Teachers from Bydgoszcz and the surrounding area a few moments before their execution by firing squad in the "Valley of Death" near Fordon. The first in line is Wladyslaw Bielinski, a primary school teacher from Wiag.
The Nazis sought to destroy Polish culture and the Polish nation, and eliminate any resistance, by arresting and murdering Poles. German police, SS, and army units and ethnic German “self-defense” forces shot thousands of Polish civilians. Among those shot were wealthy landowners, some clergymen, intellectuals, and teachers, as well as hostages and prisoners of war.
Bydgoszcz, Poland, October–November 1939.
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