President Kaczynski’s Plane Crash Spurs Interest in May 5th Katyn Conference at Library of Congress & Exhibit at Russell Senate Office Building

Speakers to include: Senators Benjamin Cardin, Richard Lugar, Barbara Mikulski,
Former National Security Advisor, Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski,
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, Rep. Marcy Kaptur,
Polish Ambassador Robert Kupiecki, Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak

New Details About The Katyn Massacre To Be Discussed

WASHINGTON, DC: The plane crash that killed Polish President Lech Kaczynski and his delegation in Smolensk, Russia, thrust the story of Katyn onto the front pages of newspapers around the world, spurring interest in this massacre that had been covered up for decades. On April 28th, for the first time, Russia made documents about the massacre available on its web site.

On May 5, experts on the Katyn Forest Massacre from Poland, Russia and the United States will be joined by members of Congress to discuss new details about this unearthed chapter of history, and to explore the future of Polish-Russian relations.

Morning and afternoon panel discussions will be held in the Coolidge Auditorium at the Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress, and an exhibit of photos and archival material about the Katyn Massacre will be shown in the Rotunda of the Russell Senate Office Building and the Whittall Pavilion in the Library of Congress.

Nearly 22,000 officers captured by the Soviets were murdered, and Stalin deported more than one million Poles to Siberia where many died from starvation and forced labor. The litany of horrors Stalin visited on the Poles fused into the one word – Katyn.

Conference Program:
The 70th Anniversary Observance of The Katyń Massacre

Coolidge Auditorium, Library of Congress, Thomas Jefferson Building
1st Street, SE, Between Independence Ave & East Capitol Street

May 5, 2010

Sponsor: The Kosciuszko Foundation: The American Center for Polish Culture

In Cooperation With: The U.S. Helsinki Commission, The Foundation for Polish Science, The Cold War Studies Program at Harvard University, The Memorial Human Rights Protection Center in Moscow, The Polish Embassy in Washington D.C., The Council to Preserve the Memory of Combat and Martyrdom

8:30 a.m. Registration
9:00 a.m. Introduction of guests by Alex Storozynski, President & Executive
Director, The Kosciuszko Foundation, host and conference moderator

Welcome by Dr. James Billington, Librarian of Congress

Senator Barbara Mikulski

Ambassador Robert Kupiecki, Republic of Poland

10:00 a.m. Address by Sen. Benjamin Cardin, Chairman, U.S. Helsinki Commission

10:15 a.m. Panel Presentation and Discussion

The Katyń Forest Massacre: Its Importance and Consequences

Moderator: Ambassador Thomas Simons,
the Davis Center, Harvard University

Prof. Natalia Lebedeva, co-editor,
Katyn: A Crime Without Punishment

Alexander Guryanov, Memorial human rights organization, Moscow

Dr. Mark Kramer, Cold War Studies Program, Harvard University

Dr. Michael Szporer, University of Maryland/UC,
and Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation

11: 30 a.m. Remarks and Introduction House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer

11: 45 a.m. Address by Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski,Center for Strategic
and International Studies and former National Security Advisor

12:30 p.m. Break for Lunch

Rotunda of the Russell Senate Office Building, Opening
of the Exhibit by The Council to Protect the Memory of Combat
and Martyrdom, “Katyn Forest, Massacre. Politics. Morality.”

2:30 p.m. Welcome to Afternoon Session, Alex Storozynski

Senator Richard Lugar, Ranking Minority Member,
Foreign Relations Committee

Senator Leon Kieres, Chair of the Commission of Foreign Affairs
Senate of the Republic of Poland

*(Awaiting confirmation) Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak

Daniel Fried, Former U.S. Ambassador to Poland (1997-2000)

3:30 p.m. Panel: Katyn, The Potential Benefits of Reconciliation

Moderator: Rep. Marcy Kaptur,
Member of the House Appropriations Committee

Victor Ashe, U.S. Ambassador to Poland, 2004-2009

Prof. Anna Cienciala, co-editor, Katyn: A Crime Without Punishment

Allen Paul, author, Katyn: Stalin’s Massacre and the Triumph of Truth

Dr. Ruth Wedgwood, Johns Hopkins School of International Studies

Thomas Patrick Melady, U.S. Ambassador to Holy See 1989-1993

5:00 p.m. Conference concludes

5:30 p.m. Congressional Reception:Library of Congress, Montpelier Room
Guests to include members of Congress, the diplomatic corps, the
Washington Public policy community, members of the media and
representatives of the Russian and Polish American Communities.

For further information contact:

Alex Storozynski
The Kosciuszko Foundation, The American Center of Polish Culture
15 East 65th Street
New York, NY 10065
212-734-2130
[email protected]