Peasants' battalions in defence of the Polish population in Volyn and east Małopolska

wprawo.pl 4 days ago

Polish soldiers from the east Front recruited mostly from the east Borders. Volunteers, Partisans of the People's Army, Peasants Battalions and many of the National Army joined the army. Soldiers did not know political nuances and had no influence on large politics. present (pseudo) historians insult them by claiming that they fought on the "unrighteous" side – that is, on the east front, where the bloodiest fighting took place. According to today's narrative, we are to forget the blood they shed. The fresh lied past presents them as “collaborators” with “new occupier” who “slaved” Poland for the next half century.

The BCh soldiers offered a blood donation on the altar of Homeland, defending the Polish population against Ukrainian bands and against Germany.

Already in 1939, during the defensive war and the withdrawal of troops of the Polish Army to the east Borders of the Republic, many attacks of Ukrainian bands on Polish soldiers occurred. These robberies were kidnappings, abductions, and most frequently murders of individual soldiers or tiny stray troops. Often, even larger groups of soldiers, including civilians from central and western Poland, were shot at at the designated locations.

During the russian occupation, hundreds of transports with the Polish population reached Siberia. In the first place, foresters, police officers, teachers, judges, lawyers, doctors, military settlers were sent and the remaining officers of the Polish Army and the Border defender Corps were hidden. A immense part of them died of starvation and cold in the taigas of Siberia and in russian camps. fewer entered the formation of General Władysław Anders' Army and later participated in the fighting of the Second Corps in the West. Those who failed to get into the II Corps enlisted in the Soviet-created People's Polish Army.

The territory of western Ukraine, i.e. the confederate part of the pre-war Polesia province, Wolyń, Lviv, Stanisławskie and Tarnopolskie were divided into east Małopolska, covering the provinces of Tarnopolskie and Stanisławskie, as well as part of the Lviv Voivodeship and incorporated into the General Guberni as the 5th district, alleged Galician. another lands, i.e. part of the Polesie and Lvivie voivodships and the Volynskie Voivodeship as General Bezirk Wolhynien und Podolien were included in the Reichskommissariat of Ukraine. The seat of this police station and its large governor, Ericha Koch, became equal. The border on the Bug between the General Gubernia and both Police (Ukraine and Ostland), as well as those behind the Bug, demarcating both Police and as part of the Ostland separating the Belarus Police from Lithuania and Latvia, were very closely guarded.

It was hard to scope the east lands, due to borders, many field police inspections, strict reporting regulations, curfews. In 1941, the Peasants Battalion office decides to send its typical to Volyn. It's por. Sigismund Jan Rumel, a postgraduate of Krzemieniecki advanced School, a long-standing associate of the Volyn Village Youth Union, in the pre-war period 1 of the main organizers and managers of the Association of erstwhile Khrzemieniecki advanced School. His task was to establish contacts with the local folk activists and organize cells of the conspiracy folk movement based on the agrarian population. On the basis of these, the first centres of the Peasant Guard, the alleged "Frossers", will be established. It must be said that Zygmunt Rumel has done this work perfectly and with a large deal of commitment. In a short time, the first “threes” and then the conspiratorial “fives” were created in Kozin, Wilyja, Białogródce, Poczajów, Michałówka, Statyjów, Alexandria, Nowa Moszczanica and many another towns.

From 1 January 1943 Sigismund Rumel was appointed commandant of territory VIII of BCh covering the Volynian province. He performed under the assumed name “Krzysztof Poręba”, most frequently utilized the nickname “Wincenty”. He organized combat troops and bases of self-defense of the Polish population defending themselves against robberies of the Ukrainian Insurgency Army. territory VIII (Wołyński) was divided into circuits: Kowel, Luck, Krzemieniec, Zdołbunów, Plaine, Kostopol, Sarny, Luboml, Włodzimierz Wołyński, Dubno, Horochów. Józef Soroka, ps. “Sowiński” and Maria Suszyńska, “Marta Silicona”, served as the organizational chief. Roman Chrominski "Henryk" was an officer for cultural and educational affairs. In June 1944, the condition of BCh soldiers in the Volyn territory was 2833. The main activity of the territory was to make self-defense of the population against UPA bands. It was created together with the organs of the Government Delegation and another conspiracy organizations.

The tragedy of the Polish population in these areas was primarily due to the fact that it was not armed. It should be pointed out that Ukrainians were watching closely all attempts to organize self-defense by Poles and immediately reported this to Germans who came to the Polish village, conducted investigations, sought hidden weapons and applied harsh repression. The agrarian population was terrorized and oppressed, sleeping in attics, basements, stacks or cold churches. It should be added that the church was not a adequate protection.

