Jedwabne
Encyclopedia
Jedwabne j is a town in Poland
, in the Podlaskie Voivodeship
, in Łomża County, with 1,942 inhabitants (2002).
was a fine example of the unique Polish Jewish architectural tradition of wooden synagogues. At the end of the 18th century new textile factories opened. In 1851 there were as many as 17 weaving establishments employing 36 workers in Jedwabne. In terms of its cloth production Jedwabne was already the eleventh-largest manufacturing centre in the Kingdom of Poland
. By 1862, 11 mechanical and 13 manual weaving machines had been installed at Jedwabne. The town's cloth production fell into decline only after the January uprising
of 1863, due to Russian repression against Polish and Jewish entrepreneurs. The town was the center of a large Jewish community; its population in 1900 was 1,941.
During World War II
and following the Soviet invasion
of eastern Poland
, a wave of anti-Polish repression by the Soviet Secret Police
was conducted between 1939 and 1941. It was coupled with a successful Soviet attack against a Polish partisan unit stationed in the Kobielne Wilderness. A number of Polish people were arrested and their families were deported to Siberia. Soon after the German takeover of Jedwabne, and following the attack on the Soviet Union
, the town became the site of the infamous Jedwabne pogrom
on July 10, 1941. An estimated 340 Jews (final findings) were burned alive by Poles in a barn belonging to Bronisław Śleszyński, in the presence of Nazi German gendarmes. According to witness accounts, the Germans created a ghetto in Jedwabne the next day (July 11, 1941) and incarcerated about 100-130 Jews in it. They were shipped to Łomża Ghetto
in November 1941, and subsequently sent to the extermination camp at Treblinka.
Immigrants to the United States from Jedwabne built the synagogue Congregation Anshe Yedwabne at 242 Henry Street in the Lower East Side
neighborhood of New York City.
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, in the Podlaskie Voivodeship
Podlaskie Voivodeship
Podlaskie Voivodeship , is a voivodeship in northeastern Poland. It borders on Masovian Voivodeship to the west, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship to the northwest, Lublin Voivodeship to the south, the Belarusssian Voblasts of Grodno and Brest to the east, the Lithuanian Counties of Alytus and...
, in Łomża County, with 1,942 inhabitants (2002).
History
First mentioned in 1455, Jedwabne received city rights on July 17, 1736, from the Polish king August III, including the right to hold weekly markets on Sundays and five country fairs a year. A wooden Catholic church with two steeples was built in 1737-1738, and a synagogue around 1770. The Jedwabne synagogueJedwabne synagogue
The Jedwabne Synagogue, , located in Jedwabne, Poland, was built in 1770. It was an example of the unique Polish Jewish architectural tradition of building large, domed wooden synagogues. The layered, pitched roof visible in surviving exterior photographs conceals a series of massive trusses from...
was a fine example of the unique Polish Jewish architectural tradition of wooden synagogues. At the end of the 18th century new textile factories opened. In 1851 there were as many as 17 weaving establishments employing 36 workers in Jedwabne. In terms of its cloth production Jedwabne was already the eleventh-largest manufacturing centre in 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...
. By 1862, 11 mechanical and 13 manual weaving machines had been installed at Jedwabne. The town's cloth production fell into decline only after the January uprising
January Uprising
The January Uprising was an uprising in the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth against the Russian Empire...
of 1863, due to Russian repression against Polish and Jewish entrepreneurs. The town was the center of a large Jewish community; its population in 1900 was 1,941.
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...
and following the Soviet invasion
Soviet invasion of Poland
Soviet invasion of Poland can refer to:* the second phase of the Polish-Soviet War of 1920 when Soviet armies marched on Warsaw, Poland* Soviet invasion of Poland of 1939 when Soviet Union allied with Nazi Germany attacked Second Polish Republic...
of eastern Poland
Kresy
The Polish term Kresy refers to a land considered by Poles as historical eastern provinces of their country. Today, it makes western Ukraine, western Belarus, as well as eastern Lithuania, with such major cities, as Lviv, Vilnius, and Hrodna. This territory belonged to the Polish-Lithuanian...
, a wave of anti-Polish repression by the Soviet Secret Police
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
was conducted between 1939 and 1941. It was coupled with a successful Soviet attack against a Polish partisan unit stationed in the Kobielne Wilderness. A number of Polish people were arrested and their families were deported to Siberia. Soon after the German takeover of Jedwabne, and following the attack on the Soviet Union
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
, the town became the site of the infamous Jedwabne pogrom
Jedwabne pogrom
The Jedwabne pogrom of July 1941 during German occupation of Poland, was a massacre of at least 340 Polish Jews of all ages. These are the official findings of the Institute of National Remembrance, "confirmed by the number of victims in the two graves, according to the estimate of the...
on July 10, 1941. An estimated 340 Jews (final findings) were burned alive by Poles in a barn belonging to Bronisław Śleszyński, in the presence of Nazi German gendarmes. According to witness accounts, the Germans created a ghetto in Jedwabne the next day (July 11, 1941) and incarcerated about 100-130 Jews in it. They were shipped to Łomża Ghetto
Łomża Ghetto
The Łomża Ghetto was created by Nazi Germans on 12 August 1941 in the vicinity of the Old Market in Łomża, Poland; following their attack on the Soviet Union. The Jews were ordered to move into it in a single day, resulting in panic at the main entry on ul. Senatorska. The number of Polish Jews...
in November 1941, and subsequently sent to the extermination camp at Treblinka.
Immigrants to the United States from Jedwabne built the synagogue Congregation Anshe Yedwabne at 242 Henry Street in the Lower East Side
Lower East Side
The Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street....
neighborhood of New York City.