Grajewo | |
|---|---|
 Piłsudski Street in Grajewo | |
 Coat of arms | |
  Grajewo | |
| Coordinates:53°39′N22°27′E / 53.650°N 22.450°E /53.650; 22.450 | |
| Country |  Poland |
| Voivodeship |  Podlaskie |
| Established | 15th century |
| Town rights | 1540 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Maciej Bednarko |
| Area | |
• Total | 18.93 km2 (7.31 sq mi) |
| Population (2016) | |
• Total | 21,499 |
| • Density | 1,100/km2 (2,900/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal code | 19-200 |
| Area code | +48 86 |
| Car plates | BGR |
| National roads |  |
| Website | http://www.grajewo.pl |
Grajewo (pronounced[ɡraˈjɛvɔ];Yiddish:גראיעווע,romanized: Grayavah) is a town in north-easternPoland with 21,499 inhabitants (2016). It is the capital ofGrajewo County within thePodlaskie Voivodeship.[1] It is located within the historic region ofMasovia, near the border withPodlachia andMasuria.
At one time, the area was inhabited by theYotvingians.
The first settlements in the region of modern Grajewo already existed in the early 15th century. The first documented mention is from the year 1426.[2] In the late 15th century the village was a small center of trade and crafts.[2] In 1540 the town obtained municipal rights from Polish KingSigismund I the Old. In 1656, during theDeluge (Polish-Swedish war), theBattle of Prostki took place nearby.[2] The town's population decreased dramatically as a result of the war.[2] In 1692 the town came into the possession of the Wilczewski family, hailing fromWilczewo.[2] In 1794 battles of the PolishKościuszko Uprising were fought near Grajewo.[2] In 1777, the town had 258 inhabitants, and in 1800 it had 218 inhabitants.[2]
During the retreat after theFrench invasion of Russia,Napoleon stopped in the town in December 1812.[2] After thePartitions of Poland by the neighbouring empires, in 1815 Grajewo became part of RussianCongress Poland. In 1831 victorious battles of theNovember Uprising took place near Grajewo.[2] In the second half of the 19th century, trade and handicrafts developed. After the massacres of Polish protesters committed by the Russians inWarsaw in 1861, Polish demonstrations and clashes with Russian soldiers took place in Grajewo.[3] During theJanuary Uprising, on March 12, 1864, a clash between Polish insurgents and Russian troops took place near the town, won by Poles.[4] Due to the participation of the population in the January Uprising, the town lost its municipal rights in 1870. With the establishment of a rail link between the then-German-controlled city ofEłk and the then-Russian-controlled city ofBiałystok, the town's development was accelerated.
A Jewish community existed in Grajewo from the late 18th century. As a result of the discriminatory Russian regulations (Pale of Settlement), at times Jews formed a majority of the town population. In 1808, 197 Jews lived in the town, 39% of the total population. In 1827 they made up a majority, with 57% of the population. In 1857 the percentage rose to 76% and in 1897 over 4,000 Jews lived in the town. DuringWorld War I the town was occupied byGermany.[2] During the war a large part of the town was destroyed.
Following the war, the town became part of the re-established Polish state, theSecond Polish Republic, and was granted municipal rights again on July 4, 1919. Between the world wars, Grajewo was the seat of a district office and had around 9,500 inhabitants. New schools were established in Grajewo in 1919 and 1931.[2]
Following the war, the Jewish population fell sharply. According to the 1921 census, the population was 60.9%Polish and 38.5% Jewish.[5]
The highest Polish dignitaries visited Grajewo in the interwar period: MarshalJózef Piłsudski in 1921,PresidentStanisław Wojciechowski in 1925 and PresidentIgnacy Mościcki in 1929.[2][6]
The pre-war population of 9,500 included 3,000 Jews. The Germans occupied the town for three weeks from 6–7 September 1939. During theGerman occupation the synagogue and Bet Midrash were burned down by Germans and 300 Jewish men were deported to a forced labor camp inEast Prussia. The town was then handed over to theSoviet Union. The Soviets deported manyPolish inhabitants, especially theintelligentsia, military, policemen, foresters, officials, wealthier merchants, farmers and craftsmen and their families, to theFar North (Arctic Circle),Siberia andKazakhstan.[2]
On June 22, 1941, duringOperation Barbarossa, German border guards shelled the town and then occupied it, setting up a military command post in the town. Adult Jews were employed in forced labor by the Germans.[7] On 29 June 1941, following Sunday mass, local Polish anti-Semites carried out a pogrom killing 10 Jews and injuring dozens of others. However the next day on 30 June the Jews of the town were assembled at the market square by the GermanGestapo and the Polish perpetrators of the pogrom were asked to identify communists who were then brutally beaten. 300 Jews, alleged communists, were arrested and placed in the old Synagogue. The Germans executed the survivors in August.[7][8]
According to survivor testimony only some 1,600 of the 3,000 Jews of the town survived in August, and they were placed in aghetto.[7][8] On 2 November 1942 theSS surrounded the ghetto, and drove out the Jewish inhabitants to a transit camp in the village ofBogusze. From there they were sent toTreblinka extermination camp andAuschwitz concentration camp and most of them were murdered on arrival.[7]
In July 1941, the Germans established a camp, which served both as a penalforced labour camp and a transit camp for Poles deported either to forced labour in Germany or to theStutthof concentration camp.[9] Around 3,500 people passed through it.[9] In autumn of 1941, the occupiers established another transit camp for people deported from various regions to forced labour in Germany.[9] The camp could accommodate about 1,000 people at a time.[9] Some ill people were sent from it to theMajdanek concentration camp.[9]
On July 15, 1943, in theKosówka forest, the Germangendarmerie in cooperation with theGestapo murdered about 150 Poles, most of them inhabitants of Grajewo.[2] On January 20, 1945, the Germans committed another mass murder in the Kosówka forest, killing 300 Polish inhabitants of the town.[2] Five Polish Girl Scouts were murdered by the Germans in Grajewo.[10]
TheRed Army marched into Grajewo on January 23, 1945. According to data from 1945, 5,366 inhabitants of the Grajewo county lost their life during the war, only 163 in military operations, 5,009 as a result of the crimes of the occupiers.[2] About 3000 of the deaths were of the town's Jewish population; only a few dozen survived.[11][12] About 30% of the town was destroyed.[citation needed] It was restored to Poland, although with a Soviet-installed communist regime, which stayed in power until theFall of Communism in the 1980s.
On May 8, 1945, theanti-communistHome Army seized the buildings of the communistPublic Security in Grajewo and freed over 100 prisoners.[2]
In 1967, theDairy Plant in Grajewo was established.[2] Over time, asMlekpol, it became one of the largest dairy cooperatives in Poland.[6] In 2016, the first Milk Museum in Poland was opened in Grajewo.[2]
From 1975 to 1998, it was administratively located in theŁomża Voivodeship. In 1990, the Independence Monument was unveiled in the city center.[2]
In 2000, PresidentAleksander Kwaśniewski visited Grajewo.[2] A few years later, in 2006, Grajewo was visited byPrime MinisterJarosław Kaczyński, whose father was born in the town.[2]
The2008 Tour de Pologne cycling route ran through the city.[2]
Grajewo istwinned with:
Seat:Grajewo (urban gmina) | ||
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