Odelsk ( be, Адэльск, translit=Adeĺsk; russian: Одельск; pl, Odelsk; yi, אודלסק) is an
Agrotown located in
Grodno District
Grodno District or Hrodna District ( be, Гродзенскі раён; russian: Гродненский район) is a district (raion) of Grodno Region of Belarus.
The administrative center is Grodno, which, however, does not form part of the d ...
in
Grodno Region
Grodno Region ( pl, Grodzieńszczyzna) or Grodno Oblast or Hrodna Voblasts ( be, Гродзенская вобласць, ''Hrodzienskaja vobłasć'', , ''Haradzienščyna''; russian: Гродненская область, ''Grodnenskaya oblast' ...
,
Belarus
Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...
and the capital of the Odelsky Rural Council ( be, Адэльскі сельсавет). It is located very close to the
Belarusian-Polish border and from
Grodno. Its population is estimated at 661 inhabitants.
History
Within the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Lit ...
, Odelsk was part of
Trakai Voivodeship
lt, Trakų vaivadija pl, Województwo trockie
, conventional_long_name = Trakai Voivodeship
, common_name = Trakai
, subdivision = Voivodeship
, nation = Grand Duchy of Lithuania (1413–1569)
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569–1795)
, year_ ...
. In 1795, Odelsk was annexed by the
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918. Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. ...
in the course of the
Third Partition of Poland
The Third Partition of Poland (1795) was the last in a series of the Partitions of Poland–Lithuania and the land of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth among Prussia, the Habsburg monarchy, and the Russian Empire which effectively ended Polis ...
and it became a part of
New East Prussia
New East Prussia (german: Neuostpreußen; pl, Prusy Nowowschodnie; lt, Naujieji Rytprūsiai) was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1795 to 1807. It was created out of territory annexed in the Third Partition of the Polish–Lithuanian C ...
. In 1807, the
Treaties of Tilsit
The Treaties of Tilsit were two agreements signed by French Emperor Napoleon in the town of Tilsit in July 1807 in the aftermath of his victory at Friedland. The first was signed on 7 July, between Napoleon and Russian Emperor Alexander, when ...
transferred Odelsk to the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
. Odelsk became a part of
Grodno Governorate
The Grodno Governorate, (russian: Гро́дненская губе́рнiя, translit=Grodnenskaya guberniya, pl, Gubernia grodzieńska, be, Гродзенская губерня, translit=Hrodzenskaya gubernya, lt, Gardino gubernija, u ...
.
On 18 March 1921, the
Peace of Riga
The Peace of Riga, also known as the Treaty of Riga ( pl, Traktat Ryski), was signed in Riga on 18 March 1921, among Poland, Soviet Russia (acting also on behalf of Soviet Belarus) and Soviet Ukraine. The treaty ended the Polish–Soviet Wa ...
between
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 populou ...
on the one hand and
Soviet Russia
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...
and
Soviet Ukraine
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...
on the other hand defined Odelsk as a part of Poland.
In September 1939, the
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...
occupied Odelsk in the course of the
Soviet invasion of Poland
The Soviet invasion of Poland was a military operation by the Soviet Union without a formal declaration of war. On 17 September 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east, 16 days after Nazi Germany invaded Poland from the west. Subs ...
. On 14 November 1939, the
Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union incorporated
Western Belorussia
Western Belorussia or Western Belarus ( be, Заходняя Беларусь, translit=Zachodniaja Bielaruś; pl, Zachodnia Białoruś; russian: Западная Белоруссия, translit=Zapadnaya Belorussiya) is a historical region of mod ...
, including Odelsk, into the
Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. On 4 December 1939, Odelsk became a part of the newly created
Belastok Region
Belastok Voblast or Belostok Oblast ( be, Беластоцкая вобласць, Biełastockaja vobłasć, russian: Белостокская Область, pl, Obwód białostocki) was a short-lived territorial unit in the Belarusian Soviet ...
.
During the
Soviet occupation of Eastern Poland The Soviets deported the Marcinowicz family and the Budrewicz family. In 1941, During the
German occupation
German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 an ...
, the active organizer of the underground cells in the commune was Władysław Szupicki, the post manager in
Sokółka
Sokółka (; lt, Sokulka, Sakalinė, be, Саку́лка, yi, סאקאלקע, Sokolke) is a town in northeastern Poland, seat of the Sokółka County in Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is a busy rail junction located on the international Warsaw–B ...
. During the retreat, the Germans looked for hills and places convenient to stop the advancing Soviets and took people from nearby villages to dig trenches. For this purpose, they brought the inhabitants on trucks to the
Indura area, near the village of Likówka. When a crowd of people got out of the vehicles, they were caught in massive fire from Soviet artillery, which killed over 70 people.
After the war
After the war, the village was included in the
Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, even though the
Cruzone Line passed two kilometers east of the village, according to locals because the village contained few stone structures, which the Soviets wished to have for their use.
After the incorporation into the
Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, a group of 200 people fled to Poland. The others would be imprisoned for 25 years. After Stalin's death, everyone was released, and many went to Poland, although they were also under surveillance in their home country. In 1951, the boys escaped to the shelters from conscription to the Soviet Army. They were captured and convicted and imprisoned for 5–10 years. In the 1950s, nearly 100 of the town's 1000 inhabitants were in prison.
References
External links
{{Commons category-inline, Adeĺsk
Populated places in Grodno Region
Trakai Voivodeship
Sokolsky Uyezd
Białystok Voivodeship (1919–1939)
Belastok Region
Shtetls
Holocaust locations in Belarus