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183-631: Parczew historically belongs to Lesser Poland ( Małopolska ) region. The town lies 60 kilometers north of Lublin , and 70 kilometers south of Biala Podlaska . It has a rail station on the secondary-importance line from Lublin to Łuków , which was inaugurated in 1898. The settlement of Parczew existed since the 12th century, lying near then-eastern border of the Kingdom of Poland . In 1401, it received Magdeburg rights town charter from King Władysław II Jagiełło . The union of Poland and Lithuania (see Union of Krewo ) helped Parczew to develop, as it ceased to be

366-506: A defensive wall , with three gates, and a royal residence, where Polish kings stayed on their way to and from Vilnius. The town was the seat of a starosta , with a town hall located on the market square, two bath houses, four mills and breweries. In the 16th century, it had three Roman Catholic churches, one Orthodox church, a synagogue, a school and a hospital. In 1500 and 1544, Parczew was destroyed in Crimean Tatars raids, and in 1655, it

549-463: A Polish custom, whenever a new village was formed next to an older one, the name of the new entity was presented with an adjective little (or lesser ), while the old village was described as greater . The same procedure was used in naming two Polish provinces – the "older" one, the cradle of the Polish state, was called Greater Poland , and its "younger sister", which became part of Poland

732-593: A battleground, with Battle of Kliszów taking place there in 1702, and the Sandomierz Confederation formed in 1704. After the conflict, Lesser Poland began a recovery, which was hampered by several other factors. Province's cities frequently burned (Lublin 1719, Nowy Targ 1784, Nowy Sącz, Dukla 1758, Wieliczka 1718, Miechów 1745, Drzewica), there also were numerous outbreaks of plagues and typhus (in 1707–1708, some 20,000 died in Kraków and its area ) Lesser Poland

915-551: A border town. The town was conveniently located on one of the routes joining the capitals of the two united nations - Kraków and Vilnius . In the Union of Horodło (1413), Parczew was designated to be the location of Polish–Lithuanian councils. The town emerged as one of the centers of political life of the two nations. Parczew was visited by all kings of the Jagiellonian dynasty , and the last council took place here in 1564. Parczew had

1098-552: A decree of Adolf Hitler , General Government , a separate region of the Greater German Reich was created, with Hans Frank as its Governor-General . Its capital was established in Kraków, and it covered most of the area of historical Lesser Poland, except for its western counties, which were directly incorporated into Nazi Germany's Upper Silesia Province ( Będzin , Sosnowiec , Zawiercie , Biała , Żywiec , Chrzanów , Olkusz ). In Lesser Poland, like in all provinces of

1281-594: A few years later, was called Lesser Poland . The name Greater Poland ( Polonia Maior ) was for the first time used in 1242, by princes Boleslaw and Przemysław I , who named themselves Duces Majoris Poloniae ( Princes of the Older Poland ). Lesser Poland, or Polonia Minor , appeared for the first time in historical documents in 1493, in the Statutes of Piotrków , during the reign of King Jan Olbracht , to distinguish this province from Greater Poland ( Polonia Maior ). In

1464-525: A legislative decree allowing the remaining survivors to leave Poland without Western visas or Polish exit permits. This also served to strengthen the government's acceptance among the anti-Communist right, as well as weaken the British hold in the Middle East. Most refugees crossing the new borders left Poland without a valid passport. Uninterrupted traffic across the Polish borders increased dramatically. By

1647-551: A major East – West rail line, linking Volhynia , and Upper Silesia , but they never materialized. Desperate situation and lack of jobs caused thousands of inhabitants of Lesser Poland (especially from its southern part) to leave their land, mostly for the United States of America, but also Brazil, and Canada. Lesser Poland remained a center of Polish culture, with Kraków's Jagiellonian University , AGH University of Science and Technology , and Catholic University of Lublin , which

1830-587: A major center of Polish aviation, when Polish Air Force Academy was opened there, and in Mielec , PZL Mielec was opened, which was the largest aerospace manufacturer in Poland. Central Industrial Region, however, did not affect western counties of Lesser Poland, which had already been urbanized and industrialized ( Biala Krakowska , Żywiec , Kraków , Jaworzno , Zagłębie Dąbrowskie , Zawiercie , and Częstochowa ). The government of Poland planned further investments, such as

2013-811: A museum of Polish national memorabilia and a major cultural and political centre. A number of prominent artists, both representing Romanticism , and Positivism was born in Lesser Poland, including Wincenty Pol (born in Lublin), Stefan Żeromski (born near Kielce), Aleksander Świętochowski (born near Łuków in extreme northeast corner of Lesser Poland), Walery Przyborowski (born near Kielce), Piotr Michałowski , Helena Modjeska , Henryk Wieniawski (born in Lublin), Leon Wyczółkowski (born near Siedlce), Juliusz Kossak (born in Nowy Wiśnicz ), Józef Szujski (born in Tarnów). In

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2196-551: A nationalist, anti-communist organization, widely perceived as anti-Semitic – also collaborated with the Germans on several occasions, killing or giving away Jewish partisans to the German authorities, and murdering Jewish refugees. Among some 30,000 Ukrainian nationalists who fled to polnischen Gebiete , thousands joined the pokhidny hrupy  [ pl ] as saboteurs, interpreters, and civilian militiamen, trained at

2379-479: A newly built extermination camp 50 kilometres (30 mi) distant, 11,000 were deported to labor camps, 10,000 were shot in the ghetto, 35,000 were allowed to remain in the ghetto after a final selection, and around 20,000 or 25,000 managed to hide in the ghetto. Misdirection efforts convinced many Jews that they could avoid deportation until it was too late. During a six-week period beginning in August, 300,000 Jews from

2562-516: A result of their support of the failed insurrection, several Lesser Poland's towns lost their charters and were turned into villages. Among them were Kraśnik , Bodzentyn , Opatów , Iłża , Małogoszcz , Wąchock , Busko-Zdrój , Jędrzejów, Cmielow , Zwoleń , Drzewica , Wierzbica , Czeladź , Kazimierz Dolny , Wolborz , Stopnica , Daleszyce , Wiślica , Pajęczno , Lipsko , Pacanów , Ożarów , Wolbrom , Proszowice , Nowe Miasto Korczyn , Włoszczowa , Przysucha , Opole Lubelskie . In

