I ask myself ‘How is it I did not know about Piasnica?’ Enigmatic because, though a simple man, I believe I am well read, with a better than average knowledge of modern Polish history. How could I NOT have read about Piasnica when it is so relevant to the theme I am so passionate about – man’s struggle for liberty? Perhaps it is because there was no controversy about who the perpetrators were of the monstrous and despicable Piasnica atrocity. It was the Germans. And the fact that at least a few of the perpetrators were brought to justice has, perhaps, allowed Piasnica to fade from memory.

This photo by Anna Molski

How does German behaviour in Poland at the beginning of World War II compare with the Soviets and how does Piasnica vary from Katyn? Did the Nazis and Soviets collaborate?

Both tyrannies adopted policies of murdering people with knowledge and leadership ability that could inspire resistance to tyranny and reaffirm loyalty to Polish culture, values and traditions. On the 23rd of August, 1939, the Nazis and Soviets agreed on the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact. In the secret protocol of the agreement they arranged the division of the territory of Poland between themselves after Poland was defeated at the beginning of World War II. It was agreed that western Poland would be taken by Germany and the eastern part taken by the Soviet Union. When Polish defeat loomed the ‘German Soviet Boundary and Friendship Treaty’ of September 28th set out the exact Nazi/Soviet demarcation, but it also included secret arrangements one part of which stated that:

"Both parties will tolerate in their territories no Polish agitation which affects the territories of the other party. They will suppress in their territories all beginnings of such agitation and inform each other concerning suitable measures for this purpose". (Allen Paul, Katyn, 2010, P64)

When they took over Poland, both tyrannies forcibly removed Polish citizens from their homes and businesses in the parts they each occupied. Their own nationals filled the vacuum, some of whom were Germans returning from Soviet territories and Russians migrating from German occupied nations, since exchanges of nationals were sanctioned in the secret protocols of the September 28th agreement.

Poznan/Gdansk/ and Polish Silesia was annexed to Nazi Germany and the Polish occupants were uprooted and dumped into the remaining unannexed parts of Poland that the Germans controlled, in what was called the General Government. The Soviets kept their part of Poland whole, but around October of 1939 the NKVD came knocking on doors in the former Polish eastern borderlands, generally known as Kresy, and the inhabitants were given less than an hour to pack what they could because they were to be resettled further east. The families were taken in cattle wagons in journeys lasting around 4 weeks, without sanitary relief, to Siberia, Turkestan and Kazakhstan. Most did not survive.

“The German and Soviet governments collaborated closely in their efforts to eliminate the Polish intelligentsia. The secret protocols in their September 28 agreement on exchange of nationals and suppression of dissent set the stage for careful cooperation between the NKVD and the Gestapo. Over the winter of 1939-1940, the intelligence service of the Polish army-in-exile reported that senior officials of the German and Soviet secret police met several times at Kraków, Lwów, and Zakopane.

These sessions had a twofold purpose: first, to coordinate so-called resettlement policies in the German and Soviet spheres, as well as other plans to eliminate the Polish intelligentsia; and second, to devise effective policies for combating the Polish underground. Khrushchev acknowledged that Gestapo representatives came to Lwów several times to coordinate matters with Ivan Serov, head of the Ukrainian NKVD. Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski, head of the Armia Krajowa, or Home Army (so named because it was coordinated from abroad by the Polish government-in-exile), in Kraków and later for the entire territory held by the General Government, also described such meetings in his book, The Secret Army:

"In March, 1940, my staff received information that an NKVD mission had come to Kraków to work out with the Gestapo the methods they were jointly to adopt against Polish military organizations. The NKVD was already aware that Polish military resistance was centralized and directed from one headquarters. The consultations in Kraków lasted for several weeks. I received reports of the discussions, the names of those present and their addresses. Apparently the NKVD methods for combating our Underground were greatly admired by the Gestapo, and it was suggested that they should be adopted in the German zone.” (Allen Paul, Katyn, 2010, P68)

However there were differences between the Germanisation implemented by the Nazis compared to Sovietisation. For example the German killing of the Polish intelligentsia was broad and immediate:

“In approach, the Gestapo and the NKVD were fundamentally different. Bold, impulsive, reckless, and careless—each of these adjectives characterized the Gestapo. In contrast, the NKVD was slow, patient, cunning, and thorough. One played poker, the other played chess. Gestapo suspicions often led to immediate liquidations that cut off leads to other suspects or to underground leaders. The NKVD, in contrast, methodically built networks that often pervaded entire offices and factories. Plots, schemes, and troublemakers were much more difficult to hide from its all-pervasive eyes.” (Allen Paul, Katyn, 2010, P69)

Special lists of names had been compiled by the Germans and from the end of September 1939 to the early spring of 1940 in what was called ‘Intelligenzaktion’ (Intelligence Action), the Germans killed about 65 000 Polish intellectuals. Piasnica was the main site and it is estimated up to 16 000 people were killed there (mainly intelligentsia). In Piasnica, children and infants were killed, however, this is not the case in Katyn:

“Witnesses report that on numerous occasions, prior to the executions, the victims were tortured and children in particular were treated with utmost cruelty and often killed by having their heads smashed against trees by German SS soldiers.” (Wiki)

How could people who prided themselves as being part of a nation of poets and philosophers, educated, cultured and superior, holding respected positions in civil society, grab an infant by its legs and smash its angelic face against the trunk of a tree? Another difference between Piasnica and Katyn is the fact that the Soviets did not make public statements about what they were going to do or give reasons for their actions, but the Nazis did. For example Albert Forster in a speech at the Prusinski Hotel in Wejherowo, not far from Piasnica, stated:

"We have to eliminate the lice ridden Poles, starting with those in the cradle… in your hands I give the fate of the Poles, you can do with them what you want." (Wiki)

General Franz Halder noted in his diary on the 18th of October: “Polish intelligentsia must be prevented from establishing itself as a governing class.” (Allen Paul, Katyn, 2010 P66)

Because it involved the murder of infants – innocent unfulfilled life – Piasnica is so much more horrifying than Katyn, as diabolical as Katyn may be. In 1999 Pope John Paul II beatified Sister Alicja Kotowska and 107 others who died as martyrs in the forests of Piasnica. In 2011 a 41 minute documentary titled: Memory: Secrets of Pianica Forests was produced by Bogdan Wasztyl. Information about this film is available from the following website:

www.piasnica.auschwitzmemento.pl/movie.html

Piasnica must be remembered, just as Katyn is remembered, so it can never happen again.

Felix Molski(text and photos)