Marchwacz 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 ...

in the administrative district of

Gmina Szczytniki __NOTOC__ Gmina Szczytniki is a rural gmina (administrative district) in Kalisz County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, in west-central Poland. Its seat is the village of Szczytniki, which lies approximately south-east of Kalisz and south-east of t ...

, within

Kalisz County __NOTOC__ Kalisz County ( pl, powiat kaliski) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Greater Poland Voivodeship, west-central Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local governme ...

Greater Poland Voivodeship Greater Poland Voivodeship ( pl, Województwo wielkopolskie; ), also known as Wielkopolska Voivodeship, Wielkopolska Province, or Greater Poland Province, is a voivodeship, or province, in west-central Poland. It was created on 1 January 1999 o ...

, in central Poland. It lies approximately east of

Kalisz (The oldest city of Poland) , image_skyline = , image_caption = ''Top:'' Town Hall, Former "Calisia" Piano Factory''Middle:'' Courthouse, "Gołębnik" tenement''Bottom:'' Aerial view of the Kalisz Old Town , image_flag = POL Kalisz flag.svg ...

and south-east of the regional capital

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John ...

History

As part of the region of

Greater Poland Greater Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska (; german: Großpolen, sv, Storpolen, la, Polonia Maior), is a Polish historical regions, historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief and largest city is Poznań followed ...

, i.e. the cradle of the Polish state, the area formed part of Poland since its establishment in the 10th century. Marchwacz was a private church village, administratively located in the Kalisz County in the

Kalisz Voivodeship Kalisz Voivodeship may also refer to: *Kalisz Voivodeship (1314–1793) *Kalisz Voivodeship (1816–1837) The Kalisz Voivodeship was a voivodeship of the Congress Poland, that existed from 1816 to 1837. Its capital was Kalisz. It was established o ...

in the Greater Poland Province of the Kingdom of Poland. In 1827, it had a population of 126. Following the joint German-Soviet

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 ...

, which started

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 ...

in September 1939, the village was occupied by Germany. Shortly before their withdrawal, on January 21–22, 1945, German troops committed a massacre of 57

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

inhabitants of Marchwacz, six other Poles, and twelve captured

Soviet prisoners of war The following articles deal with Soviet prisoners of war. *Camps for Russian prisoners and internees in Poland (1919–24) *Soviet prisoners of war in Finland during World War II (1939–45) *Nazi crimes against Soviet prisoners of war during World ...

(see ''

Nazi crimes against the Polish nation Crimes against the Polish nation committed by Nazi Germany and Axis collaborationist forces during the invasion of Poland, along with auxiliary battalions during the subsequent occupation of Poland in World War II, consisted of the murder of ...

'').

Notable people

Bonawentura Niemojowski Bonawentura Niemojowski (; 4 September 1787 – 15 June 1835) was a Polish lawyer, writer and politician. He was one of the leaders of Polish National Government (November Uprising), Polish National Government during the November Uprising. Biograp ...

(1787–1835), Polish lawyer, politician and writer

References

{{Massacres of Poles Populated riverside places in Poland Villages in Kalisz County Sites of World War II massacres of Poles Sites of Nazi war crimes in Poland World War II prisoner of war massacres by Nazi Germany