Łąck is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

Płock County __NOTOC__ Płock County ( pl, powiat płocki) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Masovian Voivodeship, east-central Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government refo ...

Masovian Voivodeship The Masovian Voivodeship, also known as the Mazovia Province ( pl, województwo mazowieckie ) is a voivodeship (province) in east-central Poland, with its capital located in the city of Warsaw, which also serves as the capital of the country. The ...

, in central

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. It is the seat of the

gmina The gmina (Polish: , plural ''gminy'' , from German ''Gemeinde'' meaning ''commune'') is the principal unit of the administrative division of Poland, similar to a municipality. , there were 2,477 gminas throughout the country, encompassing over 4 ...

(administrative district) called

Gmina Łąck __NOTOC__ Gmina Łąck is a rural gmina (administrative district) in Płock County, Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland. Its seat is the village of Łąck, which lies approximately south-west of Płock and west of Warsaw. The gmina cov ...

. It lies approximately south-west of

Płock Płock (pronounced ) is a city in central Poland, on the Vistula river, in the Masovian Voivodeship. According to the data provided by GUS on 31 December 2021, there were 116,962 inhabitants in the city. Its full ceremonial name, according to th ...

and west of

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

. The village has a population of 1,350. The landmark of Łąck is the local palace. Various Polish films were shot in the village, including '' Satan from the Seventh Grade'', ''

At Full Gallop ''At Full Gallop'' ( pl, Cwał, and also known as ''In Full Gallop'') is a 1996 Polish biographical tragicomedy film written and directed by Krzysztof Zanussi, starring Maja Komorowska, Bartosz Obuchowicz, Karolina Wajda, Piotr Adamczyk, Piotr ...

'', ''

With Fire and Sword ''With Fire and Sword'' ( pl, Ogniem i mieczem, links=no) is a historical novel by the Polish author Henryk Sienkiewicz, published in 1884. It is the first volume of a series known to Poles as The Trilogy, followed by '' The Deluge'' (''Potop'' ...

'', as well as the 1960s TV series ''

Stawka większa niż życie ''Stawka większa niż życie'' (''More Than Life at Stake'', ''Stakes Larger Than Life'' or ''Playing for High Stakes'') was a Polish black and white TV series about the adventures of a Polish secret agent in Soviet service, captain Hans Kloss (r ...

''.

History

During the

German occupation of Poland German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

(

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

), the forest of Łąck was the site of large massacres, in which over 200

Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in Ce ...

were murdered as part of the ''

Intelligenzaktion The ''Intelligenzaktion'' (), or the Intelligentsia mass shootings, was a series of mass murders which was committed against the Polish intelligentsia (teachers, priests, physicians, and other prominent members of Polish society) early in the ...

''. Around 200

, previously imprisoned in

, among them teachers, activists, shopowners, notaries, local officials, pharmacists, directors and members of the

Polish Military Organisation The Polish Military Organisation, PMO ( pl, Polska Organizacja Wojskowa, POW) was a secret military organization which formed during World War I (1914-1918). Józef Piłsudski founded the group in August 1914; it adopted the name ''POW'' in Novem ...

, were murdered in Łąck between October 1939 and February 1940, and another 10 Poles were murdered in March 1940. In Łąck, Germans established a transit camp for Poles expelled from nearby villages to the so-called General Government or deported as forced labour to Germany, and many Polish families from Łąck were expelled in May 1942. In the winter of 1942-1943, the Germans buried about 300 kidnapped Polish children in the local forests, after the children were deported in a

freight train Rail freight transport is the use of railroads and trains to transport cargo as opposed to human passengers. A freight train, cargo train, or goods train is a group of freight cars (US) or goods wagons (International Union of Railways) haul ...

from another region of occupied Poland to Płock and froze to death. In 1943–1945 the German administration used the

Germanized Germanisation, or Germanization, is the spread of the German language, people and culture. It was a central idea of German conservative thought in the 19th and the 20th centuries, when conservatism and ethnic nationalism went hand in hand. In ling ...

name ''Lonsch'' in reference to the village. German occupation ended in 1945.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lack Villages in Płock County Massacres in Poland Nazi war crimes in Poland