Repressive action carried out by the German occupiers in Poland
The Hubal pacifications is a term used to describe a repressive action carried out by the German occupiers in Poland from March 30 to April 11, 1940. It targeted villages located near areas where the unit of Major Henryk Dobrzański, codenamed "Hubal", was operating.
The pacification operation involved "Schutzstaffel" units, "Ordnungspolizei", "Selbstschutz", and the National Socialist Motor Corps. A total of 31 villages in the counties of Końskie, Kielce, and Opoczno were subjected to various forms of repression. Four villages were completely burned down, while most of the buildings in a fifth village were destroyed. In total, 712 Polish civilians were murdered, including two women and six children.
The Hubal pacifications were the first repressive action of this kind carried out by the Germans in occupied Poland and Europe.
Origins.
In the last days of the September Campaign, Major Henryk Dobrzański of the 110th Reserve Uhlan Regiment gathered around him a group of officers and soldiers determined to continue fighting the Germans. Initially, Dobrzański planned to come to the aid of besieged Warsaw, and when he received news of its capitulation, he decided to break through to Hungary and from there reach the rebuilding Polish Army in France. Several dozen of his subordinates had similar intentions. In the first days of October 1939, the unit made its way to the Świętokrzyskie Mountains, where an enthusiastic reception from the local population convinced the major that the September defeat had not broken the will of the Polish society to resist. The idea of marching to Hungary was then abandoned in favor of continuing armed resistance in the occupied country. Shortly thereafter, Major Dobrzański adopted the codename "Hubal". Beginning in February 1940, his unit was known as the Detached Unit of the Polish Army.
The area of operation for "Hubal"’s unit became the Kielce Land. The major aimed to await the anticipated Franco-British offensive in the spring of 1940 and then support the actions of the Allies with intense military actions behind German lines. To this end, he attempted to create a clandestine military organization (the so-called Kielce Combat District) that would serve as support for his unit and help organize society in preparation for future armed uprising. In the first decade of March 1940, the unit already had 320 soldiers. Major "Hubal" gained great popularity and authority among the local population, and his activities contributed to breaking the prevailing apathy and discouragement in Polish society.
Meanwhile, in mid-March 1940, the leadership of the Union of Armed Struggle, whose concepts of fighting the occupier were drastically different from "Hubal"’s plans, attempted to disband the unit. On the order of the commander of the Łódź District of the Home Army, Colonel Leopold Okulicki, codenamed "Miller", a significant number of officers and soldiers left the ranks (on March 13). 70 soldiers remained with "Hubal", who was determined to continue open combat. The reduced unit left its previous quarters in the village of Gałki and moved to the village of Hucisko, where it stayed for over two weeks. Due to an influx of volunteers, its number soon increased to over 100 soldiers.
"Hubal" tried to avoid serious clashes with the Germans. Nevertheless, the very existence of a Polish unit was a cause for concern for the occupiers, especially in light of the expected outbreak of fighting on the Western Front. In March 1940, the Germans began preparations to deal with "Hubal", but jurisdictional disputes between the "Wehrmacht" and the police authorities of the General Government temporarily delayed the start of the hunt.
First pacifications.
On 30 March 1940, German SS and "Ordnungspolizei" units, concentrated in the vicinity of Skarżysko-Kamienna, Szydłowiec, Chlewiska, and Przysucha, launched a hunt for the Polish unit. The attack on the headquarters of "Hubal"'s soldiers in Hucisko resulted in a severe defeat for the Germans. The Polish soldiers not only repelled the enemy's attack but also forced them to retreat, inflicting heavy losses of around 100 killed and wounded. The Polish losses were limited to 13 killed and missing, 10 wounded, and one deserter.
On the same day that the battle at Hucisko took place, the advancing second wave of the "Ordnungspolizei" unit detained all the men present in the village of Stefanków, totaling 77 individuals. The detainees were first taken to the forestry office in Chlewiska and then to the Szydłowiec Town Hall. During transportation and their stay at staging points, the prisoners were beaten and tormented. Ultimately, all the men from Stefanków were taken to the prison in Radom, where they were subjected to intense interrogations and brutal treatment. Since some of the detainees were miners from the Skalna Górka mine, director Absolon from Kielce intervened on their behalf. As a result, after a few days, eleven prisoners were released from prison, but ultimately only seven returned to their homes. Four others were reportedly re-arrested shortly after leaving the prison walls.
On March 30, the German police also conducted searches and arrests in several other villages. In Gałki – where the Germans knew there had previously been "Hubal"'s headquarters, and which was the second target of the assault after Hucisko – 40 men aged 15 to 60 were detained. Another 23 men were arrested in nearby Mechlin. The detainees from both villages were marched on foot to Gielniów, from where they were transported by trucks to the estate in Korytków, where the Germans arrested two more individuals (the local landowner and his son). Ultimately, all the detainees were imprisoned in Radom. That day, a total of 157 people arrested during the hunt for "Hubal"'s unit found themselves in the cells of the Radom prison.
Meanwhile, "Hubal"'s soldiers managed to break away from the enemy and, after a 25-kilometer march, reached the village of Szałas. On March 31, the unguarded Hucisko was occupied by SS and "Selbstschutz" units. The Germans arrested 33 men, beat them, and then locked them in an empty house on the outskirts of the village. It is likely that they initially intended to burn the prisoners alive; however, they ultimately escorted them to Boków, where another five men were arrested. Then, all 38 detainees were marched on foot to Wołów. During the march, a resident of Hucisko who could not keep up with the column was shot. In Wołów, the Germans released three underage boys from Hucisko, while the remaining 34 detainees were taken to the prison in Radom.