2745-660: A small territory of Spisz , and next year, the towns of Czorsztyn , Nowy Sącz and Nowy Targ. In 1771, the Russians and the Prussians agreed on the first partition of the country, and in early 1772, Austrian Emperor Maria Theresa decided to join the two powers. In the first partition of the Commonwealth, the Austrians seized the territory which would later be called Galicia , and which included southwestern corner of Lesser Poland (south of

2928-517: A synagogue in Będzin . Thousands of Jews were chased away to areas occupied by Soviet troops. 6,000 Polish soldiers of Jewish descent were killed and 60,000 were taken prisoner. Germany gained control of 1.7 million Jews in Poland. Parts of western and northern Poland were annexed into Germany and incorporated into the administrative structure of the German Reich as Zichenau , Danzig–West Prussia ,

3111-401: A wide autonomy, the province of Galicia, whose western part was made of Lesser Poland, became a hotbed of Polish conspirational activities. In anticipation of a future war, Galician Poles, with help of their brethren from other parts of the divided country, created several paramilitary organizations, such as Polish Rifle Squads , and Riflemen's Association . The capital of Lesser Poland, Kraków,

3294-732: Is Battle of Szczekociny . During Napoleonic Wars , the Duchy of Warsaw was created by Napoleon Bonaparte out of Polish lands which had been granted to Prussia in the Partitions. In 1809, after the Polish–Austrian War , and the Treaty of Schönbrunn , the Duchy was expanded, when northern Lesser Poland was added to its territory (with Kielce, Radom, and Lublin). Following the Congress of Vienna , Duchy of Warsaw

3477-451: Is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland . Its capital and largest city is Kraków . Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a separate culture featuring diverse architecture, folk costumes , dances , cuisine, traditions and a rare Lesser Polish dialect . The region is rich in historical landmarks, monuments, castles, natural scenery and UNESCO World Heritage Sites . The region should not be confused with

3660-628: Is about 9,000,000 inhabitants. Its landscape is mainly hilly, with the Carpathian Mountains and Tatra Mountain Range in the south; it is located in the basin of the upper Vistula river. It has been noted for its mighty aristocracy ( magnateria ) and wealthy nobility ( szlachta ). Between the 14th and 18th century, the Lesser Poland Province of the Kingdom of Poland also encompassed

3843-524: Is controversial. According to political science research, pogroms were most likely to occur "where political polarization was high, where the Jewish community was large, and where Jews pressed for national equality in the decades before 1941". Parallel to Operation Reinhard , which was organised in the General Government, the final mass murder of the Jewish population was organised in eastern Poland in

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4026-568: Is estimated that about 350,000 Polish Jews survived the Holocaust. Some 230,000 of them survived in the USSR and the Soviet-controlled territories of Poland, including men and women who escaped from areas occupied by Germany. After World War II, over 150,000 Polish Jews according to Grzegorz Berendt or 180,000 according to David Engel , were repatriated or expelled back to new Poland along with

4209-721: Is marked by the Liwiec river, with both Siedlce , and Łuków being part of Lesser Poland. The line then goes south, with Miedzyrzec Podlaski being part of the historical Grand Duchy of Lithuania , and Radzyń Podlaski as well as Parczew left in Lesser Poland. Between the Vistula and the Bug Rivers, the eastern border of Lesser Poland goes west of Leczna , but east of Krasnystaw and Szczebrzeszyn , both of which historically belong to Red Ruthenia / Cherven Cities . Further south, Lesser Poland includes Frampol , and Biłgoraj , which lie in

4392-566: The Archbishop of Kraków , merged with Lesser Poland in 1790. Other Silesian realms lost in 1179, also returned to Lesser Poland – Duchy of Zator (in 1513), and Duchy of Oświęcim (1564). Both duchies merged into a Silesian County of the Kraków Voivodeship, and shared the fate of Lesser Poland. Apart from Jews, among other ethnic minorities of the province were the Walddeutsche , who settled

4575-644: The Battle of Wojnicz , and the Battle of Golab . In those years, one of the most important and symbolic events in the history of the nation took place in Lesser Poland. It was the Siege of Jasna Góra , which, according to some accounts, turned the course of the war. Furthermore, following the Treaty of Radnot , Lesser Poland was invaded in January 1657 by George II Rákóczi , whose troops caused more destruction. Foreign armies were not chased out of Lesser Poland until 1657, Kraków itself

4758-600: The Bavarian government ordered the deportation of Jews with Polish citizenship as undesirables. In Poland, after the beginning of the Great Depression and the death of Marshal Józef Piłsudski in 1935, the situation of Polish Jews worsened. The Endecja faction waged a campaign against Jews consisting of economic boycotts, limitations on the number of Jewish students at universities, and restrictions on kosher slaughter . The Polish government stated its intention to "settle

4941-698: The Białystok Ghetto uprising erupted. The revolt in Sobibór extermination camp occurred on October 14, 1943. At Auschwitz-Birkenau , the insurgents blew up one of Birkenau's crematoria on October 7, 1944. Similar resistance was offered in Łuck , Mińsk Mazowiecki , Pińsk , Poniatowa , and in Wilno . On 26 June 1942, BBC services in all languages publicized a report by the Jewish Social-Democratic Bund and other resistance groups and transmitted by

5124-423: The Carpathian Mountains , and, except in a few cases, it has not changed for centuries. The cities of Leżajsk , Rzeszów , Sanok , Brzozów , and Krosno do not belong to historical Lesser Poland, as they are part of Red Ruthenia/Cherven Cities ( Lwów Voivodeship , around today's Lviv , Ukraine). Historically, Lesser Poland was divided into two lands - Kraków Land and Sandomierz Land, both of which emerged after

5307-744: The Carpathians in the south to Pilica and Liwiec rivers to the north. It borders Mazovia to the north, Podlaskie to the northeast, Red Ruthenia / Cherven Cities to the east, Slovakia to the south, Silesia to the west, and Greater Poland to the northwest. Currently, the region is divided between Polish voivodeships – Lesser Poland Voivodeship (whole), Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (whole), Silesian Voivodeship (eastern half), Podkarpackie Voivodeship (western part), Masovian Voivodeship (southern part), Łódź Voivodeship (southeastern corner), and Lublin Voivodeship (western part). In Silesian Voivodeship,

5490-499: The Jewish problem " by the emigration of most Polish Jews. In 1938, after Poland passed a law to denaturalize Jews living abroad, Germany expelled all Polish Jews in October 1938. Because Poland refused to admit them, these Jews were stranded in no-man's land along the border. The German Wehrmacht (armed forces) invaded Poland on 1 September 1939, triggering declarations of war from

5673-628: The Lublin District in mid-March 1942. The Lublin Ghetto was emptied between 16 March and 20 April; many Jews were shot in the ghetto and 30,000 were deported to Belzec. Most victims from the Lublin District were sent to Sobibor except 2,000 forced laborers imprisoned at Majdanek. The killing was interrupted on 10 June, to resume in August and September. At the same time as these killings, many Jews were deported from Germany and Slovakia to ghettos in

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5856-580: The Mizocz Ghetto followed suit. The Warsaw Ghetto firefight of January 18, 1943, led to the largest Jewish uprising of World War II launched on April 19, 1943. On June 25, the Jews of the Częstochowa Ghetto rose up. At Treblinka , Sonderkommando prisoners armed with stolen weapons attacked the guards on August 2, 1943. A day later, the Będzin and Sosnowiec ghetto revolts broke out. On August 16,

6039-582: The Nazi Germany . 3,000,000+ Polish Jews were murdered, primarily at the Chelmno , Belzec , Sobibor , Treblinka and Auschwitz extermination camps , who made up half of the Jewish Holocaust victims. During Nazi occupation, the country lost 20% of its population, or six million people, including three million Jews (90% of the country's Jewish population). The important Polish Jewish community pre-war

6222-521: The November Uprising , which began in 1830, missed Lesser Poland, as major battles took place in the area around Warsaw. In early 1831, when Russian forces advanced into Congress Poland, some skirmishes took place in northern counties of the province – at Puławy, Kurow, and Kazimierz Dolny. In early 1846, a group of Polish patriots attempted a failed uprising in the Free City of Kraków. The insurrection

6405-592: The Polish Golden Age was very fortunate for Lesser Poland. Kings of the Jagiellonian dynasty , especially Sigismund I the Old (himself born in Lesser Poland's Kozienice ), and his son Sigismund II Augustus (born in Kraków), resided in Kraków, which was the capital of the immense Polish – Lithuanian Commonwealth. Lesser Poland's prosperity was reflected in numerous examples of Renaissance architecture complexes, built across

6588-758: The Polish Underground State , a Provisional Committee to Aid Jews ( Tymczasowy Komitet Pomocy Żydom ) was founded for the purpose of rescuing Jews. It was superseded by the Council for Aid to Jews ( Rada Pomocy Żydom ), known by the code name Żegota and chaired by Julian Grobelny . It is not known how many Jews, overall, were helped by Żegota; at one point in 1943 it had 2,500 Jewish children under its care in Warsaw alone, under Irena Sendler . An estimated 30,000 to 60,000 Polish Jews survived in hiding. Some rescuers faced hostility or violence for their actions after

6771-530: The Polish government-in-exile , documenting the killing of 700,000 Jews in Poland. In December 1942, the United Nations adopted a joint declaration condemning the systematic murder of Jews. Many Jews attempted to escape death by jumping from trains, but the most of these immediately returned to the ghetto to avoid the risk of being denounced by Poles, which would lead to immediate death. Ability to speak Polish

6954-666: The Polish resistance . At its peak in May 1944, the Blue Police numbered some 17,000 men. The Germans also formed the Baudienst ("construction service") in several districts of the General Government. Baudienst servicemen were sometimes deployed in support of aktion s (roundup of Jews for deportation or extermination ), for example to blockade Jewish quarters or to search Jewish homes for hideaways and valuables. The Polish right-wing National Armed Forces ( Narodowe Siły Zbrojne , or NSZ ) –

7137-872: The Radom District were sent to Treblinka. There was practically no Jewish resistance in the General Government in 1942. Ghetto uprisings were only undertaken when the inhabitants began to believe that their death was certain. In 1943, larger uprisings in Warsaw and Białystok necessitated the use of heavy weapons. The uprising in Warsaw prompted the Nazi leadership to liquidate additional ghettos and labor camps in German-occupied Poland with their inhabitants shot or deported to extermination camps for fear of additional Jewish resistance developing. Nevertheless, in early 1944 more than 70,000 Jews were performing forced labor in

7320-866: The Russo-Polish War (1654–1667) . In October 1655, the Russo-Cossack armies under Ivan Vyhovsky entered eastern Lesser Poland, reaching the Vistula, and pillaging Lublin, Puławy , and Kazimierz Dolny . The invaders quickly retreated, but a few months later, Lesser Poland was flooded by the Swedes . Swedish invasion of Poland had catastrophic consequences for the hitherto prosperous province. The attackers, supported by their allies from Transylvania , seized whole Lesser Poland, reaching as far south as Nowy Targ , Nowy Sącz , and Żywiec . All major cities were looted and burned, and some of them, like Radom, did not recover until

7503-602: The San river, was called Western Lesser Poland , while Eastern Galicia, east of the San, with the city of Lwów ( Lviv ), was called Eastern Lesser Poland (voivodeships of Tarnopol , Stanisławów , and Lwów ). According to a Polish historian Jan Pisuliński , using the term Eastern Lesser Poland to denomine Eastern Galicia is incorrect, as it has no historical justification, being only a designation of nationalist and propaganda significance (similarly to analogous term Western Ukraine used at

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7686-514: The Testament of Bolesław III Krzywousty , the country was divided between his sons (see also Fragmentation of Poland ). Bolesław III Wrymouth created the Seniorate Province , which, among others, consisted of Kraków. At the same time, Lesser Poland was divided into two parts, when its eastern part formed the Duchy of Sandomierz , carved by the ruler for his son Henry of Sandomierz . During

7869-543: The Testament of Bolesław III Krzywousty . In the 14th century, Sandomierz Voivodeship and Kraków Voivodeship were created, and in 1474, Lublin Voivodeship was carved out of three Sandomierz Voivodeship counties, located on the right bank of the Vistula . Historian Adolf Pawiński, who in the late 19th century was the director of the Polish Central Archives of Historical Records , estimated in his book "Polska XVI wieku pod względem geograficzno-statystycznym", that

8052-706: The Wartheland , and East Upper Silesia —while the rest of the German-occupied territories were designated the General Government . Around 50,000 Polish leaders and intellectuals were arrested or executed , especially in West Prussia, with fewer victims in the Wartheland and fewer still in the General Government. Polish Jewish intellectuals and community leaders were not spared. Around 400,000 Poles were expelled from

