Bombing of Wieluń

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Wieluń town center after the German Luftwaffe bombing raid on the morning of 1 September 1939
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Location of Wieluń
(map of Poland before the 1939 invasion)

The bombing of Wieluń refers to air raids on the Polish town of Wieluń by Nazi Germany's Luftwaffe (air force) on 1 September 1939. The Luftwaffe started bombing Wieluń at 04:40, five minutes before the shelling of Westerplatte, which has traditionally been considered the beginning of World War II. The air raid on the town was one of the first aerial bombings of the war.[1] It killed an estimated 1,300 civilians, injured hundreds more and destroyed 90 per cent of the town centre The casualty rate was more than twice as high as Guernica.[1] After the bombing Nazi propaganda claimed that there was a cavalry unit in the city, an extensive investigation conducted by Polish Institute of National Remembrance historians confirmed categorically that there were no military units stationed in the city[2][3]

Events

According to German military records, 29 Junkers Ju 87B “Stukas” of Sturzkampfgeschwader 76 under the command of Captain Walter Sigel,[4] started from Nieder-Ellguth airfield at 05:02 on 1 September 1939.[5] Some twenty minutes later they reached the town of Wieluń unopposed and dropped 29 bombs of 500 kg and 112 bombs of 50 kg.[5] Among the first places hit was the hospital, though it had Red Cross markings;[6] 26 patients and 6 nurses were killed.[7] Within the hour all 29 aircraft landed at Nieder-Ellguth, where Sigel reported "no noteworthy observation of the enemy."[5] The German pilots reported "blue sky" when attacking the town and described in detail buildings bombed.[8]

A second wave of 29 Stukas of Sturzkampfgeschwader 2 Immelmann commanded by Major Oskar Dinort attacked the town shortly afterwards,[5] followed by a third wave at about 14:00. In all, 380 bombs totalling 46,000 kg had been dropped on the town, hitting the hospital, killing more than 1,200 inhabitants and destroying 70 per cent of the buildings, up to 90 per cent in the center.[5] According to German documents the town was burning at 06:00 – "Wielun brennt" - Wieluń is burning.[7]

Writer Sylwia Słomińska and Sender Freies Berlin director Joachim Trenkner (author of German 1989 TV documentary about the bombing of Wieluń) stated in the documentary that there were no military or industrial targets in the area,[7][9] except for a small sugar factory in the outskirts of the town. Furthermore, Trenkner stated that German bombers destroyed the town's hospital first.[9]

German historian Horst Boog claims that a Polish cavalry brigade and a Polish infantry division had been located in the town by German reconnaissance the day before the attack. From reports of Luftflotte 4, 2nd Air Division, I./Sturzkampfgeschwader 76 and I./Sturzkampfgeschwader 77 he concludes that the bomb attacks had been directed against these military formations and therefore can not be considered terror bombings[citation needed]. Due to ground fog, he argues, the German pilots missed their targets and mistakenly bombed the town.[10][need quotation to verify] In separate accounts by both German pilots and Polish civilians, Polish civilians report planes clearly visible, while German pilots distinguish civilian targets while bombing from up to 2500 meters[8] British aviation historian Peter C. Smith[11] too, describes the bombing as collateral damage from bombs that missed their targets during ground support of the Wehrmacht operations.[11][need quotation to verify] Polish historian Jerzy B. Cynk, author of The Polish Air Force at War. The Official History 1939-1943, is believed to have also written about these events.[12] Polish historian, Doctor Teodor Gasiorowski proposed a theory, in his televised lecture, that the German bombers were supposed to bomb Jasna Gora and Czestochowa, but either for religious reasons or because they wanted to avoid anti--aircraft fire, they bombed Wielun.[13]

The visibility allowed German pilots to engage in strafing runs against fleeing civilians, including women and children, systematically massacring them with repeated machine gun fire.[8]

