Stawiski
Encyclopedia
Stawiski s is a town in north-eastern Poland
, situated within Kolno County
, in Podlaskie Voivodeship
, approximately 16 kilometres (10 mi) east of Kolno
and 74 km (46 mi) west of the regional capital Białystok. Stawiski is the administrative seat of Gmina Stawiski
. From 1946 to 1975 it belonged administratively to Białystok Voivodeship, and from 1975 to 1998 to Łomża Voivodeship. The town is situated on the Dzierzbia River.
According to Central Statistical Office (Poland), the population of Stawiski as of 31 December 2008 was 2,417 persons.
there in 1791. The monks were expelled from Stawiski in 1867 during the Partitions
, as punishment for supporting the Polish January Uprising
against the Russian imperial rule. The town was destroyed by fire in 1812 in the course of the French campaign against Russia
, and rebuilt again, to become trades and commercial centre known for its furs, fabrics and hats in Congress Poland
. Stawiski was burned to the ground once more during the Russian–Prussian war of 1915, soon before the re-establishment of the sovereign Republic of Poland
. The Polish army fought a battle with the Bolsheviks there in July 1920 during the Polish-Soviet War
. By 1932, over 50% of the local population was Jewish
, numbering approximately 2,000.
Upon the Soviet invasion of eastern Poland
in 1939, the local administration was abolished by the Soviet NKVD
and replaced with Jewish communists who declared Soviet allegiance. Ethnic Polish families were being rounded up by newly formed Jewish militia, and deported to Siberia
. Some Poles went into prolonged hiding from the enemy. The Soviet terror lingered until the Nazi Operation Barbarossa
of 1941, when the NKVD collaborators fled, along with the Red Army
. A German Einsatzkommando
unit under SS-Obersturmführer Hermann Schaper
arriving in Stawiski on July 4–5, massacred 700 local Jews in nearby Płaszczatka Forest. The execution place is marked by a memorial stone. Some Poles who emerged from the forest, including those released by the Germans from NKVD prisons, were led to acts of revenge killing in their presence (approximately 6 suspects, around July 5–7). The Nazis created a Jewish ghetto in Stawiski, then transferred all its occupants to a much larger Ghetto in Łomża
, annihilated in November 1942.
The town's revenue in 2003 (including its surroundings) amounted 4.299 mln zloty. Net income was 900,000 zloty. However, expenses of the commune exceeded its profits in that period, and amounted to 4.679 mln zloty. Gross revenue and net profits fluctuate depending on expenditures in the public sector, such as environmental protection, water management, dump disposal, sewers, etc.
. In the main square, there is a monument to Stanisław Steczkowski Zagończyk, who, together with his four brothers, fought in the underground Polish Home Army
in 1942–1945.
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...
, situated within Kolno County
Kolno County
Kolno County is a unit of territorial administration and local government in Podlaskie Voivodeship, north-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 largest town is Kolno, which lies west...
, in 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...
, approximately 16 kilometres (10 mi) east of Kolno
Kolno
Kolno is a town in northeastern Poland, located in the Podlaskie Voivodeship, about 150 km northeast of Warsaw. It is the seat of Kolno County, and the seat of the smaller administrative district called Gmina Kolno, but it is not part of this district, as the town has gmina status in its own...
and 74 km (46 mi) west of the regional capital Białystok. Stawiski is the administrative seat of Gmina Stawiski
Gmina Stawiski
Gmina Stawiski is an urban-rural gmina in Kolno County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland. Its seat is the town of Stawiski, which lies approximately east of Kolno and west of the regional capital Białystok....
. From 1946 to 1975 it belonged administratively to Białystok Voivodeship, and from 1975 to 1998 to Łomża Voivodeship. The town is situated on the Dzierzbia River.
According to Central Statistical Office (Poland), the population of Stawiski as of 31 December 2008 was 2,417 persons.
History
Stawiski was established in 1407–1411. It received city rights around 1688. The Franciscan Order built a monasteryMonastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
there in 1791. The monks were expelled from Stawiski in 1867 during the Partitions
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...
