author: Eve and Wladyslaw Siemaszko
Genocide in Volhynia
In the course of killing the Poles in Volhynia can distinguish three types of seizures.
The first type concerned the seizure of large colonies of purely Polish, or with a majority of the Polish population during that sought to annihilate the whole their lives in the Polish population. Since this involved concentrating the forces of more attackers and good organization, at one time made this type of seizure a few located near the colony and, as it were by the way, tried to kill the Poles still living in neighboring villages of the Ukrainian and Polish futorach small neighborhood. If you have not managed to kill all the inhabitants in one attack, and despite the threat had not fled, followed the next attack.
Seizures in the larger towns Polish carried out as follows. Works with surprise and chosen time when almost all were in their farms - at dawn, at night, and when people do not spend the night at home, in farm work during the day. Often dissolved rumors that the Poles living in certain places no one has any objections, and not in danger of attack, and even threatened that leaving their seats and moving to cities, are regarded as enemies of Ukraine. The village or colony of Riflemen were cordoning off the UPA, that is armed with a firearm, whose job was to shoot at fleeing. They were dressed in various uniforms: police Ukrainian, German, Polish pre-war, Soviet. The other attackers, members of the BSC (Samoobronnyje Kuszczowy Widdiiy) and Ukrainians do not formally belong to the nationalist formations, equipped with axes, knives, forks, scythes set on end, bayonets, pins, crowbars, and various farming tools such as hammers to kill livestock , leaving to the village and people found in the homes, workarounds, gardens murder, using cruelty. Killings were accompanied by insults. Among the Poles observed the assailants known to them Ukrainians, including even women and teenagers. In many cases, in order to facilitate more people murder people gathered in one place - school, barn, or benefited from the presence of people in the church, arrived at the holy mass. (Eg Kisielin / gm. Kisielin, pow. Horochów /, Krymno / gm. Krymno, pow. Kovel /, in the district. Vladimir: Chrynów and Zabłoćce / gm. Grzybowice /, Przewały / gm. Oleska /, Poryck / gm. Poryck /) or gathered in a church or chapel in order to shelter there or defense (eg Miedzyrzec / gm. Miedzyrzec, pow. Equal /, Włodzimierzec / gm. Włodzimierzec, pow. Sarny /). In such circumstances, the Poles were killed in 14 places of worship, but during raids on six church buildings filled with refugees was the subject of the victims with an effective defense. Buildings of the slain and wounded were set on fire.
Land village or colony was thoroughly searched, and the victim pulled from various hiding places. On the arrangement of refugees raid in the fields, forests and roads. In the southern part of the area. Wlodzimierz, so as to prevent escape, before the liquidation of Polish settlements in the 11-12 July 1943, will tear the bridges and river walkways. Tracking survivors lasted several days after the liquidation of Polish settlements. People "miraculously saved" in one place, often dying in another. On one hand, pointed the way to slaughter the haste, on the other hand did not regret the time to pastures over the victims. Barbaric, heinous murder of ways to apply even to children. Many victims konało long in terrible agony, and seriously maimed, people often lived as though, contrary to the laws of biology. Murder victims were all Poles, regardless of age and gender. For the nationalists were not relevant debts of gratitude to the victims, someone's merits for the Ukrainian community, advance the friendly relations. Poles were also murdered Orthodox (in Volhynia few) and those who passed the Orthodox to Catholicism, and therefore considered to be Ukrainians - traitors.
The second type of attacks was directed against the Poles living in the villages of the Ukrainian and colonies with mixed populations, Polish farms located on the sidelines, futorach consisting of a number of Polish households, which were many in Volhynia. During these seizures sufficient operating small group of attackers by surprise. The chances were none save himself or small, usually resulting from the favorable coincidence successful escape. Scattering Poles in Volhynia facilitated the murder of the village well.
The third type of seizures concerned individuals and small artistic groups of Poles, whose mordowało, depending on the number of victims, between one and three to four upowców. The victims were going to other villages in various cases, fleeing from his native village for a safer, returning to their farms, after an earlier flight - after the food or the nostalgia for his seat, to see what happened to her, insidiously wywabieni by attackers from the villages or colonies, older people who have stayed on their farms, despite all the other Poles flee from the village or colony, in the belief that? old tures not anyone?; working in the field.
OUN-UPA has gone even to organize a district in the municipality of Vladimir Werba Polish partisan unit, which together with the Ukrainian had fought against the Germans. Recruited a teacher and a dozen young people from around 10 villages and colonies around the Swojczowa and all were killed on July 11, 1943 near Dominopol (gm. Werba, pow. Wlodzimierz uniflora.).
A common feature of the Ukrainian genocide was unprecedented cruelty, combined with looting property and burning of farms and the destruction of the material traces of Polish Presence in Volhynia, such as churches, chapels, stately homes and entire estates, orchards, gardens, parks.
A few words of commentary said the matter requires the atrocities practiced widely by thugs supporting the UPA and the Ukrainian population, where victims were treated regardless of age and gender. At this point, quote an eloquent description:? Corpses under the house been in government, from his father's old man, alongside his wife, then-in-law, daughter, surrounded by three children. All this in addition to those issued coffins were doing an incredible impression. In-law (Ukrainian), looking empty eye sockets (picked out his eyes), all pokłuty attracted attention to himself. His wife and knocked out of the lower jaw, teeth, breast pokłutą and three children with broken arms in the arms and forearms and legs broken in the thighs and shins. Simply breathtaking zapierało its savagery. A strange peace painted on the faces of the murdered, I did not harmonizing with wounds, pre-defined in the neck with an ax mother-old woman (60 years) and the head boy and his father the old man (70 years)?. Similar or worse images photographed Germany, came to where to intervene, attacked the village of the Poles. Impression on them did, although Germany also just committed crimes of very disgust:? Germans often speak about the horrors of murder made against the Poles, that the West no one would believe in such barbarity?. These atrocities were asked not only Poles, but all recognized as enemies or opponents, hostile, criticizing the OUN-UPA, appealing from joining the UPA, to help the Poles, and thus also the Ukrainians, Czechs, etc. For example, in the colony Glinne (gm. Pins, pow. Lutsk) for protesting against the killing of Poles, Ukrainians marriage was bound with barbed wire and hung, and their daughter, cut off the breast, in the village Martynówka (gm. Diatkiewicze, pow. Rivne), two girls from Czech rozpruto bellies; Soviet prisoner by the name Tikhon, in working for Tajkury village (commune Zdołbica, pow. Zdolbuniv), who said he did not believe that Ukraine has become samostijna, Ukrainians sawn thighs, and then the stomach.
Simply unimaginable hatred, for which there can be no justification in the joint Polish-Ukrainian history, was expressed not only in absolute unicestwianiu Poles and demonstrating during or immediately after the crime and the triumph of profanowaniu corpses.
Hatred, referred to above, also affected the Polish-Ukrainian family who were killed as the case in whole or in part, that is one of the spouses or parents and children. Eliminating these families was justified by blood contamination of the Ukrainian Polish (see Chorupań, gm. Młynów, pow. Dubno). Used by Ukrainians were contemptuous name for these families: kryżaki - Polish-Ukrainian marriages and pokurczi - children of such marriages .. The murder of the Polish-Ukrainian families or their members were mostly carried out by militias UPA, but it happened that the murderers were distant relatives of nationalist convictions, and husbands or wives (the latter especially). As for murderers men, mostly, they were forced to do so by the OUN-UPA, on pain of death, although there were few cases of murder by reason? Understanding of previously committed an error in the marriage?. Most of the men denied murdering his wife Ukrainians, which was tantamount to death.
Based on: Wladyslaw Siemaszko and Ewa Siemaszko - Genocide of the Ukrainian nationalists against the Polish population in Volhynia 1939 - 1945
