Józef Bryg's witness: „The first ones were burnt by the Soplów. We knew this house and this family well. They lived near us, that is near the town of Podkamień in the Tarnopol Province. We lived in the Palikrów colony. A pale fear fell on the Poles. But not only for Poles. The Banderites did not spare mixed families either. I even remembered one of such stories. It concerned a family of four. Polish mother, Ukrainian father. Plus two children – a son and a daughter. In such cases, the rule was that sons were baptized in the church, and daughters in the church. As a result, the girl grew up to be Polish, and the boy to be a Ukrainian. After some time, the son joined a band of Banderites and one day he suggested to his father that the two of them. murder his mother and sister. Such were the instructions of the organization. Only by murder was it possible to wash away the disgrace, what was the kinship with «Laszka» [Polish woman]. The father asked his son for time to think. The next day he said he was ready to murder his wife and daughter. Then the man handed him a gun. Go kill! As they approached the wife's bedroom, suddenly the father turned and. he put the bullet into his son. He killed him on the spot. I do not know what their further fate was. Did they survive, or did the Bandera followers catch them and murder”?

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

source: „She was saved from the field of death”; in: Herbich Anna, „Girls from Volhynia”, in: Horizon Sign, 2018 — web page: superhistoria.pl [accessible: 2021.04.11]

On Christmas Day „Małecki Karol, Br. Józefa Szeremeta. Murdered during Christmas 1944”.

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

source: Świętojański Czesław, Wiśniewski Aleksander, „List of murdered in Podkamień (and its vicinity) by the UPA in 1943—1945.”; in: portal: Podkamień n. Brody, in: 10.05.2014 — web page: www.podkamien.pl [accessible: 2021.04.11]

A UPA kuren led by Maks Skorupski „Maks” and the 4th SS police regiment made up of Ukrainian volunteers for the SS „Galizien–Hałyczyna” broke into the monastery and massacred the Polish people gathered there. The estimated number of victims ranges from 400 to 600 Poles. According to the account of Fr Józef Burda, Father Marcin Kaproń, who on Saturday, March 11, 1944, was in the community in Podkamień on an official matter, heard from the janitor that he was preparing an attack on the monastery. After returning to the buildings, he ordered the gates to be closed. On the same day, a unit claiming to be the Soviet partisans appeared at the monastery walls and demanded admission to the monastery and support in the form of food. The commanders of the defense of the monastery lowered the meal on ropes, and at the request of the alleged Soviet partisans sent a delegation to them, which, by eating it with the besiegers, was to prove that the food was not poisoned. The delegates were released on the same day, they recognized that The Ukrainians from the UPA were besieging them. As a result, the defenders decided not to leave the monastery and strengthened its gates and windows as much as possible. At that time, at least 300 Polish civilians were permanently residing inside the building's walls. Under the cover of night, part of the population fled the monastery. The next day, March 12, due to another refusal to open the gates, the besiegers began firing at the monastery and hitting the gate with axes. However, they were stopped by shots from two machine guns owned by Poles. At that time, the command of the Ukrainian unit demanded that all Poles hiding there, except for the monks, leave the buildings, promising to release them. When the Poles started to leave the monastery, the UPA opened fire. A general confusion arose, in which the attackers broke into the interior of the monastery, about 100 Poles were murdered, not counting people hiding outside the monastery in the area of Podkamień. The bodies of the victims were abandoned at the scene of the murder or thrown into a monastery well. The pogroms also spread to the town, where they continued for the next few days. The monastic property, which is one of the richest collections of valuables and works of art in the then Borderlands, was successively and meticulously plundered for several days until it was completely plundered, according to the priests who survived the slaughter, the treasures stolen by the Ukrainians amounted to several million dollars. The Banderites transported them in carts for two days, and the Ukrainian SS in cars, plundered monastic property and property of murdered Poles. The interiors of the monastery complex were destroyed. The painting of Our Lady of Podkamień survived the pogrom. He was taken care of by the rescued father Józef Burda, who transported him to Poland in 1946. Currently, it is located in the Church of the Dominican Fathers in Wrocław. On March 19, Soviet troops entered Podkamień. In 2009, the Ukrainian authorities erected a monument in honor of the UPA in Podkamień. The victims had to wait until 2012, when, after many years of efforts by the descendants of the victims and members of the „Podkamień” Borderland Association, a ceremonial unveiling and blessing of the monument commemorating the victims of the crime in Podkamień took place. The monument consists of six plaques with the names of the victims of the crime (the Ukrainian authorities have not allowed to name all of them) and a granite cross with the emblem of Poland and the inscription „In memory of the inhabitants of Pidkamin and its vicinity who died in March 1944. Let them rest in Room”. The monument was consecrated in the presence of about 200 people by Catholic clergy of the Latin and Byzantine–Ukrainian rites, but none of the Greek Catholic monks who now own the church and some rooms of the former Dominican monastery showed up. In their speeches, representatives of the local Ukrainian authorities looked for those guilty of the crimes committed in the Germans and Russians, and referred not only to the crimes in Pidkamin, but also to the murders of The Ukrainians in Pawłokom, Uhryń and Zaleska Wola, trying to relativize the events in Podkamień. „From March 11 to March 15, 44 in Podkamień, in the town and monastery of Fr Dominikanów, about 900” Poles were murdered together with refugees from Volhynia.

