Dzyatlava or Dyatlovo is a town in 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 serves as the administrative center of Dzyatlava District. It is located about southeast of

Grodno Grodno, or Hrodna, is a city in western Belarus. It is one of the oldest cities in Belarus. The city is located on the Neman, Neman River, from Minsk, about from the Belarus–Poland border, border with Poland, and from the Belarus–Lithua ...

. The population was 7,700 in 2016. As of 2025, it has a population of 7,596.

History

Being 80 kilometres south of present-day Lithuania, Zietela's environs had been known by linguists as the outermost indigenous Lithuanian speaking "island" apart from the contiguous Lithuanian language territory. The Lithuanian speakers spoke a unique dialect, known as the "Zietela dialect"; it has been speculated that the ancestors of its speakers might have been Lithuanized

Jotvingians Yotvingians, also called Sudovians, Jatvians, or Jatvingians, were a Western Baltic people who were closely tied to the Old Prussians. The linguist Petras Būtėnas asserts that they were closest to the Lithuanians. The Yotvingians contributed t ...

. It drew the attention by many prominent linguists, such as

Christian Schweigaard Stang Christian Schweigaard Stang (15 March 1900 – 2 July 1977) was a Norwegian linguist, Slavicist and Balticist, professor in Balto-Slavic languages at the University of Oslo from 1938 until shortly before his death. He specialized in the study of ...

Vladimir Toporov Vladimir Nikolayevich Toporov (; 5 July 1928 in Moscow5 December 2005 in Moscow) was a Russian philologist associated with the Tartu–Moscow Semiotic School. His wife was Tatyana Elizarenkova. He is also recognized as a prominent Balticist. ...

Kazimieras Būga Kazimieras Būga (; November 6, 1879 – December 2, 1924) was a Lithuanian linguist and philologist. He was a professor of linguistics, who mainly worked on the Lithuanian language. He was born at Pažiegė, near Dusetos, then part of the Russ ...

and

Juozas Balčikonis Juozas Balčikonis (24 March 1885 in Ėriškiai, Panevėžys District – 5 February 1969 in Vilnius) was a Lithuanian linguist and teacher, who contributed to the standardization of the Lithuanian language Lithuanian (, ) is an East Bal ...

. In 1886, 1,156 people in nearby villages declared themselves Lithuanians, however, the real number might have been much greater.Gediminas Zemlickas, "Paminklas mirusiai ðnektai (2)" onument to the Extinct Dialect Lietuviø kalbos instituto Kalbos istorijos ir dialektologijos skyriaus darbuotojai doc. dr. Danguolë Mikulënienë ir dr. Aloyzas Vidugiris. At present the Lithuanian population is virtually extinct.

Grand Duchy of Lithuania

Zietela was first referenced in documents from 1498 when it was granted by the King of Poland

John I Albert John I Albert (; 27 December 1459 – 17 June 1501) was King of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of Roy ...

to Prince

Konstanty Ostrogski Konstanty Iwanowicz Ostrogski ( – 10 August 1530) was a Ruthenian prince and magnate of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He later had the title of grand hetman of Lithuania from 11 September 1497 until his death in 1530. Career Ostrogski began ...

, who later built a wooden castle there.

17th century

In the 17th century, Zietela was owned by

Lew Sapieha Lew Sapieha (; ; 4 April 1557 – 7 July 1633) was a nobleman and statesman of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. He became Great Secretary of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1580, Great Clerk of the Grand Duchy in 1581, Crown Chancellor in 1 ...

, who ordered a Catholic church to be erected on the main city square. The church was consecrated in 1646, renovated after a fire in 1743 and still stands.

18th century

During the

Great Northern War In the Great Northern War (1700–1721) a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the ant ...

of the anti-Swedish alliance,

Peter I of Russia Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned jointly with his half-brother Ivan V until 1696. From this year, ...

visited Zietela and stayed there for a week in January 1708. In the 18th century, the town was owned by Stanisław Sołtyk, who built a Baroque residence there in 1751. After the

partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partition (politics), partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place between 1772 and 1795, toward the end of the 18th century. They ended the existence of the state, resulting in the eli ...

, until the aftermath of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the town was within 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 ...

, in the

Grodno Governorate Grodno Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Northwestern Krai of the Russian Empire, with its capital in Grodno. It encompassed in area and consisted of a population of 1,603,409 inhabitants by 1897. Gro ...

, district of

Slonim Slonim is a town in Grodno Region, in western Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Slonim District. It is located at the junction of the Shchara and Isa (river), Isa rivers, southeast of Grodno. As of 2025, it has a population of ...

