Massacre in Podgaje
The Podgaje Massacre refers to the mass murder of Polish Army soldiers, who were captured in January 1945 by the Waffen SS. It took place on January 31, 1945 in the town of Podgaje. Dutch soldiers of the Kampfgruppe Elster (of 48 SS Panzergrenadier Regiment General Seyffardt as a part of 15th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Latvian)) killed 32 soldiers of 4th Company, 3rd Infantry Regiment, Polish 1st Tadeusz Kosciuszko Infantry Division.
Polish soldiers were captured during heavy fighting, in which First Polish Army tried to break through German defensive fortifications, known as the Pomeranian Wall. The hands of the 32 prisoners of war were tied with barbed wire, then all Poles were forced into a barn, which was set on fire. All burned alive.
The investigation into the Massacre of Podgaje was carried out by Koszalin office of the Regional Commission for the Investigation of Nazi Crimes. In 1974, the investigation was terminated, to be reopened by Szczecin Office of Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes Against the Polish Nation, part of the Institute of National Remembrance.
The Podgaje Massacre is commemorated on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Warsaw, with the inscription "PODGAJE 31 I 1945".
Sources
- Apoloniusz Zawilski: Polskie fronty. Warszawa: Oficyna Wydawnicza Volumen, 1996, page 463. ISBN 83-86857-23-4.
- Polski czyn zbrojny w II wojnie światowej. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Ministerstwa Obrony Narodowej, 1988, s. 531. ISBN 83-11-07038-5