The Ukrainian Powstance Army since 1941 (then the first troops were formed) cooperating with Germany, inspired mostly by Gestapo, joined the mass slaughter of the Polish population in 1943 in Volyn and Malopolska East, brutally killing Polish and judaic population by burning villages, settlements and towns. Ukrainian nationalists, like German, frequently tried to cover the tracks of their crimes by burning the corpses of victims along with farms, burying them in wells or burying them in the pits of death.

In Volyn, self-defense bases were organized, in which the Polish population from endangered villages was concentrated. any peasants moved their household to the nearest town, but were condemned to poorness and discontent. any of the population found shelter in General Guberni. There she frequently fed the ranks of armed organizations. In the area of east Małopolska in mid-1942, the provincial authorities of SL “Roch” in Lviv developed intensively the armed organization – the Peasants Battalions. territory office IX BCh – Lviv included 3 subdistricts, i.e. erstwhile provinces: Lviv (eastern part), Tarnopolskie and Stanisławskie. BCh included an organizational grid of 24 districts in the 3 mentioned subdistricts:

– Lviv with circuits: Lviv town, Lviv district, Gródek Jagielloński, Mościska, Rudki, Sokal, Sambor, Żółkiow (commandant of the subdistrict Józef Kantak, ps. “Wróblewski” – number of soldiers 3400),

– Tarnopolski with circuits: Buchacz, Brzeżany, Congregations, Przemyślny, Skalat, Kopyczyńce, Chorków, Tarnopol, Trembowla, Podhajce (commandant of Adolf Kita's subdistrict, ps. “Robert” – number of soldiers 3200),

– Stanislawowski with circuits: Kałusz, Stanisławów, Translator, Rohatyn, Jews, Stryj (commandant of the subdistrict Józef Moskal, ps. “Ostoja” – number of soldiers 1200).

Due to the specificity of the district, as in Volyn, it was essential to fight not only the German occupier, but above all the Ukrainian people-killers. Thus, they were created in municipalities and villages of the Council of Self-defense. They were subordinate to the circuit commanders. peculiar troops (OS) were organized in the municipalities and circuits – there were 13 of them – and territory IX BCh had 5 guerrilla troops that were headed to the most susceptible areas. Jan Nowak, ps. “Stanisławski” – who became commandant of the territory from September 1943 after the death of “quiet” Lieutenant Adam Cuyżek and the cancellation of Jan Schram – was the initiator and co-founder of the concept of self-defense of the village developed by the Peasants Battalions.

In addition, the BCh territory Committee of Aid for Polish Intelligence was established in the Commendation of territory IX. Jan Nowak besides collaborated with the Committee on Education and territory Culture of the Delegation of the Government of Poland, among others in organizing sets of secret teaching in the countryside. The most crucial task, however, was to argue the killings, the demolition of Poles, the burning of villages, the displacement and forced evacuations.

W In April 1943, Ukrainian nationalists invaded the homestead of Józef Moskal, ps. “Ostoj” – the commandant of the BCh subdistrict in the Stanislaw province. His parents of 86-year-old old men tied ropes and burned him alive at home. More and more often, respective families were abducted and murdered in 1 village 1 night, or there were robberies all over the county. These accidents occurred throughout Podkarpacie and in districts bordering Volyn and Zbrucz, i.e. in districts specified as Brody, Zbaraz, Tarnopol, Bucz, Czortków, Brzeżany, Kolomya, Stanisławów, Stryj. In the villages of the region of Włodzimierz only during 1 July night 1943, the full Polish population was slaughtered. Only the village of Bielin and close siblings were saved due to the fact that there was a well organized self-defense. In the Stanislawski sub-district, the platoon sub-chorze Tadeusz Moszyński, ps. “Łomnica” (artiller from the 1939 defensive war), completed a branch of “Self-defense of foresters” in May 1943. BCh soldiers – forest workers from Niegowiec village in Kałuski area entered it. The command over the branch was taken by Wojciech Drozd, ps. “Młynarz”, commandant of the BCh district, associate of the Polish–bolshevik War 1920. The BCh facilities and branches in Kałusz, organized by him, contributed to the protection of the Polish population from UPA bands. another districts were much worse or even tragic. In October 1943, UPA operations moved to the east districts of Lublin. In this regard, the BCh Lublin territory Command took up the organization of self-defense, directing guerrilla troops to these areas: “Błyskawica” (Jan Kędry), “Burzy” (Antoni Wróbel), “ Skrzypika” (Józefa Mazurka) and respective hundredths of “Rysia” (Stanisława Basaja). These troops fought a series of battles and skirmishes with UPA bands and supporting them with German units from autumn 1943 to July 1944, stopping the UPA opposition in the southeastern part of Lublin.

