The UPA slaughtered 150 Poles. Entire families were killed by bullets, knives, axes and other tools, or burned alive. The girl, Władysława Bagińska, was traced and stabbed to death in a haystack, and her parents and five siblings were also murdered. Widow Marcelina Piotrowska was hacked with an ax, her 9‑year‑old daughter Władysława and 7‑year‑old Romualda were stabbed with a pitchfork, 5‑year‑old son Stefan was hacked with an ax, and her 3‑year‑old son Waldemar was shot.
„The tragedy came to Leonówka on August 1, 1943, just before midnight. 39‑year‑old apolonia Reszczyńska remembered that night as follows:
«During the day we worked in a household in Leonówka, and at night we went by horse–drawn carriage to Tuczyn. Our neighbors from Leonówka spent the night in the nearby bushes and groves. We were all afraid that death might come at night. In the evenings, men hired guards on the village outskirts. On the fateful day of August 1, 1943, after the evening mass in the church, calmed down a bit, we decided not to go to Tuczyn for the night. Gnana, however, with some bad feeling, I persuaded my neighbors, the Łój family, to come to our cottage to pray at the statue of Our Lady of Niepokalanów. around 10 p.m., while praying the litany, we heard shots and when we ran out of the house, we saw fire from several straw–covered huts from incendiary shells at the beginning of the village. They were all terrified. In great chaos, among screams, in the thunder of rifle missiles, in the light of the bloody tongues of fire hitting the sky from burning houses and barns, I grabbed my youngest child, six–month–old Roman, and started running blindly towards the forest. My husband and his older children ran behind the barn to find grain. The whiz of bullets released inexhaustible strength in me. The younger children ran off in different directions along with the dog, unchained. I did not realize yet that the village is surrounded by Banderites. With Romek in my arms, I ran, stumbling between the fields of ripening rye. There was a dog whining with fear by my side all the time. When I was close to the forest, in front of me a powerful Ukrainian with a rifle in his hands rose like from the underground. I met him. It was Szkul, a Ukrainian from a neighboring village, who often visited us. He was a producer of concrete rings for wells and a few weeks ago, in the middle of our yard, with my husband, he installed these rings in a newly dug well. He was a nice, affectionate man and we even became friends with him. Now I saw him in a new role. With some insane gleam in his eyes and a terrible grimace on his face, he shot straight at my head without hesitation. a bullet whistled against my left temple, ripping off my hairband and causing a bleeding from my pierced ear. I fell into the corn with the baby, but I did not lose consciousness. Szkul thought he killed me. He trampled Romek's son with his shoe. at that moment I heard the order: ‹right hid pered› (right wing forward). Szkul obeyed. He crossed Marynia, lying in blood a few meters away from me, my husband's sister married to Wasowski. Beside her he lay, thankfully alive, her two‑year‑old son Stefek, who currently lives in Wrocław. When Szkul went towards the village to carry out the murderous order, I got up, covered my child with a sheaf and, in shock, ran further into the forest. They fired after me but missed. When it began to dawn, the Ukrainians from the village relented. Then I returned to the place where I hid the child. I found them whole and alive. But Romek had his chest dented until the end of his life – it was a remnant of Szkula's heel. all the houses in Leonówka were burned down. Dozens of dead bodies lay among the site of fire. Only my family was extremely lucky – we all survived: my husband and our six children. There was no other such family in Leonówka. Everybody mourned»  […]
I published the story of apolonia Reszczyńska on October 3, 1996 in «Gazeta Brzeska». In May 2013, while writing this text, I decided to find out what was the future of my interlocutor from many years ago. From her son, alfred Reszczyński, I learned that she lived for another two years, and the circumstances of her death were as shocking as the story quoted above. For Christmas in 1998, apolonia Reszczyńska, then 94 years old, went to Brzeg, to her daughter Zofia (born in 1938), after her husband Malinowska. During the New Year's Eve, awakened by gunshots and explosions of fireworks welcoming the New Year in front of the Brest town hall, roused from sleep, believing it to be a Bandera attack, she opened the window and, in order to escape, just like 65 years ago in Leonówka, jumped out through it. The little room where she slept he was on the high ground floor. The fall turned out to be tragic. She broke her leg and hurt her face because she fell into a rose bush with her head. Transported to hospital, she lived for another month. The trauma of «of the red Bandera nights», when entire villages of Volhynia were on fire, stayed in it until the end of her life”.

