Wawer massacre

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The Wawer massacre was a World War II mass execution of Polish civilians by German occupiers near Warsaw in December 1939, regarded as one of the first large-scale Nazi atrocities against the Polish population.

Aliases (1)

Statements (46)
Predicate Object
instanceOf Nazi crime in Poland
World War II atrocity
massacre
war crime
aftermath helped galvanize Polish resistance sentiment
alsoKnownAs Wawer execution
category History of Warsaw during World War II
Massacres committed by Nazi Germany
Massacres in 1939
cause German reprisal for the killing of two German soldiers
commander Friedrich Wilhelm Wenzel NERFINISHED
Ludwig Hahn NERFINISHED
commemoratedOn December 27
conflict World War II
country Poland
date December 26, 1939
December 27, 1939
executionSite sand dunes near Wawer
historicalContext early phase of German occupation policies in Poland
jurisdiction General Government (German-occupied Poland)
legalCharacterization crime against humanity
extrajudicial execution
location Wawer NERFINISHED
near Warsaw
memorial Wawer massacre memorial in Warsaw
memorialType monument and plaques at the execution site
method mass execution by firing squad
motive deterrence through collective punishment
terrorizing the Polish civilian population
numberOfVictims approximately 107
partOf German occupation of Poland
Nazi terror in occupied Poland
perpetrator German occupiers in Poland
Nazi Germany
precededBy killing of two German non-commissioned officers in Wawer
recognizedBy Polish Institute of National Remembrance
relatedEvent Nazi crimes against the Polish nation
Palmiry massacres
significance early example of German collective responsibility reprisals in occupied Poland
one of the first large-scale Nazi atrocities against the Polish population in World War II
time period December 1939
typeOfAction collective reprisal
victim Polish civilians
Polish men and boys
victimGroup ethnic Poles
victimSelection randomly selected Polish males from Wawer and Anin

Referenced by (2)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
Wawer massacre ("Wawer execution")
alsoKnownAs
German occupation of Poland
notableEvent

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