MEMBERS OF THE IMC

 There were fourteen members of the IMC  in addition to the Chair.

Almost each one of the IMC members was a respected specialist in forensic medicine, generally a professor or docent.  The only exceptions were Dr. Costedoat, whom Dr. Tramsen, in his testimony, described as a psychologist (He was only as the Germans say, a, “Völkischer Beobachter.” Questioned by Rep. Machrowicz, he explained: That is a German joke because, “Völkischer Beobachter” is the name of an official Nazi paper and means public observer), as well as Professor Dr. Speleers:

1.       Chairman: Dr. Wilhelm Zietz, representing the German Health Services;

2.       Deputy Chairman: Dr. André Costedoat, representing the French (Vichy) government and director of the French Medical Inspectorate – although he did not conduct any autopsies, he was present in Katyn;

3.       Dr. Alexandru Birkle (1896 Russia-1986 New York), Deputy Director of the Rumanian Institute of Criminal and Forensic Medicine, physician in the Ministry of Justice;

4. Prof. Dr. Herman Maximilien De Burlet (1883 Rotterdam-1957 Königswinter), University of Groningen (Holland);

5.       Prof. Dr. František Hajek (1886 Certyne-1962 Praga), Charles University in Prague, Dr. Hajek later withdrew his testimony, Dr. Zietz, in recollecting Markov and Hajek in his testimony, confirmed what had been said about Markov as well as Dr. Hajek in the postwar period and stated of Hajek: He certainly had no easy position in the Protectorate… That in my opinion is merely a lack of scientific conviction due to a threat to life and limb and ;

6.       Dr. Marko Antonow Markov (1901 Nowa Zagora-1967 Sofia), University of Sofia (It was Dr. Markov who testified at the Nuremberg Tribunal, withdrawing his statement of 1943, that the Soviets had committed the massacre. This is why, each of the members of the IMC (Miloslavić, Naville, Orsós, Palmieri and Tramsen) was questioned specifically about Dr. Markov’s position in April 1943. Dr. Tramsen stated:

I spoke quite a lot to Dr. Markov in Smolensk and later in Berlin and I am absolutely of the complete idea that he meant the Russians had done these murders. And so far as I remember he said it directly on several occasions);

7.       Dr. Eduard Lukas Miloslavić (1884 Oakland-1952 St. Louis), University of Zagreb

8.       Prof. Dr. François Naville (1883 Neuchatel-1968 Geneva), University of Geneva, After more than a decade, Professor Naville was subjected to an ad hominem attack by one of the members of the Conseil d’Etat de Genève, Mr. Petitpierre;

9.       Prof. Dr. Ferenc Orsós (1879 Temesvár-1962 Moguncja), University of Budapest;

10.   Prof. Dr. Vincenzo Mario Palmieri (1899 Brescia-1994 Naples), University of Naples Federico II;

11.   Prof. Dr. Antonio Piga y Pascual (1879 Madrid-1952 Madrid), School of Forensic Medicine in Madrid – not present at the exhumations, ;

12.   Prof. Dr. Arno Saxén (1895 Jyväskylä-1952 Zurich), University of Helsinki;

13.   Prof. Dr. Reimond Speleers (1876 Waasmunster-1951 Aalst), Ghent University;

14.   Prof. Dr. František Subik (1903 Kuklov-1982 Poughkeepsie), Comenius University in Bratislava; Chief Commissioner of the National Health Service of Slovakia, František Subik was also a poet, whose work was published under the pseudonym Andrej Žarnov.

15.   Dr. Helge Tramsen (1910 Copenhagen-1979 Copenhagen), Forensic Medicine Institute in Copenhagen.

Twelve photo static signatures of the members appear at the end of the IMC report; dated April 30, 1943 (the report was not signed by Dr. Zietz, as he represented the German government; Dr. Costedoat; nor Dr. Piga, as he was not present)

* * *

It may be surprising, but among the members of this commission, we find the first English-speaking witness to the Katyn massacre.  That was Edward Miloslavich, whose life was split between the United States and Europe.

These then were the men who met at the Hotel Adlon in Berlin.

© Krystyna Piórkowska