Szarajówka massacre

Szarajówka, situated in Biłgoraj County, is a small village that actively supported the Polish partisans during the Nazi-German occupation. Some accounts suggest that its inhabitants provided aid to Jewish refugees in hiding and to Soviet prisoners of war who had escaped from German captivity.^[1]

In the autumn of 1942, at the direction of SS-Brigadeführer Odilo Globocnik, SS and Police Leader in the Lublin district of the General Government, a significant Nazi displacement operation commenced in the Zamość region. Its aim was to remove around 100,000 Poles from this area and replace them with German settlers, primarily comprising ethnic Germans from various European countries. The initial displacements began on the night of November 27-28, 1942, extending to 60 villages housing approximately 34,000 individuals by the end of December. The second phase of the operation lasted from mid-January to the end of March 1943 and covered mainly the areas of the Hrubieszów County. Inhabitants of 63 villages were then displaced.^[2]

The Nazi actions faced passive resistance from the displaced populace and armed responses from the Polish resistance movement.^[3] Partisan units from the Peasant Battalions (Bataliony Chłopskie), Home Army (Armia Krajowa), and communist People's Guard (Gwardia Ludowa) attempted to impede pacification and displacement efforts, targeting German police, economic sites, and transportation facilities. They also conducted retaliatory actions in villages settled by German colonists.^[4][5]

On the morning of May 18, 1943, a punitive expedition composed of German gendarmes and members of the Ukrainian Auxiliary Police^[a] from Biłgoraj and Tarnogród arrived in Szarajówka.^[1] Around 9:00 a.m., villagers noticed the village was encircled, sparking panic among them. Soon after, the Germans and Ukrainians entered the village, forcing residents out of their homes and gathering them in the square opposite farmer Saniak's farm.^[6] Initially, women and children were treated with some leniency, while men endured harsh interrogations in attempts to extract information about Polish partisans.^[7][8] Several individuals suffered severe beatings, rendering them unable to walk to the execution site unaided.^[9] Meanwhile, the assailants looted livestock and valuable belongings from the farms.^[8]

By midday, the commander of the punitive expedition directed all residents of Szarajówka to a few selected buildings. Many were assembled in Maciej Mołda's stable, while others were taken to structures owned by Józef Klecha and Stanisław Krzeszowiec. Once all the victims were inside, the Germans and Ukrainians sealed the doors and windows, covered the buildings with straw, and set them ablaze. Only one woman managed to escape briefly, but she was promptly shot.^[7] Subsequently, the assailants set fire to the remaining buildings in Szarajówka.^[1] By approximately 3:30 p.m., the punitive expedition departed the devastated village.^[7] A handful of survivors managed to evade the massacre by hiding within the village and escaping amidst the smoke from burning structures.^[7][b] Other residents who were absent during the pacification, including several children studying in a neighboring town, survived.^[9]

Various sources cite different numbers regarding the fatalities of the pacification. Most reports indicate that 67 Poles perished, with the majority—around 58 individuals—being burned alive, while the remainder were shot.^[10][11][12] However, some conflicting sources suggest the number of victims was 59^[13] or 58^[1][14] individuals. The identities of 41 victims were confirmed, including ten women and twelve children under 15 years old. The youngest victim was only 2 months old, while the oldest was 61.^[15][16] In some cases, entire families from Szarajówka were wiped out.^[9]

Czesław Madajczyk suggests that the atrocity was in retaliation for the village's collaboration with the resistance movement, as well as a reprisal for an earlier assault by Polish partisans on the gendarmes stationed at Tarnogród.^[11]

The inhabitants of neighboring villages initially hoped that the people of Szarajówka had been displaced by the Germans. Only after the fire had been extinguished were the charred remains of the victims found among the ashes.^[7] The massacre had a loud echo in the region. It was recorded in the reports of the Polish resistance movement, and the Polish underground press also wrote about it.^[17]

The remains of the victims were buried in a mass grave, and after the war, a sandstone monument was erected there.^[18]