In the summer of 1941, as Nazi Germany launched Operation Barbarossa against the Soviet Union, they swiftly took control of Lviv, a city with a significant Polish population and intellectual heritage. Following the occupation, the Nazis initiated a campaign targeting Polish intelligentsia, comprising scientists, writers, and other prominent cultural figures. This campaign stemmed from their ideology, which viewed the Polish intellectual class as a potential threat to German rule and a barrier to the establishment of a German-centered order in the newly acquired territories.

On July 4, 1941, Nazi troops rounded up several notable Polish scholars and cultural figures, including professors from local universities and authors. These individuals were accused of political dissent and seen as a threat to the Nazi regime's control. They were executed in mass shootings, which took place at various locations around Lviv, instigating a widespread cultural trauma within the community and effectively decimating the local intellectual elite.

The killings in Lviv were not an isolated incident but part of a broader strategy that included similar actions across occupied Poland and other territories. The goal was to eliminate resistance and dismantle the social fabric of Polish society. By eradicating the cultural leaders, the Nazis sought to instill fear and prevent any organized opposition to German policies. This campaign was emblematic of the Nazi regime's brutal approach to subjugation, and it had long-lasting consequences on Polish society and heritage.