28 July – memory and remembrance 28.07.2026
On July 28 we commemorate the victims of tragic events that had shaken our district.
fot. IPN archives
Memory and rememberence
Everyone who has visited the Decius Villa or addressed correspondence to us must have noticed that it is located on 28 July 1943 Street. The name commemorates the tragic events that affected Zwierzyniec during the Nazi occupation.
On the night of 27–28 July 1943, as part of the “Wolski Forest” operation, German soldiers and officials surrounded the western part of Kraków, the area of today’s District VII Zwierzyniec. They demanded from the village head, Stanisław Konik, a list of people involved in underground activities. In Katarzyna Kościółek’s house, they established a torture chamber where the inhabitants of Zwierzyniec were interrogated and tortured. An in-depth article about the tragic events of that day was prepared by Dr Karolina Trzeskowska-Kubasik and published on the IPN’s Przystanek Historia portal.
On 28 July 1943, 21 innocent inhabitants of Zwierzyniec were killed by the occupying forces on the meadows of Wola Justowska. Ludmiła, Jadwiga and Aniela Korbutowa, who were arrested that day, were later murdered in the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.
The memory of the tragedy of 28 July is preserved by the Zwierzyniec District Council, which every year organises commemorative ceremonies at the Meadow of Martyrdom, where a monument dedicated to the victims is located.
Photo: Grzegorz Morek
Victims of the pacification of Wola Justowska on 28 July 1943
They rest at the Salwator Cemetery.
On the night of 27–28 July 1943, as part of the “Wolski Forest” operation, German soldiers and officials surrounded the western part of Kraków, the area of today’s District VII Zwierzyniec. They demanded from the village head, Stanisław Konik, a list of people involved in underground activities. In Katarzyna Kościółek’s house, they established a torture chamber where the inhabitants of Zwierzyniec were interrogated and tortured. An in-depth article about the tragic events of that day was prepared by Dr Karolina Trzeskowska-Kubasik and published on the IPN’s Przystanek Historia portal.
On 28 July 1943, 21 innocent inhabitants of Zwierzyniec were killed by the occupying forces on the meadows of Wola Justowska. Ludmiła, Jadwiga and Aniela Korbutowa, who were arrested that day, were later murdered in the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.
The memory of the tragedy of 28 July is preserved by the Zwierzyniec District Council, which every year organises commemorative ceremonies at the Meadow of Martyrdom, where a monument dedicated to the victims is located.
Photo: Grzegorz Morek
Victims of the pacification of Wola Justowska on 28 July 1943
- Zygmunt Angelus
- Stefania Domagałowa
- Irena Dumowa
- Regina Frys
- Stefan Gołdyn
- Cezary Jakubowski
- Zygmunt Jendrosz
- Jan Lelito
- Stanisław Lelito
- Stefan Lis
- Adam Malik
- Edward Porębski
- Róża Rybakowa
- Bronisław Słabik
- Jadwiga Solmanowa
- Józef Stramek
- Bruno Wiewiór
- Bolesław Wójcik
- Anna Zdziech
- Ludwika Zielińska
- Maria Zielińska
- Aniela Korbutowa
- Jadwiga Korbutowa
- Ludmiła Korbutowa
They rest at the Salwator Cemetery.