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

source: Kubów Władysław, „Terrorism in Podolia”, in: Warsaw 2003

„Saturday – March 11, 1944 was a very sunny day, the snow was melting and no one had any sense of the impending tragedy of the Polish population in Podkamień, and the villages of Palikrów and Maleniska. On this day, as usual, in the evening, my family, ie mother, 47 years old, sister 12 years old – and brother 20 years old, had already left home and went to the Monastery for the night, I went to the Monastery after a few minutes of my family's departure. We considered the monastery a safe place in which the so–called Forest District was located at that time. «Forschutz», the crew of which were exclusively Poles. The forest inspector was Sołtysik, who also acted as «the commandant of the defense of the Monastery»  […] On the way to the Monastery, I meet Czesław Świętojański, a close neighbor, who asks me to return to his house with him. I was reluctant to do so because I was already under the monastery walls, my return was decided by Czesław's strange behavior and the explanation that our situation was at risk. I did not fully understand what was going on yet, only after arriving at his house I learned that Czesław had come to warn his parents about the expected attack. His parents stayed at home for that night, and they were both murdered on the morning of the next day. I returned to the monastery with Czesław because it was getting close to dusk, here I felt the general nervousness and nervous tension among the population. Soon I understood why this anxiety came from when, together with a few friends, we watched through binoculars from the church tower strings of sleighs full of armed people entering the town from the Nakwash side. It was already known that the Bandera followers were going to make the next bloody harvest on the Polish population of Podkamień. We already knew about the total murder and burning of the Polish population of the villages of Huta Pieniacka, Huta Werhobuska and Suchowola (January 1944). It was getting close to dusk, priest Józef Burda and the forest inspector Sołtysik leave the monastery, go through the monastery courtyard towards the organist house, meet the Bandera patrol behind the monastery wall. Talks of this group are ongoing just outside the main entrance to the monastery. The Banderites are trying to convince the priest and forest inspector that they have no evil intentions towards the population gathered in the monastery, they only want to get accommodation for tired soldiers who are going to fight against the Soviet troops. The people refused to open the gate. after a dozen or so minutes, the priest and the forest inspector return, they are very nervous to talk to the banders. I noticed – continued priest Józef – that these people are not just any army, they are ordinary bandits, each of them has a large knife under his belt! People gathered around the priest go inside the church, a common confession begins and the priest gives absolution to the faithful. The Church resounds with the song Under Your Protection. Frightened people leave the church and return to their rooms in the monastery. Soon, a group of Banderites appears in the convent courtyard, demanding food and alcohol. after a short while, they are given the food and drink they want, and they are lowered into the basket on the rope. The Banderites are leaving, but not for long, this time they mean three men who are to try to eat and drink the provided provisions before being eaten by the gang. This is how they want to make sure that food and alcohol are not poisoned. For these tastings; the organist Ptaszek, Ziemak and one from Volhynia (I don't remember the name) come – they are lowered onto a rope. after checking the food, which is done on the organist, all three are fired. Two participants return to the monastery, Ziemak goes to his home. Father Józef's assumptions about the intentions of these people are confirmed, he is undoubtedly the most ordinary gang of murderers and not any military formation – they declare at the same time, preparations for the defense of the monastery are already underway, people from the lower parts and the ground floor are moved to the first floor. The entrance to the first floor is walled with sacks of grain, flour, etc. Here, armed people are deployed. all exits outside the monastery are barricaded with various equipment and special supports. Late at night, Julek Bajewicz is lowered on the rope, who voluntarily undertakes to reach the village of Palikowy, 3 km away from the monastery, with a warning that they should be on the alert, because the gang is getting ready to murder Poles. The village of Palikowy was mostly inhabited by the Polish population, which was well armed with various types of weapons, including machine weapons. In the fall of 1943, defensive positions were prepared. The Banderites knew about it very well, because in the fall the commander of the Ukrainian police from Podkamień, named Pawluk, was killed there. The night of March 11/12, 1944, passed quietly for the people in the monastery, but not all of them slept that night, people made various assumptions about the situation and the next day. The morning of March 12 is as sunny as Saturday morning, people are carefully watching what is happening behind the walls of the monastery. Peace and quiet everywhere, only behind the wall in the entrance gate from the organist's side there is a hidden machine gun with a few banders next to it. Further on, in the organist's yard, there are a dozen or so saddled horses and banders. I go with a few of my friends to the church tower, we have binoculars, but we no longer go directly to the gallery, but we observe the area through the windows. We see columns of military cars, some of the cars are drawn with artillery guns. This column stops at the foot of the monastery mountain, soldiers of the so–called of the SS Hałyczyna division. This formation of about 200 people stands in a double row, in front of which an officer with a map walks and explains something to the soldiers. after about 10 minutes, the column, in a goose formation, started its march towards the village of Palikrów. Cars drove another 400 m with cannons, which were detached next to the cemetery wall from the side of the village of PalikRaW. Soon there was a strong fire at the village of Palikrów by this artillery. It was as if a signal to everyone that the pacification action of Poles had begun. The Bandera group attacked the main entrance to the monastery. They attack with dozens of hand grenades, which are to protect them from possible counter–strikes by Poles sitting outside the windows. But the Polish defense was silent, the forester forbidden to shoot, his loud voice was heard every now and then with the same warning – do not shoot! The nervousness grew, he was asked why he forbid shooting, and then a short answer was given – I will not fight the army. In this situation, the Banderites feel unpunished, massive machine gun fire is launched from all sides of the monastery, glass and tiles are falling apart, we are constantly shaken by the roar of grenades bursting in the monastery rooms. I stand by the entrance stairs to the first floor and listen to reports from the ground floor. at one point, they report that the Banderites made a breach in the door and that the door opened, and they could break into the monastery at any moment. This information sparked an immediate reaction among the previously tacit defense of the monastery. Young Ślosyk (?) Is the first to move with the bundle of grenades, waits for a moment and after the Banderite grenade explodes, he runs into the room and lowers his load directly onto the heads of the attacking Banderites. This time, you can hear a deaf, but more powerful explosion than the previous explosions – an explosion