A
Special Appeal from Kendall
After
Kendall’s trip to Poland and his return home, he received this email from a
Polish friend he made while he was there. Kendall says a friend who knows the
English government said these records are under the control of the Ministry of Defense
Archives/Whitehall/London/W1. He appeals to all of you to help open up these
vital records. Remember while you are reading that this is a Polish person
writing in English, a foreign language to him.
A correction from Kendall:
A correction from Kendall:
Dear Sandra, Just a small correction to your wonderful
blog. I have never met Dr. Rygiel. His comment came to me by snail mail
in 2008. I had lost my copy but my translator, Renata Siuzdak, did have. a
copy which she sent to me while I was in Poland—Kendall.
Friday, February 22, 2008 12:14 PM
Subject: Katyn
Dear Kenny, I just completed reading
all your works and hurry to share with you my
Impressions.
Undoubtedly you deserve most sincere
gratitude and acknowledgement for the interest and compassion you have for the
victims of Katyn in particular for the only women-heroine, Janina. It is
certainly uncommon to find a non-Pole being so deeply emotionally involved in
matters so distant and foreign to him and to take upon himself an enormous task
of finding the sources, contacts, overcome immense difficulties in language and
many more. I salute and praise you. And I appreciate very much your kindness in
sending me your works and the book on Katyn. Personally I have had no
opportunity, or chance to learn more about Katyn, except the common facts and
data’s.
My life was someway delimitated since
year 1941, when I was arrested by the Gestapo for involvement in the
underground activities and as a 15 year old boy incarcerated in Auschwitz. In
1943 I was transferred to another concentration camp in Neuengamme, which in
April of 1945 was evacuated to Lubbock. There about 7 thousand of polish
prisoners were put on two German ships Cap Arcona and Thielbeck and anchored 5
km of shore. On the 3rd of May British RAF planes attacked and sunk both ships
which resulted in death of about 7 thousand of Poles.
This, the largest sea catastrophe in
history is practically unknown to the world, mainly because of moratorium of
first of 50, then of 100 years on all materials re. Cap Arcona and Thielbeck.
All attempts to throw some light on this scandalous and compromising piece of
history were left unanswered. So much for the history.
Frankly I have no desire to go back to
these times and happenings, right now I am concentrated on my domestic
situation, my wife being seriously ill and myself having severe health
problems. At 82 my chief desire is to enjoy the remaining years(?) in peace,
far from all horrifying and painful experiences, and drama of wars and human
cruelty. I will retain the book on Katyn however with many thanks and words of
friendship. I also submit a cheque for 60 can dollars, which hopefully will
cover the expenses. So long, and good luck in your endeavours, and thanks
again, Witold. (In handwriting) P. S.
Best regards to your kind wife and you. Feb. 22. 2008.Witold
I have added a YouTube video here which is a documentary of the Katyn Forest Massacre mentioned at the beginning of the email. There are a total of 9 videos covering this event on YouTube. Be warned, this one is graphic—Sandra
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