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{{short description|Polish train disaster}}
{{short description|Polish train disaster}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2024}}
The '''Rzepin train disaster''' was a railway disaster reported to have occurred near [[Rzepin]], Poland, on 9 July 1952.<ref name=Arizona>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28242856/1952_poland_train_crash/|title=Soviet Train Crash Kills 160|date=19 July 1952|work=[[The Arizona Republic]]}}</ref><ref name=digest>{{citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EhPlAAAAMAAJ&q=Rzepin+1952|title=Reader's Digest Almanac and Yearbook|year=1971|page=281}}</ref><ref name=":0">Franklin Henry Hooper and Walter Yust, ''Britannica Book of the Year 1953'' (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1953), p. 225.</ref> About 160 Soviet soldiers died in the accident.<ref name=Arizona /><ref name=digest /><ref name=":0" />
The '''Rzepin train disaster''' was an alleged railway disaster reported to have occurred near [[Rzepin]], Poland, on 9 July 1952.<ref name=Arizona>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28242856/1952_poland_train_crash/|title=Soviet Train Crash Kills 160|date=19 July 1952|work=[[The Arizona Republic]]}}</ref><ref name=digest>{{citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EhPlAAAAMAAJ&q=Rzepin+1952|title=Reader's Digest Almanac and Yearbook|year=1971|page=281}}</ref><ref name=":0">Franklin Henry Hooper and Walter Yust, ''Britannica Book of the Year 1953'' (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1953), p. 225.</ref> According to some reports, about 160 Soviet soldiers died in the accident.<ref name=Arizona /><ref name=digest /><ref name=":0" />


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".<ref name=Guardian>{{cite news|title=Soviet Troop Train Crash|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28242941/1952_soviet_train_crash_guardian|date=12 July 1952|work=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref> The following week the [[Associated Press]] in Berlin cited "well-authenticated reports reaching Allied officials" there,<ref name=pig>{{cite news|title=Pig-Headed Russian General Causes 160 Deaths in Wreck|date=19 July 1952|work=[[The Berkshire Eagle]]|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28242638/rzepin_1952_crash/}}</ref><ref name=Arizona /> and the [[United Press International|United Press Associations]] named the West Berlin Railway Workers Union as a source,<ref name=LAT>{{cite news|work=[[The LA Times]]|date=19 July 1952|page=1|title=Russian Express|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28523395/russian_express_la_times/}}</ref> along with "allied authorities".<ref name=Star>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28522050/russian_express/|title=Russian Express Reported Wrecked by Underground|work=[[The Star Press]]|date=20 July 1952}}</ref>
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".<ref name=Guardian>{{cite news|title=Soviet Troop Train Crash|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28242941/1952_soviet_train_crash_guardian|date=12 July 1952|work=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref> The following week the [[Associated Press]] in Berlin cited "well-authenticated reports reaching Allied officials" there,<ref name=pig>{{cite news|title=Pig-Headed Russian General Causes 160 Deaths in Wreck|date=19 July 1952|work=[[The Berkshire Eagle]]|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28242638/rzepin_1952_crash/}}</ref><ref name=Arizona /> and the [[United Press International|United Press Associations]] named the West Berlin Railway Workers Union as a source,<ref name=LAT>{{cite news|work=[[The LA Times]]|date=19 July 1952|page=1|title=Russian Express|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28523395/russian_express_la_times/}}</ref> along with "allied authorities".<ref name=Star>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28522050/russian_express/|title=Russian Express Reported Wrecked by Underground|work=[[The Star Press]]|date=20 July 1952}}</ref>


The incident happened on the east side of the [[Oder]] river, between [[Boczów, Lubusz Voivodeship|Boczow]] and Rzepin.<ref name=Guardian /><ref name=Arizona />
The incident is said to have happened on the east side of the [[Oder]] river, between [[Boczów, Lubusz Voivodeship|Boczow]] and Rzepin.<ref name=Guardian /><ref name=Arizona />


