In the colony of Dąbrowa near the village of Wielka Głusza, county Kamień Koszyrski The Ukrainians murdered over 30 Poles. „The day when Ukrainian bandits came to liquidate their family came, as it usually happens, quite unexpectedly. They were already decided that they should move to another place, because autumn was coming and it was difficult to spend all the nights outside. Helenka's father and his brothers were going to join the partisans, but first they went on a reconnaissance, where to move the families to be relatively safe. They left at dawn and soon after the bandits entered their town. There was a sense of fear in the air. Dogs barked and howled, occasionally shots were heard and flames rose high. Mum and Helenka ran to one of the hiding places, made in a haystack. Through the gaps they saw what's happening. A wagon pulled up in front of their house, on which there were already two bound Poles, landowners from their colonies. The bandits didn't find anyone in their house, so furious they decided to take everything they could. Dogs barked at them. One was shot immediately and the other was severely injured and the poor animal was crying out in pain all the time. You could also hear the roar of unmilted cows and the clink of glass, because, as it turned out later, all the panes in the windows had been broken. Years later, already advanced in age, Helena said: – This is how I imagine the atmosphere of the Last Judgment. When the bandits left, they left the hiding place. The interior of the house was virtually non–existent. Not only did they take everything, but what could not be taken they perfidiously destroyed. The impression of a controlled storm, as if the destructive power of nature was in the hands of people who had settlements with the whole world. They went to see what was happening at Helenka's grandfather, who, like many family members, lived nearby. The old man, living alone since his wife's death, did not want to hide, he did not even think about changing his place of residence, because he believed that he had done nothing wrong to anyone, so no one should blame him. His house was also completely looted. Not only were the windows broken, but there was also an attempt to smash one of the walls. Dogs, who somehow survived the invasion, were walking on the rubble. Grandpa was nowhere to be found. A search of the farm buildings did not help either. It was hard to bear the sight of the destruction and the terrifying silence. Mom tightly grasped Helenka's hand and they started walking towards the house. The path ran between the forest and the fields, on which good cannabis grew. In one place they were trampled as if someone had recently passed by. When they made a few steps in this direction, they noticed their grandfather. He was lying in a pool of blood, his head chopped off. The ax was the primary weapon of the UPA bands. They both started shaking. They quickly went on to look for someone alive, but found no one in the immediate vicinity  […] In the morning, a partisan unit arrived with his father and his brothers. The murdered had to be buried. There were over thirty of them. Whole families, including children and old people, all who happened to be in their homes. One of the women with a tiny baby in her arms managed to escape. However, she did not take any items needed for the baby, so when she felt it was safe, she returned for them. The bandits hid and caught her. Before killing they mistreated her and cut off both of her breasts. In the center of the colony, at the chapel of the Virgin Mary, where the May services were usually held, a huge hole was dug and all the bodies were placed in it  […] After this terrible funeral, during which over thirty inhabitants of Dąbrowa were buried in a common grave, most of the survivors moved to the nearby village of Wielka Głusza. There, not at home, but in the dugouts, they spent the winter”.

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

source: Lewandowska-Kąkol Agnieszka, „On the edge of hell. Borderland stories and reports”, in: Fronda, 2013-08-01 — web page: www.xlm.pl [accessible: 2021.04.11]

In the spring, another front crossed Wołyń and the inhabitants of Dąbrowa decided to return to their completely devastated houses. Even with the water there were problems, as the gangs destroyed the wells as well. Twenty kilometers from Dąbrowa there was a town called Kamień. You went there on foot when you had to buy something or arrange at the office. One time three inhabitants of Dąbrowa went there. On the way, they met three soldiers they knew. Their unit was stationed near Kamień and they were given leave to visit their families. So the six of them returned home. It was already late in the evening, it was getting dark. As they reached the end of the Ukrainian village of Vorokomle, shots rang out. Only two women managed to escape and, terrified, ran to Dąbrowa late at night. The whole village sprang to its feet and a unanimous decision was made. In the morning, everyone was ready to leave. They had clear evidence that it is impossible to live further in the place where most of them were born. They didn't want to wait for more. They left for Poland.

source: Żurek Stanisław, „Calendar of the genocide – May 1944”; in: portal: Volhynia — web page: wolyn.org [accessible: 2021.02.04]

source: Lewandowska-Kąkol Agnieszka, „On the edge of hell. Borderland stories and reports”, in: Fronda, 2013-08-01 — web page: www.xlm.pl [accessible: 2021.04.11]