| Dominopol massacre | |
|---|---|
Location of the Massacre on the map of interwar Poland | |
 Interactive map of Dominopol massacre | |
| Location | 50°55′00″N24°34′00″E / 50.91667°N 24.56667°E /50.91667; 24.56667 Dominopol,Volhynian Voivodeship,occupied Poland |
| Date | July 11, 1943 |
| Target | ethnicPoles |
Attack type | Shooting and stabbing |
| Weapons | Rifles, axes, bludgeons and pitchforks |
| Deaths | 490[1] with 250 victims confirmed |
| Perpetrators | Ukrainian Insurgent Army |
| Motive | Anti-Catholicism,Anti-Polish sentiment,Greater Ukraine |
Dominopol (Russian:Доминополь;Ukrainian:Домінопіль) is a defunct village located in the present-day area ofVolodymyr-Volynskyi Raion ofVolyn Oblast inUkraine. On July 11, 1943, at the height of theMassacres of Poles in Volhynia, the village was attacked by adeath squad ofUkrainian Insurgent Army aided by the Ukrainian peasants, and all ethnic Poles regardless of age and gender were tortured and murdered.[citation needed] Before World War II, Dominopol was a village in theEastern regions of theSecond Polish Republic, located in theGmina Werba,Powiat Włodzimierz of theWołyń Voivodeship.[2] The area wasinvaded by the Soviet Union in 1939 and duringOperation Barbarossa annexed by Nazi Germany intoReichskommissariat Ukraine in 1941.
The Dominopol massacre was unique in that it was preceded by the forest execution of several dozen young Polish partisans (15 to 20-years-old) trained by the former Polish Army officers including Stanisław Dąbrowski, who were tricked into believing in the joint Polish-Ukrainian resistance under the umbrella of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA).[3] Most civilian victims in Dominopol were killed by axes and knives. Their number remains the subject of debate. Some sources estimate that approximately 60 Polish families have been murdered in the village by the Ukrainian nationalists, which is around 490 people including children.[1] Other sources put the number of victims at 220–250 based on existing documentation.[4] Afterwards, possessions of murdered Poles were looted by Ukrainian peasants who also participated in the massacre, and the village was burned.
In 2002, due to efforts ofAssociation of Poles Murdered in the East fromZamość, a commemorative cross was erected where once Dominopol was.[5]
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