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{
    "localId": "6851173",
    "label": "Report on alleged killing of 10,000 Polish officers by Russians in Smolensk area. OWI radio treatment",
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{
    "id": "6851173",
    "sourceUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/6851173",
    "contentType": "document",
    "title": "Report on alleged killing of 10,000 Polish officers by Russians in Smolensk area. OWI radio treatment",
    "citationUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/6851173",
    "collections": [
        "Edward P. Lilly Papers",
        "Personal Files"
    ],
    "subjects": [
        "Katyn Massacre, Katyn, Russia, 1940"
    ],
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    "naId": 6851173,
    "levelOfDescription": "item",
    "productionDates": [
        {
            "day": 19,
            "logicalDate": "1943-04-19",
            "month": 4,
            "year": 1943
        }
    ],
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}

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    "seq": 3,
    "pageIndex": 0,
    "type": "photo",
    "url": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/73/8511/6851173/content/arcmedia/presidential-libraries/eisenhower/katyn/1943-04-19_1.jpg",
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    "ocrText": "MEMORANDUM\nTo:\nMr. Barnes\nApril 19, 1943\nMr. Johnson\nMr. Warburg\nMrs. Allen\nFrom:\nMr. Schneider\nSubject: Report on alleged killing of 10,000 Polish officers by Russians\nin Smolensk area. ONI radio treatment.\nOrs April 16th at 11:00 a.m. Special Guidance was issued on this at\nMr. Warburg's request. (Annex - 1)\nFrom issuance of this Guidance until the 9:15 a.m. meeting of the next\nday this item was extensively played in all programs beamed to Europe.\nThe 5:30 meeting of April 16th devoted several lines to this (Annex - 2)\nThe 9:15 a.m. notes of April 17th referred to the subject (Annex - 3).\nAt 12:45 p.m. April 17th Control issued a log (Annex - 4). This log\nwas issued after consultation with our Propaganda Analysis section which\npointed out that while we were giving heavy play to this, the British over\nthe corresponding period had only used the story twice over BBC in all broad-\ncasts monitored by FCC and CBS listening posts.\nBasic News was involved because they had been obtaining statements from\nAmerican representatives and senators, and felt that, if, as was apparently\nthe case, the BBC was dropping this, we should not commit our spokesmen too\nfar.\nOn April 17th the 5:30 p. notes had the following negative: \"No further\nuse to be made of Polish atrocity story\". This decision was taken because the\nBBC apparently had given only routine coverage to this story which we, by this\ntime, had treated very fully.\nIn the course of the day (Saturday, April 17th) a message was received\nfrom Mr. Winner in which he questioned the utility of the story and said that\nit was the feeling of the 2:30 p.m. meeting in Washington that the whole sub-\nject was dangerous and had better be dropped.\nLater reports received from our Propaganda Analysis section on Sunday,\nApril 18th, show that BBC in shows monitored by CBS and FCC carried this story\nonly four times."
}