sentiments. In the 1930s, Polish military authorities constructed a number of fortifications in the area of Sarny, known as the Sarny Fortified Area (Sarnenski Rejon Umocniony), along the Sluch river. 1939–1944; Sarny Massacre I (1939), Sarny Massacre II (1942), Volhynian Genocide (1943) In 1939, Sarny was occupied by Russian forces following the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact and the Soviet invasion of Poland. The Russian advance met with Polish resistance. Sarny became a concentration point for units under the command of Brigadier General Wilhelm Orlik-Rückemann. The "Sarny" regiment, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Nikodem Sulik, provided cover. The regiment stemmed the attack of the Soviet 60th Rifle Division, based on the strong fortifications of the Sarny Fortified Area. A crew of a single bunker, under the command of Second Lieutenant Jan Bołbot, lasted out in its position until September 19, delaying the advance of Soviet units. 300 Polish policemen were killed by Soviet soldiers in 1939, just after Soviets attacked Poland. The city was captured by Nazi Germany on July 8, 1941, following the repudiation by Germany of the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact and the German attack on Russia on June 22, 1941. At the time, Sarny had a Jewish population of approximately 5,000 persons. While Russian troops retreated, Ukrainian nationalists did not retreat with the Russian forces, but instead saw an opportunity to support the independence of Ukraine through alliances with the Nazis. Subsequent to the German occupation, the Nazis commandeered Jews of Sarny as forced labour. In addition, the Jewish population was forced to turn over most of its assets to the Nazis, with orders largely enforced by Ukrainian police. In April 1942, a ghetto was established in Sarny, into which were forced the Jews from Sarny and the surrounding towns. In August 1942, Sarny was the scene of what came to be known as the Sarny Massacre. Over two days, on August 27–28, 1942, between 14,000 and 18,000 people, mostly Jews from Sarny and surrounding towns, including an estimated 100 Roma, were systematically executed in the ravines on the outskirts of the town, where pits had been prepared. The executions were carried out by German troops and Ukrainian Auxiliary Police, assisted by some 200 members of Organization Todt. A memorial book of the history of the Jewish community in Sarny was published in 1961, containing first person accounts by community survivors. During the Volhynian Genocide, commencing in 1943, Sarny was a shelter for