that is a signal for defense. Poles respond with all kinds of weapons, the Bandera followers remain silent and withdraw from forcing the entrance. a moment of silence. I am assigned to the gunner Dominik Półtorak as a loader for rifle magazines, our position is located in the refectory, every now and then we change positions at the windows from which Półtorak shoots the Banderites hiding behind the old trees of the monastery garden. The Banderites are driven out of the main area of their attack, but they do not give up yet another attack, this time on the entrance gate, the so–called economic. Their action quickly fails – they are repelled. The last shots are silent, the gang withdrew behind the walls surrounding the monastery. In this tense silence, you hear a voice from the entrance of the monastery gate «do not shoot, I am one of yours; I bring you an ultimatum». He was a resident of Podkamień by the name of Getynger. The letter was drawn up by an army major taking part in the pacification action of Poles in the Podkamień region. The soldiers of these units were units of the SS Hałyczyna. according to this letter, he demands that the entire population of the monastery should be left, because the building has been designated by the Wehrmacht command as a strategic point that is to be taken over by the army after 2 hours. at the end, this commander guarantees everyone full safety when leaving the monastery building – I quote: no hair will fall off anyone's head – these words ended the document. But it contained a threat that in the event of non–compliance with this decision, the monastery would be bombed. a short consultation among the defenders of the monastery – opinions are divided as to the further fight. The decision is made by the forest inspector until he leaves the monastery and thus dissolves his department. The weapon is buried and the population begins to leave the monastery. These were the last moments of hope that perhaps the terms contained in the ultimatum would be honored. Such thinking was prompted by the statement made also by Gottingen about the gang's departure from the outer defensive walls of the monastery. as it soon turned out, it was a hideous Banderite plan. I am saying goodbye to my mother and siblings for the last time, we split up into groups. Mother and sister, and I and my brother, each goes out separately. In the corridors, rushing people shout, exhortation, the sight terrifying as the crowd presses against the main exit, which is only partially barricaded. This causes a panic among the part lagging behind that you may not have time to get out. The matter is solved by the second option and people, having left the monastery walls, go to their homes. I stand in the corridor of the main exit and observe what is happening here, I meet my close friend Józef Kraft. I will leave the monastery with him. We slowly approach the vestibule of our exit, we look at the unbroken grenades and broken door lying in the corners. I have a bad feeling that the worst is ahead. We are the last to leave the monastery alive. We head towards the exit through the gate in the wall for the organist. a woman runs to us from the gate and shouts that there are already Banderites outside the walls, so that we should turn back from our chosen path. We run towards the organist's farm buildings – first shots. The further way seems impossible to me, because from our building, behind which we took refuge, about 50 meters away, there are three bandits with rifles ready to shoot in our direction. after a short reflection, Józek is the first to move towards the nearest building, about 80 m away, the run begins under the continuous fire of bullets, leaving their white traces in the boards of the rotten fence. He ran happily and waved his hand at me, urging me to run. Intuitively, I do not believe in a similar happy run to my colleague when I have the tracks of a fence smashed with bullets before my eyes. I understand that my life is determined by seconds, and they may surprise me at any moment from the other side of the building behind which I took refuge. I choose the road perpendicular to the building protecting me from the Banderites' view, to run about 100 meters through a young orchard to the first building that would provide me with cover. I saw the chances of survival only in the forest and this was the shortest way to achieve my dream goal. In these rapidly churning thoughts I see my brother W. standing with his sister Józek Kraft for the last time, they stand hypnotized behind the Bacewicz building and do not run away, and on the other side of the building the Bandera followers are ready to shoot. at this point, they are both murdered. after a dozen or so steps, I begin to avoid fruit trees, discover myself, I am in the crosshairs of three Bandera rifles. This constant avoidance of trees and sliding on the soggy snow at this time saved my life. I get one hit in the left thigh the moment I pause for a moment when I cross the fence, I fall down and feel heat and pain, blood. a moment of rest and a leg try, if I can run away, what's cheap with me, the Bandera followers will be here in a moment. I jump to my feet, I feel stronger pain now, but I don't mind anything, I can run and that's the most important thing for me. I wish to reach the forest wall below as soon as possible. Goes. In the forest I meet my aunt with five children (Wołyniacy), they want me to stay with them. Too large group of people, I refuse and go deep into the forest for the so–called logging. In one place I discover three Poles: Michał Wiśniewski, Waręczuk and one Wołyniak. I am among my own people who see that I am wounded, want to help me, but have no bandages. I make a bed of twigs in the snow, I am very exhausted, I want to sleep at all costs, my friends advise against it, they talk to me all the time. Evening is approaching and I have fallen asleep for good. at midnight they wake me up, they feel frosty, and I'd rather go on sleeping. They do not give up, I have to mobilize and get up, but it is not easy – I am frozen with a stiffened leg, I cannot take the correct step, so I stick to the bushes and slowly with their help I manage to follow the three men. Our goal is to reach homestead XX, a Ukrainian living next to the forest. after recognizing that we are safe, we find ourselves in the apartment. We get hot milk and bread, but I can't eat, I want to sleep. as a wounded person I stay in the apartment, the others can go to the barn or the stud (?) Or the forest of their own choice, but the host doesn't want to know anything about it in case of some evil. I spend the night under a bed slightly pushed away from the wall. In the morning, Ukrainian XY comes to the 20th and starts enumerating the Poles murdered the previous day. I listen to the mentioned names of the victims and the names of my mother and siblings. I was left alone, I can't believe it, I jump out of bed indifferent to everything that might happen to me, I don't care, they can murder me too. They communicate with each other and reassure me that it is not entirely certain what has been said. XY also turned out to be a decent man, seeing that I was injured, he soon brought iodine and bandages, and I was treated. In the evening of the same day, I was taken to my Ukrainian friend who lived in Popowce. There, after six days of stay, I was liberated by the front of the Soviet army. after returning home, I found a grave in which they were: Mother, sister and brother. From my grandmother's stories I learned a terrible thing, i.e. about the bestial bayonet stabbing (13 wounds) on my sister's body, who lived one more day with the body of her dead mother behind Baczyński's house. My brother was shot behind the house of Baczewicz, and Lusia Kraftówna – 18 years old – was shot along with him. in the monastery and those who came from Volhynia”..

