On the night of 15/16 April 1946, several dozen of “Ogień’s” partisans entered the village of Nowa Biała in Spiš.
They abducted four Slovaks: Jozef Chalúpka, Ján Krak, Ján Lapšanský and Ján Ščurek. Their remains were discovered a year later, near “Ogień’s” partisans’ camp in the Gorce Mountains.
According to documents made by the Citizen’s Militia, the partisans stole six horses, ten cows, four pigs and three carts from the farmers in Nowa Biała.
On the same night the partisans attacked the homesteads of František Brodovský and Dominik Kalata. Both managed to escape to Czechoslovakia, where they reported to officials.

In the evening hours I was disturbed by a noise from the street, and living in constant fear of the Polish authorities, I escaped through the window into the yard and hid there. I then watched through the open window as Polish soldiers entered the room and spoke to my wife in the following words: Where is that son of a b…ch, has he escaped to Slovakia? My wife replied that I had gone to the mill. The soldiers started beating and kicking her with their heavy boots. Then they spread around the house, and took a large amount of underwear, several pieces of clothing, 20 kilograms of lard and 60 metres of cloth. Later they smashed the stable door, brought the horse out, harnessed it to a cart on which they had piled the stolen things and left, taking two more cows with them. – Dominik Kalata
Matej Andráš, Československo-poľskévzťahy v rokoch 1945–1948, Bratislava 2009.

THE MONUMENT IN NOWA BIAŁA
The reasons behind the murder of the four residents of Nowa Biała remain a mystery. Their death was a personal tragedy for their families and the entire community.
They were pointless victims of the senseless fight for Poland, which already existed as a state then and nobody had to fight for it in a backwater at the end of the world. These were not commanders or former soldiers or anyone like that. Only Jan. Jan. Jan and Józek. People from the village, our people – male resident of Nowa Biała.
In the centre of Nowa Biała a monument was erected to commemorate the residents killed on the frontlines of the Second World War, but also the Slovaks murdered by Ogień’s gang. The obelisk elicits extreme emotions, sometimes becoming the site of political demonstrations. Not everyone is happy with this fact.
It is a monument commemorating human tragedy, that’s all. (…) Maybe nowadays all such monuments have a political dimension, and people use them for their own purposes – but why don’t we try to give ourselves a break and leave one, leave ours, out of this – female resident of Nowa Biała.

Illustrations:
Monument in Nova Biala dedicated to four Slovak farmers, murdered in April 1946 by partisans of "Błyskawica".

Portrait of Ján Lapšanský. Interwar period. Collection of the Society of Slovaks in Poland

Portrait of Ján Ščurek.  Interwar period. Collection of the Society of Slovaks in Poland

Grave of four Slovak farmers, murdered in April 1946 by "Błyskawica" guerrillas