Exhumation of bodies massacred in the Katyn Forest
Creator(s)
- Bundesarchiv (Germany). Filmarchiv
Scope and Content
Exhumations of bodies of 12,000 Polish army officers massacred by Soviets. Pan of forest edge from river. MLS pans of men digging in separate areas (cordoned off like archeological sites). Quick flashes of bodies meshed together in a ditch. Slow pan around. CU bodies caked with mud, piled up. CU on individual bodies. CU on the 4-star uniform of corpse. Hands tied behind backs. Bodies laid out, lifted up to camera. Carrying bodies out on stretcher. Shots of belongings of victims: money, cigar (taken from pocket of uniform), family photos, "Carte Celonkowski." The narrator explains that the personal effects of the victims were worthless to the perpetrators and expresses pity for the dead men. LS from above, pan of forest.
Note(s)
This footage was not ordered by USHMM staff but was received with the BA order.
Subjects
- SOLDIERS/MILITARY (POLISH)
- MASSACRES
- MUD
- POWS (POLISH)
- CORPSES
- FORESTS
- MASS GRAVES
- POLES
- VICTIMS' PROPERTY
- EXHUMATIONS
- PHOTOGRAPHS
- UNIFORMS
- SOVIET UNION
Places
- Katyn Forest, Soviet Union
- Smolensk, Soviet Union
Genre
- Film
- Documentary.
Copies
-
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum holds copies of Holocaust-relevant archives from Bundesarchiv, Berlin-Lichterfelde (Abteilung Filmarchiv)