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| Pawłokoma massacre | |
|---|---|
| Part of Polish-Ukrainian ethnic conflict | |
 Monument in memory of Ukrainians murdered in Pawłokoma on March 3, 1945 | |
| Location | Pawłokoma, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Poland |
| Date | March 3, 1945 |
| Target | Ukrainian civilians |
| Attack type | Massacre |
| Deaths | 150–500 |
| Perpetrators | Home Army under the command of Józef Biss |
| Motive | Revenge for kidnappings carried out by NKVD, accidentally taken as Ukrainian Insurgent Army |
49°48′55″N 22°17′18″E / 49.815196°N 22.288239°E / 49.815196; 22.288239
The Pawłokoma massacre was a massacre on 3 March 1945 of Ukrainians by Polish forces in the village of Pawłokoma 40 km (25 mi) west of Przemyśl. The Polish post Home Army (AK) unit was commanded by Lt. Józef Biss and aided by Polish men from surrounding villages; the atrocities committed were an act of reprisal to similar, though en masse, attacks carried out on Polish villagers by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. Between 150 and 500 people were executed.
Background
The background to the event was a four-way struggle between Ukrainian, Polish, German, and Soviet forces in the then predominantly Ukrainian region of Volhynia. Mass executions and violence led to the death of 30,000 Ukrainians and between 70,000 and 100,000 Poles between February 1943 and July 1944.
Massacre
The Polish troops commanded by Lt. Józef Biss herded the Ukrainian villagers to the local church where they were shot. Following the mass shooting, the Poles dumped the bodies in pits at the village cemetery. According to Polish historian Zdzisław Konieczny, the unit killed 150 men. Other estimates of those killed range from 366 to 500.
Aftermath
In 1947, the Soviet-installed Polish communist government launched Operation Vistula that deported Ukrainian residents of the area en masse. Propaganda in schools depicted Ukrainians as traitors, fascists, and "natural enemies" of Poles.
Commemoration
During Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yushchenko's visit to Poland in May 2006, a monument in memory for 366 victims was dedicated in the village.
See also
References
- ^ Rapawy, Stephen (3 May 2016). The Culmination of Conflict: The Ukrainian-Polish Civil War and the Expulsion of Ukrainians After the Second World War. Columbia University Press. p. 220. ISBN 978-3-8382-6855-2.
- ^ Dembinska, Magdalena (2010). "Building Trust: Managing Common Past and Symbolic Public Spaces in Divided Societies". Ethnopolitics. 9 (3–4): 311–332. doi:10.1080/17449050903564845. S2CID 143581472.
- ^ Lytvyn, Mykola; Khakhula, Liubomyr (2019). "The Ukrainian Memory Community in Poland (The second half of the XX – beginning of the XXI centuries)". Східноєвропейський Історичний Вісник (12): 178–191. doi:10.24919/2519-058x.12.177553.
- Szeptycki, Andrzej (2007). "Relations between Poland and Ukraine". Yearbook of Polish Foreign Policy (01): 160–173.
External links
- Jan Maksymiuk: Ukraine, Poland Seek Reconciliation Over Grisly History in Radio Free Europe NEWS article, 12 May 2006
| Massacres of Ukrainians by Polish paramilitaries in World War II | ||
|---|---|---|
| Volhynia |  | |
| Galicia | ||
| Chełm Land | ||
| Responsible parties | ||
| Related articles | ||
- Polish massacres of Ukrainians in World War II
- 1945 murders in Poland
- 1945 in Ukraine
- March 1945 events in Europe
- Massacres in 1945
- Military operations involving the Home Army
- Rzeszów County
- History of Subcarpathian Voivodeship
- Church massacres in Europe
- Attacks on churches in Poland
- Attacks on religious buildings and structures during World War II
- 1945 mass shootings in Europe
- Mass shootings in Poland
- 1945 in Christianity
- Church shootings