Lyubcha is an

urban-type settlement Urban-type settlement, abbreviated: ; , abbreviated: ; ; ; ; . is an official designation for lesser urbanized settlements, used in several Central and Eastern Europe, Central and Eastern European countries. The term was primarily used in the So ...

Novogrudok 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,

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

. It is located near the

Neman River Neman, Nemunas or Niemen is a river in Europe that rises in central Belarus and flows through Lithuania then forms Lithuania–Russia border, the northern border of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia's western exclave, which specifically follows its s ...

about from

Novogrudok 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 V ...

. As of 2025, it has a population of 962.

History

Within the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...

, Lyubcha was part of Nowogródek Voivodeship. In 1795, the town was acquired by the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

as a result of the

Third Partition of Poland The Third Partition of Poland (1795) was the last in a series of the Partitions of Poland–Lithuania and the land of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth among Prussia, the Habsburg monarchy, and the Russian Empire which effectively ended Polis ...

. From 1921 until 1939, Lyubcha (''Lubcz'') was part 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 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...

. Before World War II, approximately 1500 Jews lived in Lubcha. There were 2 synagogues and a Jewish cemetery. In September 1939, Lyubcha was occupied by the Red Army and, on 14 November 1939, incorporated into the

Byelorussian SSR The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, Byelorussian SSR or Byelorussia; ; ), also known as Soviet Belarus or simply Belarus, was a republic of the Soviet Union (USSR). It existed between 1920 and 1922 as an independent state, and ...

. From 26 June 1941 until 8 July 1944, Lyubcha was occupied by Nazi Germany and administered as a part of the ''

Generalbezirk Weißruthenien ''Generalbezirk Weißruthenien'' (; ) was an administrative subdivision of the ''Reichskommissariat Ostland'' of Nazi Germany that covered western Belarus from 1941 to 1944. It served as the Nazi civilian administration for the German occupati ...

'' of ''

Reichskommissariat Ostland The (RKO; ) was an Administrative division, administrative entity of the Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories of Nazi Germany from 1941 to 1945. It served as the German Civil authority, civilian occupation regime in Lithuania, La ...

''. A short time after their arrival, the Germans selected 50 Jewish men and brought them to Novogrudok, where they were shot. In March 1942, a ghetto was fenced in and Jews from surroundings villages, like Delatyche, were brought into the ghetto. Later, three members of the Judenrat and Jewish police were shot by the Germans under the pretext of bad hygienic conditions inside the ghetto. Although the fate of the remaining Jews is not completely clear, it seems that a group was sent to the Novogrudok ghetto, where they were later shot in August 1942. Another group was sent to complete road construction near the village of Vorobyeviche, where they were also shot in August 1942. It appears that several hundred Jews were shot and buried in the cemetery during spring 1942.

Sights

* Lubcz Castle of the Radziwill family * Orthodox church of Saint Elijah (1910–14) * Catholic church, 1930 * Old Jewish cemetery Image:BLR Lyubcha 17thc.jpg, 17th century File:Lubcza.jpg, Modern view File:Lyubcha.jpg, The two remaining towers Image:Lubcza castle 1920.jpg, In 1920

Notes

References

External links

Lubcha's Castle
(in Belarusian)
Photos on Radzima.org

(in Russian) Holocaust locations in Belarus Holocaust locations in Poland Novogrudok district Populated places in Grodno region Urban-type settlements in Belarus {{belarus-geo-stub