Bełżec (village)

Coordinates: 50°23′N 23°26′E / 50.383°N 23.433°E / 50.383; 23.433
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Bełżec
Village
Train station in Bełżec
Train station in Bełżec
UTC+2 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codePOL
Vehicle registrationLTM
National roads
Voivodeship roads
Websitehttp://www.belzec.pl

Bełżec (pronounced

Tomaszów Lubelski County, Lublin Voivodeship, in eastern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) of Gmina Bełżec. It lies approximately 8 kilometres (5 mi) south of Tomaszów Lubelski and 114 km (71 mi) south-east of the regional capital Lublin.[1] It is located in the Roztocze
region.

During World War II, the village was the site of the Nazi German Belzec extermination camp.

History

Bełżec was first mentioned in a document from 1515, after it was founded within territory of the village of Przeorsko, which in turn was founded in the 15th century by the Małdrzyk family.

Bełz Voivodeship in the Lesser Poland Province of the Kingdom of Poland. In 1648 it was destroyed by the Cossacks, and during the Swedish invasion of Poland of 1655–1660, known as the Deluge, a battle was fought nearby between Poles led by Hetman Stefan Czarniecki and the Swedes.[2]

The village was annexed by

Rawa Ruska (now in western Ukraine). Bełżec became a full-fledged rail hub in 1916, with a new connection to Lublin via Rejowiec and a layover yard with a bigengine-house.[4] Following World War I, in 1918, Poland regained independence and control of the village. In 1921, Bełżec was visited by Marshal of Poland Józef Piłsudski.[5]

World War II

Forced laborers building fortifications under German occupation in 1940

On September 19, 1939, during the joint German-Soviet invasion of Poland which started World War II, it was the site of the Battle of Bełżec [pl] between Poland and Germany. Afterwards, the village was occupied by Germany. It was located on the border of three new districts of the General Government of Poland created by Nazi Germany: Lublin District, Kraków District and District of Galicia (created on 1 September 1941 soon after Operation Barbarossa) with the capital in Lwów.

Approximately one million

Final Solution were built there. Between 430,000 and 500,000 people are believed to have been murdered at the camp between March and December 1942.[9] The victims were mostly Jews from various German-occupied countries, but also Romani people and Poles.[3] In 1943, the Germans used Jewish forced laborers to dismantle the camp, and then deported them to the Sobibor extermination camp.[3] During the operation of the camp, the Germans tried to hide its real purpose, and after it was liquidated, they planted a forest in its place.[3]

On June 16, 1944, near Bełżec, Ukrainian nationalists of the UPA carried out an attack on a train that left the local station for Lwów.[10] In the attack, the Ukrainians massacred several dozen Polish men, women and children.[10] A few people survived.[10] The Polish underground Home Army was able to document the crime shortly after it happened.[10]

The Bełżec station was bombed by a Soviet warplane on July 4, 1944, setting fire to munitions and explosives from the German military cargo train. The ensuing explosions and fires consumed over 50 nearby buildings along with the train station itself. Several railway workers were killed. The historic train station was never rebuilt. A new station was erected half a kilometre away in postwar Poland.[4] On July 21, 1944, the village was liberated by the Polish Home Army.

Post-war period

In 1971, Bełżec was visited by

Primate of Poland Stefan Wyszyński and Cardinal Karol Wojtyła (future Pope John Paul II).[11]

Transport

The Polish National road 17 and Voivodeship road 865 run through the village, and there is also a train station.

Sights

There are several World War II memorials in Bełżec, including the Museum and Memorial at the site of the Nazi German Belzec extermination camp, a memorial to Polish soldiers killed in the Battle of Bełżec during the German invasion of Poland in 1939, a monument to the victims of the attack of the Ukrainian nationalists on Polish civilians in 1944, and a memorial at the burial site of the Romani and Sinti victims of the Nazi German forced labour camp. Cultural heritage sites include the historic churches of Our Lady Queen of Poland and of Saint Basil. The over 200-year-old juniper tree in the Zagóra part of the village is a notable natural monument.[12]

Culture

There is a Gmina Culture Center (Gminny Ośrodek Kultury) and a public library in Bełżec.

Gallery

  • Extermination camp memorial
    Extermination camp
    memorial
  • Memorial to Polish soldiers killed in the Battle of Bełżec in 1939
    Memorial to Polish soldiers killed in the Battle of Bełżec in 1939
  • Monument to Poles massacred by Ukrainian nationalists in 1944
    Monument to Poles massacred by Ukrainian nationalists in 1944
  • Our Lady Queen of Poland church
    Our Lady Queen of Poland church
  • Saint Basil church
    Saint Basil church

References

  1. ^ "Central Statistical Office (GUS) - TERYT (National Register of Territorial Land Apportionment Journal)" (in Polish). 2008-06-01.
  2. ^
    ISBN 978-83-62460-16-8
    .
  3. ^ a b c d Pawłowski, p. 278
  4. ^ a b "Kolej w Bełżcu (Railway in Bełżec)" (in Polish). Wirtualny Bełżec. Archived from the original (Overview and gallery of photographs) on June 19, 2012. Retrieved February 26, 2013.
  5. ^ "Bełżec: Tu był Józef Piłsudski". Kronika Tygodnia (in Polish). Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  6. ^ "Zwangsarbeitslager für Juden Belzec". Bundesarchiv.de (in German). Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  7. ^ "Lager für Sinti und Roma Belzec". Bundesarchiv.de (in German). Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  8. ^ a b "80th anniversary of extermination of Roma and Sinti in the labour camp in Bełżec". Muzeum i Miejsce Pamięci w Bełżcu. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  9. ^ MMPwB, Decyzja o podjęciu akcji 'Reinhardt', Muzeum-Miejsce Pamięci w Bełżcu, Oddział Państwowego Muzeum na Majdanku, archived from the original on August 20, 2009
  10. ^ a b c d "70 rocznica napadu na pociąg Bełżec – Lwów przez bandytów z UPA". GOK Bełżec (in Polish). Archived from the original on 27 October 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  11. ^ Pawłowski, p. 43
  12. ^ "Jałowiec w Bełżcu". Roztocze Wita (in Polish). Retrieved 24 October 2021.

External links

  • Media related to Bełżec at Wikimedia Commons
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