Jazep Sažyč ( be, Язэп Сажыч, also Joseph Sazyc, September 5, 1917 – November 19, 2007) was a Belarusian politician and military commander.

Life in Russian Empire

Jazep Sažyč was born in Haradziečna (now in

Navahrudak district Novogrudok District ( be, Навагрудскі раён, Наваградзкі раён) - a district (rajon) in the Grodno Region of Belarus. The administrative center is Novogrudok. Notable residents * Fabijan Abrantovič (1884, Vieras ...

Hrodna Voblast Grodno Region ( pl, Grodzieńszczyzna) or Grodno Oblast or Hrodna Voblasts ( be, Гродзенская вобласць, ''Hrodzienskaja vobłasć'', , ''Haradzienščyna''; russian: Гродненская область, ''Grodnenskaya oblast' ...

). He graduated from a Polish gymnasium in

Nowogródek Novogrudok ( be, Навагрудак, Navahrudak; lt, Naugardukas; pl, Nowogródek; russian: Новогрудок, Novogrudok; yi, נאַוואַראַדאָק, Novhardok, Navaradok) is a town in the Grodno Region, Belarus. In the Middle A ...

. In 1938 he was mobilized into the Polish army where he underwent an officer training course. 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 afte ...

Sažyč was commander of a minor military unit. He got wounded and taken by the Germans as a

POW A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war ...

. He was later transferred to a hospital in

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of canti ...

from where he managed to get to

Białystok Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area. Białystok is located in the Białystok Up ...

and later to

Navahrudak Novogrudok ( be, Навагрудак, Navahrudak; lt, Naugardukas; pl, Nowogródek; russian: Новогрудок, Novogrudok; yi, נאַוואַראַדאָק, Novhardok, Navaradok) is a town in the Grodno Region, Belarus. In the Middle A ...

. He worked as an accountant in a village store and became enlisted as student to the

University of Lviv The University of Lviv ( uk, Львівський університет, Lvivskyi universytet; pl, Uniwersytet Lwowski; german: Universität Lemberg, briefly known as the ''Theresianum'' in the early 19th century), presently the Ivan Franko Na ...

. However, with Germany attacking the USSR Sažyč was mobilized into the Red Army. He soon deserted and returned to Lviv, where he worked at a shop and supported the

Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists The Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists ( uk, Організація українських націоналістів, Orhanizatsiya ukrayins'kykh natsionalistiv, abbreviated OUN) was a Ukrainian ultranationalist political organization estab ...

. He then went back to

where he joined Belarusian collaborators organizing Belarusian military units. Sažyč served in the local pro-German police. In 1942 he was appointed commandant of the Under Officer School of the Belarusian Self Help. In February 1943 he was given the task to organize a Belarusian railway guard unit in

Lida Lida ( be, Лі́да ; russian: Ли́да ; lt, Lyda; lv, Ļida; pl, Lida ; yi, לידע, Lyde) is a city 168 km (104 mi) west of Minsk in western Belarus in Grodno Region. Etymology The name ''Lida'' arises from its Lithuani ...

. From July 1943 he taught at an officer school in Minsk. In early 1944 Jazep Sažyč joined the

Biełaruskaja Krajovaja Abarona The Belarusian Home Defence, or Belarusian Home Guard ( be, Беларуская краёвая абарона, , BKA; german: Weißruthenische Heimwehr) were collaborationist volunteer battalions formed by the Byelorussian Central Council (1943 ...

and, at the same time, the

Belarusian Independence Party The Belarusian Independence Party ( be, Беларуская незалежніцкая партыя, БНП, ''Biełaruskaja niezaležnickaja partyja'', BNP) was a Belarusian nationalist political organization during the Second World War. Creati ...

In emigration

In July 1944 Sažyč left Belarus to the Western Front in

Saarbrücken Saarbrücken (; french: link=no, Sarrebruck ; Rhine Franconian: ''Saarbrigge'' ; lb, Saarbrécken ; lat, Saravipons, lit=The Bridge(s) across the Saar river) is the capital and largest city of the state of Saarland, Germany. Saarbrücken is S ...

. The Belarusian undercover government gave him the task to establish contacts with the

French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

. However, as the Germans got to know about that, Sažyč was immediately transferred to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. In Berlin he was participating in training the Čorny Kot partisan troupe and was commandant of the officer school of the 30th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Belarussian). After the war ended he landed in

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and larg ...

, later moved to

Hessen Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are Darm ...

. After that he studied Medicine at the

University of Marburg The Philipps University of Marburg (german: Philipps-Universität Marburg) was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Protestant university in the wor ...

. Upon graduation, in 1950 he left for the United States, where he worked as

anesthesiologist Anesthesiology, anaesthesiology, or anaesthesia is the medical specialty concerned with the total perioperative care of patients before, during and after surgery. It encompasses anesthesia, intensive care medicine, critical emergency medicine, ...

and became actively involved in the life of the Belarusian diaspora in the USA. Jazep Sažyč was one of the founders of the Belarusian-American Association in

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. From 1953 he was member of the

Belarusian People's Republic The Belarusian People's Republic (BNR; be, Беларуская Народная Рэспубліка, Bielaruskaja Narodnaja Respublika, ), or Belarusian Democratic Republic, was a state proclaimed by the Council of the Belarusian Democratic R ...

government in exile; between 1982–1997 he was the government's president. He died in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

in 2007.

References

External links

*
Язэп Сажыч — адзіны з былых старшыняў Рады БНР, які цяпер жыве. Інтэрвію на "Радыё Свабода"
- an interview with Jazep Sažyč by

Radio Free Europe Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a United States government funded organization that broadcasts and reports news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Caucasus, and the Middle East where it says tha ...

*
Памёр былы Старшыня Рады БНР Язэп Сажыч
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sazyc, Jazep 1917 births 2007 deaths People from Navahrudak District People from Minsk Governorate Belarusian collaborators with Nazi Germany Polish collaborators with Nazi Germany Belarusian Independence Party politicians Members of the Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic Polish military personnel of World War II Soviet military personnel of World War II Byelorussian Home Defence personnel Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts University of Marburg alumni Belarusian emigrants to the United States Polish emigrants to the United States University of Lviv alumni Belarusian expatriates in Germany Polish expatriates in Germany