.JewishGen Communities Database for Dzyatlava, Belarus
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20th century

Between

and

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 ...

, Zdzięcioł (now Dzyatlava) belonged to 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 ...

. It was the seat of

Gmina The gmina (Polish: , plural ''gminy'' ) is the basic unit of the administrative division of Poland, similar to a municipality. , there were 2,479 gminy throughout the country, encompassing over 43,000 villages. 940 gminy include cities and tow ...

Zdzięcioł in Nowogródek Voivodeship. The population was composed predominantly of

Polish Jews The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Jews, Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the long pe ...

. The Soviet forces invaded eastern Poland on September 17, 1939, and stationed in the Voivodeship area until the outbreak of their own war with Germany in June 1941. After the Soviet rapid retreat, and several months of Nazi ad hoc persecution, on February 22, 1942 the new German authorities officially created

Zdzięcioł Ghetto The Dzyatlava Ghetto, Zdzięcioł Ghetto, or Zhetel Ghetto (in Yiddish) was a Nazi ghetto in the town of Occupation of Poland (1939–1945), German-occupied Poland (Zdzięcioł) Dzyatlava, Western Belarus during World War II. After several months ...

. During

the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

, about 3,000–5,000 Jews were killed near the town during the

Dzyatlava massacre The Dzyatlava massacres were two consecutive mass shooting actions carried out three months apart during the Holocaust. The town of Zdzięcioł (, , ) was located in the Nowogródek Voivodeship of the Second Polish Republic prior to World War ...

of 1942 by a German death squad aided by the

Lithuanian Lithuanian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Lithuania, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe ** Lithuanian language ** Lithuanians, a Baltic ethnic group, native to Lithuania and the immediate geographical region ** L ...

and the

Belarusian Auxiliary Police The Belarusian Auxiliary Police () was a German force established in July 1941 in occupied Belarus, staffed by local collaborators. In western Belarus, auxiliary police were created in the form of Schutzmannschaften units, while in the east th ...

battalions. The old Jewish cemetery is considered a minor landmark.

Notable people

* Ivan Karizna, cellist * Jacob ben Wolf Kranz of Dubno, the "Dubner

maggid A maggid (), also spelled as magid, is a traditional Jewish religious itinerant preacher, skilled as a narrator of Torah and religious stories. A chaplain of the more scholarly sort is called a ''Darshan (Judaism), darshan'' (). The title of ''m ...

" (1741–1804) *

Yisrael Meir Kagan Yisrael Meir ha-Kohen Kagan (February 6, 1838 – September 15, 1933) was an influential Lithuanian Jewish rabbi, Halakhist, posek, and ethicist whose works continue to be widely influential in Orthodox Jewish life. He was known popularly as t ...

(Chofetz Chayim), 1839–1933 *

Zvi Yosef Resnick Rabbi Zvi Hirsh Yosef HaKohen Resnick (1841–1912) was a well-known Orthodox Judaism, orthodox Russians, Russian rabbi and Rosh yeshivah (Dean of a Yeshiva, Talmudic Academy), also known as ''Rebbe Hirsch Meitsheter'' (reportedly because Meitshe ...

rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

and

rosh yeshivah Rosh yeshiva or Rosh Hayeshiva (, pl. , '; Anglicized pl. ''rosh yeshivas'') is the title given to the dean of a yeshiva, a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and the Torah ...

(1841–1912) *

Mnachem Risikoff Mnachem (Mendel) HaKohen Risikoff (1866–July 28, 1960), was an orthodox rabbi in Russia and the United States, and a prolific author of scholarly works, written in Hebrew. Risikoff used a highly stylized and symbolic pen-name, יאמהדנו ...

, rabbi and scholar (1866–1960), born in Dzyatlava * Baruch Sorotzkin (1917-1979) *

Tamara Lazakovich Tamara Vasilyevna Lazakovich (; 11 March 1954 – 1 November 1992) was a Soviet artistic gymnast who competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics. Described as a "perky sparrow" with a "purity of line", Lazakovich was spotted by her compatriot, Olympi ...

, European All-Around Co-Champion (1971) and Olympic medalist (1972) in

gymnastics Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...

Notes

References

External links

Info of Dziatłava

Photos on Radzima.org

(in Russian) Dyatlovo information portal

ארגון יוצאי ז'טל ודורות ההמשך
*
Dyatlovo old website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dzyatlava Holocaust locations in Belarus Historic Jewish communities in Belarus