Dzisna ( be, Дзісна, russian: Дисна, lt, Dysna, pl, Dzisna) is a town in the Vitebsk Region of Belarus. It is located on the left bank of the Daugava River, near the confluence of Dysna. It has 1,500 inhabitants (2017 estimate) which has declined as in the 20th century it had close to 10,000 inhabitants. Dzisna is the smallest town of Belarus.

History

Within the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Dzisna was part of Połock Voivodeship. In the 16th century, King of Poland and Lithuanian Grand Duke Sigismund II Augustus granted Dzisna city rights. It was a royal city of Lithuania. In 1793, Dzisna was acquired by the Russian Empire as a result of the Second Partition of Poland. From 1921 until 1939, Dzisna was part of the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of ...

. In September 1939, the town was occupied by the Red Army and, on 14 November 1939, incorporated into the

Byelorussian SSR The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, or Byelorussian SSR; be, Беларуская Савецкая Сацыялістычная Рэспубліка, Bielaruskaja Savieckaja Sacyjalistyčnaja Respublika; russian: Белор� ...

. From 5 July 1941 until 4 July 1944, Dzisna was occupied by Nazi Germany and administered as a part of the '' Generalbezirk Weißruthenien'' of ''

Reichskommissariat Ostland The Reichskommissariat Ostland (RKO) was established by Nazi Germany in 1941 during World War II. It became the civilian occupation regime in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and the western part of Byelorussian SSR. German planning documents initia ...

'', after which it returned under Soviet control. On June 14, 1942, thousands of Jews in Dzisna were murdered by the Nazi SS and local Belorussian collaborators. After 1944, Dzisna remained part of the Soviet Union until 1991.

References

External links

* Disnensky Uyezd Holocaust locations in Belarus Miory District Polotsk Voivodeship Populated places in Vitebsk Region Towns in Belarus Wilno Voivodeship (1926–1939) {{Belarus-geo-stub