Remel massacre
| Remel Massacre | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Eastern Front of World War II | |
On March 17, 1943, students from a school in Remiel were burned by the Polish Schutzmannschaft and the SS. | |
| Location | Remel, Rivne Oblast, Ukraine |
| Date | 17 March 1943 |
| Target | Ukrainians |
Attack type | Massacre |
| Deaths | c. 400 dead |
| Perpetrators | Schutzmannschaft Battalion 202, Schutzstaffel |
| Motive | Ethnic cleansing |
Remel Massacre was a mass killing carried out by the Polish collaborationist Schutzmannschaft Battalion 202 and the Schutzstaffel on 17 March 1943, in the village of Remel, during the Second World War. Over 400 civilians were killed.[1]
Background
On March 1, 1943, a UPA unit attacked the German commandant's office in the town of Oleksandria . A few days later, the insurgents attacked the guard of the railway bridge over the Horyn River in the Oleksandria area. In addition, on March 15, all Ukrainians who served in the German police crossed over to the UPA with weapons. Poles from the Puchava reported to the Nazis that among the attackers of German facilities were people from Remel, and a local Polish landowner named Kolodziejczyk deliberately provided the Germans with false information that there was a UPA cell in Remel.[2]
Massacre
The destruction of the village occurred in two phases. The first, more intense phase lasted until midday, after which the perpetrators returned to Osada Krechowiecka (now Nova Ukrainka, Ukraine), where a Nazi concentration camp was located. In the second phase, they searched for and killed any remaining residents who had been hiding.[3]
Following the massacre, German forces compelled residents of the nearby village of Oleksandriia to recover surviving livestock and collect remaining food supplies from the ruins.[3]
A total of 73 individuals survived, some by escaping, others by remaining undiscovered in hiding places, and a few due to the negligence of the attackers during mass executions. The only person reportedly spared was a teacher, Leonid Vechora, due to his Polish ethnicity.[4]
Survivors were sheltered by residents of nearby villages, despite the risks. Among those who provided aid was allegedly the family of future Ukrainian president Leonid Kravchuk, then living in the village of Velykyi Zhytyn.[5][6]
Aftermath
On March 24, 1943, a joint Ukrainian Insurgent Army group killed the concentration camp guards and the commandant and freed 176 prisoners.
See also
References
- ^ Басараба В. Ремель, 17 березня // Вільне слово, № за 24 березня 1993 р.
- ^ Горак Р. Переднє слово / Ремель. Урок історії. — Львів, 2018 — С. 7.
- ^ a b Німецько-фашистський окупаційний режим на Україні: збірник документів та матеріалів. — К., 1963. — С. 292.
- ^ Войтович В. Пересопниця. Рівненський край: історія та культура. — Рівне: Видавець Валерій Войтович, 2011. — С. 419—424.
- ^ Максимчук С. Вибачте, пане Президенте / Ремель. Урок історії. -Львів, 2018. — С. 139—141.
- ^ Кравчук І. Трагедія села Ремель / Ремель. Урок історії. — Львів, 2018. — С. 44—54.