TheWiązownica massacre occurred on 17 April 1945 in the villageWiązownica, located inJarosław CountySubcarpathian Voivodeship, in southeasternPoland, then located inLwów Voivodeship. It was one of theMassacres of Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia, and was perpetrated by theUkrainian Insurgent Army (UPA). The massacre occurred during a battle fought between the UPA and, initially, local Polish partisans, and, later, thePolish People's Army (LWP), towards the outskirts of Wiązownica. It saw the deaths of 91 civilians, including 20 women and children, alongside four LWP soldiers.[1] The UPA also burned down 150 houses. In retaliation for the attack, the LWP led an attack on the villagePiskorowice, given its large concentration of Ukrainians sympathetic forOUN.[2]
There is a commemorative plaque to honor the victims of the massacre on the side of the church in Wiązownica. Several hundred attended when it was unveiled on 6 October 2013.
The Ukrainian Insurgent Army had been carrying out massacres since 1943 in instances ofAnti-Polish sentiment. These attacks were often returned by thePolish Underground.[3]
The massacre in Wiązownica was, according to activistSzczepan Siekierka, motivated by the killing of 10 ethnic Ukrainians, mainly women and children, in the village. This was, itself, a retaliation for the murder of a Pole.[4]
In the morning of 17 April 1945, the UPA began their assault on the village from theSan by entering from a farm. The UPA immediately began to kill the residents of the farm, while also engaging against the emerging militia resistance. Concurrently, the soldiers also set fire to farm buildings and loaded livestock onto carts. Supplementing the militia resistance, the LWP andNational Armed Forces (NSZ) arrived. The battle lasted five hours, saw the deaths of approximately 100 people (including 13-17 attackers), and 165 buildings were burned down, then constituting nearly half the village.[4][5]
Additional reinforcements fromMilicja Obywatelska arrived after the battle's end.
50°04′56″N22°42′10″E / 50.0822°N 22.7028°E /50.0822; 22.7028
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