The murder of Lwów professors was the mass execution of approximately 45 Polish professors of the University of Lwów, their families and guests, committed in July 1941 in Lwów. The mass murder was a continuation of AB Action, or Ausserordentliche Befriedungsaktion started in 1940.

Contents

1 History 2 Methodology of the crime 3 Victims 3.1 Murdered on Wulka hills 3.2 Murdered in the courtyard of Bursa Abramowiczów 3.3 Murdered on July 12 3.4 Murdered on July 26 in Brygidki prison 4 Aftermath 5 See also: 6 External links:

History

After the German invasion of the Soviet Union started in 1941, Lwów was captured on June 30. Together with the Wehrmacht a number of smaller Abwehr units entered the city. Aided by the Ukrainian Nachtigall batalion under Roman Shuhevych and several units of Ukrainian militia, they started mass executions of people previously put on proscription lists.

Most of the Jewish inhabitants of the city were shot on the spot while members of other nationalities were first transported to execution sites in the Gestapo prison at Pełczyńska street, Brygidki Prison, former military prison at Zamarstynów and to the fields surrounding the city: in Winniki suburb, Kortumówki hills and the Jewish Cemetery. Most of the people on the lists were Polish politicians, artists, sportsmen, scientists and priests.

By July 2, 1941, most of the terror actions were halted, yet the individual, planned terror continued. At approximately 3o'clock in the evening prof. Kazimierz Bartel was arrested by one of the Einsatzkommandos operating in the area.

In the night of July 3 and July 4 several dozens of professors and their families were arrested. The lists were prepared by their Ukrainian students. In the early morning of July 4 one of the professors and most of the servants were set free while the rest were either brought to the execution place in the Wulka hills or shot to death on the courtyard of the Bursa Abrahamowiczów building. The victims were at first buried on the spot, but several days after the massacre their bodies were exhumated and transported by the Wehrmacht to an unknown place.

Methodology of the crime

There are accounts of four different methods used by the German and Ukrainian troops. The victims were either:

1. Beaten to death
2. Killed with a bayonet
3. Killed with a hammer
4. or shot to death

The professors themselves were shot to death, although it is highly probable that at least two of them were buried alive.

Victims

Abbreviations used:

• UJK = Jan Kazimierz University
• PSP = Lwów Hospital (Państwowy Szpital Powszechny)
• PL = Lwów University of Science and Technology
• AWL = Akademia Weterynaryjna we Lwowie
• AHZ = Akademia Handlu Zagranicznego