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

source: harry, „Recollections and memories from March 11 and 12 of 1944”, 11.09.2009; in: portal: Podkamień n. Brody — web page: www.podkamien.pl [accessible: 2009.09.11]

Maria Saluk: „Wrocław on 3 April 1997 I was born in 1929 in Nowy Wiśniowiec in the Tarnopol Province. My family consisted of my grandmother and grandfather (Michał and Wiktoria Radzimiński – my mother's parents), my parents (antoni and anna Saluk) and me and siblings (Tadeusz, Wanda, Waleria, Stanisława, Marcin and Janina). In 1942, Brother Tadeusz and sister Waleria, who were forced to work in Germany, were not at home  […] My father came from Podkamień near Brody in the province of Lviv and he had a mother there, Marie Schonert (her second husband's surname). So he decided that we would go to Podkamień because, as he said, there were more mixed Ukrainian–Polish families there  […] In February 1944, the German army was quartered by our hostess, Mrs. Wiśniewska, who had a large house. We felt protected against Banderites and stayed at home. It was like that until March 11. In the morning of that day, all German troops and all German authorities left the city. Before their departure, one military Ukrainian (because they also served in the German army), after I said that we have to go to sleep again, said: «to the monastery – no». However, around On 18th we went to the monastery for the night. Before at 8 pm a group of men (about 30 people) approached the walls surrounding the monastery. They were dressed as if they were for a masquerade ball. They pretended to be Ruthenian partisans and said that they were afraid to sleep in the city. They asked to spend the night in the convent. The Poles replied that it was not up to them when the authorities established a curfew and they would not be able to enter until after six in the morning. The men at the gate then said, that they had nothing to eat or drink, and they asked for supplies. Food and drink were lowered on their ropes. Then they announced that they were afraid to eat when the food might be poisoned, they asked someone to come and eat with them. They were offered the organist's house as a place to stay. Then came the organist and two more people: Mr. Pelc from Wiśniowiec and Mr. Karpiuk, an inhabitant of Podkamień. The delegation stayed with them until approx. On his return, Mr. Pelc looked for my mother and said that among these «partisans» he had met Kadie (Arkadiusz). Daniczenko, s/o a lawyer from Wiśniowiec and one deac from the monastery in Pochaev. Mr. Pelc returned to the monastery, and Mr. Karpiuk wanted to go home, but «partisans» caught him and killed him. Heard he was murdered in a gruesome way. around 6 o'clock in the morning, at the time designated for the entry of «partisans» into the monastery, they entered the monastery walls and began firing machine guns through the windows. They were, of course, the Bandera followers. at that time, 18‑year‑old Fredek (I do not remember his name) died. He wanted to see what was happening and looked out the window. Until On the 13th it was the only victim. The Banderites could not get to the monastery because the Poles had barricaded all the gates during the night. around at 12 o'clock the observer from the tower saw that the German army was coming from the direction of Brody. There was great joy among the Poles, because we thought that the gang would run away. Unfortunately, the joy was very short, because the Germans drove up to the monastery and announced through megaphones that by On 1 p.m. all people are to leave the monastery and the gates are to be opened. Otherwise, they will fire their cannons and bomb the monastery with planes. Meanwhile, the gang withdrew, people began to unbarrass the gates and leave. The exit was difficult when some of the gates were barricaded with grain in sacks. The bags were pierced by bullets, the grain spilled out and, for example, my family was walking through the gate up to their knees in grain. after leaving the walls, the Banderites surrounded all streets and passages, caught people and murdered them. This is how my aunt (my father's sister) died. Stanisława Schnitzer with her daughter Jadwiga. Jadzia was 12 years old. She was still alive for over a day. Before she died, she told me that a bandit stopped them and told them to pray or you would die. Jadzia said: «We knelt in the snow and prayed. after praying, he shot mum, mum fell on his back, then he hit me in the back with his bayonet. I fell on my face, mama cried out not to kill me then he walked over to my mother and stabbed her with a bayonet. Mom fell silent (my aunt was hit in the eye with a bayonet). I pretended that I was