Mień 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 Brańsk __NOTOC__ Gmina Brańsk is a rural gmina (Polish:''gmina wiejska'') in Bielsk County, Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is located in north-eastern Poland. Etymology The name Brańsk comes from the river Bronka, a nearby tributary of the Nurzec River ...

, within

Bielsk County , settlement_type = County , total_type = Total , image_flag = POL powiat bielski (województwo podlaskie) flag.svg , image_shield = POL powiat bielski (województwo podlaskie) COA.svg , image_map = POL powiat bielski (województwo podlaskie ...

Podlaskie Voivodeship Podlaskie Voivodeship or Podlasie Province ( pl, Województwo podlaskie, ) is a voivodeship (province) in northeastern Poland. The name of the province and its territory correspond to the historic region of Podlachia. The capital and largest cit ...

, in eastern Poland. It lies approximately west of Brańsk, west of

Bielsk Podlaski Bielsk Podlaski ( be, Бельск Падляскі, , yi, ביעלסק, Bielsk) is a town in eastern Poland, within Bielsk County in the Podlaskie Voivodeship. As of December 2021, the town has a population of 24,883. Geography Bielsk Podla ...

, and south-west of the regional capital

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 ...

. It is situated on the Mianka River, a tributary of Nurzec.

History

According to the 1921 census, the village was inhabited by 503 people, among whom 495 were Roman Catholic and 8 were Jewish. At the same time, 495 inhabitants declared Polish nationality and 8 Jewish. There were 73 residential buildings in the village.''Skorowidz miejscowości Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej: opracowany na podstawie wyników pierwszego powszechnego spisu ludności z dn. 30 września 1921 r. i innych źródeł urzędowych.'', t. T. 5, województwo białostockie, 1924, s. 19. 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 ...

at the start of

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 ...

, on September 13, 1939, it was the site of a battle between the Polish 10th Lithuanian Uhlan Regiment and German 2nd Infantry Division. In revenge for the Polish defense, German soldiers burned down the village and massacred nine residents (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 ...

'').

Transport

The national road 66 passes nearby, north of the village.

References

Populated riverside places in Poland Villages in Bielsk County Sites of World War II massacres of Poles Sites of Nazi war crimes during the Invasion of Poland {{Bielsk-geo-stub