On 16 November 1918, a German punitive expedition arrived in Miedzyrzec Podlaski.  Within a few hours, the Polish garrison of the town and more than twenty of its civilian inhabitants were murdered.

During the First World War, the countries that had led to the collapse and partition of Poland at the end of the 18th century were on opposite sides of the conflict. The twilight of Tsarist Russia and the defeat of Germany and Austria-Hungary, as well as the efforts of many generations of Poles, created a real possibility for the return of the Polish state to the political map of the world.

In many Polish towns and cities, at the end of October and in November 1918, soldiers of the partitioning states were disarmed, and local authorities were established. After arriving in Warsaw on 10 November 1918, Józef Piłsudski negotiated for the German garrison to leave the Polish capital city. Not everywhere, however, was the liberation of the country bloodless. In the liberated Polish territories, there were many actions organised by the Polish Military Organisation (POW), which operated in conspiracy.

On 12 November 1918, a detachment of POW commanded by Ignacy Zowczak arrived in Łuków. However, due to the capture of the town by the local POW, Zowczak set off the next day and reached Międzyrzec Podlaski. There, as a result of negotiations with German soldiers, it was agreed that they would surrender most of their weapons and leave the town.

At the same time, German troops from the 2nd Hussar regiment, an elite unit forming the Hohenzollerns’ bodyguard, arrived in nearby Biała Podlaska. The reinforced Germans proceeded to pacify Polish activities in the area. One such place was the aforementioned Międzyrzec Podlaski, where to a group of German officers, joined by hussars, arrived in two trucks, on the morning of 16 November and attacked Polish squad headquartered in the Potocki Palace. The building was set on fire and the defenders, led by Zowczak, were killed. The punitive expedition was joined by German soldiers from Międzyrzec. The town saw the murder of civilians and the looting of property. A total of 44 people were murdered in Międzyrzec, exactly half of them were civilians.

All the victims were ceremonially buried on 21 December 1918, and in 1931 a monument was unveiled in the town to commemorate them.