| Dubingiai massacre | |
|---|---|
| Part ofWorld War II | |
  Dubingiai Dubingiai (Lithuania) | |
| Location | 55°04′00″N25°27′00″E / 55.06667°N 25.45000°E /55.06667; 25.45000 Dubingiai,Generalbezirk Litauen,Reichskommissariat Ostland (now inLithuania) |
| Date | 23 June 1944 |
| Target | Lithuanian civilians |
Attack type | Massacre (war crime) |
| Deaths | 27 (InDubingiai) 70-100 inDubingiai and Neighboring villages |
| Victims | Lithuanians andLithuanian Auxiliary Police men |
| Perpetrators | Home Army 5th Wilno Brigade |
| ~50 | |
| Motive | Retaliation forGlinciszki massacre and scaring the Lithuanians |
TheDubingiai massacre was amass murder ofLithuanian civilians committed by the PolishHome Army (AK) in the town ofDubingiai and its surroundings on 23 June 1944.
The Dubingiai massacre started a wider Polish Home Army (AK) operation in which units beyond the 5th Brigade were involved. By the end of June 1944, a total of 70–100 Lithuanians were killed in Dubingiai and the neighbouring villages ofJoniškis,Inturkė [lt],Bijutiškis [lt], andGiedraičiai. While Nazi collaborators were ostensibly the prime targets,[1] the victims also included the elderly, children, and infants of 4 and 11 months.[2]
The AK's5th Wilno Brigade committed the massacre in reprisal for theGlinciszki (Glitiškės) massacre ofPolish civilians done on 20 June 1944 by the258th Lithuanian Police Battalion. Further conflicts between Lithuanian and Polish units were prevented by theSoviet capture of Vilnius in mid-July 1944.
Lithuanian–Polish relations during theinterbellum period were strained since they both laid claim to theVilnius Region. DuringWorld War II, these tensions were exacerbated by different allegiances; Lithuanian administration and paramilitary units were leaning towardsNazi Germany, whilePolish resistance waged an active partisan war against the Nazis.[1] Eventually, these tensions grew into alow-level civil war[3] that culminated in a series of civilian massacres.
On March 4, the Home Army 'Błyskawica" unit attacked and captured theLithuanian Auxiliary Police center inDubingiai. The Lithuanians lost 1 soldier and 2 were taken captive.[4]
On 20 June 1944, members of the AK killed four members of the 258th Lithuanian Police Battalion in the village ofGlitiškės (Glinciszki).[1] In retaliation, the Lithuanian police killed 39 Polish villagers (theGlinciszki massacre).[5] In light of these events, as well as other information about intensified pacification actions by the Lithuanian forces, the AK command for the Vilnius Region, underAleksander Krzyżanowski codenameWilk, assumed that it represented a beginning of a new, large anti-Polish operation and only a demonstration of the strength of Polish forces in the region could stop the killings and protect the Polish civilians.[1] Leaflets were distributed through the region saying that AK was planning to execute members of the Lithuanian units guilty of the Glinciszki massacre, and a raid on the pre-war Lithuanian Republic territory was planned.[1][6] The AK command did not plan, and actually strictly forbade, any reprisals against innocent civilians.[1][6]
The 5th Brigade of AK, under the command ofZygmunt Szendzielarz codenameŁupaszko,[7] learned that some of the individuals responsible for the Glinciszki massacre and their families were stationed in the police station in Dubingai.[6][8] A company of the 5th Brigade underWiktor Wiącek [pl] codenameRakoczy decided to destroy the police station and to execute several Nazi-Lithuanian informants.[1] There are different versions as to who led the raid on Dubingiai; most sources attribute it to Szendzielarz, the commander of the 5th Brigade,[8] whileHenryk Piskunowicz, Polish historian and author of several publications about AK operations in Vilnius Region, specifically pointed to Wiącek.[1] The AK headquarters learnt of that initiative and was afraid that the soldiers of the 5th Brigade who had freshly witnessed the aftermath of Glinciszki may not follow the orders forbidding actions against civilians. It sent a courier from the headquarters in Vilnius ordering the 5th Brigade to stay put. The courier, however, did not reach the local commanders in time.[1]
The village was warned that the Polish attack was imminent and many individuals—including the policemen who participated in the Glinciszki massacre—escaped before the Poles began the killings.[1] The AK targeted the Lithuanian populace, using Lithuanian prayer books as a means of identifying Lithuanians, but sparing those intermarried with Poles.[7][9] While Nazi collaborators were ostensibly the prime targets,[1] the victims included the elderly, children, and even infants.[2] A Polish woman and her 4-year-old son were also reported to have been killed.[10] The total number of victims is estimated between 20 and 27.[8][11]
The reprisal actions in Dubingiai, even if premature and unplanned by AK command, marked the beginning of a wider AK operation in which units beyond the 5th Brigade were involved.[1][13] From 25 to 27 June, various Polish units entered pre-war Lithuanian territory and carried out a series of actions againstLithuanian Auxiliary Police Battalions and those labeled as Nazi sympathizers.[1] Bridges and telecommunication lines were destroyed.[1] Polish sources note that a number of civilian casualties occurred as a result of the wider operations during that period, particularly when several buildings caught fire.[1] According to Lithuanian sources, in total, 70–100 Lithuanian civilians were killed by the end of June 1944 in Dubingiai and the neighbouring villages ofJoniškis (12 people by a squadron commanded by AK member codename Maks),[13]Inturkė [lt],Bijutiškis [lt], andGiedraičiai.[14] Lithuanian historianArūnas Bubnys lists the following casualties in villages ofMolėtai district: 8 people inVymančiai [lt], 4 people inRoputėnai [lt], 2 people inAžuožeriai [lt], 17 people inAlkūnai [lt].[2] The youngest victim was a 4-month-old baby.[2]
Piskunowicz contends that AK's reprisals of 23–27 June were successful since there were no further actions by Lithuanian forces similar to the precedingGlinciszki massacre.[1][11] This contention is, however, largely speculative as any potential for further escalation by either side was cut short by theSoviet occupation of Vilnius two weeks later.[8]
This chain of events stained the reputation of AK in Lithuania and continued to sourLithuanian–Polish relations.[9]Zygmunt Szendzielarz, commander of the 5th Brigade, which was responsible for the massacre, became a member of thePolish anti-Soviet resistance and was arrested in 1948 by the communistPolish secret police. After more than two years of torture and interrogation, he was executed by thecommunist Polish government in 1951.[15] In 1993, after the fall of communism, Szendzielarz was rehabilitated and declared innocent of all charges by the Military Chamber of the Supreme Court.[16] Szendzielarz continues to receive posthumous honors:order of Polonia Restituta from PresidentLech Kaczyński in 2007,[17] promotion to Lieutenant General by Minister of DefenseAntoni Macierewicz, and a speech by PresidentAndrzej Duda praising Szendzielarz and urging Polish youth to follow his example in 2016,[18] each time causing negative press in Lithuania.[17][18]
In 1992, Lithuanian authorities opened a criminal case regarding AK massacres inMolėtai district.[2] The investigation recorded at least 273 Lithuanian deaths in 1943–45, but was unable to determine the identities of the AK members responsible. Since the AK commanders were already dead, the case was closed in 1996.[2]
