Przyszowice massacre

Coordinates: 50°15′00″N 18°45′00″E / 50.250000°N 18.750000°E / 50.250000; 18.750000
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Przyszowice massacre
occupied Poland
DateJanuary 26, 1945
TargetPoles
Attack type
Shooting
Deaths54 to 69
PerpetratorsRed Army
Motiveunknown

The Przyszowice massacre (

crime against humanity.[2][4]

History

After the start of the Soviet

Third Reich. However, several German units were ordered to prepare tactical counter-attacks, notably in the region of Upper Silesia, on the Polish-German borderland. On January 23, Soviet forces seized the town of Gleiwitz
(Gliwice), one of the major industrial centres of the area. On the following day, the Germans counter-attacked, precipitating a three-day-long battle for the area. Eventually victorious, on January 26 the Russians entered the village of Przyszowice, the last Polish village before the Polish-German border.

During the following two days, a massacre of local inhabitants ensued. The Soviet soldiers set several dozen houses on fire and began shooting at the civilians trying to extinguish the flames. It is believed that over 60

Polish Army, who had recently been freed by the Soviets from a prisoner of war camp.[2][3] According to Polish media, in addition to the mass murder of civilians, the Soviet forces looted the village and raped an unknown number of women.[3]

The reason for the massacre remains unknown. Some authors believe that the Soviet soldiers wanted to take revenge for the losses suffered by the Red Army during the recent skirmishes with the Wehrmacht in the area.[3] During the fighting for Przyszowice, the Soviets suffered 101 casualties and lost roughly 40 tanks.[5] It is also likely that the Soviet soldiers did not know they were still on Polish soil and instead believed they had finally entered the territories of Nazi Germany; Przyszowice was one of the westernmost villages of the Second Polish Republic, on the pre-war border between Poland and Germany.[2][3][4]

Following the massacre, the victims were buried in a

Stefan Cichy, who was personally an eye-witness to the events, as well as a relative of one of the victims.[1][3]

Around that time, the

crime against humanity.[2][4] It is estimated that at least a thousand civilians were killed by the Soviets in Silesia, many of whom were ethnic Poles and Silesians; most of these deaths, about 800, occurred in the Gliwice massacre.[4][6]

See also

Notes and references

  1. ^ a b c Sebastian Hartman (2007-01-23). "Tragedia 27.01.1945r". przyszowice.com (in Polish). Archived from the original on 2024-05-26. Retrieved 2007-04-13.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Informacja o działalności Instytutu Pamięci Narodowej – Komisji Ścigania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu w okresie 1 lipca 2003 r.–30 czerwca 2004 r. Institute of National Remembrance, Case S 15/04/Zk; page 83. Last accessed 11 April 2007
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Józef Krzyk (2007-01-24). "Dokumenty z Moskwy pomogą w rozwikłaniu zbrodni z 1945 roku". Gazeta Wyborcza (in Polish). Retrieved 2007-04-13.
  4. ^ a b c d e Teresa Semik (2005-10-06). "Zbrodnie wojenne Armii Czerwonej na Ślązakach - pierwsze śledztwa". Dziennik Zachodni (in Polish). Retrieved 2007-04-13.
  5. ^ a b c Józef Krzyk, Kazimierz Kutz (2005-01-28). "Wieś w morzu krwi". Gazeta Wyborcza (in Polish) (23): 1. Retrieved 2007-04-13.
  6. ^ Informacja o działalności Instytutu Pamięci Narodowej – Komisji Ścigania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu w okresie 1 lipca 2003 r.–30 czerwca 2004 r. Institute of National Remembrance, Case S 2/04/Zk; page 82. Last accessed 8 May 2007

Further reading

  • Krystyna Gordoń; Piotr Piątek (2005). Trzy dni z dziejów Przyszowic (in Polish). Przyszowice: Towarzystwo Miłośników Przyszowic. p. 104.

50°15′00″N 18°45′00″E / 50.250000°N 18.750000°E / 50.250000; 18.750000

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