Editing Bombing of Frampol

{{Short description|German air attacks on a Polish town in WW2}}[[Image:Frampol bombing.jpg|thumb|right|300px|[[Frampol]] before ''(left)'' and after ''(right)'' the German [[Luftwaffe]] bombing raids, September 1939]]
The '''Bombing of Frampol''' occurred during the German [[invasion of Poland]] in 1939. On 13 September, the town of [[Frampol]] with a population of 4,000 was [[bombing|bombed]] by the German bombers of [[Luftwaffe]]'s [[8th Air Corps]], under General [[Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen]]. The town had no military value, and the bombing was seen as a practice run for future missions.

==The bombardment==
According to Polish journalist Pawel Puzio and local historian Ryszard Jasinski no units of the [[Polish army]] were stationed in Frampol and the town did not have any military facilities.<ref>Paweł Puzio, Żywy poligon Luftwaffe, "Dziennik Wschodni", 5 września 2009 [http://biblioteka.teatrnn.pl/dlibra/Content/17227/Zywy_poligon_Luftwaffe.pdf]</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.roztocze.net/newsroom.php/27206_Jak_bombardowano_Frampol.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090916174533/http://roztocze.net/newsroom.php/27206_Jak_bombardowano_Frampol.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2009-09-16|title=Jak bombardowano Frampol > Newsroom - Roztocze Online - informacje regionalne - Zamość, Biłgoraj, Hrubieszów, Lubaczów, Tomaszów Lubelski, Lubaczów - Roztocze OnLine|website=www.roztocze.net|access-date=2018-05-15}}</ref> The Luftwaffe likely selected Frampol for an experimental bombing since the town had an extensive market square with a [[grid plan]], making it appear as a large bullseye, and there were no [[Anti-aircraft warfare|anti-aircraft]] units located at Frampol.<ref name="elknet.pl">Dariusz Tyminski and Grzegorz Slizewski, "13 September 1939, the town of Frampol" in the [http://www.elknet.pl/acestory/pol39/pol39.htm  Poland 1939 - The Diary of Luftwaffe Atrocities.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808201553/http://www.elknet.pl/acestory/pol39/pol39.htm |date=2014-08-08 }}</ref> In his 1968 book, ''Augen am Himmel'' (''Eyes on the Sky''), German writer [[Wolfgang Schreyer]] wrote: "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."<ref> Schreyer, Wolfgang: Die Piratenchronik. Augen am Himmel: Eine Piratenchronik 1968 {{pn|date=May 2018}}</ref> British historian Norman Davies 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 for calculations and measurements."<ref name="davies">{{cite book|author=Norman Davies|title=No Simple Victory: World War II in Europe, 1939–1945|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9P_uQ2qeFUkC&pg=PT262|date=26 August 2008|publisher=Penguin Publishing Group|isbn=978-1-4406-5112-0|page=262}}</ref>

The first German reconnaissance plane appeared over Frampol on 9 September 1939 taking reconnaissance photographs of the location then on 11 and 12 September the town was bombed. The first raids did not cause any significant damage, but the subsequent bombing on 13 September completely destroyed the town. According to Davies, 125 bombers dropped 700 tons of explosives during bombing, which lasted for several hours. Furthermore, German fighter pilots trained [[strafing]] techniques on refugees who were trying to flee from the city.<ref name="davies"/>

==Aftermath==
After the bombing, on 18 September, a German reconnaissance plane again appeared over Frampol to take photographs of the destruction.

According to Davies, Frampol lost 90% of its buildings and 50% of the population became casualties.<ref name="davies"/> Only two streets remained untouched, including some houses on the outskirts.<ref>[http://www.jewishgen.org/yizkor/pinkas_poland/pol7_00406.html “Frampol” - Encyclopedia of Jewish Communities in Poland, Volume VII]</ref> Today Frampol's population is still much lower at about 1.400 people.

==In popular culture==
The bombing of Frampol plays an important part in the short story "The Little Shoemakers" by [[Isaac Bashevis Singer]].<ref>See "Di kleyne shusterlekh" Pgs. 18-43. https://www.yiddishbookcenter.org/collections/yiddish-books/spb-nybc218278/singer-isaac-bashevis-gimpl-tam-un-andere-dertseylungen</ref>

Isaac Bashevis Singer also wrote "The Tale of Three Wishes"<ref> A Tale of Three Wishes by Isaac Bashevis Singer, Illustrated by Irene Lieblich </ref> in which artist Irene Lieblich beautifully illustrates the Market Of Frampol, a direct reflection of her memories of Frampol.

==See also==
{{WWII city bombing}}

==References==
<!--See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Footnotes for an explanation of how to generate footnotes using the <ref(erences/)> tags-->
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book | author=Mieczysław Cieplewicz, Eugeniusz Kozłowski| title=Wojna obronna Polski 1939 | publisher=Warsaw, Wydawnictwo MON | year=1979 | isbn=83-11-06314-1|language=pl|display-authors=etal}}


{{coord|50|40|25|N|22|40|05|E|region:PL_type:event_scale:50000|display=title}}

[[Category:Invasion of Poland]]
[[Category:Nazi war crimes in Poland]]
[[Category:World War II strategic bombing by populated place|Frampol]]
[[Category:Aerial operations and battles of World War II involving Germany]]