Zawiść (german: Zawisc) is a

sołectwo A sołectwo ( Polish plural: ''sołectwa'') is an administrative unit in Poland, an optional subdivision of a gmina. The actions and organs of the sołectwo are decided by the gmina council. On 31 December 2018 Poland had 40 740 sołectwa. G ...

in the east of

Orzesze Orzesze (german: Orzesche, Silesian: ''Ôrzeszŏ'') is a town in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. Borders on the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union – metropolis with the population of 2 million. Located in the Silesian Highlands. I ...

Silesian Voivodeship Silesian Voivodeship, or Silesia Province ( pl, województwo śląskie ) is a voivodeship, or province, in southern Poland, centered on the historic region known as Upper Silesia ('), with Katowice serving as its capital. Despite the Silesian V ...

, southern

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 ...

. It was an independent village but as a part of gmina

Gardawice Gardawice (german: Gardawitz) is a dzielnica in of Orzesze, Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland. It was an independent village and in the years 1945-1954 and 1973-1975 it was seat of gmina, which was administratively merged into Orzesze in 1975 ...

was administratively merged into Orzesze in 1975. It has an area of 6.6 km² and about 1,933 inhabitants.

History

The village could have been first mentioned as ''Czawsch'' among villages given by

John II, Duke of Opava-Ratibor John II, Duke of Opava-Ratibor (also known as ''John II of Troppau'' or ''John the Iron''; cs, Jan II. Opavský or ; after 1365 – 1424) was Duke of Opava-Racibórz (Ratibor), Krnov and Bruntál. From 1388 to 1397, he was also governor of ...

to his wive, Helena, in the early 15th century. The first certain mention was in 1574, when it was sold by Wawrzyniec Trach to Jerzy Orzeski. In the years 1733-1914 a glass mill ''Ernestyna'' operated here. In the 18th century also two brick factories and a coal mine. A palace was also built in the time. In the 18th century the village was annexed by

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

, and in 1871 it became part of Germany. After

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in the

Upper Silesia plebiscite The Upper Silesia plebiscite was a plebiscite mandated by the Versailles Treaty and carried out on 20 March 1921 to determine ownership of the province of Upper Silesia between Weimar Germany and Poland. The region was ethnically mixed with ...

199 out of 279 voters in Zawiść voted in favour of reintegrating with Poland, which just regained independence, against 79 opting for staying in Germany. Shortly after capturing the settlement during the

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 opposing ...

, German troops murdered several

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

defenders in Zawiść on September 3, 1939 (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 ...

'').

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 ...

ended in 1945.

References

Neighbourhoods in Silesian Voivodeship Mikołów County {{Mikołów-geo-stub