Chronology

What were the Volhynian Massacres?

The Volhynian massacres were anti-Polish genocidal ethnic cleansings conducted by Ukrainian nationalists. The massacres took place within Poland’s borders as of the outbreak of WWII, and not only in Volhynia, but also in other areas with a mixed Polish-Ukrainian population, especially the Lvov, Tarnopol, and Stanisławów voivodeships (that is, in Eastern Galicia), as well as in some voivodeships bordering on Volhynia (the western part of the Lublin Voivodeship and the northern part of the Polesie Voivodeship – see map). The time frame of these massacres was 1943−1945. The perpetrators were the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists−Bandera faction (OUN-B) and its military wing, called the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA). Their documents show that the planned extermination of the Polish population was called an “anti-Polish operation.” 

http://www.volhyniamassacre.eu/history/kalendarium

· 1941/1942 — Ukrainians in Volhynia begin to form military detachments, partly for protection against the pacifications conducted by German units with the use of Ukrainian police. Birth of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (Ukrayins’ka Povstans’ka Armiya, UPA) led by the prewar Petlura-supporter Taras Bulba-Borovets.

· Spring/summer 1943 — Taras Bulba-Borovets is attacked for his refusal to submit to the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists-Bandera faction (Orhanizatsiya Ukrayins'kykh Natsionalistiv, OUN-B) and to participate in the ongoing anti-Polish ethnic cleansings.

· Late 1942 — the conference of miltary officials of Bandera’s OUN in Lvov results in a decision to form partisan detachments that are to initiate a nationwide uprising at the most opportune moment. Moreover, all Poles and Jews are to be expelled from Ukrainian territory under threat of death. Those who refuse to leave voluntarily are to be killed.

· 1942/1943 — Bandera’s OUN forms partisan detachments in Volhynia. They begin to use a name that was to become widely known in Volhynia  — the UPA.

· February 9, 1943 — a UPA detachment under the command of Hryhorij Perehijniak “Dovbesho-Korobko” massacres the Polish village of Parośle, killing over 150 people.

· March/April 1943 — about 5,000 Ukrainian policemen, ones who have participated in the extermination of Jews, desert from the German service and join the pro-Bandera partisan units.

· March and April 1943 — the greatest intensification of the UPA’s massacres, committed mostly in Sarny, Kostopol, and Krzemieniec counties.

· March 1943 — UPA detachments under the command of Ivan Lytvynchuk “Dubovy” massacre a minimum of 179 people in Lipniki.

· The night of April 22−23, 1943 — a UPA detachment personally commanded by “Dubovy” burns down the village of Janowa Dolina, murdering ca. 600 Poles.

· May−June 1943 — the UPA broadens the scope of its “anti-Polish operation” to include Dubno, Łuck, and Zdołbuny counties.

· June 1943 — Dmytro Klyachkivsky “Klym-Samur” gives the order to exterminate the Polish population of Volhynia.

· July−August 1943 — the UPA operation spreads over the entirety of Volhynia.

· July 11−12, 1943 — the climax of the first phase of the Ukrainian terror against Poles in Volhynia. On July 11 and July 12 the UPA attacks 99 and 50 Polish villages respectively (e.g., Poryck, Sądowa, Zagaje, and Kisielin).

· July−August 1943 — the biggest wave of the UPA attacks on Polish localities (in July alone the number of Polish victims exceeds 10,000).

· August 28−31, 1943 — the UPA attacks 85 localities (e.g., Ostrówki and Wola Ostrowiecka) mostly in Kowel, Włodzimierz Wołyński, and Luboml counties.

· July−August 1943 — the greatest intensification of the UPA attacks on the Polish self-defense centers (e.g., Huta Stepańska was defeated on July 18, 1943, while Przebraż near Łuck managed to fight off the attack on August 30, 1943).

· 1943/44 — another wave of UPA raids on Polish localities in Równe, Łuck, Kowel, and Włodzimierz Wołyński counties.

