Wizna
Encyclopedia
Wizna ' is a village in Łomża County of Podlaskie Voivodeship
, in north-eastern Poland. The Biebrza River flows through town. Wizna is also known for the battle of Wizna
which took place in its vicinity during the 1939 Invasion of Poland
. At present, farming and food production are the primary sources of income for the residents. The food production by private farms provides favorable conditions for the development of processing industry.
Wizna has a remarkably rich history. Already in the 11th century there was a castle there watching over the eastern border of Masovia and the important river crossing over Narew
. From the mid 12th century the town was a registered office of the castellany
, and from 1379 the capital of the Ziemia wiska (Wizna land) bordering both Prussia
and Lithuania
. The Catholic
Parish
in Wizna was established in 1390.
. Co-ruler of Poland Anna the Jagiellonian used to travel through town and so did Queen Bona Sforza
. In the years 1435 - 1870, for over four centuries, Wizna was one of the most important cities of northern Masovia. Its significance began to drop only with the development of the town of Łomża. In 1860 Wizna had 2,573 residents. In the interwar period the population numbers rose to over 3,300 partly due to influx of new Jewish immigrants from the neighboring states.
It is not clear when Jews
started to settle in Wizna. Most of the Jewish population lived around the Rynek (Town Square) and the nearby streets. In 1765, 16 Jewish families (about 75 individuals) lived in Wizna. In 1857, there were 492 Jews out of a total population of 1861; in 1921, they numbered 714 out of 2670. Jews were mostly small merchants, craftsman and service providers. In the small village of Witkowo, on the Narew River adjacent to the north side of Wizna, a few Jewish families were farmers and fishermen. These included the Gostkowski family, which operated a ferry on the Narew River for over 100 years prior to the construction of the bridge on the road between Lomza and Bialystok. The gangster-turned-author Urke Nachalnik
was born in Wizna to the wealthy and respected Farberowicz family, who were grain merchants and operated a flour mill. Urke Nachalnik’s books and stories were published in several languages by the Yiddish press in Poland and in the United States during the 1930s, with some of them being turned into stage plays.
Many Jews from Wizna emigrated to the USA and other countries such as Cuba, Argentina and Australia during the Russian imperial rule
in the 19th century. Zionist parties became active there in the sovereign Second Polish Republic
. A Hebrew school called Tarbut was opened, and the Zionist youth movements Hashomer Hatzair
and Hachalutz were organized among the young Jewish generation. Some members of the Zionist youth movements emigrated to what was to become Israel
before World War II
.
Wizna is known as the Polish Thermopylae
. It was a place of the Battle of Wizna
(September 7–10, 1939) during the initial stages of the German Invasion of Poland
. The Polish defense force consisted of approximately 700 soldiers and 20 officers armed with 6 pieces of heavy artillery. They held a fortified territory against a vastly larger invading force at great cost of lives, before being annihilated by the Nazis with no known survivors. Heavy German assault on Polish bunkers continued for three days and was successfully repelled until the early morning of September 10. The German engineers with the help of tanks and explosives managed to destroy all but two Polish bunkers. Both of them were located in the centre of Góra Strękowa, and despite having much of the crew wounded or incapacitated and most of the machine guns destroyed continued their resistance till the end. It is said that General Heinz Guderian
threatened the Polish commander, Captain Władysław Raginis, that he would shoot the POWs
if the remaining force did not surrender. The symbol of Polish will, Władysław Raginis, committed honorable suicide by throwing himself on a grenade. German losses are not known. In his diaries Heinz Guderian noted that 900 German soldiers were killed in action, although that number is probably underrated. It is certain, however, that the Wehrmacht
lost at least 10 tanks and several other AFVs in the struggle.
During the war
between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany in 1941, Wizna was shelled and most of the homes in the Rynek and its vicinity were demolished. In July 1941, under German occupation most Wizna Jews were expelled to a much larger ghetto in Łomża
and confined there until November 1942, before being shipped to Auschwitz for extermination together with the Jews from all surrounding villages and towns. Some Jews who left Wizna became victims of the Jedwabne pogrom
according to 2002-2004 investigation conducted by the Polish Institute of National Remembrance (a governmental body charged with investigation of war crimes). The presence of the German Einsatzkommando
under SS-Obersturmführer Hermann Schaper
in the area and their role in the crime, although lacking direct evidence, remains most likely.
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 north-eastern Poland. The Biebrza River flows through town. Wizna is also known for the battle of Wizna
Battle of Wizna
The Battle of Wizna was fought between September 7 and September 10, 1939, between the forces of Poland and Germany during the initial stages of Invasion of Poland. It was arguably the most heroic battle in the campaign, in which 720 Poles defended a fortified line for three days against more than...
which took place in its vicinity during the 1939 Invasion of Poland
Invasion of Poland (1939)
The Invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign or 1939 Defensive War in Poland and the Poland Campaign in Germany, was an invasion of Poland by Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small Slovak contingent that marked the start of World War II in Europe...
. At present, farming and food production are the primary sources of income for the residents. The food production by private farms provides favorable conditions for the development of processing industry.
Wizna has a remarkably rich history. Already in the 11th century there was a castle there watching over the eastern border of Masovia and the important river crossing over Narew
Narew
The Narew River , in western Belarus and north-eastern Poland, is a left tributary of the Vistula river...
. From the mid 12th century the town was a registered office of the castellany
Castellany
A castellany was a district administered by a castellan.Castellanies appeared during the Middle Ages and in most current states are now replaced by a more modern type of country subdivision....
