Kisielin massacre was amassacre ofPolish worshipers which took place in theVolhynian village of Kisielin (Second Polish Republic until1939), nowKysylyn, located in theVolyn Oblast,Ukraine.[1] It took place on Sunday, July 11, 1943, when units of theUkrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), supported by local Ukrainian peasants, surroundedPoles who had gathered for a ceremony at a localCatholic church. Around 60 to 90 persons or more,[2] men, women and children – were ordered to take off their clothes and were then massacred by machine gun. The wounded were killed with weapons such as axes and knives.[2] Those who survived (around 200 by some accounts) escaped to the presbytery and barricaded themselves for eleven hours.[3][4]
Kisielin massacre was part of a wave of the UkrainianOUN-UPAmassacres of Poles in Volhynia carried out between 1943 and 1944 during World War II. Among its survivors were parents of Polish composerKrzesimir Dębski, who in the early 2000s accompanied his mother to Kisielin. His trip was featured inAgnieszka Arnold's 2003 movieOczyszczenie (Cleansing). Other survivors included also Faustyn Kraszewski, grandfather ofMaria Minakowska, but at least five killed belonged to his family.[4]
The massacre was a subject of a 2009 Polish historical documentary filmByło sobie miasteczko... produced by Adam Kruk forTelewizja Polska.[5] The film recounts the tragic memories of the Polish Catholics originally from Kisielin as well as those of the Ukrainians peasants who remained, but also, it is a reflection on the eradication of Polish culture and tradition in the entire region of Western Ukraine, and the painful legacy that lingers.[5]
50°22′12″N24°16′48″E / 50.37000°N 24.28000°E /50.37000; 24.28000
