Rososz 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 Kotuń __NOTOC__ Gmina Kotuń is a rural gmina (administrative district) in Siedlce County, Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland. Its seat is the village of Kotuń, Masovian Voivodeship, Kotuń, which lies approximately west of Siedlce and east ...

, within

Siedlce County __NOTOC__ Siedlce County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Masovian Voivodeship, east-central Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998 ...

Masovian Voivodeship Masovian Voivodeship or Mazowieckie Province (, ) and any variation thereof, is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship (province) in east-central Poland, containing Poland's capital Warsaw. Masovian Voivodeship has an area of and had a 2019 po ...

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

Siedlce Siedlce () ( ) is a city in the Masovian Voivodeship in eastern Poland with 77,354 inhabitants (). The city is situated between two small rivers, the Muchawka and the Helenka, and lies along the European route E30, around east of Warsaw. It is ...

, and east of

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

War crimes

On May 18, 1944, 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 ...

, German forces conducted a pacification action in the village. During the operation, they murdered approximately 30 people, including: * Local farmers from Rososz * Unidentified prisoners brought from Siedlce * Two Jewish women (a mother and daughter) who were being hidden and fed by villagers The victims were targeted for supporting the Polish resistance movement and refusing to accept German occupation.

Commemoration

A monument was erected in Rososz to commemorate the victims. Annual ceremonies are held to honor the memory of those killed. In 2014, on the 70th anniversary of the crimes, Polish President

Bronisław Komorowski Bronisław Maria Komorowski (; born 4 June 1952) is a Polish politician and historian who was the fifth president of Poland from 2010 to 2015. Komorowski previously served as Ministry of National Defence (Poland), Minister of National Defence ...

issued a commemorative letter honoring the victims. In his message, he emphasized that the Nazi terror in Poland was particularly brutal, characterizing it as a "total war" aimed not only at conquest but also at the physical extermination of civilians.

References

Villages in Siedlce County {{Siedlce-geo-stub