14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS Galizien 1st Ukrainian: Encyclopedia II - 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS Galizien 1st Ukrainian - Factual and alleged war atrocities

14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS Galizien 1st Ukrainian - Factual and alleged war atrocities

SS “Galizien” units have been accused of participating in several atrocities during the war. The most severe accusations relate to the actions of the 4th police regiment in Galicia and the 5th police regiment in Lubelszczyzna. The most serious accusation is the burning of the village of Huta Pieniacka and the most controversial is participation in the suppression of the Warsaw Uprising in 1944.

The village of Huta Pieniacka was a Polish self-defence outpost directed against the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. On 23 February 1944, a small unit of the 4th regiment came to the village searching for partisans. It appears that during the reconnaissance, an accidental shooting occurred in which two Ukrainian soldiers were killed. The Germans organised a lavish funeral for the soldiers and carried a punitive expedition that razed the village. Between 800 and 1,000 inhabitants of the village have been murdered. Since November 1992, a Warsaw Commission of the Institute of National Remembrance has been conducting an investigation on the crimes committed by Galizien SS and other Ukrainian units in Huta Pieniacka.

Much more controversial is the participation of the SS “Galizien” units in suppressing the Warsaw Uprising. The investigation made by Ryszard Torzecki and Andrzej A. Zięba suggests that there were no uniformed units of SS “Galizien” in Warsaw during the Warsaw Uprising. This implies that the atrocities ascribed to Ukrainians were committed by other divisions, such as Bronislaw Kaminski's Russian RONA brigade – a formation composed of citizens of the USSR who supported the Germans. The confusion appears to stem from the fact that the citizens of Warsaw, under the influence of information about Volhynia massacre committed by the UIA, assumed that the foreign units were Ukrainian. However, the Germans used two companies (about 300 people) of the Ukrainian Self-defence Legion (USL) against the Warsaw insurgents that fought on Powiśle in September 1944. In March 1945, the USL was absorbed into the SS “Galizien” division. However, it is not clear if the two companies were at that time a part of the USL [3].

A report, "Commission of Inquiry on War Crimes", by the Honourable Justice Jules Deschênes of Canada of October 1986 concluded that, "While in [POW camps in] Italy these men were screened by Soviet and British missions and neither then nor subsequently has any evidence brought to light which would suggest that any of them fought against the Western Allies or engaged in crimes against humanity. Their behaviour since they came to this country has been good and they have never indicated in any way that they are infected with any trace of Nazi ideology... From the reports of the special mission set up by the War Office to screen these men it seems clear that they volunteered to fight against the Red Army from nationalistic motives which were given greater impetus by the behaviour of the Soviet authorities during their earlier occupation of the Western Ukraine after the Nazi-Soviet Pact. Although Communist propaganda has constantly attempted to depict these, like so many other refugees, as "quislings" and "war criminals" it is interesting to note that no specific charges of war crimes have been made by the Soviet or any other Government against any member of this group."

The Deschênes report went on to explain that:

"56- The Galicia Division (14. Waffengrenadierdivision der SS [gal. #1]) should not be indicted as a group. 57- The members of Galicia Division were individually screened for security purposes before admission to Canada. 58- Charges of war crimes of Galicia Division have never been substantiated, either in 1950 when they were first preferred, or in 1984 when they were renewed, or before this Commission. 59- Further, in the absence of evidence of participation or knowledge of specific war crimes, mere membership in the Galicia Division is insufficient to justify prosecution. 60- No case can be made against members of Galicia Division for revocation of citizenship or deportation since the Canadian authorities were fully aware of the relevant facts in 1950 and admission to Canada was not granted them because of any false representation, or fraud, or concealment of material circumstances. 61- In any event, of the 217 officers of the Galicia Division denounced by Mr. Simon Wiesenthal to the Canadian government, 187 (i.e., 86 percent never set foot in Canada, 11 have died in Canada, 2 have left for another country, no prima facie case has been established against 16 and the last one could not be located." [4]

The SS "Galizien" division took part in the final "liquidation" of the Warsaw ghetto in 1943 [5]. Also, in Chodaczków Wielki, the division participated in the murder of 862 inhabitants and Lubatówka^{[citation needed]}.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Factual and alleged war atrocities", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki