Did Philby murder General Sikorski?

Kyt · Jul 2, 2008

Did British double agent Kim Philby murder Polish war hero General Sikorski? - Telegraph

General Wladyslaw Sikorski, the leader of Poland's wartime government in exile, died 65 years ago this month when his plane plunged into the sea off Gibraltar.

A British inquiry in 1943 found that the crash was caused by the plane's controls jamming. But rumours persist of a plot to kill Gen Sikorski, whose defence of the Polish national cause threatened to derail Britain's relationship with the Soviet Union.

Now Poland's president, Lech Kaczynski, and his prime minister, Donald Tusk, have demanded that Gen Sikorski's body be exhumed from its tomb in Wawel Cathedral in Krakow, the traditional burial place of Polish heroes. "The tragic circumstances of the death of General Sikorski should be explained," said the president.

Moves to exhume Sikorski's body follow a long campaign by Polish historians, who claim that it was not examined properly before burial. They claim that he might have been killed before the crash, in which his daughter also died, and only the pilot survived. In particular, they want an examination of his skull to see whether he was shot.

The general's death has attracted a swarm of conspiracy theories, which variously accuse British, Soviet and even rival Polish factions of orchestrating his murder.

But the most insistent rumours suggest that his death was ordered by the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, incensed by Gen Sikorski's demand for an investigation into the Katyn massacre of Polish officers by Soviet troops.

Stalin's accusers claim that Gen Sikorski's plane was left unguarded on the runway at Gibraltar, and could easily have been sabotaged. They also point out that on the day of the crash, July 4, 1943, a plane carrying the Soviet ambassador Ivan Maisky and a small retinue of Soviet troops parked next to the doomed Polish leader's aircraft.

Allegations of a plot by the Soviet Union, determined not to let Polish nationalism get in the way of communist expansion after the war, have been further fuelled by the presence on Gibraltar of Kim Philby.

The notorious spy was in charge of British intelligence operations in the territory from 1941 to 1944. The crash occurred 20 years before he defected to Russia, but he is thought to have been a double agent from the start of the war.

Investigators have also pointed the finger at the British wartime leader Winston Churchill. In 1967 the German dramatist Rolf Hochhuth suggested in the play Soldiers that Churchill was so anxious over Gen Sikorski's impact on ties with Stalin that he ordered the assassination.

Performances of the play were at first banned in Britain. Two years later Harold Wilson, briefed on the case, told the House of Commons such rumours should be "dismissed and brushed aside with the contempt they deserve".

In his defence, Mr Hochhuth referred to the memoirs of the Yugoslav vice-president Milovan Djilas, who said Stalin warned that the British might try to kill Tito as they had Sikorski.

However, in declassified papers from 1969, the former pilot Sir Robin Cooper reviewed the wartime inquiry into Sikorski's death and concluded that "the possibility of Sikorski's murder by the British is excluded".

"But," he added, "the possibility of his murder by persons unknown cannot be so excluded."
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Ferhilt · Jul 2, 2008

Philby is certainly a popular topic in intelligence stories, mostly for the mysterious happenings. Mark of a good spy I guess, even with dubious loyalties.

morse1001 · Jul 2, 2008

Philby was head of the Iberian Section of MI6, so he had the both the motive and the means to do it.

One of those reporting to Philby, was the actor, Christopher Lee, who was a RAF Intelligence Officer in Spain.

Kyt · Sep 3, 2008

Poland to probe mysterious death of Second World War commander Wladyslaw Sikorski | Mail Online

Polish prosecutors are investigating whether Poland's wartime leader General Wladyslaw Sikorski died accidentally in a 1943 plane crash or was in fact assassinated.

Prosecutors of the state-run National Remembrance Institute plan to file a formal request to look into classified British Second World War files as they probe the crash of the British bomber in British-ruled Gibraltar in which Sikorski was killed.

A British probe initially blamed the crash on jammed controls, but a separate Polish investigation did not rule out sabotage, and Polish historian Dariusz Baliszewski has said his research suggests Sikorski could have been assassinated.