Murdered on Wulka hills

1. Prof. dr Antoni Cieszyński, professor of stomatology UJK
2. Prof. dr Władysław Dobrzaniecki, head of the ord. Oddz. Chirurgii PSP
3. Prof. dr Jan Grek, professor of Internal Medicine, UJK
4. Maria Grekowa, wife of Jan Grek
5. Doc. dr Jerzy Grzędzielski, head of the Institute of Ophthalmology, UJK
6. Prof. dr Edward Hamerski, head of the Internal medicine, AWL
7. Prof. dr Henryk Hilarowicz, professor of surgery, UJK
8. Rev. dr Władysław Komornicki, theologist, a relative of Ostrowski family
9. Eugeniusz Kostecki, husband of prof. Dobrzaniecki's servant
10. Prof. dr Włodzimierz Krukowski, head of the Institute of Electrical Measurement, PL
11. Prof. dr Roman Longchamps de Bérier, head of the Institute of Civil law, UJK
12. Bronisław Longchamps de Bérier, son of prof. Longchamps de Bérier
13. Zygmunt Longchamps de Bérier, son of prof. Longchamps de Bérier
14. Kazimierz Longchamps de Bérier, son of prof. Longchamps de Bérier
15. Prof. dr Antoni Łomnicki, head of the Institute of Mathematics, PL
16. Adam Mięsowicz, grandson of prof. Sołowij
17. Prof. dr Witołd Nowicki, head of the Anathomy and Pathology faculty, UJK
18. Dr med. Jerzy Nowicki, assistant at the Institute of Hygiene, UJK, son of prof. Nowicki
19. Prof. dr Tadeusz Ostrowski, head of the Institute of Surgery, UJK
20. Jadwiga Ostrowska, wife of prof. Ostrowski
21. Prof. dr Stanisław Pilat, head of the Institute of Technology of Petroleum and Natural gases, PL
22. Prof. dr Stanisław Progulski, pediatrician, UJK
23. Andrzej Progulski, son of prof. Progulski
24. Prof. dr Roman Rencki, head of the Institute of Internal Medicine, UJK
25. Dr med. Stanisław Ruff, head of the surgery branch of the Jewish Hospital
26. Anna Ruffowa, dr. Ruff's wife
27. Inż. Adam Ruff, dr. Ruff's son
28. Prof. dr Włodzimierz Sieradzki, head of the Court Medicine faculty, UJK
29. Prof. dr Adam Sołowij, former head of the Gynaecology and Obstetrics branch of the PSP
30. Prof. dr Włodzimierz Stożek, head of the Mathematics Facultu, PL
31. Inż. Eustachy Stożek, assistant at the Lwów University of Science and Technology, son of prof. Stożek
32. Emanuel Stożek, son of prof. Stożek
33. Dr Tadeusz Tapkowski, lawyer
34. Prof. dr Kazimierz Vetulani, head of the Theoretical Mechanics Faculty, PL
35. Prof. dr Kacper Weigel, head of the Institute of Measures, PL
36. Mgr Józef Weigel, son of prof. Weigel
37. Prof. dr Roman Witkiewicz, head of the Institute of Machinery, PL
38. Prof. dr Tadeusz Żeleński-Boy, writer and gynaecologist, head of the Institute of French Literature

Murdered in the courtyard of Bursa Abramowiczów

1. Katarzyna Demko, English language teacher
2. Doc. dr Stanisław Mączewski, head of the Gynaecology and Obstetrics branch of the PSP
3. Maria Reymanowa, nurse
4. Wolisch (name unknown), merchant

Murdered on July 12

1. Prof. dr Henryk Korowicz, head of the Institute of Economy, AHZ
2. Prof. dr Stanisław Ruziewicz, head of the Institute of Mathematics, AHZ

Murdered on July 26 in Brygidki prison

1. Prof. dr Kazimierz Bartel, former Prime Minister of Poland, former rector of PL, head of the Geometry Faculty, PL

Aftermath

After World War II the communist government of Poland tried to erase the Polish history of the city of Lwów. Because of that the crimes committed by the Germans and Ukrainians east of the so-called Curzon line were not persecuted by the Polish courts and the informations on Polish universities in Lwów were censored. However, in 1960 dr Helena Krukowska, the widow of Prof. dr Włodzimierz Krukowski managed to appeal to the court in Hamburg. After five years the German court closed the judicial proceeding. Public prosecutor von Beelow argued that the people responsible for the crime were already dead. However, this was not true since at the same time SS-Hauptsturmführer Hans Krüger, commander of the Gestapo unit supervising the massacres in Lwów in 1941 was being held in Hamburg prison (he was sentenced to life imprisonment for mass murder of Jews and Poles in Stanisławów, committed several weeks after his unit was transferred from Lvov. No person was ever held responsible for the massacre.

In the late 1980s the Abrahamowicz street in Lviv was renamed to Tadeusz Boy-Żeleński street. However, the pleas of various Polish organisations to commemorate the victims of the massacre with a monument or a symbolical grave in Lviv have been rejected ever since. The case of the murder of the professors is currently under investigation by the Institute of National Remembrance.

See also:

• List of massacres
• Anti-Polonism

External links:

• Murder of Lwow professors (http://www.lwow.com.pl/lwow_profs.html)
• report of an ongoing investigation by (http://www.ipn.gov.pl/sled_rzeszow_2.html) IPN (Polish)pl:Kaźń_Profesorów_Lwowskich

ru:Резня львовских профессоров