8235-406: The existence of the ghettos . In Warsaw, up to 80 percent of food consumed in the ghetto was brought in illegally. The food stamps introduced by the Germans provided only 9 percent of the calories necessary for survival. Most ghettos were not fully sealed from the outside world and although many Jews suffered from hunger, fewer died from it because they were able to supplement their rations from

8418-407: The fragmentation period , both lands of Lesser Poland were frequently ruled by the same prince. Among them were Bolesław IV the Curly , Mieszko III the Old , Casimir II the Just , Leszek I the White , Bolesław V the Chaste , Leszek II the Black , Władysław I the Elbow-high , and King of Bohemia , Wenceslaus II of Bohemia , who united Lesser Poland in 1290/1291. The province was pillaged during

8601-452: The grain trade , conducted along the Vistula, and among cities which prospered in the 16th century, there are Kraków, Sandomierz, Lublin, Kazimierz Dolny , Pilzno , Tarnów , Radom, Biecz . In later years of the 16th century, further palaces were built or remodelled in Baranow Sandomierski , and Niepołomice . In the early 16th century, Protestant Reformation spread across the Commonwealth, and Lesser Poland became one of early centers of

8784-448: The twelfth century . Many Polish Jews settled on noble estates where they were offered protection in exchange for the economic benefits they could provide. An estimated 3 million Jews lived in Poland in 1933 around ten percent of the population. Due to historical restrictions on what occupations Jews were allowed to have, they became concentrated in trades such as commerce and craftsmen. Many lived in small towns called shtetls . After

8967-456: The Łódź ghetto more Jews than all of the Netherlands. More Jews lived in the city of Kraków than in all of Italy, and virtually any medium-sized town in Poland had a larger Jewish population than all of Scandinavia. All of southeast Europe – Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, and Greece – had fewer Jews than the original four districts of the General Government . The plight of Jews in war-torn Poland could be divided into stages defined by

9150-514: The "resettlement of the entire Jewish population of the General Government should have been implemented and completed by 31 December 1942"; henceforth, Jews would only be allowed to live in Warsaw, Częstochowa, Kraków, and Majdanek. The majority of ghettos were liquidated in mass executions nearby, especially if they were not near a train station. Larger ghettos were more commonly liquidated during multiple deportations to extermination camps. During this campaign around 1.8 million Jews were murdered in

9333-406: The 16th century, Lesser Poland retained its position as the most important province of the country. As no major conflicts took place on its territory, it was the center of Renaissance in Poland . The province was home to numerous scholars, writers and statesmen, and it was here where Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was created in 1569 (see Union of Lublin ). In the Commonwealth, Lesser Poland proper

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9516-408: The 1960s as a reaction to West German trials, but these camps remain much less well known. The most well-known Holocaust museum in the world is the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum which receives about 2 million visitors per year as of 2021 . Since 1988, the March of the Living has been held annually at the site of the former camp. The POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews opened in 2014 on

9699-410: The 19th century. The Swedes captured and pillaged Sandomierz (where they destroyed the Royal Castle, and after the invasion, the city never recovered ), Opoczno, Lublin, Kazimierz Dolny Pilzno, Szydlow, Szydłowiec, Tarnów, Kielce, Kraśnik, and Kraków. The invaders seized the capital of Lesser Poland after a short siege , and their occupation of the province was confirmed after their victories in

9882-435: The Battle of Iwonicz, the Russians ransacked Biecz. The movement ended in 1772, and its decline was connected with the Partitions of Poland . Another local center of the movement was Jasna Góra Monastery in Częstochowa, which was defended by Kazimierz Pulaski for almost two years (1770–1772). The Partitions of Poland began earlier in Lesser Poland than in other provinces of the country. In 1769, Austrian Empire annexed

10065-483: The Galicia district and the Białystok District. In the fall of 1942, there were more than 400 ghettos on Polish soil. Germany and its allies invaded the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941. Around 100,000 Polish Jews fled deep into the USSR from German soldiers. The Wehrmacht was followed by four special groups ( Einsatzgruppen ) which perpetrated mass executions of the Jewish population. From September 1941, entire Jewish communities were liquidated. The General Government

10248-438: The General Government. Tens of thousands of Jews were deported from ghettos in the Wartheland and East Upper Silesia to Chełmno and Auschwitz. Jews resisted the Nazis with not only armed struggle, but also spiritual and cultural opposition that upheld their dignity despite the inhumane conditions of life in the ghettos. Many forms of resistance existed, although the elders feared mass retaliation against women and children in

10431-429: The General Government. In late 1941 in East Upper Silesia , Jews in forced-labor camps operated by the Schmelt Organization deemed "unfit for work" began to be sent in groups to Auschwitz where they were murdered. In March 1942, killings began in Belzec, targeting Jews from Lublin who were not capable of work. This action reportedly reduced the black market and was deemed a success to be replicated elsewhere. Belzec

10614-419: The General Government. 45,000 Jews were deported by November and left to fend for themselves, causing many deaths. Deportations stopped in early 1940 due to the opposition of Hans Frank , the appointed head of the General Government, who did not want his fiefdom to become a dumping ground for unwanted Jews. Overall, between 80-90,000 Jews were deported to the General Government from Wartheland in that time. At

10797-509: The German bases across Distrikt Krakau . The genocidal techniques learned from the Germans, such as the advanced planning of the pacification actions , site selection, and sudden encirclement, became the hallmark of the OUN-UPA massacres of Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia beginning in March 1943, and killing of Jews in Western Ukraine , parallel with the liquidation of the ghettos in Reichskommissariat Ostland ordered by Himmler. Thousands of Jews who escaped deportations and hid in

10980-438: The German occupation zone. Of the refugees, 35-40,000 people were forced in late autumn 1939 to go deep into Ukraine and Belarus to work. The Soviet Union deported hundreds of thousands of Polish citizens to the Soviet interior in four big deportations. The Jews were particularly affected by the third one, which began on 28/29 June 1940, which affected refugees willing to return to the area under German rule, but to whose return

11163-401: The Germans and their local helpers, or were murdered in various unexplained circumstances." In addition to peasantry and individual collaborators, the German authorities also mobilized the prewar Polish police as what became known as the " Blue Police ". Among other duties, Polish policemen were tasked with patrolling for Jewish ghetto escapees, and in support of military operations against

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11346-435: The Germans did not agree. More than 77,700 Jewish refugees were deported at this time, representing 84% of the total deportees. The fourth deportation included 7,000 Jews from the Vilnius region. Although most Jews were not pro-communist, some accepted positions in the Soviet administration, contributing to a pre-existing perception among many non-Jews that Soviet rule was a Jewish conspiracy. Some 10,000 Polish Jews had left

