The Bombing of Frampol happened during the German invasion of Poland

Invasion of Poland (1939)

The Invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign or 1939 Defensive War in Poland and the Poland Campaign in Germany, was an invasion of Poland by Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small Slovak contingent that marked the start of World War II in Europe...

 in 1939. On 13 September, the town of Frampol

Frampol

Frampol is a town in Poland, in Lublin Voivodeship, in Biłgoraj County. It has 1,440 inhabitants .The town was founded in 1705, with a unique, highly symmetric layout of streets in the shape of concentric rectangles around a large central square. In 1869 it lost its official status as a town, to...

 (Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

), with a population of 4,000, was bombed by the German Luftwaffe

Luftwaffe

Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....

 as a practice run for future missions. Over 60% to 90% of town's infrastructure was destroyed; only two streets remained untouched, plus a few houses. As Norman Davies

Norman Davies

Professor Ivor Norman Richard Davies FBA, FRHistS is a leading English historian of Welsh descent, noted for his publications on the history of Europe, Poland, and the United Kingdom.- Academic career :...

 writes in
"Europe at War 1939-1945: No Simple Victory‎":Frampol was chosen partly because it was completely defenceless, and partly because its baroque street plan presented a perfect geometric grid. The city lacked any military facilities or military defenders.

The bombing of Frampol plays an important part in the short story "The Little Shoemakers" by Isaac Bashevis Singer

Isaac Bashevis Singer

Isaac Bashevis Singer – July 24, 1991) was a Polish Jewish American author noted for his short stories. He was one of the leading figures in the Yiddish literary movement, and received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1978...

Quotes

"Frampol was chosen as an experimental object, because test bombers, flying at low speed, weren't endangered by AA fire. Also, the centrally placed town hall was an ideal orientation point for the crews. We watched possibility of orientation after visible signs, and also the size of village, what guaranteed that bombs nevertheless fall down on Frampol. From one side it should make easier the note of probe, from second side it should confirm the efficiency of used bombs." - Wolfgang Schreyer

Wolfgang Schreyer

Wolfgang Schreyer is a German writer of fiction, historic adventures mixed with documentary, science fiction for TV shows and movies and is best known as the author of over 20 adventure stories.-Life:...

's book "Eyes on the sky" (Augen am Himmel)

Further reading