Sahryń pomnik ofiar zbrodni 10 marca 1944

The Sahryń massacre was a massacre of Ukrainian combatants and civilians by members of the Polish

Home Army The Home Army ( pl, Armia Krajowa, abbreviated AK; ) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) est ...

on 10 March 1944, committed as a reprisal to similar, though en masse, attacks carried out on Polish villagers by the

Ukrainian Insurgent Army The Ukrainian Insurgent Army ( uk, Українська повстанська армія, УПА, translit=Ukrayins'ka povstans'ka armiia, abbreviated UPA) was a Ukrainian nationalist paramilitary and later partisan formation. During World ...

. The exact total death toll of Ukrainians killed in Sahryń is unknown, but estimates vary from 234 to over 600,Adam Jaworski, "Ukraińcom krzyż na zgodę", https://web.archive.org/web/20080226093154/http://www.kronikatygodnia.pl/tekst.php?abcd=21800&dz=1J. Makar, ''Chełmszczyzna w latach okupacji niemieckiej'', In: ''Polska-Ukraina: Trudne pytania. Materiały XI międzynarodowego seminarium historycznego „Stosunki polsko-ukraińskie w latach II wojny światowej”, Warszawa, 26–28 kwietnia 2005'', Światowy Związek Żołnierzy Armii Krajowej-KARTA-Wołyński Uniwersytet Państwowy im. Łesi Ukrainki, Warszawa 2006, 83-88288-49-0, p. 225.Ihor Ilyushyn, ''UPA i AK. Konflikt w Zachodniej Ukrainie (1939–1945)'', Tyrsa, Warszawa 2009, p. 148.Володимир Сергійчук, ''Трагедія українців Польщі'', Ternopil 1997, p. 67. of which between 150 and 300 were confirmed civilians.Oddziałowa Komisja IPN w Lublinie, stan na wrzesień 2010. The surnames of 234 victims are known.M. Zajączkowski, ''Ukraińskie podziemie...'', p. 302.

History

In the spring of 1944, Sahryń was one of 150

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

villages (with its prewar Polish minority already deported), which was burned down by

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

partisans during the conflict of ethnic cleansing with Ukrainian OUN-UPA, along the

Curzon Line The Curzon Line was a proposed demarcation line between the Second Polish Republic and the Soviet Union, two new states emerging after World War I. It was first proposed by The 1st Earl Curzon of Kedleston, the British Foreign Secretary, to ...

. The conflict "continued throughout June 1944, resulting in considerable bloodshed and the destruction of dozens of Polish and Ukrainian villages". Sahryń was the site of the initial thrust of the AK counter-offensive against UPA, under the command of

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

Zenon Jachymek, due to Ukrainian self-defence stationing there. At dawn on 10 March 1944 the AK unit from Division Hrubieszow attacked the fortified village. A heavy fighting broke out. The Ukrainians retreated, but both Catholic and Orthodox churches in Sahryń were burned down. Between 150 and 300 civilians were killed by Polish forces in reprisal and 260 farmhouses were set on fire. Marek Jasiak, "Overcoming Ukrainian Resistance"
''in:''

Aftermath

Historian Mariusz Zajączkowski said that the massacre could be described as a war crime or perhaps a

crime against humanity Crimes against humanity are widespread or systemic acts committed by or on behalf of a ''de facto'' authority, usually a state, that grossly violate human rights. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity do not have to take place within the ...

. The Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) investigation on this matter was discontinued in 2010, and the IPN denied that any crime had been committed against the Ukrainian civilians in Sahryń. A Ukrainian request to reopen the investigation was refused. The monument in memory of the Ukrainian victims of AK in Sahryń awaits its official unveiling. It was erected in 2009, with the hope that both Ukrainian and Polish presidents would attend the ceremonies, but there were spelling errors discovered in the names. The monument was built by the Ukrainian side, with Polish participation.

History

Aftermath

References

See also