Survey protocol
Attitude towards the Red Army and the Soviet Union.
The leadership of Armia Krajowa following the instructions of the government in London was openly carrying out anti-soviet propaganda among the rebels and civilians. They used a slogan of creating a “second marvel on Visla”, which shouldn’t have let the Russians into Warsaw. The AK propaganda claimed that the Red Army would perform mass extradition of Poles from Poland into SIberia and will be settling Russians in place of Poles. Khatyn was also mentioned many times.
Initially the Soviet Union and the Red Army was exposed to multiple assults for not supporting the rebels contrary to England and America. After the soviet aviation started the supply airdrops, the leaders of AK still continued to claim that those are English supplies which were shipped to Moscow and from there transported by airplanes.
The reactionary political organizations had selected propagandists whose job
was to visit soldiers and civilians and turn them against the Red Army.
As known, the soviet planes were dropping supplies from low altitudes
which caused some cargo to break. The above mentioned propagandists were
highlighting that specifically those which broke were Soviet ones and those
that didn’t were English well-packaged ones.
As the Soviet aviation started to drop cargo and cover Warsaw, Soviet artillery began shelling the German positions within the city, the AK propaganda has started to loose popularity among the civilian and rebel masses. The population started to change its attitude towards the RA and this effect increased after it was announced in the information bulletin that the RA communication officers began to arrive.
If initially influenced by the agitation of AK the Polish army of Berling was viewed as “treacherous elements from SIberia”, then after the liberation of Prague the population began to lean towards the democratic elements, who were agitating for the RA and the Lublin government.
Using the favorable situation, Armia Ludowa and other democratic organizations have activated their work and released daily bulletins which explained the situation and the position of the Lublin government. By the end of the uprising the entire population was waiting for the RA and blaming the AK for it criminally starting the uprising which caused thousands of casualties among the civilians. Similar thoughts appeared even within the AK itself.
I as an officer of the RA was treated discretely by the staff of AK. Some of my requests were rejected. For example I asked to pass a note for a Soviet officer to Zholobizh district. Initially they promised to deliver it in 3 hours, then delayed it for 3 days and in the end said that delivery is impossible.
The reactionalist elements and primarily the underground organization called
the “PKB” were pursuing a clear nationalist policy. The entire Ukkrainian
population left in the city was massacred. PKB forces also killed the jews
who survived the German times. PKB was raiding the Soviet POWs who managed
to escape from the German captivity. They aimed to capture hostages to be
exchanged with the RA. For example, AK has held in captivity lieutenant
colonel Nikolai Rumyntsev, major Nikolai Gorodetsky and Professor of
Medicine Alexander Danilovich Ershov. The members of AK tried to shoot major
Volkov, in process and one of the officers said: “You were shooting us at
Katyn so we will shoot you”.
Also officers and soldiers of the 9th
regiment of 1st Polish army were shot. They escaped to the central district
after the Chernyakhovsky district was captured. Lyahno, the sergeant of the
regiment, who told this to me was shot from behind the corner soon after our
conversation.
The official AK propaganda, as the situation and the population mood was changing, was forced to switch from its open slander against the Soviet Union to indirect defamation. For example, after the Soviet supply drops became widespread, the political groups of the AK could not hide that fact anymore. Only within the last days in one of the bulletins an article appeared with the heading: “Thank you Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin”. This was the first official confirmation of the participation of the RA in supporting Warsaw. In the same time AK would not miss its opportunity to denigrate the RA and the SU.
General “Monter” gave me several requests for needed weapons and also presented his “strategic plan” within which he proposed to immediately take Warsaw by flanking it from both sides, but not attack it directly. In the “Monter” staff the officers have frequently expressed their discontent about why the RA still doesn’t attack.
Source: ЦАМО РФ. Ф. 233. Оп. 2380. Д. 22. Л. 238–244.
Source: warsaw75.mil.ru
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