Prerequisites and causes of destruction by the Nazis in 1944, Ghouta of Penyatska

Abstract

During the last period of time many questions connected with destruction of Guta Penyatska achieved serious social interest, they aren’t widely investigated in many Ukrainian and Polish documents and papers. Except this, our historical science doesn’t include any basic and important scientific articles concerning this problem. In the publication on the base of many materials and reminiscences of eye-witnesses are shown the main reasons of destruction of Guta Penyatska. The author provides important facts, which vividly testify, that German-fascist unit set on fire that village, and killed a lot of people. The German occupational regime wanted to punish local underground organization for its cooperation with the Soviet guerillas and armed resistance. On the 23-rd of February 1944 German unit lost 4 (four) soldiers and 8 (eight) were badly wounded. At that time there were 500 armed participants of Resistance movement and a lot of poles, who escaped from different German military formations. This fact assured Galician occupational administration (District Galicia), that Guta Penyatska was a shelter for the Soviet querillas, security forces and criminal elements, who performed some terrorist acts in Lviv, killing vice-governor of Galicia Otto Bauer. As a result of this, an occupational power organized so-called punitive action, which took place on the 28-th of February 1944. Keywords Guta Penyatska, German Army, Soviet partisans, Ukrainian insurgent army, division «Galychyna», punitive action.