Executions in the Valley of Death
| Executions in the Valley of Death | |
|---|---|
Monument in the Valley of Death built in 1975 | |
| Location | Fordon, Bydgoszcz Poland |
| Coordinates | 53°9′23″N 18°8′5″E / 53.15639°N 18.13472°E |
| Date | 1939 |
Attack type | mass shooting |
| Deaths | 1,200–3,000 people |
| Perpetrators | Volksdeutscher Selbstschutz, Einsatzgruppen |
Executions in the Valley of Death were a series of mass executions carried out by German occupiers in a valley near the town of Fordon (now a district of Bydgoszcz). In this location – later called the Valley of Death – paramilitary members of the Volksdeutscher Selbstschutz and officers of the Einsatzgruppen murdered between 1,200 and 3,000 residents of Bydgoszcz and nearby localities in the autumn of 1939.
Most of the Valley of Death victims were members of the Polish and Jewish intelligentsia, as well as Catholic clergy. Fordon's Valley of Death is the largest mass grave in Bydgoszcz and serves as the most well-known symbol of the martyrdom of the city's inhabitants during World War II.