Wola massacre

The Wola massacre (Polish: Rzeź Woli) refers to the mass murder of ethnic Poles by Nazi German troops in Warsaw, occupied Poland in August 1944.

Background

In occupied Poland, the Nazi Germans saw Warsaw as the center of resistance. The start of the Warsaw Uprising on August 1, 1944 made the Nazi Germans decide to destroy Warsaw. Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler said:

Every inhabitant is to be killed, and no prisoners are to be taken. Warsaw must be levelled to the ground to set a terrifying example to the rest of Europe.

Reichsfuhrer-SS Heinrich Himmler in 1942.

Events

Beginning

Men formed the majority of the massacre's victims. On August 5, 1944, thousands of soldiers from the Wehrmacht, "Dirlewanger" SS regiment, and the 608th infantry regiment started the mass murder by shooting civilians in their houses, and on the streets when they fled the houses being set on fire by the Nazi Germans.

Mass executions

Mass executions happened near the railway workshop halls in Moczydło Street (as many as 12,000 were killed), in the "Ursus" plant (as many as 7,500 killed), in the Franaszek factory (as many as 6,000 killed), in Sowiński Park (about 1,500 killed), and the Orthodox Christian cemetery (hundreds killed).

Later development

The massacre was scaled down General von dem Bach-Zelewski took charge and stopped the murder of women and children. On August 6, more mass murders happened, especially in the Kirchmajer and Marczewski farming machinery store at 79/81 Wolska Street, where 2,000 deaths were recorded.

Civilians driven along Wolska Street.
Ursus factory – execution site of nearly 6,000 Wola residents.

Lieutenant Colonel Jan Mazurkiewicz, codenamed Radosław, wrote in an August 6 report to the Polish Home Army's Colonel Antoni Chruściel:

The enemy is burning more houses and executing residents in Wola [...] Thousands of refugees from Wola have gathered in my sector. A massive tragedy is unfolding like the historical massacre of Praga. I am doing what I can to reduce this tragedy, sending people to the Old Town. If you can help, do so quickly, as there is little time left.

Old Town during the Warsaw Uprising in 1944.

Casualties

The exact death toll remains unclear. Experts put the toll at 38,000–65,000.

Polish civilians murdered during the Wola massacre in Warsaw, August 1944.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
    • Cienciala, Anna M.; Hanson, Joanna K. M. (January 1984). "The Civilian Population and the Warsaw Uprising of 1944". Military Affairs. 48 (1): 49. doi:10.2307/1988362. ISSN 0026-3931. JSTOR 1988362.
    • Alfred Peszke, Michael (December 2005). "A Review of: "Norman Davies.Rising '44. The Battle For Warsaw."". The Journal of Slavic Military Studies. 18 (4): 767–769. doi:10.1080/13518040500357003. ISSN 1351-8046. S2CID 219625918.
    • Garliński, Jarek (2015-04-01). "Warsaw 1944: Hitler, Himmler, and the Warsaw Uprising". The Polish Review. 60 (1): 111–115. doi:10.5406/polishreview.60.1.0111. ISSN 0032-2970.
    • Blejwas, Stanley. "A Heroic Uprising in Poland". Archived from the original on January 31, 2018. Retrieved September 2, 2010.
    • "President of the Institute of National Remembrance Karol Nawrocki, Ph.D. paid tribute to the Polish civilian population of Warsaw ‒ victims of the German massacre in the Wola district, Warsaw, 5 August 2021". Instytut Pamięci Narodowej. August 5, 2021. Retrieved April 14, 2025.
  2. ↑ Gursztyn, Piotr (2014). Rzeź Woli. Zbrodnia nierozliczona [The Wola Massacre: An Unaccounted Crime] (in Polish). Warsaw, Poland: DEMART SA. ISBN 978-83-7427-869-0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)