dead, but he stabbed me and stabbed me with this bayonet, and the last time he hit me on the head was when removing the bayonet, he picked me up on the bayonet». In fact, Jadzia had 9 wounds from the back to the front, and the tenth wound was to the head. The bayonet struck at the right ear and came out at the chin. It turned out that my aunt and Jadzia tried to get home after leaving the convent. Her eldest son, Wacław, was running away in a different direction, and because he was running, the Bandera followers could not catch him, so he was shot. The middle son, Felek, 15 years old, ran away in a different direction, was wounded, but managed to escape. a Ukrainian kept it in the countryside. Felicjan Schnitzer is still alive today. He lives in Wrocław. after leaving the convent, my mother and I (there were five of us) were also going to go home, but a Ukrainian, Strychaluk, was standing in his yard. He indicated the direction to the forest in a sign. We were in the forest from around 2 p.m. to 3 a.m. Bandits were walking in the forest, grabbing hidden people and murdering them. We managed to survive because we fell into a pit, it was probably a funnel from the First World War. In this pit, the forester's brother (a Pole) found us and took us to the forester's lodge, where we sat in the cowshed until the morning with a pile of manure. We were finally warm, after so many hours spent in the forest in snow and frost. From the forester's lodge we got to Grandma Schonert. Jadzia and the body of aunt and Wacek were already at home. Grandma brought them all on the sledge. Grandma was of German descent and she was safe from the bandits. My father did not stay overnight in a convent. Sleep at grandma's in the stable. after coming from the forest, my mother and her siblings hid there too. I went to the apartment and I was with Jadzia all the time, who, despite so many wounds, was still alive until On March 23, 1944, my parents hid in this stable until the arrival of the Russians on March 24, 1944. The Ukrainian neighbors knew about it but did not release it. There were about 2,400 people in the monastery, about 700 survived, i.e. 1,700 people were murdered, some in a brutal way. Father Stanisław Fijałkowski, who was stout, was stabbed with table forks and then hung on a stool in the monastery garden. Father Józef was stabbed with bayonets. I knew these priests personally, and how many more priests and religious were murdered, I do not know exactly. Not all Poles from the town stayed in the convent that night. Those who stayed at home, almost all of them were murdered, e.g. the Kraft family – three children, the Swietojański family – the whole family. I cannot give more names when I lived in Podkamień for a relatively short time, and I don't remember much from my grandmother's account. I only give what I know and remember. Zuzanna Łoźna, aged 15, fled home from the convent. a bandit ran into her after her. He also made her pray because he would kill her. She asked him to let her write a letter to her mother and little brother. He allowed, and she wrote something like this: «Brother, learn not to be illiterate like my executioner, who cannot even read what I am writing». I read this letter personally. Mrs. Łoźna lost her mind after Zuzia's death. She was walking around the town and looking for Zuzia. Grandma said that a teenager was gang raped by the Banderites, then her breasts were cut off, and stuck a liter bottle of vodka in the crotch  […] The funeral of those murdered in Pidkamin took place on March 15 or 16. It can hardly be called a funeral, all the bodies were thrown into the common pit. It was done by the inhabitants of Podkamień, the Ukrainians. They had to do it because there was a thaw and the bodies were lying in the streets, in the monastery, in houses. The monastery was upstairs. a steep street led to it, with many dead in the snow. a running sled made the street look like a red ribbon. This common grave was in the cemetery. On the day of the burial, the Bandera followers waited in the cemetery and whoever of the Poles went to the funeral was killed. Before the burial, my grandmother's neighbor, Ślusarczuk, saw me in the yard, called and said: «Tell your father to make some coffins for his people, because tomorrow they will be burying everyone together and don't let any of you go to the funeral, only Granny can go». I told him I didn't know where my father was and he said: «I told you». In fact, my father broke three boxes from the stables, my grandmother hired a man to dig the grave and only my grandmother was at the funeral. On March 24, 1944, the Russians entered, and somewhere at the end of March, the exhumation of the murdered took place”….