, as punishment for supporting the Polish January Uprising
January Uprising
The January Uprising was an uprising in the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth against the Russian Empire...
against the Russian imperial rule. The town was destroyed by fire in 1812 in the course of the French campaign against Russia
French invasion of Russia
The French invasion of Russia of 1812 was a turning point in the Napoleonic Wars. It reduced the French and allied invasion forces to a tiny fraction of their initial strength and triggered a major shift in European politics as it dramatically weakened French hegemony in Europe...
, and rebuilt again, to become trades and commercial centre known for its furs, fabrics and hats in Congress 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...
. Stawiski was burned to the ground once more during the Russian–Prussian war of 1915, soon before the re-establishment of the sovereign Republic of Poland
Second Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...
. The Polish army fought a battle with the Bolsheviks there in July 1920 during the Polish-Soviet War
Polish-Soviet War
The Polish–Soviet War was an armed conflict between Soviet Russia and Soviet Ukraine and the Second Polish Republic and the Ukrainian People's Republic—four states in post–World War I Europe...
. By 1932, over 50% of the local population was Jewish
History of the Jews in Poland
The history of the Jews in Poland dates back over a millennium. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Jewish community in the world. Poland was the centre of Jewish culture thanks to a long period of statutory religious tolerance and social autonomy. This ended with the...
, numbering approximately 2,000.
Upon the Soviet invasion of eastern Poland
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...
in 1939, the local administration was abolished by the Soviet NKVD
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....
and replaced with Jewish communists who declared Soviet allegiance. Ethnic Polish families were being rounded up by newly formed Jewish militia, and deported to Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
. Some Poles went into prolonged hiding from the enemy. The Soviet terror lingered until the Nazi Operation Barbarossa
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...
of 1941, when the NKVD collaborators fled, along with the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
. A German Einsatzkommando
Einsatzkommando
During World War II, the Nazi German Einsatzkommandos were a sub-group of five Einsatzgruppen mobile killing squads—up to 3,000 men each—usually composed of 500-1,000 functionaries of the SS and Gestapo, whose mission was to kill Jews, Romani, communists and the NKVD collaborators in the captured...
unit under SS-Obersturmführer Hermann Schaper
SS-Obersturmführer Hermann Schaper
Hermann Schaper , was a German member of the NSDAP and SS during the Second World War...
arriving in Stawiski on July 4–5, massacred 700 local Jews in nearby Płaszczatka Forest. The execution place is marked by a memorial stone. Some Poles who emerged from the forest, including those released by the Germans from NKVD prisons, were led to acts of revenge killing in their presence (approximately 6 suspects, around July 5–7). The Nazis created a Jewish ghetto in Stawiski, then transferred all its occupants to a much larger Ghetto in Łomża
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...
, annihilated in November 1942.
Economy
The main branch of local economy is agriculture, based on individual arable farms producing crops for local processing as well as raising farm animals for the market. Apart from farming, trade and service industries cover the needs of the inhabitants. The overall number of people employed in the gmina's economy is 3,545. The break-down of main employment sectors is as follows. Farming and forestry: 2,304. Industry: 177. Trade and services: 727. Education, health services: 288. Administration and policing: 35.The town's revenue in 2003 (including its surroundings) amounted 4.299 mln zloty. Net income was 900,000 zloty. However, expenses of the commune exceeded its profits in that period, and amounted to 4.679 mln zloty. Gross revenue and net profits fluctuate depending on expenditures in the public sector, such as environmental protection, water management, dump disposal, sewers, etc.
Notable persons
Stawiski is the hometown of the famous chess player Akiba RubinsteinAkiba Rubinstein
Akiba Kiwelowicz Rubinstein was a famous Polish chess Grandmaster at the beginning of the 20th century. He was scheduled to play a match with Emanuel Lasker for the world championship in 1914, but it was cancelled because of the outbreak of World War I...
. In the main square, there is a monument to Stanisław Steczkowski Zagończyk, who, together with his four brothers, fought in the underground Polish Home Army
Armia Krajowa
The Armia Krajowa , or Home Army, was the dominant Polish resistance movement in World War II German-occupied Poland. It was formed in February 1942 from the Związek Walki Zbrojnej . Over the next two years, it absorbed most other Polish underground forces...
in 1942–1945.