“Why?” and “Where?” – these questions were asked for years by relatives of the largest russian crime in Poland after planet War II. To this day there is no answer, where the remains of about 600 Poles (and this number is besides open) murdered by the safety services of the USSR. Historians are besides not certain why the Soviets did this pacification.
Białostocki territory National Army He was 1 of those who disobeyed the order. General Leopold Okulicki o AK solution. His chief colonel Władysław Tarinski stopped his subordinates in a conspiracy, and the territory assumed the name Citizen's National Army (there were inactive troops operating here under the name AK). After the russian offensive in January 1945, the Whitestock conspiracy rapidly went into action. Already in April, the communists had to admit that they lost full control of the Augustov district, and the same was prepared in Suwałski district. The municipal offices ceased to operate, and the civilian militia officers to defend them deserted, frequently with guns in hand, into the forest – precisely Augustowska Forest, in which the guerrilla troops of the OAK operated, and the anti-Soviet Lithuanian guerrilla troops were besides entering.
At 1 of the gatherings held in early May 1945 in Augustów, the major NKVD was to shout out to forced people: “You don’t like the sons of bitches, the Lublin government, you are all AK bandits. If you are not calmed by the Polish army, we will bring an 18-million russian army that will teach you reason and bring order.” Unfortunately, he was not exaggerating, due to the fact that shortly indeed the russian authorities with Stalin in the lead decided to treat these 2 unruly districts peculiarly brutally. The decision to liquidate the independency underground in a major operation was most likely made on 16 May. It was then in Białystok that there was a gathering of the provincial authorities and the command of the NKVD's interior troops. Already on May 20, the encadevists had arranged a catch for a release in the well, and the following days brought akin actions in Gorczyska, Płaska, Dry Rzeka and Augustów themselves. During the arrests, beatings, rapes, and robberies occurred, but any complaints of the residents were either rejected or caused fresh arrests. Therefore, reprisal actions increased – attacks on russian soldiers, militias and sabotage of government orders. The Soviets may have deliberately escalated the situation, thus giving themselves an introduction to the general “band” trial, as they called the Polish and Lithuanian underground troops.
Catch
One of the theories that are an effort to answer the question of why the Soviets threw specified large forces into the areas of the Bialystok province, says that this happened on Stalin's individual command, which was to pass through here in July by train to a conference of the large 3 in Potsdam. However, why were hundreds of Poles killed as a consequence of the August raid lost without news, and almost surely hundreds of Poles were murdered erstwhile the Lithuanians arrested in the same action were "traditionally" exported to the camps? There is no clear answer to this question, and it is not expected that this answer will be soon, as the Kremlin archives are closed again. 1 thing is certain that 2 russian troops returning from Germany (around 45,000 soldiers) from the russian division of the 50th Army were directed to the unparalleled trial with Poles in Białystok. The death and engenders were besides supported by the officers of the home safety services, and 2 companies from the 1st Prague Infantry Regiment were utilized to comb the forests.
So-called. The Augustian manhunt (also referred to as the July or Suwałki manhunt) has different start and end dates in various sources: 12–18 July, 11–24 July, or 10–25 July 1945. However, the only known authoritative paper to start the action is dated to July 12. This is the telefonogram of Major Vasilenko to the Provincial Public safety Office in Białystok, in which he informs about the beginning of the "operation to search the territory of Suwałki County, which will proceed for about 4-5 days, i.e. until its completion". In addition to the pacification mentioned in the letter of the Suwałki district, the Augustov district, part of Sokólski territory and border areas in Lithuania were included.
As noted, there have been arrests in these districts before, but since 12 July there has been a real hell for the villagers and colonies around Augustowska Forest and all those who hid in its remnants, and did not escape. Paradoxically, most OAK and AK branches succeeded. The bigger fights with the Soviets during the raid, so it didn't happen. The exception was the conflict of Lake Brozane on 15 July, erstwhile the overwhelming russian forces attacked a branch of the combined forces of the OAK and the AK under the command of the Sgt. Władysław Stefanowski "Groma" and Sergeant Józef Sulżyński "Brzozy". 3 Polish guerrillas were killed, 57 Soviets were taken prisoner and all were "lost without news".
So in the russian sieve the inhabitants of the surrounding towns, who were accused of belonging or cooperating with the anti-Soviet conspiracy, came first. Historians calculate that a full of as many as 7,000 people could be arrested in the Augustian raid. Despite the engagement of specified large resources, russian investigators did not keep up with questioning, and at the same time torture of captured Poles – men, women and children... The mechanics of this action looked like this: after the arrest, detainees were sent to a twelve makeshift filter camps, furnished in barns, basements, agrarian lounges or just under the open sky – on a surrounded cordon of armed fields. This was where the first interrogations were accompanied by torture and beating. The question was: ‘Did you belong to any underground organization?’. Most answered that yes – in 1941–1944, that is, during the German occupation.
‘Little Katyn’
After this first selection, any people were released, and those who appeared to be suspects were sent back to the next ellipse of hell – subsequent detentions and execution rooms. Here again they were subjected to brutal interrogation and torture. Those who had the misfortune of being regarded as almost 100% "bandits" (enkavudists utilized the same nomenclature as German Gestapo for Poles) went to the 3rd filter camp. Unlike the above, this camp was covered by strict secrecy and the household of those arrested no longer had access to it. From this camp, people would vanish forever. They were most likely exported to the territory of the russian Union and killed there. To this day, we do not know the destiny of about 600 people arrested in a manhunt.
The Augustian manhunt is frequently called “Little Katyn” and, as her investigator Patryk Basinski noted, it is even more tragic in any respects, as it primarily included civilians, including women and children. russian hatchets were to execution 27 women and 15 minors. There are different estimates of all victims of this action. It is most commonly given, including any 600 "missing without news", from about a 1000 to about 2,000 victims of russian filtration camps around Augustowska Forest. Remember that the August raid was in the Red Army and NKVD's "special military operation" nomenclature. present Putin Russia in Ukraine is again conducting a "special military operation"...
Bibliography
Mr Basiński, "August manhunt as the largest unaccounted for crime committed on Poles after planet War II", ‘Vade Nobiscum’, Volume XX/2019, pp. 229–252.
K. Krajewski, T. Łabuszewski, "Whitestock AK-AKO District: VII 1944–VIII 1945", Warsaw 1997.
A.L. Owl, "From Second to 3rd Republic (1945–2001)", Kraków 2001.