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

source: Nicieja Stanisław S., „My Borderlands. Flag dispute”

Over one hundred people from the village of Leonówka were murdered that night  […] We leave all our possessions – a new house, a barn, a cowshed, a concrete well, an orchard, cows, pigs, a flock of geese  […] . We have one car and three families are packing – what can you take? Young children also need to be put on the cart. I packed the sack with better clothes, some food. I took the picture of Our Lady of Częstochowa and gave the children a small picture. I took the mission cross off the wall, I took the rosary and I say that I have already taken everything that is most important. The painting of the Mother of God, which my parents used to bless us with for the wedding, was too big to take with me, so I took it off the wall, put it on a table covered with a white tablecloth, and dressed it in flowers. We all knelt down, refused under Your protection and asked Mother for a blessing, not for marriage, as in the past, but for wandering for life. With tears in our eyes, we left the apartment, which I locked it with a padlock. I crossed the road with the cross and we set off. Only Reks stayed. We couldn't take him with us because he didn't have a muzzle and he was very dangerous. When we were leaving the yard, he began to scream terribly and the children to cry, and tears ran down our cheeks. We drove 6 kilometers and we could still hear his howling. We rode quickly through the burnt Leonówka. How many dead bodies lay there, and in the village a living soul. Those who were alive fled, funerals were out of the question. The farms still smoked here and there. The apiary was burnt down a hundred trunks, the bees were sitting on the honey from the broken hives. The eighteen‑year‑old s/o Mikołaj M. was lying in the rye field next to the road. He had terribly burned body and clothes. He called for help, but it was impossible, he was dying  […] We drove to Tuczyn, where there was a German police station.

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

source: „Memoirs of August 2, 1943 (Monday) by Anna O., Leonówka, commune Tuczyn, district Equal”, found and inserted: Bogusław Szarwiło — web page: ksiegarnia.karta.org.pl [accessible: 2021.03.05]

