Brzeziny
Market Square
Market Square
Flag of Brzeziny
Flag
Coat of arms of Brzeziny
Coat of arms
Brzeziny is located in Poland
Brzeziny
Brzeziny
Coordinates: 51°48′N 19°45′E / 51.800°N 19.750°E / 51.800; 19.750
Country Poland
VoivodeshipŁódź
CountyBrzeziny County
GminaBrzeziny (urban gmina)
Government
 • MayorIlona Skipor
Area
 • Total29.58 km2 (11.42 sq mi)
Population
 (31 December 2021[1])
 • Total12,326
 • Density420/km2 (1,100/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
95-060
Car platesELW (to 2002); EBR (since 2002)
Websitehttp://www.brzeziny.pl

Brzeziny ([bʐɛˈʑinɨ]; Yiddish: ברעזין, Brezin) is a town in Poland, in Łódź Voivodeship, about 20 kilometres (12 mi) east of Łódź. It is the capital of Brzeziny County and has a population of 12,326 as of December 2021.[1] It is situated on the Mrożyca River.

History

Regional Museum

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 and Ruthenia from the 15th to 17th centuries. Of particular economic importance was craft and tailoring.

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.[2] The town was noted for its Jewish tailors.[3] In the 17th century, there was also a sizeable Scottish community in Brzeziny.[4]

Historical population
YearPop.±%
192110,633—    
193113,045+22.7%
201012,309−5.6%
202112,326+0.1%
Source: [5][6][1]

In 1793, following the Second Partition of Poland, the town and region was annexed into the Kingdom of Prussia as South Prussia. In July 1807, following the Treaty of Tilsit, the town was transferred to the short-lived Polish Duchy of Warsaw and after June 1815, became part of the Russian-controlled Congress Poland to 1916. During World War I 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 (Królestwo Regencyjne) governed the area until the declaration of the Second Polish Republic in 1918.

Beginning in 1939 and the German occupation of Poland in World War II the entire region was part of the notorious Reichsgau Wartheland governed by SS Obergruppenfuhrer Arthur Greiser. The town was renamed Löwenstadt to honour Karl Litzmann. A ghetto was established in early 1940 and about 6,000 Brzeziny Jews 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 and were immediately gassed. Others were deported to the Lodz ghetto where most died or were sent to Auschwitz later. About 200 to 300[7] of the 6,850 Jews living in Brzeziny at the beginning of the war survived.

On 18 January 1945 the Red Army reached Brzeziny.

Twin towns

Brzeziny is twinned with:

Notable residents

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Local Data Bank". Statistics Poland. Retrieved 2022-06-02. Data for territorial unit 1021011.
  2. ↑ "History - Jewish community in Brzeziny". Virtual Shtetl. sztetl.org.pl (in Polish). POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  3. ↑ Tuszynski, David. "Brzeziny, Poland [Pages 144-147]". Yizkor Book Project. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  4. ↑ Feduszka, Jacek (2009). "Szkoci i Anglicy w Zamościu w XVI-XVIII wieku". Czasy Nowożytne (in Polish). Vol. 22. Zarząd Główny Polskiego Towarzystwa Historycznego. p. 53. ISSN 1428-8982.
  5. ↑ Wiadomości Statystyczne Głównego Urzędu Statystycznego (in Polish). Vol. X. Warszawa: Główny Urząd Statystyczny. 1932. p. 140.
  6. ↑ Stan i struktura ludności oraz ruch naturalny w przekroju terytorialnym w 2010 r. (PDF) (in Polish). Warszawa: Główny Urząd Statystyczny. 2011. p. 62. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 November 2011.
  7. ↑ Megargee, Geoffrey (2012). Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos. Bloomington, Indiana: University of Indiana Press. p. Volume II, 44–46. ISBN 978-0-253-35599-7.
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