Evening star., 1944-01-17
Poland
Continued From First Page.)

wv
were recorded here by the Soviet
monitor-that Russian state COM
mission now is investigating "the
murder of Polish officers and pris-
oners of war killed by German oc-
cupationists in the Katyn- Smolensk
district"
Headed by Scientist.
1t. Gen. Nikolai N. Burdenko of
the peoples commissariat of health
heads the commission. Burdenko,
a scientist, was the first Soviet re-
cipient of an honorary fellowship
from the Royal College of Surgeons.
The group also includes the writ
er, AleXei Tolstoi, whose Il Demand
Vengeance" account of atrocities in
Stalino stands as one of the high
lights in Russian war reporting, and
Metropolitan Nikolai of the Russian
Orthodox Church.
The Moscow broadcasts received
the immediate attention of the
Polish government, which was eX-
pected to summon cabinet meeting
during the day. Some Poles in Off
cial circles, who have been frankly
pessimistic of reconciliation, re-
garded MoscoWs tone as substanti-
ating their fears that Russia is not
willing to negotiate with the Polish
governmental -in-eXile in London under
British American mediation.
The only ray of hope apparently
was the fact that the Russians did
not say fatty they would not resume
diplomatic relations with the exile
government, but it seemed likely
that the latter would have to be
reshuffled to be acceptable to Mos
cow-a move which would cause
bitter controversy in the Polish
cabinet.
Diplomatic Break Cited.
The Soviet statement, replying to
the Polish note of Friday which
asked British-American help in
bringing Poland and Russia together,
referred to the diplomatic break as
caused by the Poles acceptance of
Goebbels' charges and declared the
graves were filled "by German occu-
pationists."
Earlier last week Moscow had Of
fered to negotiate the border prob
lem on the basis of the line drawn
in 1919 after the first World War
by an Allied commission headed by
Viscount Curzon, British Foreign
Secretary. BY this suggestion, Rus
sia would retain most of the con-
tested territory, but at the same
time Moscow urged that Poland ex-
pand westward, taking certain Ger
man territory.
I'm the Polish declaration the
question of the recognition of the
Curzon Line as Soviet-Polish from
tier is entirely evaded and ignored,
which can only be interpreted as
rejection of the Curzon Line" said
the Moscow statement distributed
today by the news agency Tass.
Although asserting that "the pres
ent Polish government does not
wish to establish good neighborly
relations with the Soviet Union,
the new Moscow declaration did not
say fatty that Russia was unwilling
to talk with a reconstructed Polish
government.
On that score, the overtones of
today's Moscow statement were i'm
plicit.
Target of Criticism.
In the Polish emigre cabinet in
London still is Marian Kukiel, war
minister, who signed a communique
April 16, 1943, declaring $4,000
Polish officers and soldiers were
missing after the Russian occupa-
tion and asking a Red Gross in
vestigation of the German propa-
ganda charges.
The Polish commander in chief
still is Gen. Kazimierz SoSnkowski,
who has been a target for bitter
recriminations in Moscow Polish
language broadcasts by the Union
of Polish Patriots in the U. S. S. R.
The Polish patriots again broad
cast from Moscow in Polish last
night, repeating criticisms of the
exile government in London and
declaring:
Even now Mikolajczyk premier
Stanislaw Mikolajczyk) under Sosn-
kowski's influence makes obscure
evasive declarations concocted in
the kitchen of diplomatic intrigue
="
The Polish foreign minister still
is Tadeusz Romer, who was Am
bassador to Moscow when the Katyn
charges were raised and who then
was handed his travelling papers.
Others in the exile cabinet have
drawn the ire of Moscow because
OF their uncompromising attitude
toward losing any prewar Polish
territory.
The Poles statement Friday re-
iterated that the emigre government
could not recognize "unilateral de-
cisions or accomplished facts which
have taken place or might take place
on territory of the Polish Republic. +"
This apparently referred to Moscow's S
stand that plebiscites in the Western
Ukraine and White Russia had re-
stored those areas in full to the
Soviet Union.
The Russian reply termed as mis-
leading public opinion" the Polish
expression Of "a sincere desire for
agreement on terms which would be
just and acceptable to both Sides"
The Polish statement was received
favorably in both London and WASH
ington official quarters and was