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Oswiecim
The town of Oświęcim (Yiddish: Oyshvitzim, Oshpitzin, Oshvitzin; German: Auschwitz) is a district seat situated on the Soła river, in the Małopolska voivodship.
Sights of interest
- Medieval urban layout of the market square, 14th-15th c.
- Oswiecim castle, with Gothic tower from late 18th-early 14th c., which currently houses the historical and ethnographic collections
- Church of the Holy Cross
- Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, 14th c.
- Syngagogue Chevra Lomdei Mishnayot
- Jewish Center
- Center for Dialogue and Prayer
- International Youth Meeting Center
Historical outline
Archeological digs have confirmed that a trading settlement existed here as early as the Roman times. The town's first period of development occurred before it had been granted its town charter, thus this phase is known as "pre-charter". A castellany existed in Oświęcim in approximately the eleventh century, which included territory on both sides of the Vistula. The pre-charter phase ended in 1241, when the Tatars attacked and thoroughly destroyed the settlement.
The town was granted its town charter in the thirteenth century, probably around the year 1272. The town charter was confirmed in 1291 by the Cieszyń prince Mieszko I, who also granted it further economic privileges, such as the right to trade and to store Wieliczka salt and lead, and a privilege allowing the collection of a bridge toll on the Soła and Vistula rivers. At first, the town's buildings were wooden, except for the Dominican monastery, parish church and tower on the castle hill. In 1317, the Duchy of Oświęcim was established. Power was assumed by Władysław, son of Mieszko I of Cieszyń. In 1445, however, it was divided among the sons of Kazimierz, the duke of Oświęcim, into the following duchies: Oświęcim, Zator and Toszek. In 1457, duke Jan IV sold the duchy of Oświęcim to the Polish king Kazimierz Jagiellończyk, which was how this territory was added to the crown's holdings. In the late fifteenth and the early sixteenth centuries, great fires broke out in the town, causing such damage that the king lifted the town's tax obligations for fifteen years.
In the sixteenth century, the town grew, as did its number of traders and craftsmen. A hospital and poorhouse were established. In 1564, the duchies of Oświęcim and Zator were fully integrated into the Crown on the basis of an act of incorporation that was issued by King Zygmunt August.
The Swedish invasion of the seventeenth century devastated the town. It is worth noting that detachments of Żywiec highlanders and local peasants resisted the invaders, under the leadership of Jan Torysiński. They failed to hold the town, however, and the Swedes in retaliation left Oświęcim a ruin when they resumed its occupation. Of five hundred residential buildings, just forty remained. The salt warehouse, castle and church were among those destroyed. In the early eighteenth century, the town was visited by the plague, and a few years later there was another fire, which destroyed the market square's buildings and also the synagogue. In the years 1768-72, the Oświęcim castle was the headquarters for the Confederation of Bar.
After the partition of Poland in 1772, Oświęcim became part of the Austrian partition, in Galicia, and its government was reorganized; its town crest was also changed. In the years 1805 and 1813, catastrophic floods occurred. Because the Soła river changed its course, part of the castle hill and its buildings fell into the river. The ruins, slated by the Austrians for demolition, were bought by Father Idzi Russocki.
In 1820, the duchies of Oświęcim and Zator were excluded from Galicia and annexed instead to the German Union that was subject to the Austrian emperor. Oświęcim returned to Galicia in 1850, and four years later became the district seat.
The nineteenth century was one of many great fires - in 1863, two-thirds of the Oświęcim's buildings burned, including the town hall, church tower, two synagogues and the hospital; in 1991, the parish church burned.
The century also saw the construction of a railway, thanks to which trade revived and industry developed. One of the oldest plants was the Jakub Heberfeld Factory of Spirits and Liqueurs. The town's population grew significantly. In 1890, it had a population of 5,054, of which 2,535 were Jews.
In the early twentieth century, the female order of Our Lady of Sorrows (known as the Serafitki) and the male Salesian order played an important role. They contributed to a revival in religious life, and also helped improve education in the town. Common in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was emigration for economic reasons to the United States, Canada and Brazil.
Residents of the Oświęcim region actively participated in the struggle for Polish independence as part of Piłsudski's Legions. Piłsudski was in Oświęcim in February 1915. At that time, some of the detachments of the Head National Committee were moved there. On 3 November 1918, the Polish Liquidation Commission in Kraków formed a District Liquidation Committee with its headquarters in Oświęcim. Despite the fact that a peace treaty had been signed in Versailles on 28 June 1919, the question of Poland's borders remained open. Oświęcim, as a town bordering on Upper Silesia, had from the start been involved in supporting the Upper Silesians. In August 1919, at the news of the Silesian uprising, a Committee of Aid to the Upper Silesians was established. After the fall of the First Silesian Uprising, over one thousand people found refuge in the Oświęcim barracks. A year later, a District Plebiscite Committee was created, which was active until 1921, and the insurgents were supported during the second and third Silesians uprisings. In 1920, a Committee of the Expellees of Silesian Cieszyń was established, which dealt with housing and other day-to-day issues of the people from Cieszyń who were forced by the Czech authorities to leave their homes. The Committee for the Defense of the Rights of Silesian Cieszyń, which had a political character, was also created.