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

source: Saluk Maria, „Memories”

[The Ukrainians] had their predecessors back in 1918, during the short existence of the Ukrainian republic. In Podkamień, a local paroch sentenced Henryk Godzik to death for participating in the fight in the ranks of the Legions. They put barbed wire around his neck, stabbed him with bayonets, and then shot him half–alive. Two cases of sophisticated murder cannot be ignored here. Zuzanna Łoźna, caught by the UPA, asked that she be able to write a farewell letter to her mother before her death. It ended it with the words: I have to die because I am Polish. The stone–hearted thug killed this beautiful young girl with a burst from a vending machine. Another cruel murder was carried out by „Mołojcy” on Julian Bajewicz's family in the so–called organist. But at first they subjected Julian to cruel tortures, then laid a board on the tub, and placed the semi–conscious Bajewicz on it in a kneeling position, and then one of the criminals grabbed him by his lush hair, tilted his bloodied head back and cut his throat with a bayonet. Blood spurted from his throat and slowly drained into the tub. It was supposed to be a test for the murderers: how much blood could such Lach have in him. The Jews who were hiding in this house, about whom the Ukrainians knew nothing, heard it all. It is repulsive and at the same time tragic the account of Janusz Simon, a retired judge from Wrocław, who comes from the vicinity of Podkamień. In February 1944, he went with his father to fetch potatoes from a neighboring Ukrainian village. The UPA from Zbaraż, the most bloodthirsty „and” in this organization, were there. Someone from the locals whispered to them: It's Lachy. They immediately 'took care' of my father, tortured him and finally hung him in the barn. The son managed to escape. The locals dug a grave but it turned out to be too short for a just Pole to grow. As the body was frozen, one of the Ukrainian women cut off the protruding limbs with an ax. Years later, the woman's daughter gave birth to a child, a crippled child without a hand. The villagers said it was God's punishment! The description of how Ukrainian bandits dealt with Poles in Podkamień still needs to be supplemented with the Buczkowski family. Unfortunately, the youngest Buczkowski brothers, Tadeusz and Sigismud, did not leave the town. Tadeusz stayed at home and tried, after jumping out of the window, to hide with his neighbors. There, however, bandits caught up with him and cruelly murdered him, and threw the body into a well. Sigismud took refuge in a monastery, where he met the fate of other Poles. He was brutally chopped with an ax. Fortunately, the writer Leopold Buczkowski left Podkamień with his mother, wife and sister. The Buczkowski family lost all their possessions. The biggest loss, however, are Leopold's mostly damaged painting and literary works. Among them were his beautiful, frequently awarded poems. Buczkowski never returned to this form of creativity. Who knows, wouldn't he be a more accomplished poet than a writer?

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

source: Kratochwil Zbigniew; in: „Voices of Podolians”, in: No. 53

The Ukrainian gang marched with impunity in Podkamień for the entire 5 days. She showed up on March 10 in the city where the SS–Division–Galizien and the German command were still based. The Germans did not react completely to the appearance of the gang in the city, and the next day the German officers and the SS–Division–Galizien unit stationed there left the town. The UPA group, clearly left with a free hand, brought in new reinforcements and then surrounded the Dominican monastery, where the Polish population was concentrated, mostly refugees from the nearby burnt Polish villages. The bandits demanded that they be allowed into the monastery, which was refused. Throughout the day on March 11 and until noon on March 12, gangs were firing at the monastery, but the Poles, having a few rifles, would have prevented them from getting inside. The situation changed only around 1 p.m. when a German unit, returning from a punitive expedition, appeared near Podkamień. The commander of this unit sent a messenger to the Polish population grouped in the monastery, ordering them to immediately leave the monastery under the threat of bombing. The terrified people started going outside the walls, and from that moment the slaughter began. Ukrainian gangs killed the escapees, broke into the monastery and brutally murdered the people still there. Then, together with the Germans from the arriving unit, they attacked the Polish population in the town itself. Identity cards were checked and every Pole was immediately killed. The murder and robbery continued throughout March 13 and 14. The Germans brought as many as 200 carts and a number of lorries to Podkamień in order to remove the stolen property. The monastery and the church were completely looted. It was only on March 15 in the evening that the UPA bands left the city, and on March 16 the normal German command returned, pretending to be surprised that such incidents had happened and expressing the assumption that it must have been a Bolshevik gang.

