Pawłokoma massacre

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Pawłokoma massacre was a massacre in 1945 of over 360 Ukrainian civilians living in Pawłokoma near Przemyśl in Poland.

Around 366 (or 150 according to some Polish sources) Ukrainian and possibly some Polish inhabitants of Pawłokoma (including women and children, according to some sources) were murdered on March 3 1945, probably by former Armia Krajowa unit commanded by Józef Biss "Wacław" and aided by Polish self-defence groups from the nearby villages, in an act of retaliation for earlier probable murder of 9 (or 11) Poles by UPA. While various sources differ on specific issues like the number of the victims or the details of the massacre, all agree that the Ukrainian villagers were murdered by Poles and that former Armia Krajowa unit either participated directly or assisted in the killings.

Pawłokoma massacre is probably the best known but not the sole case of Ukrainian civilians being murdered by different Polish units in the years 1945-1946 (the others including the massacres of Małkowice, Wola Krzywiecka, Zawadka Morochowska, Piskorowice or Wierchowiny).

1 Investigation
2 Commemoration
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Investigation

Several bodies of the victims were exhumed in unknown circumstances in 1952. Polish Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) conducts an investigation of the crime since 20 September 2001. The ongoing investigation is (as of May 2006) still inconclusive.

[edit] Commemoration

On May 13, 2006 Polish president Lech Kaczyński and Ukrainian president Viktor Yushchenko attended a ceremony at the site in order to pay tribute to the victims, and to encourage historical reconciliation between Poland and Ukraine.