On August 1, 1943 at At 10 pm, shots were fired near Leonówka. The incendiary spheres hissed, directed at the farm buildings, mostly covered with straw. Three families living in the first, extreme houses found death on fire. The noise and crackle of the fire was accompanied by the roar of cattle and the howling of dogs. The attacker was firing hand rifles all the time, machine guns fired, grenades burst. Those attackers who did not have firearms took axes, „scythes upright,” aimed, and pitchforks. The people of Leonówka, after the first heard shots, were on their feet. Mothers carried two children, fathers, if they managed to untie the cattle, thus saving them from burning. As anyone jumped up, whether at home or in a barn, or in a haystack, in underwear or clothes, he ran away saving his life. Mothers lost their children, fathers lost their families, but each, regardless of anything, ran away, looking for shelter from a gang in the river, in swamps, in bushes. The village was surrounded by the Ukrainians on all sides. However, from the side of the forest, a greater force of The Ukrainians approached, if any of those seeking help turned that direction, they never came back. There, after a wake in Leonówka, a gang of attackers went, taking away agricultural machinery and furniture stolen from Leonówka and kidnapping cattle. Soon the Ukrainians were in Leonówka, maybe two hours, but they must have been very strong, because they did a lot during that time. They robbed the whole village and burned them down, with grenades they destroyed a beautiful, brick, two–class school. In the morning, only the fumes rose over Leonówka. Death was blowing. Here they laid their heads: each, however, heedlessly ran away, seeking refuge from the gang in the river, in the swamps, in the bushes. The village was surrounded by the Ukrainians on all sides. However, from the side of the forest, a greater force of The Ukrainians approached, if any of those seeking help turned in that direction, they did not come back. There, after a wake in Leonówka, a gang of attackers went, taking away agricultural machinery and furniture stolen from Leonówka and kidnapping cattle. Soon the Ukrainians were in Leonówka, maybe two hours, but they must have been very strong, because they did a lot during that time. They robbed the entire village and burned them down, with grenades they smashed a beautiful, brick, two–class school. In the morning, only the fumes rose over Leonówka. Death was blowing. Here they laid their heads: each, however, heedlessly ran away, seeking refuge from the gang in the river, in the swamps, in the bushes. The village was surrounded by the Ukrainians on all sides. However, from the side of the forest, a greater force of The Ukrainians approached, if any of those seeking help turned that direction, they never came back. There, after a wake in Leonówka, a gang of attackers went, taking away farm machinery and furniture stolen from Leonówka and kidnapping cattle. Soon the Ukrainians were in Leonówka, maybe two hours, but they must have been very strong, because they did a lot during that time. They robbed the whole village and burned them down, with grenades they destroyed a beautiful, brick, two–class school. In the morning, only the smoke rose over Leonówka. Death was blowing. Here they laid their heads: The village was surrounded by the Ukrainians on all sides. However, from the side of the forest, a greater force of The Ukrainians approached, if any of those seeking help turned that direction, they never came back. There, after a wake in Leonówka, a gang of attackers went, taking away agricultural machinery and furniture stolen from Leonówka and kidnapping cattle. Soon the Ukrainians were in Leonówka, maybe two hours, but they must have been very strong, because they did a lot during that time. They robbed the entire village and burned them down, with grenades they smashed a beautiful, brick, two–class school. In the morning, only the fumes rose over Leonówka. Death was blowing. Here they laid their heads: The village was surrounded by the Ukrainians on all sides. However, from the side of the forest, a greater force of The Ukrainians approached, if any of those seeking help turned that direction, they never came back. There, after a wake in Leonówka, a gang of attackers went, taking away agricultural machinery and furniture stolen from Leonówka and kidnapping cattle. The Ukrainians were soon hosted in Leonówka, maybe two hours, but they must have been very strong, because they did a lot during that time. They robbed the whole village and burned them down, with grenades they destroyed a beautiful, brick, two–class school. In the morning, only the fumes rose over Leonówka. Death was blowing. Here they laid their heads: after the funeral ceremony in Leonówka, the attacker's gang went, taking away agricultural machinery and furniture stolen in Leonówka and kidnapping cattle. Soon the Ukrainians were in Leonówka, maybe two hours, but they must have been very strong, because they did a lot during that time. They robbed the entire village and burned them down, with grenades they destroyed a beautiful, brick, two–class school. In the morning, only the smoke rose over Leonówka. Death was blowing. Here they laid their heads: after the funeral ceremony in Leonówka, the attacker's gang went, taking away agricultural machinery and furniture stolen from Leonówka and kidnapping cattle. The Ukrainians were soon hosted in Leonówka, maybe two hours, but they must have been very strong, because they did a lot during that time. They robbed the entire village and burned them down, with grenades they smashed a beautiful, brick, two–class school. In the morning, only the fumes rose over Leonówka. Death was blowing. Here they laid their heads:
1. Maria Wąsowska – 30 years old – mother of four children, died a martyr's death cut through her belly with a scythe
2. Marian Świerszczyński – 11 years old – orphan stabbed with knives
3. Sigismud Misiewicz – aged 15 – burned with fire and stabbed with knives
4–8. Marcelina Piotrowska – 37 years old – with four children burnt alive in the first house on the shore in Leonówka
9–13. Anna Paśniewska – 35 years old – murdered with four children and burned by the attackers
14–19. Jan Bagiński – 38 years old – disabled with five children, murdered and burned
20. Grzegorz Urbanowicz – 49 years old – shot
21. Bogdan Urbanowicz – 20 years old – shot
22. Grześ Rudnicki – 2 years old – shot
23. Romualda Urbanowicz – age 13 – died of wounds
24. Jan Kamiński – 53 years old – killed
Nobody bury them. They stayed there, among the fields and meadows, the beloved homeland. Honor their memory!!! We consider saving our life a miracle. When we passed the border of our village, we thought that we could safely go south of Leonówka. We were walking along the balks, avoiding Ukrainian houses, rather towards Polish houses. At one point, when we were 150–200 m from the house of a Pole, Zabłocki, the bird unexpectedly hit my husband in the chest. The host walking with us said it was a bad sign and advised us to hide among the lupine growing next to us. We did not even manage to hide in it when shots, the clink of broken glass, and the groans of the murdered were heard in the buildings we were heading towards.
The Ukrainians also came there carrying out executions, burning the buildings at the end. We were lying in lupine, around us The Ukrainians destroyed five Polish farms, murdering the population and burning the buildings. The balls whistled overhead. We fell from one hell to another, but we came out of it happily.

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

source: Szyndrowski Marcin, „Poles cannot forget about Volhynia!”, the story of the late Janina Rolle nee Frola - teachers from Leonówka, graduate of Pedagogium im. Julliusz Słowacki at the Krzemieniec Secondary School, made available by his son, Andrzej Rolle

[The Ukrainians] stopped a column of carts with families escaping from the village of Kudranka to Tuczyn. Some of the UPA took carts with food and clothes, and the rest led the refugees to the forest, where the second group of „Ukrainian partisans” was waiting. After searching and undressing the victims, they placed the victims in groups of 10 and killed them by stabbing and cutting with bayonets. Bronisław Reszczyńska, 22, who was in the last days of her pregnancy, opened her belly. The unburied bodies of at least 42 Poles remained at the crime scene, mostly women and children, ranging from 2‑year‑old children to 80‑year‑old Wiktoria Łozowicka.

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