Gmina Siennica is a rural

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) in

Mińsk County __NOTOC__ Mińsk County ( pl, powiat miński) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Masovian Voivodeship, east-central Poland. It was (re)created on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government re ...

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 east-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 ...

. Its seat is the village of Siennica, which lies approximately 10 kilometres (6 mi) south-east of

Mińsk Mazowiecki Mińsk Mazowiecki () "''Masovian Minsk''") is a town in eastern Poland with 40,999 inhabitants (2020). It is situated in the Masovian Voivodeship (since 1999) and is a part of the Warsaw Agglomeration. It is the capital of Mińsk County. Locate ...

and 44 km (27 mi) south-east 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 gmina covers an area of , and as of 2006 its total population is 6,912 (7,334 in 2013).

Massacre during Second World War

During the German

Invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...

in 1939, German soldiers from

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...

mass murdered 22 Poles and 2 Jews in Siennica in what is described as "sadistic beating by iron tools" and shooting between 13 and 14 September. The responsible German soldiers proclaimed to the gathered population that the Poles "pigs". The villagers were trapped and imprisoned in an historic church which the Germans shot at, terrifying the imprisoned people. At the same time two women with children were told they could go home, when they did, the

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

set

fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition ...

to their homes and the women barely escaped with their lives, hiding outside the

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 ...

. When some of the people tried to fulfil their physiological needs the German soldiers humiliated them and told that those who want can go outside the

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

. When some tried to do that, they were brutally beaten. During the murder other German soldiers used incendiary grenades to burn down 70 buildings. The village was destroyed in 80% and the historic church destroyed.Szymon Datner "55 dni Wehrmachtu w Polsce" page 380-384

Villages

Gmina Siennica contains the villages and settlements of Bestwiny, Borówek, Boża Wola, Budy Łękawickie, Chełst, Dąbrowa, Dłużew, Drożdżówka, Dzielnik, Gągolina, Grzebowilk, Julianów, Kąty, Kośminy, Krzywica, Kulki, Lasomin, Łękawica, Majdan, Nowa Pogorzel, Nowe Zalesie, Nowodwór, Nowodzielnik, Nowy Starogród, Nowy Zglechów, Pogorzel, Ptaki, Siennica, Siodło, Stara Wieś, Starogród, Strugi Krzywickie, Świętochy, Swoboda, Wojciechówka, Wólka Dłużewska, Żaków, Żakówek, Zalesie and Zglechów.

Neighbouring gminas

Gmina Siennica is bordered by the gminas of Cegłów,

Kołbiel Kołbiel is a village in Otwock County, Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Kołbiel. It lies approximately east of Otwock and south-east of Warsaw Warsaw ( ...

Latowicz Latowicz is a town in Mińsk County, Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Latowicz. It lies approximately south-east of Mińsk Mazowiecki and east of Warsaw. The town ...

, Parysów and

Pilawa Pilawa is a town in Garwolin County, Masovian Voivodeship, Poland, with 4,121 inhabitants (2004), 59 km southeast of Warsaw. Previously it was situated in Siedlce Voivodeship (1975–1998). Transport Pilawa is an important railway junctio ...

References

Polish official population figures 2006
{{Mińsk County Siennica Mińsk County Massacres in Poland Nazi war crimes in Poland