Bortnytsia | |
|---|---|
 Bortnytsia (Bortnica) on the map of Soviet occupiedSecond Polish Republic (nowUkraine) before themassacres of Poles between 1942-1945 | |
| Coordinates:50°30′N25°53′E / 50.500°N 25.883°E /50.500; 25.883 | |
| Country |  Ukraine |
| Oblast | Rivne Oblast |
| Raion | Dubno Raion |
Bortnytsia (Ukrainian:Бортниця,Polish:Bortnica) is a village inRivne oblast, near the town ofDubno, inDubno Raion,Ukraine. The village currently has a population of 365.
Before theNazi German and Soviet invasions of Poland the village was located in theWołyń Voivodeship of theSecond Polish Republic. It was made up of 61 farms of different sizes.[1]
InWorld War II, following theSoviet invasion of Poland, dozens of ethnic Polish families weresent to Siberia by theNKVD in 1940.[2] Bortnica was one of many sites of themassacres of Poles and Jews committed between 1942 and 1945 by thedeath squads ofOUN-UPA and the local Ukrainian peasants.[3] The village was raided repeatedly in a process of ethnic cleansing. Farms were burned mostly at night. Jews kept a 24-hour vigil, because, unlike the Polish families who in the worst-case scenario could flee into the German–occupied cities, Jewish families had nowhere to run. Pitched battles with Ukrainian Insurgent Army were breaking out all the time. The bloodiest fighting broke out in Bortnica on Christmas Eve in 1943, six weeks before the arrival of theRed Army. Fifteen Poles and eight Jews defending themselves against the invading force of 400Ukrainian nationalists. Devoid of ammunition, the defenders fell back a day later. Half were killed in battle. A few escaped into the forest. In the Dubno County, the Polish self-defence against ethnic cleansing by OUN-UPA was more successful only inPańska Dolina.[3]
50°28′48″N25°46′12″E / 50.48000°N 25.77000°E /50.48000; 25.77000