Katyn [Deluxe Edition] [Hardcover]

Andrzej Wajda (Author), Andrzej Krzysztof Kunert (Editor), Maciej Buszewicz (Illustrator), Piotr Bujnowicz (Photographer), Maciej Laprus (Photographer), Monika Skrzypczak (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: 2008

This book tells the story of the film Katyn, the latest work by Andrzej Wajda, one of the world's most ambitious filmmakers. Katyn received a 2008 Academy Award nomination in the category of Foreign Language Film. This film is the first account of the long-suppressed Katyn massacre of 1940, in which more than fourteen thousand Polish prisoners of war, were murdered by the NKVD, the Soviet secret police. Commentary by Andrzej Wajda and his film crew is accompanied by stills from throughout the film. The chronology of the Katyn crime and the lies surrounding it as well as the numerous historical photographs from Andrzej Wajda's personal archive are valuable resources regarding this event. This book is especially compelling in its presentation of the objects that were discovered during the exhumations of the Polish officers.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Proszynski i S-ka; 1ST edition (2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 8374696427
• ISBN-13: 978-8374696425
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,027,393 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Outstanding Movie Portrayed in Book Form, March 12, 2008

By 

Jan Peczkis "Scholar and Thinker" (Chicago IL, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Katyn (Hardcover)

Andrzej Wajda's masterpiece, KATYN, was recently nominated for the Oscar. This book contains numerous photos from the movie. It also includes a valuable chronology of events related to the Katyn Massacre. The cover of the book includes the Russian word Delo, which means "The Deed". The movie and book include photos taken from the actual Katyn site, as well as photos of actual mementos that had belonged to the victims.

The movie and book begin with the German-Soviet conquest of Poland. The book includes a Soviet propaganda leaflet dropped on eastern Poland during the Soviet invasion in 1939.

Both enemies of Poland begin their genocide of Poles with the cream of Polish society. The Germans invite some professors to the university, only to promptly arrest them (for shooting, or slow deaths in concentration camps). The Soviets hold the captured officers and intellectuals at places such as Kozielsk, where the prisoners sing Christmas carols in December 1939. It will be their last Christmas. By spring 1940, the Soviets decide to shoot nearly all of the captive Polish officers.

The movie and book also show the life of relatives of the Soviet-held men. First there are the letters, and hope for a speedy reunion. Then...silence. Finally, the Germans break the news of their discovery of the Katyn graves, and exploit it for propaganda purposes. The relatives face the fact that their men will never return.

After the war, the suffering of the Katyn relatives continues. Information about the exact fate of the missing men is skimpy. The Soviet puppet state, using the UB, tries to force the grieving relatives to sign a statement blaming the Germans for the crime. The relatives also face pressure from others to "accept reality" that Poland will never again be free, and must align itself with Soviet dictates. They refuse. Then they have problems sending their son to the university because they won't bow to the Soviet lie about Katyn.

WARNING: Polish movies tell it like it was, and often don't have a happy ending. This movie has graphic scenes of the Polish officers being shot and blood being spilled. The book contains these photographs. They come near the end of the movie, and also near the end of the book.

A superb movie and a superb book! I only wish that the movie was translated into English.