On 18 April 1944 the Chief Commandant of BCh – Franciszek Kamiński (Zenon Trawiński) issued a peculiar order of the office of the Main Peasants Battalions to territory Command No. IV (Lublin) in organizational matters. This paper includes an assessment of the situation on the east borders of the Republic and an order concerning the conduct of actions against Ukrainian nationalists. Among another things, we read there: “In highly hard circumstances, Volyn's self-defense of the population was organised on the basis of almost only our forces. The accidents that happen present in east Małopolska, and most late in the areas of south-eastern Lublin, force us and this time to act on their own strength. ... The commanders of the expeditionary troops must have written detailed instructions for action before the action and accurate information on the Ukrainian population and criminal element. This information should be provided to them by the Circuit Command and, if possible, the AK Circuit Headquarters. The action should consist of a march through the areas of Ukrainian clusters, the execution of justice and the punishment of a criminal Ukrainian element. In particular, the action should include: an inflow agitation component from the area of Volyn and east Małopolska, local intelligence (popi, teachers, etc.) and derailed agrarian leadership element. Encountered armed gangs and Ukrainian SS troops destruct absolutely.

The action is limited to an component which is audacious to the Polish population, while the general population, especially women, old people and children, is left alone. Nor should mass burning of full villages be carried out and collective work applied, on the contrary, by its behaviour to emphasize that Ukrainians, surviving with the Polish population in agreement, are considered equal citizens. In the case of opposition throughout the Ukrainian groups, the villages smoke and the guilty punish. (...) After carrying out the action, the troops at the designated points will wait out a certain time and, in the event of the action taken by Ukrainians or Germans against the population, they will counterattack.” ...

During April, May and June 1944, the dense battles between the soldiers of the combined forces of BCh-AK and the curenia of ‘Jahody’, ‘Żeleźniak’, ‘Berkuta’ concentrated in the confederate part of the territory of Hrubieszowski and the south-eastern territory of Tomaszowski and partially Bijgoraj. The balance of losses resulting from the actions of Ukrainian nationalists and the fighting against them is the death of about 8,000 people, the demolition of respective twelve villages and the indescribable suffering of people.

A soldier of BCh, the Home Army and another smaller organizations fought equally. It is impossible to state the losses suffered by the Peasants Battalions in Volyn and east Małopolska. In the rounding they are defined as 3,000 killed, of which in Volyn – around 1800 killed, and in east Małopolska – territory IX of BCh (Lvivian, Stanislawian and Tarnopolskie) – about 1,200 killed. Many prominent commanders and guerrillas of BCh were killed in the fighting, among them: Zygmunt Rumel, commander of Volyn territory torn by horses on 10 July 1943 by the UPA soot in Kustycza in the Kowel district, Weronika Wąsikowa, commandant of the Buchatsk Oblast murdered along with her sister Anela Mazur by Ukrainian band, Stanisław Basaj, ps. “Ryś” – commander of the largest unit of guerrilla Peasants Battalions.

At the end of January, in the village of Koroszaatyn, the biggest massacre of Poles in the Buchatsk region was carried out by Ukrainian genocide killers. After the Coroscatian tragedy, Weronik Wąsikowa called a staff gathering in the Monasterchy, calling for the commanders of the Bechow facilities to mobilize the peasants to decision to the cities, as they are in danger of death in the villages. However, she chose to stay in the facility and in her own home. Here she was murdered on the night of 12 to 13 March, on the large Saturday of 1944, in a time with Annela's 70-year-old sister. Both were buried in 1 pit, in the garden, right next to the house.

Stanisław Basaj was 28 years old erstwhile he died. He was murdered by the uppers along with the Krylov residents and militiamen. Ukrainian genocidals previously served in the Ukrainian auxiliary police, working closely with Germany. On Palm Sunday on March 25, 1945, the Ukrainians occupied Kryłów, while UPA members disguised as russian Army uniforms and posing as escorting a man named Pieti M. took over the MO station. They then introduced “Rysia”, previously included in 1 of the houses. They later shot 16 militias and 28 Krylov residents.

According to witness reports, Major Basaj, previously beaten, was taken out on a furmanca with another restrained villagers to an unknown place. According to later reports, it was to be held for any time by UPA members “under conditions that dishonor human dignity”. Later in an unknown place (probably in the village of Waręskie Liski or Uhrynów) he was murdered. UPA members crushed his body with a kierat.

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