The Rzepin train disaster was an alleged railway disaster reported to have occurred near Rzepin, Poland, on 9 July 1952.[1][2][3] According to some reports, about 160 Soviet soldiers died in the accident.[1][2][3]
The incident was not confirmed by official Polish or Soviet sources, but was reported by Western press agencies. The day after the crash the West German Deutsche Presse-Agentur cited "unanimous reports" from "independent eye-witnesses".[4] The following week the Associated Press in Berlin cited "well-authenticated reports reaching Allied officials" there,[5][1] and the United Press Associations named the West Berlin Railway Workers Union as a source,[6] along with "allied authorities".[7]
The incident is said to have happened on the east side of the Oder river, between Boczow and Rzepin.[4][1]
Events
editThe train was a "Blue Express"[6] travelling through Poland on the Frankfurt Oder to Brest-Litovsk leg of the Berlin to Moscow route.[6] It was carrying Red Army troops on leave to Russia.[6][4][1] It left the tracks and crashed into a lake.[4][1]
Cause
editAccording to Allied sources as reported by the Associated Press, the accident was caused by an unnamed high-ranking officer (a general) loading his automobile on a flatcar in the middle of the train, against the advice of railway staff.[1] The train consequently derailed on a curved section of track, and fell into a lake.[1]
Robert A.D. Ford, a diplomat at the Canadian embassy in Moscow, travelled the line the following week and saw a heavy military and police presence at stations en route. He attributed this to the disaster being blamed on Polish guerrillas.[8] This cause was also cited by the United Press agency, which stated "Allied officials" had received reports that anti-communist Polish Partisans had sabotaged the tracks.[7]
The Blue Express train, which was used by Soviet officials, had previously featured in accusations by the Soviets of attempted anti-communist sabotage.[6][9] From 20 July 1952, the CIA noted that the Blue Express was rerouted through Czechoslovakia, possibly due to sabotage activity in Poland.[10]
Memorial
editIn 2009, an initiative to erect a monument in honor of the victims was made, but due to the lack of confirmation of the authenticity of the accident, the initiative was not implemented.[11][unreliable source?]
See also
edit- Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki train disaster, another train disaster in Poland that was not confirmed by Polish authorities.
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h "Soviet Train Crash Kills 160". The Arizona Republic. 19 July 1952.
- ^ a b Reader's Digest Almanac and Yearbook, 1971, p. 281
- ^ a b Franklin Henry Hooper and Walter Yust, Britannica Book of the Year 1953 (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1953), p. 225.
- ^ a b c d "Soviet Troop Train Crash". The Guardian. 12 July 1952.
- ^ "Pig-Headed Russian General Causes 160 Deaths in Wreck". The Berkshire Eagle. 19 July 1952.
- ^ a b c d e "Russian Express". The LA Times. 19 July 1952. p. 1.
- ^ a b "Russian Express Reported Wrecked by Underground". The Star Press. 20 July 1952.
- ^ Charles A. Ruud (2009). "Early Travels with Robert Ford, 1952-1953". The Constant Diplomat: Robert Ford in Moscow. McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. p. 221. ISBN 9780773535855.
- ^ "How Things Are in Russia Today: Article 2". The Ottawa Citizen. 21 April 1953.
- ^ Miscellaneous Railroad Information (PDF), Central Intelligence Agency, 3 October 1952, CIA-RDP82-00457R014000330010-3, archived from the original (PDF) on 23 January 2017
- ^ Pytanie do... - lista, rzepin.pl (April 28, 2009)