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 Pe- nyatska 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 scientifi c 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 fi re 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 diff erent 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.