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

source: „Document No. 6 1944 April, Situation Report from the Eastern Territories [int”; in: „Eastern Territories Reports of the Office of the Eastern Delegation of the Government for the Country 1943-1944”, in: Warsaw-Pułtusk 2005, p. 167—168

The drama took place between March 12 and 16, 1944. At that time, most of the Poles in hiding from Volhynia, monks and the local Polish population were murdered. Approximately 600 people were probably killed. The bodies of the victims were brought inside the church, some of them were thrown into the monastery's well  […] In the church cellars, which local clergymen call crypts, still in the fall of 2005 there were bones. Stacks of skulls, ribs and bones. An accidental walk through the devastated interior of the temple could end up discovering other, previously unknown places, where people most likely died or died alive. There were many indications that the remains belonged to victims brutally locked in church cellars in the 20th century. Crypts were officially found in the temple area, where the remains of monks have been buried for several centuries. Devastated during the Bolshevik onslaught of 1920, until late autumn 2005, they lay forgotten in the basements covered with rubble. In the spring of 2006, the author of this text was unable to find them again. The local clergy, reluctant to discuss the Polish history of Pidkamin, decided that they were most likely buried in a mass grave in the church yard. The crypts cleared of the remains will soon cover the new concrete slabs and formwork. decided that they were most likely buried in a mass grave in the church yard. The crypts cleared of the remains will soon cover the new concrete slabs and formwork. decided that they were most likely buried in a mass grave in the church yard. The crypts cleared of the remains will soon cover the new concrete slabs and formwork.

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

source: Falkowski Mikołaj, „Stone. Pearl of the Borderlands. Memorial for UPA victims”

In Podkamień, in the courtyard of the monastery. Dominican there is a deep well. According to various sources, its depth is within 110 meters. It was forged in solid rock for about twenty years. Today this well is filled in and the access to it has been bricked up. It is the grave of the countless people thrown there by Bandera's executioners. Today, nobody says anything about this well. There were many Polish families in the monastery who found refuge there. The content of this well must be investigated and explained.

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

source: Lis Jan, „My sad memories of Palikrów”, part II; in: Piątkowski Józef, „Jan Lis recollections from Podkamień, Palikrowy”, Borderlands Culture Enthusiasts' Society — web page: www.kresowianie.info [accessible: 2021.04.11]

The testimony is as follows: I know very well Czerniawski Władysław as well as his family. The father had a butcher's shop in Podkamień, county Brody. Czerniawski Władysław is of Ukrainian origin. He graduated from gymnasium in Brody, and then he graduated from university in Lviv. After the Germans entered in 1942, he was the organizer of a murderous Ukrainian gang. He organized this band with his father–in–law named Rajke, who lived in the Czernic hamlet, Antonówka farm, commune Podkamień, area Brody. I know that Czerniawski Władysław was the commander and judge of this gang. He himself handed down death sentences on Poles together with his father–in–law Rajke, who was the prosecutor in this gang  […] On March 12, 1944 in Podkamień, county Brody was a Dominican monastery named after Gota–Różańowa, where about 3 thousand people hid. Poles from the Podkamień commune before the Banderites. On the aforementioned day, ie March 12, 1944, Czerniawski Władysław, together with his father–in–law at the head of the gang, and with SS officers, carried out an action during which about 500 people were murdered, a fact that I saw with my own eyes. Then, on the same day, in the village of Palikrów, county 385 Poles were murdered in Brody. From 12 to 15 March, 78 people were murdered in street fighting in Podkamień. On March 15, at 1:00 p.m., Czerniawski Władysław stopped the murders and withdrew to the west with the Germans and his gang. After the escape of Czerniawski Władysław in Czernica, county I haven't heard of him again. This is where I end my testimony. The protocol was read to me in full and I confirm the compliance with the above with my own signature.

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

source: „Testimonies about the events of March 12-15, 1944. in Pidkamin”; in: portal: Podkamień n. Brody — web page: www.podkamien.pl [accessible: 2021.04.11]