, and from 1379 the capital of the Ziemia wiska (Wizna land) bordering both Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
and Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
. The Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
Parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
in Wizna was established in 1390.
History
Wizna was built on an important trade route from Lithuania to KrakówKraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
. Co-ruler of Poland Anna the Jagiellonian used to travel through town and so did Queen Bona Sforza
Bona Sforza
Bona Sforza was a member of the powerful Milanese House of Sforza. In 1518, she became the second wife of Sigismund I the Old, the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, and became the Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania.She was the third child of Gian Galeazzo Sforza and his wife...
. In the years 1435 - 1870, for over four centuries, Wizna was one of the most important cities of northern Masovia. Its significance began to drop only with the development of the town of Łomża. In 1860 Wizna had 2,573 residents. In the interwar period the population numbers rose to over 3,300 partly due to influx of new Jewish immigrants from the neighboring states.
It is not clear when 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...
started to settle in Wizna. Most of the Jewish population lived around the Rynek (Town Square) and the nearby streets. In 1765, 16 Jewish families (about 75 individuals) lived in Wizna. In 1857, there were 492 Jews out of a total population of 1861; in 1921, they numbered 714 out of 2670. Jews were mostly small merchants, craftsman and service providers. In the small village of Witkowo, on the Narew River adjacent to the north side of Wizna, a few Jewish families were farmers and fishermen. These included the Gostkowski family, which operated a ferry on the Narew River for over 100 years prior to the construction of the bridge on the road between Lomza and Bialystok. The gangster-turned-author Urke Nachalnik
Urke Nachalnik
Urke Nachalnik .Itzchak Baruch Farbarowicz, better known by his literary name Urke Nachalnik, a Yeshiva boy who was born to a well to do Jewish family in Wizna, , became a criminal and then a self made author and ended his life heroically on November 11 of 1939 as a leader of a small underground...
was born in Wizna to the wealthy and respected Farberowicz family, who were grain merchants and operated a flour mill. Urke Nachalnik’s books and stories were published in several languages by the Yiddish press in Poland and in the United States during the 1930s, with some of them being turned into stage plays.
Many Jews from Wizna emigrated to the USA and other countries such as Cuba, Argentina and Australia during the Russian imperial rule
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 the 19th century. Zionist parties became active there in the sovereign Second Polish Republic
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...
. A Hebrew school called Tarbut was opened, and the Zionist youth movements Hashomer Hatzair
Hashomer Hatzair
Hashomer Hatzair is a Socialist–Zionist youth movement founded in 1913 in Galicia, Austria-Hungary, and was also the name of the group's political party in the Yishuv in the pre-1948 British Mandate of Palestine...
and Hachalutz were organized among the young Jewish generation. Some members of the Zionist youth movements emigrated to what was to become Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
before 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...
.
World War II
Polish Thermopylae
Polish Thermopylae can refer to:* Battle of Zadwórze, 1920* Battle of Wizna, 1939...
. It was a place of the Battle of Wizna
Battle of Wizna
The Battle of Wizna was fought between September 7 and September 10, 1939, between the forces of Poland and Germany during the initial stages of Invasion of Poland. It was arguably the most heroic battle in the campaign, in which 720 Poles defended a fortified line for three days against more than...
(September 7–10, 1939) during the initial stages of the German Invasion of Poland
Invasion of Poland (1939)
The Invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign or 1939 Defensive War in Poland and the Poland Campaign in Germany, was an invasion of Poland by Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small Slovak contingent that marked the start of World War II in Europe...
. The Polish defense force consisted of approximately 700 soldiers and 20 officers armed with 6 pieces of heavy artillery. They held a fortified territory against a vastly larger invading force at great cost of lives, before being annihilated by the Nazis with no known survivors. Heavy German assault on Polish bunkers continued for three days and was successfully repelled until the early morning of September 10. The German engineers with the help of tanks and explosives managed to destroy all but two Polish bunkers. Both of them were located in the centre of Góra Strękowa, and despite having much of the crew wounded or incapacitated and most of the machine guns destroyed continued their resistance till the end. It is said that General Heinz Guderian
Heinz Guderian
Heinz Wilhelm Guderian was a German general during World War II. He was a pioneer in the development of armored warfare, and was the leading proponent of tanks and mechanization in the Wehrmacht . Germany's panzer forces were raised and organized under his direction as Chief of Mobile Forces...
threatened the Polish commander, Captain Władysław Raginis, that he would shoot the POWs
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
if the remaining force did not surrender. The symbol of Polish will, Władysław Raginis, committed honorable suicide by throwing himself on a grenade. German losses are not known. In his diaries Heinz Guderian noted that 900 German soldiers were killed in action, although that number is probably underrated. It is certain, however, that the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
lost at least 10 tanks and several other AFVs in the struggle.
During the war
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...
between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany in 1941, Wizna was shelled and most of the homes in the Rynek and its vicinity were demolished. In July 1941, under German occupation most Wizna Jews were expelled 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...
and confined there until November 1942, before being shipped to Auschwitz for extermination together with the Jews from all surrounding villages and towns. Some Jews who left Wizna became victims of the 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...
according to 2002-2004 investigation conducted by the Polish Institute of National Remembrance (a governmental body charged with investigation of war crimes). The presence of the 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...
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...
in the area and their role in the crime, although lacking direct evidence, remains most likely.
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