The interwar period was also a time of dynamic growth in industry: a number of new industrial plants were established and political life revived. Several patriotic and educational organizations were formed, such as the Union of Polish Legionnaires, the Union of Silesian Insurgents, the Union of War Invalids, the Rifle Union and the scouting organization, "Żółta Jedynka".
The Germans entered Oświecim after the battle of Rajsko, after two Polish battalions of the sixth infantry division were routed. They had been defending the region under the leadership of Major Piotr Ryba. Immediately after taking the town, the Germans treated the members of the town council as its hostages � if any German were to die, all the council members would be shot. The council ceased to exist in mid-November 1939, and all power in the town was assumed by the Nazis. One of their first decrees was to put the intelligentsia, the priests and Jews to work cleaning the town. The Oświęcim region was annexed to the Third Reich. In 1940, Himmler ordered the creation of the Auschwitz concentration camp, situated at the site of the former military barracks. These had at first been used for refugees, and were later expanded with the use of prisoners' labor. The first transport of prisoners arrived on 14 June 1940, and was comprised of 728 men (Poles and Jews), who were political prisoners from Tarnów. During the years 1940 and 1941, the Germans resettled the local population and the "cleansed" areas were described with the term "area of the interests of the Auschwitz concentration camp". In 1941-1944, the populations of the following localities were resettled elsewhere: Nowa Wieś, Witkowice, Osiek, Polanka Wielka, Zator and adjacent villages, in accordance with the policy of reinforcing the German language in areas that had been annexed to the Reich. The Germans planned to rebuild the town, which entailed demolishing the church, town hall and streets around the market square. In the end, this plan was not carried out. The I.G. Farben chemical plant was built in Dwory. Oświęcim was liberated on 27 January 1945 by the Soviet army.
After the Second World War the town was generally associated with the German concentration camp Auschwitz. Oświęcim is a member of the World Union of Cities of Peace (Światowy Związek Męczeńskich Miast Pokoju), the Polish Union of Cities of Peace and the International Association of Peace Messenger Cities.
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In 1998 the city was awarded the title Messenger of Peace from the Secretary General of the United Nations. In September 2000 a general assembly of the International Association of Peace Messenger Cities took place in Oświęcim. The Oświęcim Cultural Center sponsors many activities, such as the 1985 "To Love a Man" Amateur Film Festival, which has since become an international event. A Photography Biennale by that same title also takes place. A different kind of event, aimed at young people, is the "Forum of Children's Peace Initiatives", which organizes the International Children's Folk Festival "Let's Give the World Peace", and the Polish National Art Competition by the same name.
In 1986 at the initiative of the Signs of Penance Campaign, the International Center for Youth Meetings was founded, with the aim of working with young people to remove barriers resulting from history, and on the fostering of understanding and overcoming various kinds of nationalism, racism and anti-Semitism.
In 1992 the Center of Dialogue and Prayer was founded, at the initiative of Cardinal Franciszek Macharski. It is a Catholic institution serving as a place to commemorate the victims, but also a place for education, meetings, discussions, reflections and prayer. The educational activities there are aimed at cultivating openness and respect.
In 1995 the Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation was established in New York. Its sister organization � the Jewish Educational Center in Oświęcim Foundation � has been active in Poland since 1996. The Center's headquarters is located in the Jewish Center in Oświęcim, which opened on 12 September 1995. The center also includes the only surviving Oświęcim synagogue, Chevra Lomdei Mishanyot, which has been renovated. The Center conducts educational activities aimed at commemorating the Shoah's victims through the study of Jewish life, history and culture before the Second World War.
The Educational Center, a section of the State Museum at Auschwitz-Birkenau, plays an important role in training teachers in a variety of ways, from conferences lasting several days to post-graduate programs. It also runs a program called "You Are Here to Bear Witness" and publishes both historical and teaching materials.
The town is home to accomplished figure skaters, hockey players and swimmers.
Jews of Oswiecim
The earliest Jewish settlement in Oświęcim dates back to the early sixteenth century. The next mention related to its Jewish residents is from 1549, and lists an inventory of goods and income of the Oświęcim starostwo. On 28 July 1563, the Polish king Zygmunt August granted the Oświęcim burghers a privilege that banned new Jews from settling in the town, and also prevented Jews from selling buildings that belonged to them. A royal inspection carried out a year later names only five Jews living in Oświęcim. In 1588, however, an Oświęcim burgher named Jan Pietraszewski sold his property, on which a synagogue and Jewish cemetery were then built. In 1636, the Polish king Władsław IV Waza granted the Jewish Community of Oświęcim the right of residence, of property ownership, trade and the use of the synagogue and cemetery.