On April 1, the Germans made another attempt to dismantle "Hubal"'s unit. During the fighting in the area of Szałas, the Polish soldiers managed to repel the attack and break away from the enemy. On the same day, in one of the settlements of Szałas, called Komorniki, the Germans arrested all encountered men, totaling 28 individuals (on April 1). The raiding parties also executed two men in Suchedniów.
Meanwhile, "Hubal" directed his unit east, intending to break through to the Świętokrzyskie Mountains. However, the attempt to cross the road from Skarżysko-Kamienna to Kielce ended in failure. In this situation, the major turned back west, simultaneously dividing his unit into two parts. On the night of April 1/2, a cavalry subunit led by "Hubal" broke through the positions of the 8th SS-"Totenkopfverbände" Regiment deployed along the road between Odrowąż and Samsonów. The cavalrymen then hid all day in a dense thicket and, after nightfall, set off toward Podchyby, where they stealthily crossed the outer ring of the German blockade. However, the infantry subunit was unable to breach the German cordon. Its commander, Second Lieutenant Marek Szymański, codenamed "Sęp", was forced to allow the soldiers to leave the encirclement on their own. "Hubal" waited in vain for the infantry for two days in the village of Kamienna Wola before resuming his retreat to the southwest. Shortly thereafter, reduced to 23 soldiers, the unit took quarters in the village of Mały Węgrzyn. The Germans, having lost combat contact with "Hubal"'s soldiers, announced on April 2 the end of the operation and the dismantling of the Polish unit.
The fate of those arrested in the first days of the hunt was tragically severe in most cases. On 4 April 1940, at the execution site in Firlej near Radom, the Germans shot 145 men, including 70 residents of Stefanków, 40 residents of Gałki, 23 residents of Mechlin, and two residents of Korytków. Around the same time, 24 residents of Szałas-Komorniki were executed in Kielce. The remaining four prisoners from this village were transferred to detention in Skarżysko-Kamienna. They were likely executed on 29 June 1940 during a large execution in the Brzask forest.
A different fate befell the detainees from Hucisko and Boków. Two men were released from the prison in Radom after some time, although one of them died shortly afterward. Meanwhile, 32 men were taken to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp on 17 July 1940. Of this group, only eight survived their time in the camp (seven from Hucisko, one from Boków).
German crimes from April 4–8.
The unsuccessful attempts to dismantle "Hubal"'s unit damaged the prestige of the German police authorities. This was likely the key reason why the SS and Police Leader in the General Government ("HSSPF" "Ost"), SS-"Obergruppenführer" Friedrich-Wilhelm Krüger, decided to conduct a large-scale pacification operation against the villages near which the Polish unit operated. Retaliation against the civilian population was meant to obscure the impression of failure caused by the previous defeats in combating "Hubal"."Command and communication were entirely inadequate [...] The behavior of the police formations regarding reconnaissance, security, and combat posture did not meet even the most basic requirements [...] They shot at everything in sight – at women and crows alike [...] On April 5, it was reported that SS-Obergruppenführer Krüger was in the field, personally directing the retaliatory action. The plan is to execute all men residing in the villages affected by the fighting."On April 5, an emergency meeting was held in Końskie, attended by Polish mayors and village heads from the Końskie County. The head of the internal affairs department in the office of the governor of the Radom District, who was present, announced that the Polish armed uprising would be suppressed with absolute force, and "wherever the population cooperated with the bandits, villages will be burned, and the inhabitants shot". Dr. Albrecht, the German district head of Końskie, warned that he would not be able to prevent reprisals unless the population demonstrated "diligent cooperation". That same day, Albrecht issued a proclamation falsely reporting the destruction of "Hubal"'s unit and threatening:"It has been noted that inciters and agitators have been active for months in various localities in the district, receiving weapons, uniforms, horses, food supplies, and volunteers from the civilian population, about which I have not been informed by the village heads and mayors in every case. By remaining silent about such actions and arms caches, the silent become accomplices in the rebellion, and their fate will be that of the rebels [...] Only if the population unequivocally distances itself from the agitators and reports to me about suspects, as well as arms caches, documents, and uniforms, will I be able to prevent the impending action. However, if such things continue to be concealed, I will not be able to defend the population, as I will have no facts to prove their peacefulness."Meanwhile, in a communiqué issued to the population of the Końskie region on 4 April 1940, "Hubal" refuted German reports of the destruction of his unit, while stating:"The Germans are trying another way to force us to disarm. Namely, they are threatening reprisals against the civilian population. This is such a dishonorable and vile act that only German brutality could conceive of it. The population is all the more innocent because, when faced with an armed unit, they must meet its demands. We communicate: for every person who suffers because of us, we will take merciless revenge, using German methods. Let every German soldier think carefully before raising a hand against a defenseless Pole."
Manhunt in the Mniów–Sielpia Wielka–Stąporków triangle.
From April 4 to 6, SS and police units encircled the area within the Mniów–Sielpia Wielka–Stąporków triangle. The Germans failed to corner "Hubal"'s unit, as it had left the area days earlier. However, numerous crimes were committed against civilians during the blockade. In Krasna, SS men from the 11th SS-"Totenkopf" Regiment burned one house and killed two men (April 4–5). In Koprusa, policemen from the 111th "Ordnungspolizei" Battalion murdered the