ABSTRACT
On the day of Sikorski departure to the United States, there was a high-level meeting in Sikorski government to discuss the agenda in Washington. In April, 1943 the German discovered the graves of several thousand Poles near Katyń in the Smolensk region. Stalin denounced the Poles for being the lackeys of German propaganda and severed relations with the Sikorski government. Retinger was the first Pole to meet with the heads of the British government after the death of Sikorski. Under intense British and American pressure, the Poles withdrew their Red Cross request, but the Soviets stood firm and did not rescind their severance of relations. The Soviets had diminished provisioning for the Poles still in Russia and had recently become more aggressive regarding territorial issues. The fact that Retinger would be the only other Pole, demonstrates how vital Retinger had become to Sikorski and the formulation of his policies. By 1943, an independent Poland within its prewar frontiers was doomed.