· Mid-January 1944 — the beginning of the concentration of Polish detachments (ca. 6,500 soldiers) and the subsequent formation of the 27th Volhynian Infantry Division of the Home Army [27 Wołyńska Dywizja Piechoty Armii Krajowej], which fought against the Germans and Ukrainians. In July 1944 the division was forced to fight its way westward to the Lublin region.

· Mid-1943 — individual acts of murdering Poles in Eastern Galicia.

· End of 1943 — the central leadership of Bandera’s OUN and the Eastern Galician UPA led by Roman Shukhevych “Taras Chuprynka” decide to de-Polonize these territories. Ukrainians distribute leaflets calling on all Poles to leave Eastern Galicia under threat of death, and then carry out their threats.

· February 1944 — the final wave of the UPA attacks on Poles in Volhynia (e.g., on the cloister in Wiśniowiec).

· 1943/1944 — the first UPA attacks on Poles in Eastern Galicia (e.g., in Kruhów and Markowa).

· February 1944 — intensification of the UPA attacks on Polish settlements, particularly in the Stanisławów and Tarnopol voivodeships (e.g., in Korościatyn, Hanaczów, and Berezowica).

· February 28, 1944 — massacre of the village of Huta Pieniacka (ca. 600 victims) conducted by the 4^th SS Police Regiment consisting of volunteers to the “Galizien” SS Division.

· March 11, 1944 — a UPA detachment (probably supported by volunteers from the “Galizien” SS Division) massacres Poles in the Dominican cloister in Podkamień.

· March 1944 — the wave of violence moves to the Lvov Voivodeship (e.g., Huta Wierchobuzka, Wołoczków, and Wasylów).

· April 1944 — the UPA attacks on Poles spread across the entire Eastern Galicia. In April 1944 the number of victims numbers some 8,000.

· The night of April 9−10, 1944 — the UPA conducts massacres along the line stretching from Hanaczów in the north to villages in the Stanisławów Voivodeship in the south (e.g., 300 farms are set ablaze and 40 Poles are killed in Tomaszowce; Pniaki, Sokołów, and Zady are burned down).

· April 12, 1944 — the UPA massacres ca. 100 Poles in Huciska.

· May-August 1944 — the UPA continues its attacks on Poles (e.g., 120 victims in Bryńce Zagórne, and an attack on Polish passengers of a train in Zatyl).

· End of July 1944 — Polish administrational structures and a garrison of the Home Army begin to operate overtly in Lvov after the Soviet and Polish armies capture the city. The final negotiations between the AK leadership and the Soviet authorities lead to the arrest of Polish officers by the NKVD and to the disarmament and internment of the AK detachments exposed in Lvov and in the provinces.

· September 1944 — the UPA leadership issues its first orders to limit the scope of the anti-Polish ethnic cleansing.

· 1944/1945 — another wave of raids on the Polish localities in the Tarnopol Voivodeship (e.g., several thousand Polish victims in Wichrowica).

· May 1945 — the “Vovky” UPA company conducts a series of massacres in the Lublin region (e.g., several dozen Polish victims in Borydyca); this series is regarded as the epilogue of the anti-Polish purges.

· March−June 1944 — UPA detachments arrive in the Lublin region. A Polish-Ukrainian frontline is formed. Mutual raids on local rural communes result in several thousand Polish and Ukrainian victims.

· The night of March 9−10, 1944 — Polish attack on the Ukrainian village of Sahryń.

· March 15, 1944 — 33 Poles are killed at the train station in Gozdów by a local OUN armed group consisting of former policemen in German service.

· February−April 1945 — a wave of mutual attacks on Ukrainian and Polish villages along the line stretching from Lubaczów to as far as Sanok.

· March−April 1945 — the Polish attack on the Ukrainian village of Powłokoma (365 victims) and the subsequent UPA raid of the Polish village of Wązownica (ca. 100 Polish victims).