Raciąż is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

Płońsk County Płońsk County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Masovian Voivodeship in east-central Poland. It came into being on 1 January 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its ad ...

Masovian Voivodeship Masovian Voivodeship or Mazowieckie Province (, ) and any variation thereof, is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship (province) in east-central Poland, containing Poland's capital Warsaw. Masovian Voivodeship has an area of and had a 2019 po ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, with 4,642 inhabitants (2010). Its history dates to 10th century.

History

Raciąż was granted

town rights Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...

in 1425 by

Siemowit IV, Duke of Masovia Siemowit IV (Ziemowit IV), also known as Siemowit IV the Younger (pl: ''Siemowit IV Młodszy''; ca. 1353/1356 – 21 January 1426), was a Polish prince, member of the Dukes of Masovia, Masovian branch of the House of Piast and from 1373 or 137 ...

. It was located on a trade route connecting

Toruń Toruń is a city on the Vistula River in north-central Poland and a World Heritage Sites of Poland, UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its population was 196,935 as of December 2021. Previously, it was the capital of the Toruń Voivodeship (1975–199 ...

with

Brześć Brest, formerly Brest-Litovsk and Brest-on-the-Bug, is a city in south-western Belarus at the border with Poland opposite the Polish town of Terespol, where the Bug and Mukhavets rivers meet, making it a border town. It serves as the adminis ...

. From 1495, it was a county seat within the

Płock Voivodeship Płock (pronounced ), officially the Ducal Capital City of Płock, is a city in central Poland, on the Vistula river, in the Masovian Voivodeship. According to the data provided by Central Statistical Office (Poland), GUS on 31 December 2021, the ...

in the Greater Poland Province of the Kingdom of Poland. The 1st Polish National Cavalry Brigade was stationed in the town. Since the 17th century

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

and

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

populations had lived in Raciąż. Between 1857 and 1931, the Jewish population of the town varied between 35% and 45%, which was typical of small

shtetl or ( ; , ; Grammatical number#Overview, pl. ''shtetelekh'') is a Yiddish term for small towns with predominantly Ashkenazi Jews, Ashkenazi Jewish populations which Eastern European Jewry, existed in Eastern Europe before the Holocaust. The t ...

s in the region. At the beginning of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, there were about 1,700 Jews in Raciąż. The German invaders rounded up most of the Jews and deported them to

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

and other larger towns in 1939. Some were sent to

forced labor Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, or violence, including death or other forms of ...

camps too. Almost all of Raciąż' Jews were murdered during the war, but about ten young survivors returned to town after the war. Most were murdered one night by unknown people, either nationalists or thugs. After that, the remainder left.

Demographics

References

Cities and towns in Masovian Voivodeship Płońsk County Historic Jewish communities in Poland Holocaust locations in Poland {{Płońsk-geo-stub