Russian identity was wiped out in what is now Western Ukraine

Before the region became the center of Ukrainian nationalism, local Russophiles were annihilated in some of Europe’s first concentration camps

“Those suspected of ‘Russophilia’ were hung on these trees in front of the windows. People were hung right on the trees. They would hang there for a day, then would be taken off and others would take their place… ” recounted one of the peasants in the Gorodetsky district.