==Events==
==Events==
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==Cause==
==Cause==
According to Allied sources as reported by the Associated Press, the accident was caused by a General loading his automobile on a [[flatcar]] in the middle of the train, against the advice of railway staff.<ref name=Arizona /> The train consequently derailed on a curved section of track, and fell into a lake.<ref name=Arizona />
According to Allied sources as reported by the Associated Press, the accident was caused by an unnamed high raking officer (a general) loading his automobile on a [[flatcar]] in the middle of the train, against the advice of railway staff.<ref name=Arizona /> The train consequently derailed on a curved section of track, and fell into a lake.<ref name=Arizona />


[[Robert Ford (Canadian diplomat)|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.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Constant Diplomat: Robert Ford in Moscow|author=Charles A. Ruud|chapter=Early Travels with Robert Ford, 1952-1953|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r5Bz5ds9Le0C&pg=PA221|page=221|isbn=9780773535855|year=2009|publisher=McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP }}</ref> 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.<ref name=Star />
[[Robert Ford (Canadian diplomat)|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.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Constant Diplomat: Robert Ford in Moscow|author=Charles A. Ruud|chapter=Early Travels with Robert Ford, 1952-1953|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r5Bz5ds9Le0C&pg=PA221|page=221|isbn=9780773535855|year=2009|publisher=McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP }}</ref> This cause was also cited by the United Press agency, which stated "Allied officials" had received reports that [[Cursed soldiers|anti-communist Polish Partisans]] had sabotaged the tracks.<ref name=Star />


The Blue Express train, which was used by Soviet officials, had previously featured in accusations by the Soviets of attempted anti-communist sabotage.<ref name=LAT /><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28525224/blue_express/|title=How Things Are in Russia Today: Article 2|work=[[The Ottawa Citizen]]|date=21 April 1953}}</ref> From 20 July 1952, the CIA noted that the Blue Express was rerouted through Czechoslovakia, possibly due to sabotage activity in Poland.<ref>{{citation|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP82-00457R014000330010-3.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170123093911/https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP82-00457R014000330010-3.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 23, 2017|title=Miscellaneous Railroad Information|date=3 October 1952|publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]]|id=CIA-RDP82-00457R014000330010-3}}</ref>
The Blue Express train, which was used by Soviet officials, had previously featured in accusations by the Soviets of attempted anti-communist sabotage.<ref name=LAT /><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28525224/blue_express/|title=How Things Are in Russia Today: Article 2|work=[[The Ottawa Citizen]]|date=21 April 1953}}</ref> From 20 July 1952, the CIA noted that the Blue Express was rerouted through Czechoslovakia, possibly due to sabotage activity in Poland.<ref>{{citation|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP82-00457R014000330010-3.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170123093911/https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP82-00457R014000330010-3.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 23, 2017|title=Miscellaneous Railroad Information|date=3 October 1952|publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]]|id=CIA-RDP82-00457R014000330010-3}}</ref>

Revision as of 02:10, 26 April 2024

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

The train was a "Blue Express" 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

According to Allied sources as reported by the Associated Press, the accident was caused by an unnamed high raking 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

In 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

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Soviet Train Crash Kills 160". The Arizona Republic. 19 July 1952.
  2. ^ a b Reader's Digest Almanac and Yearbook, 1971, p. 281
  3. ^ a b Franklin Henry Hooper and Walter Yust, Britannica Book of the Year 1953 (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1953), p. 225.
  4. ^ a b c d "Soviet Troop Train Crash". The Guardian. 12 July 1952.
  5. ^ "Pig-Headed Russian General Causes 160 Deaths in Wreck". The Berkshire Eagle. 19 July 1952.
  6. ^ a b c d "Russian Express". The LA Times. 19 July 1952. p. 1.
  7. ^ a b "Russian Express Reported Wrecked by Underground". The Star Press. 20 July 1952.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ "How Things Are in Russia Today: Article 2". The Ottawa Citizen. 21 April 1953.
  10. ^ Miscellaneous Railroad Information (PDF), Central Intelligence Agency, 3 October 1952, CIA-RDP82-00457R014000330010-3, archived from the original (PDF) on 23 January 2017
  11. ^ Pytanie do... - lista, rzepin.pl (April 28, 2009)

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