On September 1st, 1939, Nazi Germany invades Poland, unleashing World War II. On September 17th, the Soviet Red Army crosses the border. The Polish army, unable to fight on two fronts, is defeated. Thousands of Polish men, both military and government officials, are captured by the invaders. Their fate will only be known several years later.
Direction
Wajda's final masterpiece, personal as a father's blood.
Production
Reconstructed uniforms from actual Soviet archives.
Writing
Refuses easy villains — shows complicity's quiet rot.
Director
Andrzej Wajda
Andrzej Chyra
Jerzy
Maja Ostaszewska
Anna
Artur Żmijewski
Andrzej
Danuta Stenka
General's Wife
Jan Englert
General
Magdalena Cielecka
Agnieszka
Agnieszka Glińska
School Director
Paweł Małaszyński
Pilot Lieutenant
Maja Komorowska
Professor's Wife
Antoni Pawlicki
Tadeusz
Agnieszka Kawiorska
Ewa
Sergey Garmash
Captain Popow
Joachim Paul Assböck
Müller
Waldemar Barwiński
Officer Samobójca
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Wajda's own father was among the Katyn victims; he waited 60 years to make this, until post-communist Poland could handle the truth.
The film's release sparked national debate: Russian state TV finally aired it uncut in 2010, two years after its premiere.
PL