Synagogue. Photo: A.Olej&K. Kobus:
In 1872 a Jewish merchant by the name of Landau bought the ruins of the former Dominican complex (Church, Chapel of St. Hyacinth and monastery buildings) and used them for his stables, and as storage for coal, oil and fertilizers, and as butcher stalls. He made the former sacristy into a shop, and the Chapel of St. Hyacinth into storage for rags and bones, which the Catholic population found most disturbing. These buildings were bought from him by the Civic committee created at the initiative of Father Andrzej Knycz in 1895, who then transferred them to the Salesians. The order renovated the chapel and church, and also founded a modern boys' school there.
In 1904 a railway man named Kaszny also bought the ruins of the Oświęcim Castle from the Jews, which he then renovated and partially reconstructed. He then opened a winery and brewery there, as well as guest rooms for out-of-town visitors.
In 1914 Oświęcim's population was 10,126, of which 5,358 were Jews. During the interwar period, more Jews lived in Oświęcim than Catholics, so they also were a majority in the town council. Evidence of the successful cooperation of both communities can be seen by the fact that in 1934, when the canon Jan Skarbek was made in honorary citizen of Oświęcim on the twenty-fifth anniversary of his priestly vows, an official delegation of the Jewish community presented him with their congratulations and best wishes, along with the deputy mayor, Dr. Emil Reich, and Rabbi Bombach.
The Boy Scouts were very active in Poland after 1918, including Jewish Boy Scouts. One 21 May 1933, the Congress of Jewish Boy Scouts took place at Oświęcim playfield. About 400 people attended, representing Boy Scout troops from Kraków, Tarnów, Kreszowice, Bielsko, Dziedzice, Królewska Huta, Sosnowiec and Będzin.
Several dozen social and political organizations existed, including the Committee of Polish Jews, Union of Jewish Women and the Association of Jewish Workers and Trade Assistants. There were also cultural and educational organizations, such as "Szir", the Jewish Singing Circle, and the Association of Jewish Students of the Jagiellonian University � Oświęcim Branch. There also sports organizations, such as the "Kadimach" Jewish Athletic Association, as well as religious ones, for example the Israelite Prayer Association.
After the German army entered Oświęcim on 3 September 1939, the town was annexed to the Reich, and its Jewish residents were subject to all its decrees. They were forced to submit completely to the German authorities, to do forced labor in the town and at the construction of the concentration camp. On 18 February 1941, Hermann Göring, Reich Field Marshal, ordered the deportation of all Jews from Oświęcim - allegedly to free up accommodation for the workers constructing the "Buna Werke" plant in Dwory. The Germans deported some of the Oświęcim Jews to Chrzanów, and some to Sosnowiec.
The Synagogue
The Lomdei Mishanyot Association (Association of Students of the Mishna) bought a piece of land from Józef and Gizela Glass and began construction on a one-story synagogue, which probably began operating as early as 1914. During the Second World War, the Germans destroyed all of the synagogues in Oświęcim except for this one, which they used as a munitions depot.
After the war for a short time the building was used once again for religious purposes, and then for storage. In 1998, and ownership was transferred to the Jewish religious Community in Bielsko-Biała, which in turn gave it to the Jewish Center in Oświęcim. The grand re-opening of the synagogue took place on 12 September 2000. A plaque from 1928 to the memory of three synagogue assistants (Hebrew - gabbaim) is the only original element of its interior.
The Cemetery
The location of the first Jewish Cemetery in Oświęcim is not known, except that in 1588 it was situated within the old town. The kirkut that survives today dates back to the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, and is located at the intersection of ul. Dąbrowskiego and Wysokie Brzegi. Its oldest headstone is from 1757. The Second World War, the kirkut was completely destroyed by the Germans, and some of it was allocated for the expansion of the street known today as ul. Dąbrowskiego (planned at the time to be called Krakauerstrasse). The kirkut was closed in 1941 - after the Jews were deported from Oświęcim. After the war, it was tidied up by those who survived and returned to their hometown. The wall surrounding the cemetery was also renovated. It was tidied up again in the late 1980's, and then again in 2004, thanks to funds from Asher Scharf of New York. At that time, the destroyed matsevoth were arranged in two lapidaria and the ohel in memory of the Scharf family was rebuilt. A second ohel belongs to Szymon Klinger, Oświęcim's last Jew (1925-2000. About 800 matsevoth have survived. The cemetery belongs to the Jewish Community in Bielsko-Biała, and is open to visitors.
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