Izbica
Encyclopedia
Izbica i is a village
in Krasnystaw County
, Lublin Voivodeship
, in eastern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina
(administrative district) called Gmina Izbica
. It lies approximately 13 kilometres (8 mi) south of Krasnystaw
and 59 km (37 mi) south-east of the regional capital Lublin
. It has a population of 1,933.
, that is a town inhabited primarily by Jews
. In 1760 the city charter was reaffirmed. After the partitions of Poland
in 1772 the town was annexed by Austria
and then reclaimed by the Duchy of Warsaw
in 1809. After the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte it became a part of the Kingdom of Poland
. In 1827 it had 51 houses and 407 inhabitants, all of them Jewish. In the 19th century the town was a notable centre of Hasidic Judaism
, particularly thanks to the tzadik
Grand Rabbi Mordechai Yosef Leiner
and his son Grand Rabbi Yaacov Leiner, who established the Hasidic dynasty of Izhbitza. After the January Uprising
against Russia
, in which many of the local inhabitants took part, the town was deprived of city rights and attached to the nearby commune of Tarnogóra.
After Poland regained her independence the village grew significantly. In 1921 it had roughly 3000 inhabitants, by 1939 the number grew to roughly 6000. The village grew particularly because of the Lublin
-Zamość road and a railway to Zamość which opened in 1917.
During World War II
Germans set up the Izbica concentration camp
in Izbica, which served as a transfer camp for the deportation of Jews
from Germany
and from the occupied Poland to the extermination camps in Belzec
and Sobibor
.
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
in Krasnystaw County
Krasnystaw County
Krasnystaw County is a unit of territorial administration and local government in Lublin Voivodeship, eastern Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its administrative seat and only town is Krasnystaw, which lies ...
, Lublin Voivodeship
Lublin Voivodeship
- Administrative division :Lublin Voivodeship is divided into 24 counties : 4 city counties and 20 land counties. These are further divided into 213 gminas....
, in eastern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina
Gmina
The gmina is the principal unit of administrative division of Poland at its lowest uniform level. It is often translated as "commune" or "municipality." As of 2010 there were 2,479 gminas throughout the country...
(administrative district) called Gmina Izbica
Gmina Izbica
Gmina Izbica is a rural gmina in Krasnystaw County, Lublin Voivodeship, in eastern Poland. Its seat is the village of Izbica, which lies approximately south of Krasnystaw and south-east of the regional capital Lublin....
. It lies approximately 13 kilometres (8 mi) south of Krasnystaw
Krasnystaw
Krasnystaw is a town in eastern Poland with 19,615 inhabitants . Situated in the Lublin Voivodeship , previously in Chelm Voivodeship . It is the capital of Krasnystaw County....
and 59 km (37 mi) south-east of the regional capital Lublin
Lublin
Lublin is the ninth largest city in Poland. It is the capital of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 350,392 . Lublin is also the largest Polish city east of the Vistula river...
. It has a population of 1,933.
History
First mentioned in 1419, Izbica became a town in 1750 (previously the unconcluded right was issued in 1540). A notable centre of trade and commerce, with time the town became a shtetlShtetl
A shtetl was typically a small town with a large Jewish population in Central and Eastern Europe until The Holocaust. Shtetls were mainly found in the areas which constituted the 19th century Pale of Settlement in the Russian Empire, the Congress Kingdom of Poland, Galicia and Romania...
, that is a town inhabited primarily by Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
. In 1760 the city charter was reaffirmed. After the partitions of Poland
Partitions of Poland
The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland for 123 years...
in 1772 the town was annexed by Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
and then reclaimed by the Duchy of Warsaw
Duchy of Warsaw
The Duchy of Warsaw was a Polish state established by Napoleon I in 1807 from the Polish lands ceded by the Kingdom of Prussia under the terms of the Treaties of Tilsit. The duchy was held in personal union by one of Napoleon's allies, King Frederick Augustus I of Saxony...
in 1809. After the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte it became a part of the Kingdom of Poland
Congress Poland
The Kingdom of Poland , informally known as Congress Poland , created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna, was a personal union of the Russian parcel of Poland with the Russian Empire...
. In 1827 it had 51 houses and 407 inhabitants, all of them Jewish. In the 19th century the town was a notable centre of Hasidic Judaism
Hasidic Judaism
Hasidic Judaism or Hasidism, from the Hebrew —Ḥasidut in Sephardi, Chasidus in Ashkenazi, meaning "piety" , is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy through the popularisation and internalisation of Jewish mysticism as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith...
, particularly thanks to the tzadik
Tzadik
Tzadik/Zadik/Sadiq is a title given to personalities in Jewish tradition considered righteous, such as Biblical figures and later spiritual masters. The root of the word ṣadiq, is ṣ-d-q , which means "justice" or "righteousness", also the root of Tzedakah...
Grand Rabbi Mordechai Yosef Leiner
Mordechai Yosef Leiner
Mordechai Yosef Leiner of Izbica was a rabbinic Hasidic thinker and founder of the Izhbitza-Radzyn dynasty of Hasidic Judaism.Rabbi Mordechai Yosef was born in Tomashov in 1801 to his father Reb Yaakov the son of Reb Mordechai of Sekul, a descendant of Rabbi Shoul Wahl. At the age two he became...
and his son Grand Rabbi Yaacov Leiner, who established the Hasidic dynasty of Izhbitza. After the January Uprising
January Uprising
The January Uprising was an uprising in the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth against the Russian Empire...
against Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, in which many of the local inhabitants took part, the town was deprived of city rights and attached to the nearby commune of Tarnogóra.
After Poland regained her independence the village grew significantly. In 1921 it had roughly 3000 inhabitants, by 1939 the number grew to roughly 6000. The village grew particularly because of the Lublin
Lublin
Lublin is the ninth largest city in Poland. It is the capital of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 350,392 . Lublin is also the largest Polish city east of the Vistula river...
-Zamość road and a railway to Zamość which opened in 1917.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Germans set up the Izbica concentration camp
Izbica concentration camp
The Izbica ghetto was a Jewish ghetto created in Izbica in occupied Poland during World War II, serving as a transfer point for deportation of Jews from Poland, Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia to Belzec and Sobibor extermination camps. SS-Hauptsturmführer Kurt Engels was the commandant of the...
in Izbica, which served as a transfer camp for the deportation of Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
from Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and from the occupied Poland to the extermination camps in Belzec
Belzec extermination camp
Belzec, Polish spelling Bełżec , was the first of the Nazi German extermination camps created for implementing Operation Reinhard during the Holocaust...
and Sobibor
Sobibór extermination camp
Sobibor was a Nazi German extermination camp located on the outskirts of the town of Sobibór, Lublin Voivodeship of occupied Poland as part of Operation Reinhard; the official German name was SS-Sonderkommando Sobibor...
.
External links
IZBICA - Drehkreuz des Todes (Turnstile of death) - a German TV-Documentation An interview with Tomasz Blatt - the ghetto survivorSee also
- Jan KarskiJan KarskiJan Karski was a Polish World War II resistance movement fighter and later scholar at Georgetown University. In 1942 and 1943 Karski reported to the Polish government in exile and the Western Allies on the situation in German-occupied Poland, especially the destruction of the Warsaw Ghetto, and...
- Thomas BlattThomas BlattThomas "Toivi" Blatt was one of the few survivors who successfully escaped Sobibor extermination camp. While fleeing the SS he was betrayed by a farmer who was hiding him resulting in a gunshot injury to the jaw. The bullet remains there to this day...
- Izhbitza - Radzin (Hasidic dynasty)