Now Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk and President Lech Kaczynski have echoed the call to investigate Sikorski's death.

There is an "existing and justified suspicion of a criminal cause of the death," which has not been investigated in Poland or elsewhere, the institute said in a statement released today.

Alhough it did not name suspects, the institute said it was investigating a "communist crime," suggesting its suspicions fall primarily on the Soviet Union, which attacked Poland after forming an alliance with Nazi Germany at the start of the war.

Ewa Koj, a leading prosecutor in the institute's Katowice branch, which opened the probe, said it will look at documents and new testimony from people linked to the initial investigations shortly after the crash.

Sikorski's Liberator II aircraft crashed into the sea just 16 seconds after taking off from Gibraltar on July 4, 1943.

The crash came only three months after Joseph Stalin broke diplomatic ties with the Polish government in exile, following Sikorski's demand that the International Red Cross investigate the Katyn massacre.

He called for the investigation after German forces discovered the graves of some 21,700 Polish military officers, intellectuals and priests - executions later proven to have been carried out by the Soviets.

Investigators may also need to open Sikorski's tomb at the Renaissance Cathedral of the Wawel Castle in Krakow, where his remains rest among those of many Polish kings and top figures.

Sikorski, who was chief commander of Poland's armed forces, made a stopover at Gibraltar as he was returning from an inspection of forces in the Middle East.

He was also the prime minister of Poland's government-in-exile based in London, strongly pushing Polish interests with the Western Allies and the Soviet Union.

For decades, Sikorski's death has generated theories that he was murdered, alternatively by British, Soviet or even Polish factions.

One theory holds that British double agent Kim Philby - who was on Gibraltar at the time of the crash and who defected to the Soviet Union in the early 1960s - might have had a role in the crash.

Sikorski's death "influenced Poland's wartime fate," historian Baliszewski said on TVN24 television. "For the sake of truth we should know what really happened."
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liverpool annie · Sep 3, 2008

Kyt said: ↑

Poland to probe mysterious death of Second World War commander Wladyslaw Sikorski | Mail Online
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On July 2 2008 archbishop Stanisław Dziwisz has decided to give consent for exhumation of Władysław Sikorski. Such exhumation is necessary to examine how he died despite the official version given by British Government
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Wonder if they will disclose the findings ?? or will they be classified ?? :noidea:

Kyt · Sep 3, 2008

Well the fact that the exhumation has been made public means that they will have to announce something....whether it is the truth is another matter

liverpool annie · Sep 3, 2008

liverpool annie said: ↑

Wonder if they will disclose the findings ?? or will they be classified ?? :noidea:
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I found this also ... which maybe of interest !!

Real History and the Death of General Sikorski

liverpool annie · Sep 3, 2008

liverpool annie said: ↑

I found this also ... which maybe of interest !!

Real History and the Death of General Sikorski
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I can't read Polish ... but some of these pictures tell a story !

http://www.udskior.gov.pl/kombatant/200306_spec.pdf

Brian S · Sep 4, 2008

liverpool annie said: ↑

I can't read Polish ... but some of these pictures tell a story !

http://www.udskior.gov.pl/kombatant/200306_spec.pdf
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Documents containing Cabinet discussions regarding the allegations in 1969 were only released on 25th July 2008.

Delays such as this can only create speculation.

CAB 163/131 -132

Kyt · Nov 10, 2008

General Wladyslaw Sikorski's body to be exhumed - Times Online

The remains of General Wladyslaw Sikorski, the leader of Poland’s government-in-exile during the Second World War, will be exhumed to determine whether his death in 1943 was the result of foul play.

Janusz Kurtyka, head of Poland’s Institute of National Remembrance, said that the exhumation would take place on November 25 from a crypt in Cracow. “The aim is to end the speculation of the past 65 years,” he said.

