Prosecution of the Perpetrators of the Katyń Massacre Lie in the Third Reich Cover Image

Ściganie sprawców kłamstwa katyńskiego w III Rzeszy
Prosecution of the Perpetrators of the Katyń Massacre Lie in the Third Reich

Author(s): Konrad Graczyk
Subject(s): Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, History of Law, Criminal Law, Military history, WW II and following years (1940 - 1949)
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego
Keywords: Katyń; crime; criminal speech; criticism of the state; actions against the military; Katyń Massacre Lie; propaganda

Summary/Abstract: This article addresses the criminal liability of German citizens for the so-called Katyń Massacre Lie during the Third Reich. Its source materials are the records of three cases discovered in German archives. Questioning the official (and actual) German propaganda’s version about the massacre of Polish prisoners of war by the Soviets or negating its perpetration by the Soviets while attributing it to the Germans was subject to prosecution as criminal speech against the state. This paper brings to attention the circumstances under which such an act was committed, the statements said by the perpetrators, and a legal qualification which was grounds for indictment and conviction.

  • Issue Year: 19/2018
  • Issue No: 11 (2)
  • Page Range: 139-148
  • Page Count: 10
  • Language: Polish