Dubingiai massacre
Encyclopedia
Mass murder
Mass murder is the act of murdering a large number of people , typically at the same time or over a relatively short period of time. According to the FBI, mass murder is defined as four or more murders occurring during a particular event with no cooling-off period between the murders...
of between 20 and 27 Lithuanian civilians in the town of Dubingiai
Dubingiai
Dubingiai is a town in Molėtai district in Lithuania. It is situated near Lake Asveja, the longest lake in the country. The town has 260 inhabitants as of 2003.-History:...
(Dubinki) on 23 June 1944, by a unit of the Armia Krajowa
Armia Krajowa
The Armia Krajowa , or Home Army, was the dominant Polish resistance movement in World War II German-occupied Poland. It was formed in February 1942 from the Związek Walki Zbrojnej . Over the next two years, it absorbed most other Polish underground forces...
, a Polish resistance
Polish resistance movement in World War II
The Polish resistance movement in World War II, with the Home Army at its forefront, was the largest underground resistance in all of Nazi-occupied Europe, covering both German and Soviet zones of occupation. The Polish defence against the Nazi occupation was an important part of the European...
group, in a reprisal action for the Glinciszki (Glitiškės) massacre
Glinciszki massacre
Glinciszki massacre refers to a mass murder that occurred on 20 June 1944 in the village of Glitiškės . In the massacre, thirty-seven mostly Polish villagers were killed by Nazi subordinated Lithuanian policemen retaliating for the death of four policemen that occurred during a fight with element...
of 20 June.
Background
Polish-Lithuanian relations during the interbellum period were strained since both sides had laid claim to the Vilnius regionVilnius region
Vilnius Region , refers to the territory in the present day Lithuania, that was originally inhabited by ethnic Baltic tribes and was a part of Lithuania proper, but came under East Slavic and Polish cultural influences over time,...
. During the Second World War these tensions were exacerbated due to conflicts between the Lithuanian pro-German
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
administration and military units, and the anti-Nazi Polish resistance, as well as the discrimination against Poles by the independent Lithuanian state between 1939 and 1940. On 20 June 1944 members of the Polish resistance killed four members of the Lithuanian police, and wounded several others in the village of Glitiškės (Glinciszki); in retaliation the Lithuanian police killed thirty-six Polish villagers (the Glinciszki massacre
Glinciszki massacre
Glinciszki massacre refers to a mass murder that occurred on 20 June 1944 in the village of Glitiškės . In the massacre, thirty-seven mostly Polish villagers were killed by Nazi subordinated Lithuanian policemen retaliating for the death of four policemen that occurred during a fight with element...
). After hearing of this, as well as other information about intensified pacification actions by the Lithuanian forces, the Armia Krajowa
Armia Krajowa
The Armia Krajowa , or Home Army, was the dominant Polish resistance movement in World War II German-occupied Poland. It was formed in February 1942 from the Związek Walki Zbrojnej . Over the next two years, it absorbed most other Polish underground forces...
("AK") command for the Vilnius region (under Aleksander Krzyżanowski
Aleksander Krzyzanowski
Aleksander "Wilk" Krzyżanowski was a Polish officer, major, member of the Polish resistance movement in World War II and Commandant of the Armia Krajowa in the Vilnius Region.- Biography :...
"Wilk") assumed that it represented a beginning of a new, large anti-Polish operation and only a demonstration of the strength of Polish forces in the region could stop the killings and protect the Polish civilians. Leaflets were distributed through the region that AK was planning to execute members of the Lithuanian units guilty of the Glinciszki massacre, and a raid on the pre-war Lithuanian Republic territory was planned. The AK command did not plan, and actually strictly forbade, any reprisals against innocent civilians.
In the meantime, elements of the 5th AK Brigade under command of Zygmunt Szendzielarz
Zygmunt Szendzielarz
Zygmunt Szendzielarz was commander of the Polish 5th Wilno Home Army Brigade.-Early life:...
aka "Łupaszko" learned that some of the responsible individuals and their families were stationed in the police station in Dubingai. An AK unit - a company of the 5th Brigade under Jan Wiktor Wiącek "Rakoczy" - decided to destroy the police station in the village as well as to execute several Nazi-Lithuanian informants in the village. There are different versions as to who led the raid on Dubingiai; most sources attribute it to the commander of the 5th Brigade, Szendzielarz - although Henryk Piskunowicz, Polish historian and author of several publications about Armia Krajowa operations in Vilnius region, specifically pointed to Wiącek.
The AK headquarters having learned of that initiative, and afraid that the soldiers of the 5th Brigade who have freshly witnessed the aftermath of Glinciszki may not follow the orders forbidding actions against civilians, sent a courier from AK headquarters in Vilnius ordering the 5th Brigade to stay put, the courier, however, did not reach the local commanders in time.
Events in Dubingai
The village was warned that the Polish attack was imminent, and many individuals—including the policemen who participated in the Glinciszki massacre—escaped before the Poles began the killings. The AK targeted Dubingiai's Lithuanian populace, using Lithuanian prayer books as a means of identifying Lithuanians, but sparing those inter-married with Poles. While collaborators were supposedly the AK's prime targets, the killings included the elderly, children, and even infants. A Polish woman and her 4-year old son were also reported to have been killed. The total number of victims is estimated at between 20 and 27.Aftermath
The reprisal actions of AK in Dubingiai, even if premature and unplanned by AK command, marked the beginning of a wider AK operation in which units beyond the 5th Brigade were involved. From 25 to 27 June various Polish units entered pre-war Lithuanian territory and carried out a series of actions against Lithuanian Nazi police forces and those labeled as Nazi sympathizers. Bridges and telecommunication lines were destroyed. Polish sources note that a number of civilian casualties, both Lithuanian and Polish, occurred as a result of the wider operations during that period, particularly when several buildings caught fire. According to Lithuanian sources between 70-100 Lithuanians, including civilians, were killed in total by the end of June 1944 in Dubingiai and the neighbouring villages of Joniškis, Inturkė, Bijutiškis, and GiedraičiaiGiedraiciai
Giedraitis is the name of a Lithuanian noble family, most probably dating back to the time of Mindaugas, although it has no connections with him...
.
Boradyn contends the AK's reprisal of 23–27 June was successful, since there were no further actions by Lithuanian forces similar to the preceding Glinciszki massacre
Glinciszki massacre
Glinciszki massacre refers to a mass murder that occurred on 20 June 1944 in the village of Glitiškės . In the massacre, thirty-seven mostly Polish villagers were killed by Nazi subordinated Lithuanian policemen retaliating for the death of four policemen that occurred during a fight with element...
. This contention of success against the Lithuanians is, however, largely speculative as the potential for further escalation by either side was cut short by the Soviet occupation of Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
(pre-war Wilno) two weeks later.
This chain of events stained the reputation of AK in Lithuania. According to Boradyn this was the only reprisal action against Lithuanians ever undertaken by the AK.
Zygmunt Szendzielarz
Zygmunt Szendzielarz
Zygmunt Szendzielarz was commander of the Polish 5th Wilno Home Army Brigade.-Early life:...
, the commander of the 5th Brigade, which was responsible for the massacre
Massacre
A massacre is an event with a heavy death toll.Massacre may also refer to:-Entertainment:*Massacre , a DC Comics villain*Massacre , a 1932 drama film starring Richard Barthelmess*Massacre, a 1956 Western starring Dane Clark...
, and later member of the Polish anti-Soviet resistance
Cursed soldiers
The cursed soldiers is a name applied to a variety of Polish resistance movements formed in the later stages of World War II and afterwards. Created by some members of the Polish Secret State, these clandestine organizations continued their armed struggle against the Stalinist government of Poland...
, was arrested in 1948 by the communist Polish secret police
Ministry of Public Security of Poland
The Ministry of Public Security of Poland was a Polish communist secret police, intelligence and counter-espionage service operating from 1945 to 1954 under Jakub Berman of the Politburo...
and after more than two years of torture and interrogation was executed by the communist Polish government
People's Republic of Poland
The People's Republic of Poland was the official name of Poland from 1952 to 1990. Although the Soviet Union took control of the country immediately after the liberation from Nazi Germany in 1944, the name of the state was not changed until eight years later...
in 1951. After the fall of the communism, Szendzielarz was rehabilitated and declared innocent of charges which he had been accused of. On 2007 Polish president Lech Kaczyński
Lech Kaczynski
Lech Aleksander Kaczyński was Polish lawyer and politician who served as the President of Poland from 2005 until 2010 and as Mayor of Warsaw from 2002 until 22 December 2005. Before he became a president, he was also a member of the party Prawo i Sprawiedliwość...
posthumously awarded Szendzielarz the order of Polonia Restituta
Polonia Restituta
The Order of Polonia Restituta is one of Poland's highest Orders. The Order can be conferred for outstanding achievements in the fields of education, science, sport, culture, art, economics, defense of the country, social work, civil service, or for furthering good relations between countries...
, creating controversy in Lithuania.