Remembering Katyn

Remembering Katyn explores the Soviet massacre of over 21,000 Polish prisoners in 1940, remembered today as Stalin’s emblematic mass murder, shrouded in one of history's most extensive cover-ups. Paradoxically, the majority of its victims perished far from the forest in western Russia that lends its name to this tragedy, with their remains buried in killing fields scattered across Russia, Ukraine, and most likely, Belarus. Today, their ghosts continue to haunt the cultural landscape of Eastern Europe.

This book traces the legacy of Katyn through the interconnected memory cultures of seven countries: Belarus, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, and the Baltic States. It explores the significance of Katyn as both site and symbol, event and idea, fact and crypt. By examining how Katyn incites nationalist sentiments in Eastern Europe, the book also highlights an emerging cosmopolitan memory of Soviet terror. Moreover, it delves into the peculiar impact of the 2010 plane crash that tragically claimed the lives of Poland’s leaders as they journeyed to Katyn.

Drawing on novels and films, debates and controversies, Remembering Katyn advocates for a transnational study of cultural memory, navigating a contested past in a region poised to shape Europe’s future.