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

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

, in

Łódź Voivodeship Łódź Voivodeship (also known as Lodz Province, or by its Polish name ''Województwo łódzkie'' ) is a province- voivodeship in central Poland. It was created on 1 January 1999 out of the former Łódź Voivodeship (1975–1999) and the Sier ...

, about 20 km east of

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of ca ...

. It is the capital of Brzeziny County and has a population of 12,326 as of December 2021. It once was a thriving Jewish

shtetl A shtetl or shtetel (; yi, שטעטל, translit=shtetl (singular); שטעטלעך, romanized: ''shtetlekh'' (plural)) is a Yiddish term for the small towns with predominantly Ashkenazi Jewish populations which existed in Eastern Europe before ...

noted for its tailors.

History

The first settlement on the site of the present town of Brzeziny was during 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 Russia and the Polish town of

Toruń )'' , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_flag = POL Toruń flag.svg , image_shield = POL Toruń COA.svg , nickname = City of Angels, Gingerbread city, Copernicus Town , pushpin_map = Kuyavian-Pom ...

from the 15th to 17th centuries. Of particular economic importance was craft and tailoring. Brzeziny was one of the oldest Jewish settlements in Poland, and was known as Krakówek ("Little Krakow"). Polish noblewoman Anna Łasocka brought the first Jewish weavers to Brzeziny, and in 1547 was the first reference to a Jewish population. In 1793, following the

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

, the town and region was annexed into the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. ...

South Prussia South Prussia (german: Südpreußen; pl, Prusy Południowe) was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1793 to 1807. History South Prussia was created out of territory annexed in the Second Partition of Poland, Second P ...

. In July 1807, following the

Treaty of Tilsit The Treaties of Tilsit were two agreements signed by French Emperor Napoleon in the town of Tilsit in July 1807 in the aftermath of his victory at Friedland. The first was signed on 7 July, between Napoleon and Russian Emperor Alexander, when ...

, the town was transferred to the

Duchy of Warsaw The Duchy of Warsaw ( pl, Księstwo Warszawskie, french: Duché de Varsovie, german: Herzogtum Warschau), also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, during ...

and after June 1815, became part of the Russian

Congress Poland Congress Poland, Congress Kingdom of Poland, or Russian 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. I ...

to 1916. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

armies were very active in the region. The

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

n General Karl Litzmann won an important battle here against the

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

n army and earned the nickname "the lion of Brzeziny". From November 1916, with

mostly occupied by

n and

armies, the autonomous Regency

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Królestwo Polskie; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a state in Central Europe. It may refer to: Historical political entities * Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom existing from 1025 to 1031 * Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom exi ...

(''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 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of the First World ...

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

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

the entire region was part of the notorious

Reichsgau Wartheland The ''Reichsgau Wartheland'' (initially ''Reichsgau Posen'', also: ''Warthegau'') was a Nazi German ''Reichsgau'' formed from parts of Polish territory annexed in 1939 during World War II. It comprised the region of Greater Poland and adjacent ...

governed by SS Obergruppenfuhrer

Arthur Greiser Arthur Karl Greiser (22 January 1897 – 21 July 1946) was a Nazi German politician, SS-''Obergruppenführer'', ''Gauleiter'' and ''Reichsstatthalter'' (Reich Governor) of the German-occupied territory of ''Wartheland''. He was one of the perso ...

. The town was renamed Löwenstadt to honour Karl Litzmann. A ghetto was established in early 1940 and about 6000 Brzeziny

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

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 Chelmno 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 6850 Jews living in Brzeziny at the beginning of the war survived. On 18 January 1945 the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

reached Brzeziny.

Twin towns

Brzeziny is twinned with: *

Saint-Alban, Haute-Garonne Saint-Alban (; oc, Sent Alban) is a commune in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern France. Population Twin towns Saint-Alban is twinned with: * Salgareda, Italy, since 1989 * Brzeziny, Poland, since 2010 See also *Communes of ...

, France, since 2010 *

Salgareda Salgareda is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Treviso in the Italian region Veneto, located about northeast of Venice and about east of Treviso. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 6,102 and an area of .All demographics a ...

, Italy, since 2010

Notable residents

Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski ( la, Andreas Fricius Modrevius) (ca.1503 – autumn 1572) was a Polish Renaissance scholar, humanist and theologian, called "the father of Polish democracy". His book ''De Republica emendanda'' (''O poprawie Rzeczypospol ...

(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 or Bursius (ca. 1560–1611), Polish philosopher *

Abraham Icek Tuschinski Abraham Icek Tuschinski (Polish spelling: Tuszyński) (Brzeziny (near Łódź), 14 May 1886 – Auschwitz, 17 September 1942) was a Dutch businessman of Jewish Polish descent who ordered the construction of the Tuschinski Theater, a famed cinem ...

(1886-1942), businessman * Georg Wannagat (1916-2006), jurist *

Zbigniew Zamachowski Zbigniew Zamachowski (; born 17 July 1961) is a Polish actor. Life and career He was born on 17 July 1961 in Brzeziny near Łódź. Zamachowski graduated from the actor's faculty of the National Film School in Łódź. He began his acting care ...

(1961-), Polish actor

References

External links

Official town webpage
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Łódź Voivodeship Brzeziny County Piotrków Governorate Łódź Voivodeship (1919–1939) Populated places established in the 13th century Shtetls