Jazep Symonavič Sažyč (5 September 1917 – 19 November 2007, also spelled Joseph Sazyc) was a Belarusian politician and military commander.

Life in the Second Polish Republic

Jazep Sažyč was born in (now in

Navahrudak district Novogrudok district or Navahrudak district (; ) is a district (raion) of Grodno region in Belarus. The administrative center is Novogrudok. As of 2024, it has a population of 40,761. Notable residents * Fabijan Abrantovič (1884, Vieraskav ...

, Grodno Region). He graduated from a Polish gymnasium in

Nowogródek Novogrudok or Navahrudak (; ; , ; ) is a town in Grodno Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Novogrudok District. As of 2025, it has a population of 27,624. In the Middle Ages, the city was ruled by King Mindaugas' son ...

. In 1938 he was mobilized into the Polish army where he underwent an officer training course. During the

German invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

Sažyč was commander of a minor military unit. He was wounded and taken by the Germans as a

POW POW is "prisoner of war", a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. POW or pow may also refer to: Music * P.O.W (Bullet for My Valentine song), "P.O.W" (Bull ...

. He was later transferred to a hospital in

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 ...

from where he managed to get to

Białystok Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the List of cities and towns in Poland, tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area. Biał ...

and later to

Navahrudak Novogrudok or Navahrudak (; ; , ; ) is a town in Grodno Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Novogrudok District. As of 2025, it has a population of 27,624. In the Middle Ages, the city was ruled by King Mindaugas' son ...

. He worked as an accountant in a village store and enlisted as a student at the

University of Lviv The Ivan Franko National University of Lviv (named after Ivan Franko, ) is a state-sponsored university in Lviv, Ukraine. Since 1940 the university is named after Ukrainian poet Ivan Franko. The university is the oldest institution of highe ...

. However, with Germany attacking the Soviet Union, Sažyč was mobilized into the Red Army. He soon deserted and returned to

Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

, where he worked at a shop and supported the

Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists The Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN; ) was a Ukrainian nationalist organization established on February 2, 1929 in Vienna, uniting the Ukrainian Military Organization with smaller, mainly youth, radical nationalist right-wing groups. ...

. He then went back to

where he joined Belarusian collaborators organizing military units. Sažyč served in the local pro-German police. In 1942 he was appointed commandant of the Under Officer School of the Belarusian Self Help. In February 1943 he was given the task to organize a Belarusian railway guard unit in

Lida Lida is a city in Grodno Region, western Belarus, located west of Minsk. It serves as the administrative center of Lida District. As of 2025, it has a population of 103,262. Etymology The name ''Lida'' arises from its Lithuanian name ''Ly ...

. From July 1943 he taught at an officer school in Minsk. In early 1944 Jazep Sažyč joined the

Biełaruskaja Krajovaja Abarona The Belarusian Home Defence, or Belarusian Home Guard (, BKA; ) were collaborationist volunteer battalions formed by the Belarusian Central Council (1943–1944), a pro-Nazi Belarusian self-government within ''Reichskommissariat Ostland'' during ...

and, at the same time, the

Belarusian Independence Party The Belarusian Independence Party (, ''Biełaruskaja niezaležnickaja partyja'', BNP) was a Belarusian nationalist political organization during the Second World War. Creation The BNP was probably created in 1939—1940 in Vilnius (according to a ...

In emigration

In July 1944 Sažyč left Belarus for the Western Front in

Saarbrücken Saarbrücken (; Rhenish Franconian: ''Sabrigge'' ; ; ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of cities and towns in Germany, city of the state of Saarland, Germany. Saarbrücken has 181,959 inhabitants and is Saarland's administrative, commerci ...

. The Belarusian undercover government gave him the task to establish contacts with the

French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...

. However, as the Germans got to know about that, Sažyč was immediately transferred to

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. In Berlin, he was participating in training the Čorny Kot partisan troupe and was commandant of the officer school of the

30th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Belarusian) The 30th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Belarusian), originally called the 30th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (2nd Russian), was a short-lived Waffen-SS mechanized infantry division of Nazi Germany formed largely from Belarusian, ...

. After the war ended he landed in

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

, later moved to

Hessen Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major historic cities are Da ...

. After that, he studied medicine at the

University of Marburg The Philipps University of Marburg () is a public research university located in Marburg, Germany. It was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Prote ...

. Upon graduation, in 1950 he left for the United States, where he worked as

anesthesiologist Anesthesiology, anaesthesiology or anaesthesia is the medical specialty concerned with the total perioperative medicine, perioperative care of patients before, during and after surgery. It encompasses anesthesia, intensive care medicine, critica ...

and became actively involved in the life of the Belarusian diaspora in the USA. Jazep Sažyč was one of the founders of the

Belarusian-American Association Belarusan-American Association (, ''Bielaruska-Amierykanskaje Zadzinočan'nje'', BAZA) is a non-profit organization of Belarusians in the United States. In the United States, the Belarusan-American Association is a member organization of the Cen ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. From 1953 he was a member of the

Belarusian People's Republic The Belarusian People's Republic (BNR; , ), also known as the Belarusian Democratic Republic, was a state proclaimed by the Council of the Belarusian Democratic Republic in its Second Constituent Charter on 9 March 1918 during World War I. The ...

government in exile; between 1980 and 1997 he was the government's president. He died in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

in 2007.

Notes

References

External links

*
Язэп Сажыч — адзіны з былых старшыняў Рады БНР, які цяпер жыве. Інтэрвію на "Радыё Свабода"
- an interview with Jazep Sažyč by

Radio Free Europe Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a media organization broadcasting news and analyses in 27 languages to 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Headquartered in Prague since 1995, RFE/RL ...

*
Памёр былы Старшыня Рады БНР Язэп Сажыч
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sazyc, Jazep 1917 births 2007 deaths People from Novogrudok district People from Minsk Governorate Belarusian Independence Party politicians Members of the Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic Polish military personnel of World War II Soviet military personnel of World War II Belarusian Home Defence personnel Belarusian Waffen-SS personnel University of Marburg alumni Belarusian emigrants to the United States Polish emigrants to the United States University of Lviv alumni Belarusian expatriates in Germany Polish expatriates in Germany Nazis who fled to the United States