by Professor Savory.

TNA FO 371/56474 N 2111/108/55, cipher No. 210, sent to the FO and copied to Moscow, 1946 February 15, 15.42 hours.

TNA FO 371/56474 N 2228, cipher from Moscow sent by Frank Roberts, 18 February 1946 to FO.

TNA FO 371/56465 N 2248/86/55G, N 2825/86/55G, correspondence by General Kopański, Lord Selborne, Maj. Gen. Colin Gubbins and Patrick Dean to Christopher Warner PID, FO, 13 February 1946.

TNA FO 1019 / 95, copy of a secret additional protocol in Russian and translation into English, signed by Ribbentrop and Molotov, Moscow, 28 September 1939. Documents sent by H. J. Phillimore BWCE (ES) from Nuremberg to R.A. Beaumont, War Crimes Section, FO London.

Charter of the Tribunal , Article 24 (e) ‘Witnesses for the prosecution shall be examined and after that the witnesses for the Defence. Thereafter, such rebutting evidence as may be held by the Tribunal to be admissible, shall be called by either the Prosecution or the Defence.’

TNA FO 371/56476 N 8817/108/55, secure signal July 3 1946, 2035, from BWCE at Nuremberg for Patrick Dean and Scott Fox at the FO. Subject: Katyn Forest murder of 11,000 Polish Officers. Printed signal format marked ‘confidential’ can be found in FCO 28/ 2309 and WO 311/717 gives the date as 6 July 1946.

PISM KOL 12/15/2, 3, 4, three typescript articles written in Polish by Janusz Laskowski, Krzyże z Brzeziny (Birch Crosses), Tajemnica Koziej Góry (The Secrets of Koze Gory), Katyn jest najważniejszą sprawą świata (Katyn, the most important issue in the world). Written at Nuremberg 25/26/27 June 1946.

TNA GFM 33/2525 E424394, photostat of the original German secure signal 570 dated 4 March 1943, from Berlin to German Legation in Berne, about finding graves of the Poles shot by the NKVD , suggesting 10,000 probably were brought in; no eye witnesses as yet, only some local people having heard shots coming from the woods. Document signed by Field Police Secretary ( Geheime Feldpolizei Gruppe 570) Lt Voss.

PISM KOL 12/16/G, minutes of a meeting held by General Marian Kukiel, Lt Marian Heitzman with Maj. Guy Lloyd MP on 9 July 1946.

TNA FCO 28/1475, copy of a letter in Polish to Ambassador Raczyński by Maria Elżbieta Lach (or Lachówna, indicating she was a spinster) former civilian employee of IV Dept of Oddział II . The letter of 26 April 1971 refers to the fact that she typed the first 80 pages of manuscript dictated by Professor Wiktor Sukiennicki in Oxford. Ms Lach states that documents were brought to London from the Continent by Prof. Marian Heitzman and Maj Alfred A. Hergesell and delivered to Sukiennicki in Oxford. Later, some chapters were typed in London under the supervision of Professor Swianiewicz. It can be assumed that the manuscript was the short ‘Supplementary Report of Facts and Documents’, re-edited in haste, in expectation of passing it to the BWCE at Nuremberg through Professor Savory.

Lewandowski Wacław, Józef Mackiewicz Artyzm Biografia Recepcja , Kontra, London 2000. Also Kazimierz Zamorski Dwa Tajne Biura 2 Korpusu (Two Secret Bureaux of 2 Corps) published by Poets and Painters, London 1990.

TNA FO 371/ 86679 NP1661/6, Ambassador Arthur Bliss Lane’s letter to Mr Andrei Vyshinsky dated 17 November, statement to the press on 21 November 1949.

TNA FO 371/86679 NP 1661/3.

TNA FO 371/86679 NP 1661/1 to 14. Quotation is from NP 1661/3.