As the SS gradually emptied the Warsaw Ghetto, those who remained well understood they would be next. Many decided it would be preferable to go down fighting.
Meanwhile, 800 kilometers away, in Katyn Forest, the German Army uncovered a mass grave containing the bodies of more than 4,000 Polish Army officers murdered by the NKVD.
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Playlist:
Fanfare
Opening War Theme
Adagio in G minor
Composed in 1958 by Remo Giazotto.
Performed by the Modena Chamber Orchestra. Public domain recording. Source.
Closing War Theme
Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.
Thank you for this important episode. I’ve read a lot about this history, but I don’t think I previously understood the connection between the bodies being found in Katyn and the Nazi shift(?) towards cremation at the camps. I also appreciated the additional context regarding Poland’s different nationalist/resistance groups.