Everything about Wizna totally explained
Wizna is a village in
Łomża County of
Podlasie Voivodship,
Poland. It is located at around .
Biebrza River flows through the town. The
battle of Wizna took place here during the
Invasion of Poland in 1939.
The Jews in Wizna
It isn't clear when Jews started to settle in Wizna. Most of the Jewish population lived around the Rynek (Town Square) and in nearby streets. In 1765, 16 Jewish families (about 75 individuals) lived in Wizna. In 1857, there were 492 Jews out of a total population of 1861; in 1921, they numbered 714 out of 2670. Jews were mostly small merchants, craftsman and service providers. In the small village of Witkowo, on the Narew River adjacent to the north side of Wizna, a few Jewish families were farmers and fishermen. These included the Gostkowski family, which operated a ferry on the Narew River for over 100 years prior to the construction of the bridge on the road between Lomza and Bialystok. The gangster-turned-author
Urke Nachalnik was born in Wizna to the wealthy and respected Farberowicz family, who were grain merchants and operated a flour mill. Urke Nachalnik’s books and stories were published in several languages by the Yiddish press in Poland and the United States during the 1930's, with some of them being turned into theater plays.
Zionist Activity in Wizna
Zionist parties were active in Wizna during the 1920’s and 1930’s. A Hebrew school called Tarbut was opened, and the Zionist youth movements
Hashomer Hatzair and
Hachalutz were active among the young Jewish generation. Jews from Wizna emigrated to the USA and other countries such as Cuba, Argentina and Australia during the 19th century and up until the onset of WWII. Groups of members of the Zionist youth movements emigrated to what was to become
Israel during the 1920’s and 1930’s and joined groups that founded the Kibutzim: Ramat-Hakovesh, Einat, Yagur, Giveat-Hashlosha, Kfar-Menachem, Ifat, Evron and Gvat. In addition former Wizners settled in Rishon-leZion, Tel-Aviv, Haifa, Jerusalem, Kfar-Saba, Kfar-Sirkin, Kiryat-Chaim, Petach-Tikva, Ramat-Gan, Holon, Ganei-Hadar, Ramat-Zvi, Nahariya, Tel-Mond and elsewhere.
Wizna Jews During the Holocaust
During the war between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany in 1941, Wizna was shelled and most of the homes in the Rynek and vicinity were demolished. Near the end of June 1941, 15 Jews were murdered by the Germans in Wizna, and during the beginning of July 1941, a second group of 15 Jews were similarly killed. In July of 1941, most Wizna Jews were expelled from Wizna to nearby Jedwabne, with the rest being sent to the Lomza Ghetto. On July 10 1941, about 200 Wizna Jews and about 1400 Jedwabne Jews were murdered inside a barn that was set on fire by their Polish neighbors. This sad event is described in detail in the book
Neighbors, the Destruction of the Jewish Community in Jedwabne, Poland, by
Jan T. Gross.
Further Information
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