Brzeziny (; , ''Brezin'') is a town in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, in

Łódź Voivodeship Łódź Voivodeship ( ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship (province) of Poland. The province is named after its capital and largest city, Łódź, pronounced . Łódź Voivodeship is bordered by six other voivodeships: Masovian Voivodeship ...

, about east of

Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...

. It is the capital of Brzeziny County and has a population of 12,326 as of December 2021. It is situated on the Mrożyca River within the historic

Łęczyca Land Łęczyca Land (; Latin: ''Terra Lanciciensis'') is a historical region in central Poland, a part of Łęczyca-Sieradz Land (). Its historical capital is Łęczyca, while the largest city is Łódź, while other bigger cities are Zgierz, and T ...

History

Brzeziny dates back to the 13th century. The first documentary evidence of the town charter dates from 1332. The town played an important role in the development of trade between the Polish city of

Toruń Toruń is a city on the Vistula River in north-central Poland and a World Heritage Sites of Poland, UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its population was 196,935 as of December 2021. Previously, it was the capital of the Toruń Voivodeship (1975–199 ...

and

Ruthenia ''Ruthenia'' is an exonym, originally used in Medieval Latin, as one of several terms for Rus'. Originally, the term ''Rus' land'' referred to a triangular area, which mainly corresponds to the tribe of Polans in Dnieper Ukraine. ''Ruthenia' ...

from the 15th to 17th centuries. Of particular economic importance was craft and tailoring. Brzeziny was a county seat and private town within the

Łęczyca Voivodeship Łęczyca Voivodeship () was a unit of administrative division and local government in Poland from the 14th century until the partitions of Poland in 1772–1795. It was part of Greater Poland Province, and its capital was in Łęczyca. The voivod ...

in the Greater Poland Province of the Kingdom of Poland. Brzeziny had one of the oldest Jewish communities in Poland, and was known as Krakówek ("Little Kraków"). Polish noblewoman Anna Łasocka brought the first Jewish weavers to Brzeziny, and in 1547 was the first reference to a Jewish population. The town was noted for its Jewish tailors. In the 17th century, there was also a sizeable Scottish community in Brzeziny. In 1793, following the

Second Partition of Poland The 1793 Second Partition of Poland was the second of partitions of Poland, three partitions (or partial annexations) that ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. The second partition (politics), partition occurred i ...

, the town and region was annexed into the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

as South Prussia. In July 1807, following the Treaty of Tilsit, the town was transferred to the short-lived Polish

Duchy of Warsaw The Duchy of Warsaw (; ; ), also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a First French Empire, French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, during the Napoleonic Wars. It initially comprised the ethnical ...

and after June 1815, became part of the Russian-controlled

Congress Poland Congress Poland or Congress Kingdom of Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It was established w ...

to 1916. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Austrian and German armies were very active in the region. The German General Karl Litzmann won an important battle here against the Russian army and earned the nickname "the lion of Brzeziny". From November 1916, with Poland mostly occupied by Austrian and German armies, the autonomous Regency

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...

(''Królestwo Regencyjne'') governed the area until the declaration of the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...

in 1918. Beginning in 1939 and the German occupation of Poland in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the entire region was part of the notorious

Reichsgau Wartheland The Reichsgau Wartheland (initially Reichsgau Posen, also Warthegau) was a Nazi Germany, Nazi German ''Reichsgau'' formed from parts of Second Polish Republic, Polish territory Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, annexed in 1939 during World War ...

governed by SS Obergruppenfuhrer Arthur Greiser. The town was renamed ''Löwenstadt'' to honour Karl Litzmann. A

ghetto A ghetto is a part of a city in which members of a minority group are concentrated, especially as a result of political, social, legal, religious, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished than other ...

was established in early 1940 and about 6,000 Brzeziny

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

were imprisoned there. Many died there of starvation, disease, and murder by the Germans. Some Poles tried to help by smuggling food into the ghetto. In 1942, hundreds of elderly, sick, and mothers with children were sent to the

Chełmno extermination camp Chełmno, or Kulmhof, was the first of Nazi Germany's extermination camps and was situated north of Łódź, near the village of Chełmno nad Nerem. Following the invasion of Poland in 1939, Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, Germany annexed ...

and were immediately gassed. Others were deported to the Lodz ghetto where most died or were sent to Auschwitz later. About 200 to 300 of the 6,850 Jews living in Brzeziny at the beginning of the war survived. On 18 January 1945 the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

reached Brzeziny.

Twin towns

Brzeziny is twinned with: * Saint-Alban, Haute-Garonne, France, since 2010 * Salgareda, Italy, since 2010

Notable residents

* Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski (1503-1572), Polish Renaissance scholar, humanist and theologian, called "the father of Polish democracy." * Grzegorz Paweł z Brzezin (ca. 1525-1591), Socinian writer and theologian * Adam Burski (ca. 1560–1611), Polish philosopher * Abraham Icek Tuschinski (1886-1942), businessman * Georg Wannagat (1916-2006), jurist * Zbigniew Zamachowski (1961-), Polish actor

References

External links

Official town webpage
{{Authority control Brzeziny County Cities and towns in Łódź Voivodeship Populated riverside places in Poland Populated places established in the 13th century Historic Jewish communities in Poland