11529-421: The Jewish population there began to decline. Ghettos were established both in the territory incorporated into the Reich and in the General Government. Characteristic of the Wartheland were the so-called "rural ghettos," which encompassed several contiguous villages. The Germans also set up ghettos in areas of eastern Poland occupied as a result of the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941. Most were established in

11712-420: The Lublin District that had previously been cleared. From the end of May and especially since the cessation of deportations in Lublin, thousands of Jews were deported from the Kraków District to Belzec. These transports were halted by a railway moratorium on 19 June. The Warsaw Ghetto was cleared between 22 July and 12 September. Of the original population of 350,000 Jews, 250,000 were killed at Treblinka,

11895-446: The Mongol invasion of Poland, when a combined army of Kraków and Sandomierz was destroyed by Baidar in the Battle of Chmielnik . The loss was so heavy that Norman Davies wrote: "At Chmielnik, the assembled nobility of Małopolska perished to a man." During their 1241 , 1259 , and 1287 invasions, the Mongols burned major cities of Lesser Poland, killing thousands of people. Furthermore, the province, especially its northeastern part,

12078-410: The Nazi press, the term Ostjude began to be used as a slur, and as a synonym for Bolshevik and Communist . In the interwar period Polish Jews in Germany faced also legal persecution. In 1918, the Prussian Ministry of the Interior banned Polish Jews from entering the country on the pretext of their unwillingness to work, low morals, physical uncleanliness and the spread of typhus by them. In 1923,

12261-403: The Pilica river, with such towns as Przedborz , Opoczno , Drzewica , Białobrzegi , and Kozienice located within Lesser Poland. East of Białobrzegi, the boundary goes mainly along the Radomka river, to the Vistula. East of the Vistula, the boundary goes north of Łaskarzew and Żelechów , and south of Mazovian town of Garwolin , turning northwest. The northernmost point of the province

12444-482: The Polish Jewish population was estimated at 4,000, around 0.133% of the pre-1939 population. Although the postwar Jewish community wanted to make Treblinka the main memorial site, the Polish government decided to instead build a memorial at the former Warsaw Ghetto and to focus memorialization efforts at Auschwitz. During the communist era, the differences between different persecuted groups were elided. Memorials were established at Belzec, Sobibor, and Treblinka during

12627-424: The Sandomierz Voivodeship. Borders of the province remained unchanged until 1772. The only exception was large part of contemporary Upper Silesia (the area around Bytom , Toszek , Siewierz , and Oświęcim ), which belonged to Duchy of Kraków until 1179. In that year, prince of Kraków Casimir II the Just , handed these lands to Prince of Opole Mieszko I Tanglefoot . The Duchy of Siewierz , ruled since 1443 by

12810-428: The Soviet interior, where most survived the war. In 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union and began the systematic murder of Jews. 1.8 million Jews were killed in Operation Reinhard , shot in roundups in ghettos, died during the train journey , or killed by poison gas in the extermination camps . In 1943 and 1944, the remaining labor camps and ghettos were liquidated. Many Jews tried to escape, but surviving in hiding

12993-415: The USSR for Palestine, the Middle East and the West by June 1941. As a result of expulsions and escapes, about 500,000 Jews lived in the lands incorporated into the Reich at the beginning of the German occupation. The Germans planned to deport all Jews from these territories by the end of 1940, by which time the plan was to place them in ghettos. They tried to concentrate Jews in the Lublin District of

13176-685: The United Kingdom and France . During the invasion of Poland as many as 16,000 civilians, hostages, and prisoners of war may have been shot by the German invaders; there was also a great deal of looting. Special units known as Einsatzgruppen followed the army to eliminate any possible resistance. Already during the hostilities, the Germans carried out pogroms against the Jewish population, for example, 600 people were murdered in Przemyśl  [ pl ] , 200 in Częstochowa , and 200 were burned in

13359-511: The Vistula river), with Żywiec, Tarnów, and Biecz, but without major urban centers of the province, such as Kraków, Sandomierz, Radom, Lublin, Częstochowa, and Kielce. Second Partition of Poland (1793) did not result in significant changes of boundaries in the area, as the Austrian Empire did not participate in it. However, the Prussians moved on, and in 1793 they annexed northwestern corner of

13542-422: The Vistula. Residents of the province tried to improve their conditions using legal means, but when it turned out to be impossible, they took to fighting ( 1923 Kraków riot , 1937 peasant strike in Poland ). As if to exacerbate the desperate situation, Lesser Poland witnessed a catastrophic flood in 1934, after which the government decided to construct dams on local rivers. Even though Lesser Poland's countryside

13725-582: The Wartheland to the General Governorate occupation zone from 1939 to 1941, and the area was resettled by ethnic Germans from eastern Europe . The rest of Poland was occupied by the Soviet Union , which invaded Poland from the east on 17 September pursuant to the German–Soviet pact . Approximately 1.6 million Polish Jews came under Soviet rule, 250-300,000 of whom were refugees or expellees from

13908-487: The action. In addition to local non-Jewish collaborators, the Jewish councils and Jewish ghetto police were often ordered to assist with liquidation actions, although these Jews were in most cases murdered later. Chaotic, capriciously executed selections determined who would be loaded onto the trains. Many Jews were shot during the action—making up perhaps 20 percent or more of the total deaths—often leaving ghettos strewn with corpses. Surviving Jews were forced to clean up

14091-821: The area. However, exact location of the Lendians has not been determined to this day. Some historians speculate that they occupied Cherven Cities, and their center was in Przemyśl . Around the year 1000, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kraków was created, and its borders covered whole area of Lesser Poland. During the reign of Casimir I the Restorer , Kraków for the first time became the capital of Poland (around 1040), since Greater Poland and Silesia , with main Polish urban centers, such as Gniezno and Poznań were ravaged by Duke Bretislaus I of Bohemia . In 1138, following

14274-581: The areas stolen by Russia are not aware of their Lesser Poland's heritage. Furthermore, current administrative boundaries of the country still reflect the defunct border between the former Russian and Austria–Hungarian Empires. In 1918, when Second Polish Republic was created, whole historical Lesser Poland became part of restored Poland . The historical area of the province was divided between four voivodeships: Kraków Voivodeship (whole), Kielce Voivodeship (whole), Lwów Voivodeship (northwestern corner), and Lublin Voivodeship (western part). Furthermore, in

14457-422: The basis of the new government of the country. In other parts of the province, other governments were formed – Polish Liquidation Commission in Kraków, also the short-lived Republic of Tarnobrzeg . The division of Lesser Poland along the Vistula river, which lasted from 1772 until 1918, is visible even today. For more than 100 years, southern Lesser Poland ( Kraków , Tarnów , Biala Krakowska , and Nowy Sącz )

14640-460: The black market. The 'productionists' among the German authorities – who attempted to make the ghettos self-sustaining by turning them into enterprises – prevailed over the 'attritionists' only after the German invasion of the Soviet Union . The most prominent ghettos were thus temporarily stabilized through the production of goods needed at the front , as death rates among

14823-981: The bodies and collect any valuables from the victims. Gas vans developed from those used to kill mental patients since 1939 were assigned to the Einsatzgruppen and first used in November 1941; victims were forced into the van and killed with engine exhaust. The first extermination camp was Chełmno in the Wartheland, established on the initiative of the local civil administrator Arthur Greiser with Himmler's approval; it began operations in December 1941 using gas vans. In October 1941, Higher SS and Police Leader of Lublin Odilo Globocnik began work planning Belzec —the first purpose-built extermination camp to feature stationary gas chambers —amid increasing talk among German administrators in Poland of large-scale murder of Jews in

15006-500: The border between Silesia and Lesser Poland is easy to draw, because, with only a few exceptions, it goes along boundaries of local counties . In the south, it goes along the western boundary of the ancient Duchy of Teschen , with the borderline along the Biała river, with Zwardoń , Milówka and Rajcza located in Lesser Poland. Bielsko-Biała is a city made up of two parts – Lesser Poland's Biala (also called Biala Krakowska ), makes up

15189-497: The borderland of Lesser Poland and Red Ruthenia (14th through 17th centuries). In the Middle Ages, the Germans inhabited several cities of Lesser Poland, especially Kraków and Sandomierz (see Rebellion of wójt Albert ). In the late Middle Ages , Lesser Poland gradually became the center of Polish statehood, with Kraków being the capital of the country from the mid-11th century until 1596. Its nobility ruled Poland when Queen Jadwiga

15372-483: The camps required the labor of less than 3,000 Jewish prisoners, 1,000 Trawniki men (largely Ukrainian auxiliaries), and very few German guards. About half of the Jews killed in the Holocaust died by poison gas. Thousands of Romani people were also murdered in the extermination camps. Prisoner uprisings at Treblinka and Sobibor meant that these camps were shut down earlier than envisioned. Fewer than 150 Jews survived these death camps. Systematic murder began in

15555-536: The city of Kraków, killing with sword all Czechs he found there". Northern part of Lesser Poland (Lublin and Sandomierz) was probably inhabited by another tribe, the Lendians , and Dr Antoni Podraza, historian of the Jagiellonian University claims that ancient division of Lesser Poland into two major parts – Land (Duchy) of Kraków, and Land (Duchy) of Sandomierz, is based on the existence of two Slavic tribes in

15738-490: The counties of central Lesser Poland, another administrative unit, Sandomierz Voivodeship was planned, but due to the outbreak of World War II, it was never created. Boundaries between two major Lesser Poland voivodeships – Kraków, and Kielce, were the same as pre-1914 boundaries of Austria-Hungary, and Russia. Nevertheless, in the interbellum period, the notion of Lesser Poland was frequently associated only with former Austrian province of Galicia . Therefore, Western Galicia to

15921-495: The country, such as Kujawy , Mazovia , Podlachia , Pomerania , or Greater Poland , Lesser Poland is mainly hilly, with Poland's highest peak, Rysy , located within the borders of the province. Flat are northern and central areas of the province – around Tarnobrzeg , Stalowa Wola , Radom and Siedlce , also valleys of the main rivers – the Vistula, the Pilica , and the San . Apart from Rysy, there are several other peaks located in

16104-550: The daughter of Voivode of Sandomierz, Jerzy Mniszech , was wife of False Dmitriy I , as well as False Dmitriy II . Furthermore, Lesser Poland's lands, especially its northeastern part, became a base for Polish troops, fighting the Cossacks, and King John II Casimir Vasa often stayed in Lublin with his court, preparing military campaigns in Ukraine. The situation changed with the outbreak of

16287-427: The death penalty was not always carried out in practice. Rescuers' motivations varied on a spectrum from altruism to expecting sex or money; it was not uncommon for helpers to betray or murder Jews if their money ran out. It was also not uncommon for the same people to help some Jews yet hunting down or kill others. In September 1942, on the initiative of Zofia Kossak-Szczucka and with financial assistance from

16470-488: The early 14th century became the core of the reunited nation (together with Greater Poland). The period of nation's fragmentation came to a symbolic end on 30 January 1320, when Władysław I the Elbow-high was crowned as King of Poland . The ceremony took place in Kraków's Wawel Cathedral , and the king of the reunited country decided to choose Kraków as the capital. Through 14th and 15th centuries, Lesser Poland's position as

16653-432: The early 20th century, Lesser Poland, especially its part which belonged to Austria-Hungary, was a center of a cultural movement called Young Poland . Many artists associated with the movement were born in Lesser Poland, with the most prominent including Władysław Orkan , Kazimierz Przerwa-Tetmajer , Xawery Dunikowski , Jacek Malczewski , Józef Mehoffer , and Stanisław Wyspiański . Since Austrian part of Poland enjoyed

16836-487: The eastern half of the city, and only in 1951 was it merged with Silesian Bielsko. Further north, the border goes along the western boundaries of the cities of Jaworzno , and Sosnowiec , along the Przemsza and Brynica rivers. Then it goes northwest, leaving Czeladź , Siewierz , Koziegłowy , Blachownia , Kłobuck and Krzepice within Lesser Poland. From Krzepice, the border goes eastwards, towards Koniecpol , and along

17019-526: The event of an anti-Nazi revolt. As the German authorities began to liquidate the ghettos, armed resistance was offered in over 100 locations on both sides of Polish-Soviet border of 1939 , especially in eastern Poland. Uprisings erupted in five major cities, 45 provincial towns, five major concentration and extermination camps, and at least 18 forced labor camps. The Nieśwież Ghetto insurgents in eastern Poland fought back on July 22, 1942. The Łachwa Ghetto revolt erupted on September 3. On October 14, 1942,

17202-477: The first years of Polish statehood, southern Lesser Poland was inhabited by the West Slavic tribe of Vistulans , with two major centers in Kraków and Wiślica . Their land, which had probably been part of Great Moravia , and Bohemia , was annexed by Mieszko I of Poland some time in the late 10th century. Cosmas of Prague in his Chronicle of Bohemians wrote: "Polish prince Mieszko, a cunning man, seized by ruse

17385-455: The focus was on separating and enclosing Jews in ghettos. However, such plans were not completely dropped. After the conquest of France in 1940, the Nazis considered deporting Jews to French Madagascar , but this proved impossible. The Nazis planned that harsh conditions in these areas would kill many Jews. After the attack on the Soviet Union, plans were made to remove the Jewish population to

17568-519: The forests were murdered by the Banderites . The existence of Sonderdienst paramilitary formations of Germans from Poland was a grave danger to those who attempted to help ghettoized Jews in cities with sizable German and pro-German minorities, as in the case of the Izbica , and Mińsk Mazowiecki Ghettos , among many others. Half of all Jewish Holocaust victims, around 3 million, were from Poland. It

17751-842: The foundation of the Second Polish Republic simultaneously with the armistice of 11 November 1918 ending World War I , Jews suffered from institutionalized discrimination and many were poor. Anti-Semitism became a state ideology in Germany after the Nazis gained power, but even before that, Eastern European Jews, called in Germany Ostjuden held a particularly low position in German perception. Jews in Germany tended to be secularized and largely assimilated into German society, while most Polish Jews lived in traditionalist religious communities, speaking Yiddish and distinguishing themselves in dress and customs from their surroundings. Prejudice

17934-439: The future Pope John Paul II, was born. On 1 September 1939, armed forces of Nazi Germany attacked Poland (see: Invasion of Poland ). Lesser Poland, due to its proximity to the then-border with Germany, became a battleground on the first day of the invasion. The Germans attacked the province both in its northwest (area west of Częstochowa), and in the south ( Podhale ), along the border with Slovakia , which also participated in

18117-402: The gas chambers were not functioning. At other extermination camps, nearly everyone on a transport was killed on arrival, but at Auschwitz around 20-25 percent were separated out for labor, although many of these prisoners died later on. Belzec, Sobibor , and Treblinka reported a combined revenue of RM 178.7 million from belongings stolen from their victims, far exceeding costs. Combined,

18300-417: The ghetto to work outside it. Because the ghettos were not segregated by sex some family life continued. A Jewish community leadership ( Judenrat ) exercised some authority and tried to sustain the Jewish community while following German demands. As a survival strategy, many tried to make the ghettos useful to the occupiers as a labor reserve. The Warsaw ghetto contained more Jews than all of France;

18483-536: The historical regions of Podlachia , Volhynia , Podolia and Red Ruthenia / Cherven Cities . In the era of partitions , the southern part of Lesser Poland became known as Galicia , which was under Austrian control until Poland regained its independence in 1918. As a result of this long-lasting division, many inhabitants of the northern part of Lesser Poland (including those in such cities as Lublin , Radom , Kielce and Częstochowa ) do not recognize their Lesser Polish identity. However, while Lublin (Lubelskie)

18666-400: The hitherto divided country. There was no direct rail link between Kraków, and Kielce, Radom, and Lublin, and until 1934, when line from Kraków to Tunel was opened, all travelers had to go via Sosnowiec – Maczki. Lack of rail communication between former Austrian and former Russian parts of Lesser Poland is visible even today. Between Kraków and Dęblin , there are only two rail bridges along

18849-604: The invasion . Lesser Poland was defended by the following Polish armies: After a few days the Battle of the Border was lost, and forces of German Army Group South advanced deep into Lesser Poland's territory. Polish troops resisted fiercely, and among major battles in initial stages of the war, which took place in Lesser Poland, there are Battle of Mokra , Battle of Jordanów , and Battle of Węgierska Górka . By 6 September, Polish forces were in general retreat and Marshal of Poland Edward Rydz-Śmigły ordered all troops to fall back to

19032-479: The largest killing operation of the Holocaust. In order to reduce resistance the ghetto would be raided without warning, usually in the early morning, and the extent of the operation would be concealed as long as possible. Trawniki men ( Trawnikimänner ) made up of Soviet prisoners-of-war or Polish Blue Police would cordon off the ghetto while the German Order Police and Security Police carried out

19215-418: The late 19th and early 20th centuries, Lesser Poland remained one of the centers of Polish culture, especially the city of Kraków, where Jagiellonian University was one of only two Polish-language colleges of that period (the other one was University of Lwów ). Another significant center of national culture was the town of Puławy , where in the late 18th century, a local palace owned by Czartoryski family became

19398-640: The longest time, was the extreme northeastern corner of Lesser Poland, around Łuków, where reverend Stanisław Brzóska was active. Since Russian military supremacy was crushing, the Poles were forced to limit their actions to guerrilla warfare. Among the biggest battles which took place in Lesser Poland there are: Battle of Szydłowiec (23 January 1863); Battle of Miechów (17 February 1863); Battle of Małogoszcz (24 February 1863); Battle of Staszów (17 February 1863); Battle of Pieskowa Skała (4 March 1863); two Battles of Opatów (25 November 1863, 21 February 1864). As

19581-454: The low priority accorded to these transports. Shortage of rail transport sometimes led to postponement or cancellation of deportations. Upon arrival, the victims were robbed of their remaining possessions, forced to undress, had their hair cut, and were chased into the gas chamber. Death from the gas was agonizing and could take as long as 30 minutes. The gas chambers were primitive and sometimes malfunctioned. Some prisoners were shot because

19764-540: The middle of the country, away from both German and Soviet border, in the mid-1930s Polish government initiated one of the most ambitious project of the Second Polish Republic – Central Industrial Region , which was located almost exclusively in Lesser Poland. Even though the project was never completed, several plants were constructed, both in Old-Polish Industrial Region , and in other counties of

19947-440: The modern Lesser Poland Voivodeship , which covers only the southwestern part of Lesser Poland. Historical Lesser Poland was much larger than the current voivodeship that bears its name. It reached from Bielsko-Biała in the southwest as far as to Siedlce in the northeast. It consisted of the three voivodeships of Kraków , Sandomierz and Lublin . It comprised almost 60,000 km in area; today's population in this area

20130-486: The more pragmatic, such as the need to reduce the amount of food consumed by Jews, in order enable a slight increase in rations to non-Jewish Poles, and combat the black market , to avoid hunger and increase of the resistance among them. By mid-1942, Nazi leaders decided to allow only 300,000 Jews to survive in the General Government by the end of the year for forced labor; for the most part, only those working in armaments production were spared. On 19 July, Himmler decreed

20313-602: The most important province of the nation was cemented. It became visible during the reign of Casimir III the Great , who favored less known Lesser Poland's noble families, at the expense of Greater Poland's nobility. The reign of Casimir the Great was a period of growing prosperity of Lesser Poland. With high density of population, fertile soils and rich deposits of minerals (especially salt in Bochnia and Wieliczka , as well as lead in Olkusz ),

20496-590: The most plausible estimates for Jews who survived in hiding were between 30,000 and 60,000. The German surrender in May 1945 was followed by a massive change in the political geography of Europe. Poland's borders were redrawn by the Allies according to the demands made by Joseph Stalin during the Tehran Conference , confirmed as not negotiable at the Yalta Conference of 1945. The Polish government-in-exile

20679-593: The movement was set in the town of Pińczów , which came to be known as Sarmatian Athens . It was in Pińczów, where a local nobleman converted a Roman Catholic parish into a Protestant one, opened a Calvinist Academy, and published its Antitrinitarian confession in 1560 and in 1561. Several Calvinist synods took place in Lesser Poland – the first one in Słomniki (1554), Pińczów (the first united Synod of Poland and Lithuania – 1556 1561), and Kraków (1562). In 1563, also in Pińczów,

20862-795: The movement, when students from Wittenberg brought the news to Cracow. In the first years of the century, professor of Jagiellonian University Jakub of Iłża (Jakub z Ilzy, died 1542) became one of the main promoters of the movement in the region. He actively supported the notions of Martin Luther , and in 1528 was called to the Bishop of Kraków's court. Convinced of heresy, he was forced to leave Poland in 1535. Reformation soon became very popular among Lesser Poland's nobility, especially Calvinism , and according to one estimate, some 20% of local szlachta converted from Roman Catholicism. They were attracted by Calvinism's democratic character, and Lesser Poland's center of

21045-559: The night of 6/7 November 1918, Polish People's Republic was proclaimed in Lublin, by Ignacy Daszynski and other activists. In 1919, the legislative election took place in Lesser Poland without major problems. At that time Lesser Poland, like other provinces of the country, faced several problems. Even though major post-World War I conflicts (such as Polish–Soviet War ) did not take place there, it suffered from unemployment, overpopulation, and poverty, especially in towns and countryside. Furthermore, Polish government had to connect parts of

21228-488: The occupied country, the Nazis ruled with savage brutality, killing hundreds of thousands of inhabitants, both Polish and Jewish (see: World War II crimes in Poland , Occupation of Poland (1939–1945) , Holocaust in Nazi-occupied Poland , Nazi crimes against ethnic Poles , German AB-Aktion in Poland , Sonderaktion Krakau ). The Auschwitz concentration camp , located at the border of Lesser Poland and Upper Silesia,

21411-698: The outbreak of World War II the Jewish community numbered 5,000, more than half of the town's population. During the German occupation of Poland the Jews were first confined to a ghetto crammed with inhabitants of neighbouring settlements as well. In the course of the Holocaust , on August 19, 1942 the Nazi German Reserve Police Battalion 101 aided by the Trawniki men rounded up and deported 3,000 Jews to Treblinka extermination camp ; 2,000 more Jews were loaded onto Holocaust trains and murdered upon arrival. The battalion returned to Parczew with

21594-456: The palatinates were turned into governorates . Thus, Russian part of Lesser Poland was divided into Kielce Governorate , Lublin Governorate , Radom Governorate , Siedlce Governorate , and Piotrków Governorate (western counties, with Częstochowa and industrial area of Zagłębie Dąbrowskie ). Borders of these administrative units did not reflect historical boundaries of the province. Most of

21777-417: The province are the Vistula, upper Warta , Soła , Skawa , Raba , Dunajec , Wisłok , Wisłoka , San , Wieprz , Przemsza , Nida , Kamienna , Radomka , and Pilica. The major lakes of the province are Lake Rożnów , Lake Czchów , Lake Dobczyce , Lake Czorsztyn , Lake Czaniec , Lake Międzybrodzie , Lake Klimkówka and Żywiec Lake . Most of them are man-made reservoirs. Lesser Poland stretches from

21960-474: The province remained safe. Cossacks of the Khmelnytsky Uprising reached as far west as Zamość and Lwów , but did not enter Lesser Poland. The province did not witness other wars, such as Polish–Swedish War (1626–1629) , Polish–Russian War (1609–1618) , Polish–Ottoman War (1620–1621) , and Smolensk War . Nevertheless, Lesser Poland's nobility took active part in these conflicts – Marina Mniszech ,

22143-812: The province was the richest part of Poland. After the recapture of the Cherven Cities /Red Ruthenia, Lesser Poland lost its status of the borderland, and both regions created an economic bridge between Poland and the ports of the Black Sea . The king, who drew Jewish settlers from across Europe to his country , built several castles along western border of Lesser Poland, with the most notable ones in Skawina , Pieskowa Skała , Będzin , Lanckorona , Olkusz , Lelów , Bobolice , Krzepice , Ogrodzieniec , Ojców , Olsztyn , Bobolice , Mirów (see also Eagle Nests Trail ). Furthermore, he built or strengthened castles in other parts of

22326-851: The province which was taken by the Russian Empire) was one of the main centers of the January Uprising (1863–1864). In the first days of the insurrection, skirmishes with the Russian Army took place in such towns, as Łuków , Kraśnik , Szydłowiec , Bodzentyn , and Suchedniów . Since the Poles were poorly armed, the Russians did not have major problems with them, and soon afterwards, the insurrectionists decided to organize military camps. Among biggest camps in Lesser Poland, there were Ojców (3000 soldiers), and Wąchock , where Marian Langiewicz gathered up to 1500 people. The uprising died out by early spring of 1864, and among counties where it continued for

22509-531: The province – Pilsko , Babia Góra , Turbacz , as well as Łysica in the Świętokrzyskie Mountains. The southern part of the province is covered by the Carpathian Mountains , which are made of smaller ranges, such as Pieniny , Tatry , and Beskidy . Almost the whole area is located in the Vistula Basin, with the exception of the western and southern parts, belonging to the Odra and Dunaj Basins. The main rivers of

22692-636: The province, such as Szydlow , Chęciny , Wiślica , Radom, Niedzica , