Michniów ' is a village

Village

A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

 in the administrative district of Gmina Suchedniów

Gmina Suchedniów

Gmina Suchedniów is an urban-rural gmina in Skarżysko County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, in south-central Poland. Its seat is the town of Suchedniów, which lies approximately south-west of Skarżysko-Kamienna and north-east of the regional capital Kielce.The gmina covers an area of , and as of...

, within Skarżysko County

Skarzysko County

Skarżysko County is a unit of territorial administration and local government in Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, south-central Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its administrative seat and largest town is...

, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship

Swietokrzyskie Voivodeship

Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, or Świętokrzyskie Province , is one of the 16 voivodeships into which Poland is presently divided. It is situated in central Poland, in the historical province of Lesser Poland, and takes its name from the Świętokrzyskie mountain range...

, in south-central Poland. It lies approximately 5 kilometres (3 mi) south of Suchedniów

Suchedniów

Suchedniów is a town in Skarżysko County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, Poland, with 9,067 inhabitants . It is the seat of the urban-rural district Gmina Suchedniów....

, 14 km (9 mi) south-west of Skarżysko-Kamienna

Skarzysko-Kamienna

Skarżysko-Kamienna is a town in northern Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship in Poland by Kamienna river, to the north of Świętokrzyskie Mountains; one of the voivodship's major towns...

, and 22 km (14 mi) north-east of the regional capital Kielce

Kielce

Kielce ) is a city in central Poland with 204,891 inhabitants . It is also the capital city of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship since 1999, previously in Kielce Voivodeship...

.

The village has a population of 440.

Michniów massacre

During World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, region of Michniów was occupied by the Germans from September 1939 until January 1945. Under the occupation, it was one of centres of the Polish underground partisan

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...

 movement. On 12 and 13 July 1943, a population of Michniów was massacred by the German Police units (of the 17th and the 22nd Police Regiments), commanded by Hauptmann Geruf Mayer, for helping the partisans. After the first massacre on 12 July, when 98 men were burned alive in barns, the partisans headed by Jan Piwnik

Jan Piwnik

Jan Piwnik was a Polish World War II soldier, a cichociemny and a notable leader of the Home Army in the Świętokrzyskie Mountains. He used the noms de guerre Ponury and Donat.-Biography:...

 "Ponury", made a retaliatory assault on a train from Kraków to Warsaw at night. On the next day, the Germans returned to continue the massacre. During two days, at least 203 inhabitants were killed - 103 males, 53 women and 47 children. Further 11 persons - the only ones suspected by the Germans for underground activities - were sent to Auschwitz concentration camp

Auschwitz concentration camp

Concentration camp Auschwitz was a network of Nazi concentration and extermination camps built and operated by the Third Reich in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany during World War II...

, where 6 died. The village was next completely burned.

After the war, Michniów was settled again. The village became one of most known symbols of the German atrocities in Poland

Pacification operations in German-occupied Poland

The pacification operations in German-occupied Poland was the use of military force and punitive measures conducted during World War II by Nazi Germany with the goal of suppressing any Polish resistance....

, although there were several greater massacres. From early 1980s, a museum and mausoleum of all Poland's massacred villages was built in Michniów.