On 18 September 1939 Wehrmacht executed ca. 300 Poles (comprising 150 Polish POWs of the defeated armies "Poznań" and "Pomorze" groups), which is considered one of the biggest German war crimes during September Campaign in 1939.
Among the captured there were wounded, civilians and kids. Men in between 15-75 years old were the most numerous group, whereas 84 persons came from a nearby village. There are reports on many fugitives to have been also killed, although they happened to be there only by chance during those difficult days of wartime turmoil.
Most probably the crime has been committed by the 4th Panzer Division soldiers belonging to the XVI corps of the 10th Army.
Only 2 persons are said to have escaped: Stanisław Klejnowski i Alfred Kitliński, both residents of a nearby Tułowice village. In total 298 persons are confirmed to be executed and as for the motives of the crime local conflicts between German minority and Polish residents were exposed.
Image Source: Internet
Read more:
- Szymon Datner: Zbrodnie Wehrmachtu na jeńcach wojennych w II wojnie światowej. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Ministerstwa Obrony Narodowej, 1961, s. 53–56.
- Jan Jarecki: Walki kawalerii polskiej wrzesień 1939. Katowice: Towarzystwo miłośników Ziemi Pszczyńskiej, 1989, s. 83
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