The UPA murdered around 150 Poles in and around the church during the escape; including they shot Father Jan Kotwicki. Sigismud Abramowski recalls: „On July 11, 1943, I served at the Holy Mass at 9.00 a.m. Father Jan Kotwicki, also concerned about the situation, quickly celebrated Mass without a sermon and returned to the rectory. The population left the chapel and soon began to return fearful that the Banderites' posts would not allow them to return home, turning back to the chapel. In addition, the next population began to arrive for a total of 11.00  […] The priest started the sum. Me and my friend Janek Żebrowski stood behind the door of the chapel, which opened inwards. In the chapel, together with the people returned from the previous Mass, there were about 200 people, mostly women and children. After picking up I noticed standing next to the door, suspicious movement. I saw that several Banderites had set up a Diechtiarev–type hand machine gun and began firing bursts at people and from single rifles; Two grenades were also thrown, but they did not explode. I hid with my friend behind the thick chapel door. The panic and scream of the wounded began in the temple. People started to run away through the side door next to the sacristy and the choir. The chapel, however, was tightly enclosed and shots rang out incessantly. In the temple, constantly fired with handguns and single weapons, there was screaming, groaning and the ear–splitting screams of the children. The priest, in liturgical vestments, escaped from the altar along with other women through the sacristy, but they were all killed outside. My father, who was an organist, ran away with people through the choir door. A bandit from Banderowski ran up and shot his father four times, luckily it was a misfire and the father managed to escape. After some time, only the killed and wounded remained in the chapel. The Banderites, apparently scared off by something, retreated to the forest near the” chapel.

source: Żurek Stanisław, „75th anniversary of the genocide – July 1943”; in: portal: Volhynia — web page: wolyn.org [accessible: 2021.02.04]

source: Karłowicz Leon, Popek Leon (comp.), „Following the traces of the genocide in Volhynia”, in: Polyhymnia, Lublin 1998, p. 314—315

source: Roch Tomasz Slawomir, „Massacre of the faithful in Chrynów chapel”; in: portal: Volhynia — web page: wolyn.org [accessible: 2021.04.11]

Sigismud Maguza reports: „When I arrived in Włodzimierz, he was already full of refugees. They were a terrible sight. They were bloody, their hands were chopped off, some had pierced eyes. They were shocked and their hair was standing on end from what they said. The animality of the Ukrainians was beyond all imagination. I even found out what was going on in Chrynów, until that day, because it was Sunday, I was going to church. The Banderites attacked the church during the Holy Mass. They killed priest Jan Witwicki (Kotwicki – comment by: Stanislaus Żurek) at the altar. Many of my friends also fell victim to them. Among others, Eliza Kruczyńska. Aniela Janusz was wounded in the hand. Janina, who lived next to Mrozy, first hit the leg when she was running away towards the forest. She fell on her back and the Bandera tried to finish her off and it hit the eye. Mróz found the blood soaked in blood and took it to his parents. They panicked and decided that it was really necessary to run away to Włodzimierz”.

source: Żurek Stanisław, „75th anniversary of the genocide – July 1943”; in: portal: Volhynia — web page: wolyn.org [accessible: 2021.02.04]

source: Koprowski Marek A., „Run away, they murder!”; in: portal: kresy.pl — web page: www.kresy.pl [accessible: 2012.02.22]

18–year–old Henryk Maguza then joined the 27th Volhynian Division of the Home Army, and later he reached Berlin with Berling's army. He was crossing the Pripyat river when the front was passing through it and watched as the river swallowed others. He saw death in the war, his friends died in his arms, he miraculously survived many times. He talks about it calmly. However, he cannot hold back tears as he talks about the massacre in his native Chrynów.
– There was a seven–year–old girl. Mommy put her in a nice church dress, braided pigtails and tied a bow. The Ukrainian beat the girl with a rifle butt in front of the church".

source: Żurek Stanisław, „75th anniversary of the genocide – July 1943”; in: portal: Volhynia — web page: wolyn.org [accessible: 2021.02.04]

source: Narbutt Maja, „Pigtail splattered with blood” — web page: www.historia.uwazamrze.pl [accessible: 2021.04.11]

Wiesław Witold G (born 1937) relates: „Poles used to go with weapons to their farms for food and other things. Once I managed to slip onto the wagon that my father was on. Apart from that, there were eight or ten neighbors' cars. In the village [near Chrynów] all the buildings were still standing, they were not burned down. We arrived at M.'s farm because we knew they hadn't run away. Next to the house, which had no basement, there was a so–called ground dungeon. In it we found marriage. My father wouldn't let me go to watch it, but I saw them taking the corpse out. They were both hacked with axes. Our close neighbor B was found in the field next to the farm. On both sides he was covered with planks in which [there were] nails, and the planks were bound with barbed wire. His body was nailed to nails, I saw him like this. I know, that in the fields and farmyards several people were found with their bellies slashed. Already in Włodzimierz, I was with my parents in the parish church at eleven. During the mass, maybe a twelve‑year‑old girl burst into the church. Her right arm was cut off at the shoulder. She ran in front of the main altar and shouted: «Holy Mother, thank you for saving me». Later, I found out that her entire family was murdered, she was the only one who saved herself and ran 10 kilometers through the forest”.

source: Żurek Stanisław, „75th anniversary of the genocide – July 1943”; in: portal: Volhynia — web page: wolyn.org [accessible: 2021.02.04]

source: Odonus Barbara, „Summer 1943”; in: „Card”, in: No. 43 /2004/