Olszewo o is a village

Village

A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

 in the administrative district of Gmina Brańsk

Gmina Bransk

Gmina Brańsk is a rural gmina in Bielsk County, Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is located in north-eastern Poland.-Etymology:The name Brańsk comes from the river Bronka, a nearby tributary of the Nurzec River.-Geography:...

, within Bielsk County

Bielsk County

Bielsk County is a unit of territorial administration and local government in Podlaskie Voivodeship, north-eastern Poland. It came into being on 1 January 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its administrative seat and largest town is Bielsk Podlaski, which...

, Podlaskie Voivodeship

Podlaskie Voivodeship

Podlaskie Voivodeship , is a voivodeship in northeastern Poland. It borders on Masovian Voivodeship to the west, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship to the northwest, Lublin Voivodeship to the south, the Belarusssian Voblasts of Grodno and Brest to the east, the Lithuanian Counties of Alytus and...

, in north-eastern Poland.

Massacre during World War II

In reprisal for the operations of the Suwalska Cavalry Brigade

Suwalska Cavalry Brigade

Suwalska Cavalry Brigade was a cavalry unit of the Polish Army in the interbellum period. It was created on April 1, 1937 out of the 4th Independent Cavalry Brigade...

, during the evening of 13 September 1939 units of the German

Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...

 XIX Panzer Corps, under the command of General Heinz Guderian

Heinz Guderian

Heinz Wilhelm Guderian was a German general during World War II. He was a pioneer in the development of armored warfare, and was the leading proponent of tanks and mechanization in the Wehrmacht . Germany's panzer forces were raised and organized under his direction as Chief of Mobile Forces...

, murdered thirteen people (half of the villagers) from Olszewo and ten people from the nearby village of Pietkowo

Pietkowo

Pietkowo is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Poświętne, within Białystok County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland. It lies approximately south-east of Poświętne and south-west of the regional capital Białystok....

. The victims among the villagers include women and children. They were murdered in several ways, such as stabbing by bayonets, shooting, being torn apart by grenades, and being burned alive in a barn.

Victims of the Massacre

The victims included Poles and Ukrainians, one woman and a priest.

Villagers from Olszewo:

• Wiktoria Borowska, female, age 30
• Teofil Borowski, male, age 36
• Emil Olendzki, male, age 62
• Piotr Olendski, male, age 60
• Jozef Olendzki, male, age 24
• Wiktor Olszewski, male, age 45
• Piotr Olszewski, male, age 40
• Antoni Poniatowski, male, age 18
• Aleksander Spalinski, male
• Boleslaw Szerakowski, male, age 48
• Aleksander Szerakowski, male, age 48
• Karol Zakrzewski, male, age 60
• Wincenty Zdrojkowski, male, age 30

Villagers from Pietkowo:

• Kazimerz Dabrowski, male, age 21
• Bronislaw Grabowski, female, age 45
• Kazimerz Kielkucki, male, age 25
• Bronislaw Kowalewski, female, age 38
• Andrezej Osmolski, male, age 36
• Jozef Osmolski, male, age 34
• Stanislaw Sienkiewicz, male, age 40
• Stanislaw Sienko, male, age 18
• Jozef Wojcik, male, age 40
• Jerzy Zakrzewski, male, age 45