Bukowiec is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in the administrative district of

Gmina Wągrowiec Gmina Wągrowiec is a rural gmina (administrative district) in Wągrowiec County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, in west-central Poland. Its seat is the town of Wągrowiec, although the town is not part of the territory of the gmina. The gmina cover ...

, within

Wągrowiec County __NOTOC__ Wągrowiec County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Greater Poland Voivodeship, west-central Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passe ...

Greater Poland Voivodeship Greater Poland Voivodeship ( ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship, or province, in west-central Poland. The province is named after the region called Greater Poland (''Wielkopolska'' ). The modern province includes most of this historic re ...

, in west-central Poland. It lies approximately north-east of

Wągrowiec Wągrowiec () is a town in west-central Poland, from both Poznań and Bydgoszcz. Since the 18th century it has been the seat of a powiat. Administratively it is attached to the Greater Poland Voivodeship. The town is situated in the middle of th ...

and north-east of the regional capital

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

History

The village was mentioned in a medieval document from 1282, when it was part of

Piast The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I (–992). The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of King Casimir III the Great. Branches of ...

-ruled Poland. Bukowiec was a private church village, administratively located in the Kcynia County in the

Kalisz Voivodeship Kalisz Voivodeship may also refer to: *Kalisz Voivodeship (1314–1793) * Kalisz Voivodeship (1816–1837) *Kalisz Voivodeship (1975–1998) The Kalisz Voivodeship was a voivodeship (province) of the Polish People's Republic from 1975 to 1989, an ...

in the Greater Poland Province of the Kingdom of Poland. During the

German occupation of Poland German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

(

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

), on 8 December 1939, the Germans carried out a massacre of 107

Poles Pole or poles may refer to: People *Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland * Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name * Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist ...

in the nearby forest. Among the victims were activists, participants of the

Greater Poland uprising (1918–19) Greater Poland Uprising (also Wielkopolska Uprising or Great Poland Uprising) may refer to a number of armed rebellions in the region of Greater Poland Greater Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska (; ), is a Polish Polish histor ...

, teachers, students, farmers and merchants from various settlements from the region. In 1944, the Germans burned bodies of the victims in attempt to

cover up A cover-up is an attempt, whether successful or not, to conceal evidence of wrongdoing, error, incompetence, or other embarrassing information. Research has distinguished personal cover-ups (covering up one's own misdeeds) from relational co ...

the crime (see ''

Nazi crimes against the Polish nation War crime, Crimes against the Polish nation committed by Nazi Germany and Axis powers, Axis collaborationist forces during the invasion of Poland, along with Schutzmannschaft#Police battalions, auxiliary battalions during the subsequent occu ...

'').Wardzyńska, p. 212

References

Villages in Wągrowiec County Intelligenzaktion massacre locations {{Wągrowiec-geo-stub