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| Massacre in Zakroczym | |
|---|---|
| Part ofInvasion of Poland andWorld War II | |
  Zakroczym massacre (Poland) | |
| Location | 52°26′16″N20°36′43″E / 52.437778°N 20.611944°E /52.437778; 20.611944 Zakroczym |
| Date | September 28, 1939 (1939-09-28) |
Attack type | War crime,massacre |
| Deaths | around 600 |
| Victims | Polish soldiers and civilians |
| Perpetrators | Panzer Division Kempf |
TheMassacre in Zakroczym,Poland, took place on 28 September 1939 when, in spite of a cease-fire, soldiers ofPanzerdivision Kempf stormed Polish positions atZakroczym, where soldiers from the2nd Infantry Division were getting ready to surrender. Hundreds of Polish soldiers were murdered.[1][2][3] The rest were beaten and abused. Many civilians were killed or wounded. German troops broke into houses, robbed them, set them on fire, and tossed hand grenades into the basements filled with scared civilians. Kazimierz Szczerbatko estimated, based on the testimony of the eyewitnesses, that the Germans killed around 500 soldiers and 100 civilians.
The massacre may have been revenge for theBattle of Mława, in which the Germans suffered 1,800 killed, 3,000 wounded and 1,000 missing. Additionally, Panzer Division Kempf lost 72 tanks despite using Polish civilians as human shields, forcing them to be chased in front of their tanks.[citation needed]
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