In reality his name was Włodzimierz, after the war he was recognized in Poland and in 1947 he was brought before a court in Katowice as Włodzimierz Czerniawski. He was sentenced to death. The sentence was carried out.
Protocol written with Father Dominican, a cooperator in Podkamień, residing from 1938 in the incorporated village of Jaśniszcze [Brody] (10 km from Podkamień) „Confidentially notified by the secretary of the commune in Jaśniszcz Gnypa (a Ukrainian) that a murderous attack was to be committed on me, I left on March 8 this year. Jaśniszcze and lived in a monastery in Podkamień. Before that, all men who were threatened with death by the so–called partisans who are recruited from the Ukrainian population of the neighboring villages. These partisans, a few days before the men left Jaśniszcze, were accommodated in the homes of the Ukrainians and under the leadership of the aforementioned secretary of the Gnypa commune, each night they searched Polish homes for men who had to hide in order to avoid death. After leaving for the monastery in Podkamień, There, I already found numerous refugees from Volhynia (they lived from autumn 1943 with the priest of Poczajów, Father Stanisław Fiałkowski) and inhabitants of the neighboring burnt villages of Czernica, Pańkowce and Bolesławów. 30 German colonists from Maliniec also lived in the monastery. The greatest number of refugees in Podkamień followed the accidents in Suchowola, where about 50 people were murdered and all the farms were burnt. The burghers from Pidkamin also lived in the monastery, spending their nights there in particular. In the first days of March this year. An SS unit of the Ukrainian voluntary division arrived in Podkamień, consisting of approximately 150 soldiers under the German old age command, starting with a corporal in the number of 20 people. The command was carried out by a German captain with a name unknown to me. The soldiers lived in the city. Immediately after their arrival from Podkamień, the first search took place. The soldiers surrounded the monastery, and the officer, accompanied by several privates, entered the monastery, summoned Father Prior Marek Kras and asked about weapons. The prior declared that no one had any weapons except the forest guards who lived in the monastery and had the right to carry weapons. There were 20 of these guards. The colonists from Maliniec staying in the monastery interfered with the conversation between Father Prior and the officer, and after their testimony confirming the same as Father Marek said, there was no search, the soldiers left the monastery, and the officer stayed at dinner with the German colonists. After a few days, there was a second search. The commanding officer demanded that the weapon be surrendered, which, according to his claims, was hidden in a monastery and he ordered one of the German colonists to look for this weapon and give it to the soldiers for up to 2 hours. The colonist, following this command, found 2 old dilapidated rifles, abandoned on the manure, and gave them to the unit commander. At the same time, the officer ordered all those who had apartments nearby to leave the monastery, and allowed the homeless, i.e. refugees from Volhynia and inhabitants of burnt villages. Then the Poles from Podkamień and the colonists from Maleniska left the monastery. This state of affairs lasted until March 11. On March 11, the SS DOU army left Podkamień and headed towards Suchowola and Brody. Then the people of Pidkamin returned to the monastery and so again the monastery buildings were filled with people of about 1000 people. On the afternoon of March 11 at 5 p.m. it was noticed that from Czernica and Pańskowce, approximately 200 peasants armed with automatic weapons were approaching, who, having lined up in Podkamień, went to the monastery. Then Fr Józef and Engr. Sołtysik from Brody in order to communicate with the coming group of armed people. In the conversation, they were informed that this was a unit allegedly under German command and cooperating with it, which had orders to stay in the monastery and man the church tower. When this group, together with O. Józef and inż. With the sołtysik, she approached the monastery gate and wanted to enter the interior, then the gate was barricaded from the inside and the approaching gate was not released. After some mutual negotiations, the armed attackers demanded food, and when bread, pork fat and vodka were thrown from their windows, they went to the organist and took their quarters there. In the meantime, Fr Józef and Engr. Sołtysik returned to the monastery. The church and monastery were surrounded by guards that would not let anyone in or out. After a quiet night on Sunday, March 12, the shooting of rifles at the monastery windows began, and grenades were also thrown. When the attackers began to break down the monastery gate, several grenades were thrown from the upper windows, injuring several people. One man in the monastery was also killed and one of the partisan commanders was injured. The battle lasted until 13. After 1 p.m. the people in the monastery were called to leave its walls under the threat of bombing and indeed artillery and tanks arrived at the monastery. Then the gates of the monastery and church were opened, and people started to leave. Meanwhile, the partisans, hidden behind huts and barns, started shooting at those leaving, and through the open door of the monastery, others entered the interior and began to murder those who could not leave the monastery. At the same time, groups of partisans accompanied by German soldiers were walking around the city and murdering Polish families. In this way, 80 people were murdered in Podkamień, about 100 people died in the monastery itself, including 3 monks and Fr Fiałkowski, parish priest from Poczajów. On Monday and Tuesday, March 13 and 14, the stolen goods were taken away from the monastery. About 12 carts and a dozen or so cars of belongings were taken away. They were deported by partisans and the Germans. On Tuesday morning, ie on March 14, the head of the commune ordered the bodies to be collected and buried in a common grave in the cemetery. On Tuesday afternoon, the guerrillas went around the houses, IDs the inhabitants and shot the Poles they found. 20 people died this way. On Wednesday 15th the same thing happened again and 3 people died again. In the evening of the same day, the partisans left for Boratyn [Brody]. On Thursday, on Thursday, some The Ukrainians entered a monastery abandoned by partisans and stated that a miraculous image of the Virgin Mary remained in the high altar. In the sacristy, church linen was stolen and chasubles were scattered around. In the monastery cells and cellars there were many corpses of about 100 people. They were mostly old people, women with small children, the sick who could not escape the monastery. On March 16 and 17, the Germans came to Podkamień and stayed in the city. Father Wysocki, trying on Friday, i.e. On March 17, in the German command for permission to leave Brody, he found out that the Germans had a hostile attitude towards the priest from the monastery due to the fact that he had a gun in the monastery. Father Marek Kras, the prior of the monastery, left for Brody before the events described above. Father Leon Podgórny, who stayed in the monastery, with his brother Marcin left for Tarnobrzeg, while Father Wysocki went to Brody. Father Józef remained in Podkamień and is hiding in the house of a Ukrainian burgher”.

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

source: „1944, March 20 - Copy of the protocol written in the RGO in Lviv with the Dominican Father Mikołaj Wysocki regarding the murder in Pidkamin by the Ukrainians”; in: National Ossoliński Institute, Wrocław, in: No. 16722/1, p. 89—93

After fierce defense, the gangs massacred, killing 30 Dominicans and 500 lay people. In the nearby village of Palikrów, 800 Poles were murdered.

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

source: prof. Sowa Andrzej Leon, „Polish-Ukrainian relations 1939-1947”; in: Society of History Supporters, in: Krakow 1998, p. 238

source: „Bulletin”, in: No. 17, 27.IV.1944

The Banderites murdered 3 NN inhabitants of Pidkamin.

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

source: Kubów Władysław, „Terrorism in Podolia”, in: Warsaw 2003