ThePodgaje massacre refers to the mass murder ofPolish People's Armies POWs, who were captured in January 1945 by theWaffen SS. The massacre took place in the village ofPodgaje during the night of 31 January, during which approximately 160–210 POWs of the 4th Company, 3rd Infantry Regiment, of the1st Tadeusz Kościuszko Infantry Division were executed. The murders were most likely committed by the 48th Dutch SS Grenadier regiment and/or theLatvian15th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS.[1][2]: 23
While some older sources claimed that 32 of the victims were burned alive, newer research does not support that conclusion.[1]
The Polish soldiers were captured during theFirst Polish Army's attempt of breaking through the German defensive fortifications, known as thePomeranian Wall.[1]
The Podgaje massacre is commemorated on theTomb of the Unknown Soldier, Warsaw, with the inscription "PODGAJE 31 I 1945".
The event was fictionalized in the Polish 1979 movieElegia [pl].[1]
  | ThisPolish history–related article is astub. You can help Wikipedia byadding missing information. |
ThisWorld War II article is astub. You can help Wikipedia byadding missing information. |
 | ThisGerman history article is astub. You can help Wikipedia byadding missing information. |