Janowa Dolina massacre
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![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/93/Janowadolina.jpg/400px-Janowadolina.jpg)
The Janowa Dolina massacre took place on 23 April 1943 in the village of Janowa Dolina, (now
First years
The settlement was built in the late 1920s and early 1930s following Poland's return to independence after a
The quarry with a company town was the brainchild of Leonard Szutkowski, chief engineer who kept his post until 1940, and his deputies, engineer J. Niwinski and engineer Urbanowicz. Most workers lived in the freshly built houses; some commuted from nearby villages.[1]
The settlement
Janowa Dolina was a very modern settlement; houses had access to electricity and plumbing and its layout was based on a specially designed grid plan. Houses were placed in the beautiful pine forest. Streets bore no names; they were marked by letters — A, B, C, D... G (Glowna — main), until the last one, Z, placed closest to the Horyn River. Along them there were houses, each designed for 4 families. As inhabitants of Janowa Dolina later remembered, the settlement was full of flowers, plants and trees and neighbors competed with each other, trying to have the most beautiful flower garden. The settlement was separated from the nearby quarry by a strip of dense forest.
In the central part of the settlement there was a huge, U-shaped building, called BLOK. Inside there were several institutions — a movie theater, hotel, cafeteria, stores. Next to the building there was a sports field, with a soccer stadium. The quarry sponsored its own sports club called Strzelec Janowa Dolina, which had several departments — soccer, boxing, wrestling, swimming. A
As both the quarry and the settlement belonged to the Polish State, private businesses were not allowed. In Janowa Dolina all trade was controlled by the national “Społem” company, inhabitants were able to purchase all desired products but alcohol, which was not sold in the settlement.
World War II
In September 1939,
Destruction of the settlement
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ee/Pomnik_Polakow_z_Janowej_Doliny.jpg/170px-Pomnik_Polakow_z_Janowej_Doliny.jpg)
In June 1941,
The perpetrators, commanded by Ivan Lytwynchuk (aka Dubowy) exercised rare cruelty. Poles, unprepared and caught by surprise, were hacked to death with axes, burned alive, and impaled (including children). The murderers did not spare anyone, regardless of age and sex. German garrison, numbering around 100 soldiers, did not act and remained in its barracks. After first wave of murders, the Ukrainian nationalists started searching the hospital. They carried its Ukrainian patients away from the building, while Polish patients were burned alive.[2] Dr Aleksander Bakinowski, together with his assistant Jan Borysowicz, were hacked to death on the square in front of the hospital. In several cases, Ukrainians were murdered for trying to hide their Polish neighbours. Petro Mirchuk, Ukrainian historian, counted several hundred massacred Poles, with only eight UPA members killed.[1]
Current events
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/94/Pomnik_UPA_w_Bazaltowe_d.Janowa_Dolina.jpg/250px-Pomnik_UPA_w_Bazaltowe_d.Janowa_Dolina.jpg)
The present-day name of the settlement is Bazal'tove. In the place where buildings once stood, there is a monument, founded by Polish survivors. Its opening (18 April 1998) was marred by a demonstration of Ukrainian nationalists, and afterwards, the original inscription was changed. The date "23 April 1943" was removed and now the inscription says only "In memory of Poles from Janowa Dolina", without giving further information of their fate. Nowadays in the village monument in memory of infamous action of Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) is situated. The inscription in Ukrainian says that on 21-22 April 1943 "the base of Polish-German occupiers of Volhyn" was liquidated here.[3]
References
- ^ a b c d e Andrzej Mielcarek (December 2005). "The history of Janowa Dolina". Including maps, photographs and tables of victims. Wołyń. Archived from the original on 2007-09-15. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
- ISBN 9788373991637.
- ^ Memorial, promemoria.pl; accessed 13 December 2014.
- Janowa Dolina Wolyn.OVH.org