At 13:00 a German dive bomber wing, I./StG 2 led by Major Oskar Dinort via Nieder-Ellguth, were directed against Wielun, followed a few hours later by Günter Schwartzkopff with sixty Ju 87 Stukas of I./Sturzkampfgeschwader 77[11] Weather conditions were unfavourable during the day, with a visibility of only one kilometre and a practically closed layer of fog at 50 metres altitude.[14][need quotation to verify] Fog, mist and poor visibility thwarted many of the Luftwaffe's sorties planned for the morning of the first day of the invasion.[14][need quotation to verify] The dive bombers, facing intense anti aircraft fire, inflicted heavy losses on the Polish cavalry[when?], and the advance was turned into a rout by 90 Stukas.[11] On their return home, four of the German Junkers Ju 87 bombers were shot down by the Polish 36 Academic Legion Infantry Regiment stationed nearby.[11] Three waves of attacks were carried out during the day.[11] The town was captured by the German Army on the first day of the invasion.[11]

Two attempts to prosecute the attack on the hospital were dealt with shortly by West German judges in 1978 and 1983, since prosecutors emphatically claimed that the pilots could not make out the nature of the target in alleged morning fog[5]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b Davies, Norman (29 August 2009). "We must not forget the real causes of the war". The Independent. Retrieved 2010-02-25.
  2. ^ [1] Prezes IPN dr Jarosław Szarek na ogólnopolskich obchodach 78. rocznicy wybuchu II wojny światowej – Wieluń, 1 września 2017
  3. ^ [2] Oddziałowa Komisja w Łodzi (stan na maj 2017 r.) Śledztwa zakończone wydaniem postanowienia o umorzeniu
  4. ^ Lexikon der Wehrmacht, Sturzkampfgeschwader 76
  5. ^ a b c d e f Trenkner, Joachim (1 September 2009). "Ziel vernichtet". Die Zeit (in German). 2003 (7). Hamburg. Retrieved 4 June 2010. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ Trenkner, p. 3
  7. ^ a b c Słomińska, Sylwia. "Wieluń, 1 września 1939 r" (in Polish). Archived from the original on 2009-01-05.
  8. ^ a b c [3] Z dziejów dawnego Wielunia Uniwersytet Lodzki
  9. ^ a b Trenkner, Joachim (2008-08-29). "Wieluń, czwarta czterdzieści" (PDF) (in Polish). Archived from the original (PDF file, direct download 67.9 KB) on 2012-03-17. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ Boog, p. 136
  11. ^ a b c d e f g Smith, 2007. p. 23
  12. ^ Cynk, p. 74.
  13. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArfRXudzyUk
  14. ^ a b Smith, 2007. p. 20

References

  • Boog, Horst (1 October 2002). "50. Bombardierung der polnischen Grenzstadt Wielun am 1.9.1939". In Franz Wilhelm Seidler; Alfred M. De Zayas (eds.). Kriegsverbrechen in Europa und im Nahen Osten im 20. Jahrhundert (in German). Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn: E.S. Mittler. p. 136. ISBN 3-8132-0702-1. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |trans_chapter= ignored (|trans-chapter= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  • Cynk, Jerzy (1998). The Polish Air Force at War. Atglen: Schiffer Pub. ISBN 978-0-7643-0559-7. Search word - Wielun - did not match any documents.
  • Smith, C. Peter. (2007). Ju 87 Stuka Volume One: Luftwaffe Ju 87 Dive-bomber Units 1939-1941. Classic Publications. ISBN 978-1-903223-69-7

Further reading

  • Bojarska B., Zniszczenie miasta Wielunia w dniu 1 września 1939 r., „Przegląd Zachodni” 1962, nr 2.
  • Kulesza W., Pierwszy był Wieluń, „Rzeczpospolita” 1999, nr 211, 9 IX 1999.
  • Olejnik T., Wieluń – na pięć minut przed Westerplatte. Pierwsi zginęli cywile, „Tygodnik Powszechny” nr 35, 31 VIII 2003 r.
  • Olejnik T., Wieluń. Zniszczenie miasta 1 IX 1939 r., Kępno 1979.
  • Olejnik T., Wieluń – polska Guernica, das polnische Guernica, Wieluń 2004.
  • Pięciak W., Wieluń 1 września 1939 r., „Tygodnik Powszechny” nr 2, 12 I 2003.

External links

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