General Sikorski died on July 4, 1943, when a Royal Air Force aircraft he was travelling aboard plunged into the sea seconds after take-off from Gibraltar. Conspiracy theorists say his death made it easier for London and Washington to strike a deal with Stalin recognising the Soviet seizure of prewar Polish territory. (AFP)
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Ferhilt · Nov 10, 2008

It will be interesting to see the results of that.

Kyt · Nov 25, 2008

BBC NEWS | World | Europe | Polish WWII leader's body exhumed

Prosecutors in Poland have exhumed the body of the country's World War II prime minister in an attempt to solve the mystery as to how he died.

General Wladyslaw Sikorski died in a plane crash in Gibraltar in 1943.

A British investigation ruled that it was an accident, but some historians in Poland believe Gen Sikorski died as a result of foul play.

Prosecutors say they are investigating a communist crime. Poland's president and PM are backing the current inquiry.

A small team of prosecutors, scientists and church officials took part in the opening of the general's marble tomb in Krakow cathedral, where it lay next to Polish monarchs and national heroes.

The general's coffin will now be taken from the 12th-Century crypt to the city university forensic laboratory, where his body will undergo DNA and pathological tests.

It will then be reinterred following a Mass service at the cathedral on Wednesday. The results of the tests are not expected for some weeks.

Theories

During the war the general was prime minister of the Polish government-in-exile in London.

In July 1943, the Liberator aircraft he was travelling on together with two British MPs, crashed into the sea just seconds after it took off from Gibraltar.

A British investigation at the time found the plane's controls had jammed. But a separate Polish investigation did not rule out he may been murdered.

The general's death has produced several colourful conspiracy theories despite a lack of evidence.

At the time Gen Sikorski had demanded an investigation into allegations that Poland's then ally, the former Soviet Union, had massacred more than 20,000 Polish officers in the forests of Katyn three years earlier.

Some even believe British Prime Minister Winston Churchill may have ordered his death to preserve good relations with Stalin.

However, prosecutors have said they are investigating a "communist crime", suggesting that the suspicion falls on the former Soviet Union.
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liverpool annie · Nov 25, 2008

Kyt said: ↑

BBC NEWS | World | Europe | Polish WWII leader's body exhumed
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My goodness ... they're checking for poison too ...... I didn't think that that was in the cards ... I thought it was all about the plane ! .... wonder how long it will be before they publicize results !

Britain and Russia accused as corpse of General Wladyslaw Sikorski is exhumed for tests - Times Online

Antipodean Andy · Nov 27, 2008

Polish WWII leader laid to rest for third time - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) - any idea who the pilot of the Lib was?

Poland's World War II leader has been laid to rest for the third time after being exhumed for an autopsy amid rumours that his 1943 air-crash death was the result of Soviet foul play.

General Wladyslaw Sikorski's coffin, draped in Poland's red and white flag, was escorted on a gun carriage to Krakow's Wawel Castle by serving soldiers and aging veterans.

An hour-long televised mass was held before the coffin was returned to its sarcophagus in the crypt, where many Polish icons lie.

General Sikorski, often compared to France's wartime General Charles de Gaulle, led a London-based government-in-exile set up after the Nazi German and Soviet invasion of Poland in 1939.

He died aged 62 on July 4, 1943 when a British Royal Air Force plane crashed into the sea seconds after take-off from Gibraltar, a territory governed by London.

The Czech pilot, the sole survivor of 17 people aboard, told an RAF inquiry days later that his controls jammed, and the inquiry was unable to establish why, according to declassified records.

Many Poles are convinced the crash was no accident.

Poland's Institute of National Remembrance, or IPN, which was founded in 1998 to investigate historical crimes, launched a probe in September.

Available documents and wartime tensions with Moscow lend credence to the theory that General Sikorski was killed on Soviet orders, it said.

A number of factors have fuelled conspiracy theories including the presence of a Soviet diplomatic plane in Gibraltar on July 4, two other incidents involving aircraft carrying General Sikorski and the fact that the head of British intelligence in the region was Kim Philby, who was later exposed as a Soviet mole.

In addition, many war-era British archives remain classified - although conspiracy sceptics caution they may not contain anything about General Sikorski.

"We're going to try to get documents from the Russian archives and once again ask the British officially to confirm whether all the related documents have been declassified," IPN chief Janusz Kurtyka said.

On Tuesday (local time), experts had exhumed General Sikorski before holding an autopsy at a criminal forensics laboratory. The results are due in a month.

"What was found differs significantly from what Canning found," said IPN prosecutor Ewa Koj, referring to RAF medical officer Daniel Canning who examined the victims in 1943. She declined to elaborate.

Mr Canning had testified that the bodies "showed head injuries and multiple injuries, the degree of violence in my opinion suggesting that the time of death approximated to the time of the accident".

Critics of the probe question how the autopsy could help end the speculation, and Ms Koj acknowledged it would not reveal if the crash was an assassination.

After the Nazis invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, General Sikorski's government found itself on Moscow's side and he signed a treaty with his erstwhile foe to free hundreds of thousands of Polish POWs into an exile army.

But the Soviets broke ties with General Sikorski in 1943 when he demanded an inquiry into the "Katyn" massacre of thousand of others captured in 1939. Moscow blamed the Nazis for the killings, and only admitted them as the Soviet Union collapsed five decades later.

Moscow created a Polish communist government and put it in power in 1944 as the Red Army drove out the Nazis.

General Sikorski's death also robbed his government of authority in the West, making it easier for London and Washington in November 1943 to recognise the Soviet seizure of pre-war Polish territory, keeping relations in the anti-Nazi camp on an even keel.

General Sikorski was first buried at a Polish military cemetery in England. He was a pariah in communist Poland, and his body was only moved to Krakow in 1993, four years after the regime's demise.
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liverpool annie · Nov 27, 2008

Antipodean Andy said: ↑

Polish WWII leader laid to rest for third time - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) - any idea who the pilot of the Lib was?
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I read this Andy ! .......

Sikorski had requested a Czech officer, Eduard Prchal, to pilot the flight. Prchal, sole survivor of the crash, like many pilots who did not wish to tempt fate was known for never wearing his Mae West life vest - but on this occasion, when rescued from the sea, he was wearing one. During the inquiry he denied this, and later blamed the inconsistency on post-crash shock affecting his actions and memory – essentially, on amnesia. Later he explained that he must have instinctively put the vest on when he realised the plane was in trouble
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Antipodean Andy · Nov 27, 2008

Hmm, intriguing.

liverpool annie · Nov 27, 2008

Antipodean Andy said: ↑

Hmm, intriguing.
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4th July 1943
Liberator II, AL523 of 511 Sqn with Polish PM gen. Sikorski on board crashed at 23.07 just after take off from Gibraltar. 1st pilot was Czech ace F/L Eduard Prchal what survived as only one the crash badly wounded. He was rescued from the sea by ASR.

Eduard M. Prchal (RAF, AdLA) .... listed but with no other information ......
then listed .... Czechoslovak RAF Veterans buried in Brookwood Military Cemetery
Brookwood

Then I translated this Wiki ...

Translated version of http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eduard_Prchal

And I found this ... maybe somebody can find him elsewhere !

ASN Aircraft accident 27-OCT-1941 Bristol Beaufighter Mk.IF X7551

Antipodean Andy · Nov 27, 2008

That's some good searching, Annie. Interesting to see he requested a transfer to transport in 1942.

liverpool annie · Nov 27, 2008

Antipodean Andy said: ↑

That's some good searching, Annie. Interesting to see he requested a transfer to transport in 1942.
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The Generals daughter was also on the plane ... but her body was never found ... though there were reports she was seen in a Gulag in the 1950's .... interesting !!

Kyt · Nov 28, 2008

He flew in the BoB, and there is an entry for him, and picture, in Men of the Battle of Britain. It basically corresponds with the wiki article. But it doesn't actually say that requested a transfer to TC - just that he was transferred.

One can read a lot into requested, especially with all the conspiracies about the crash

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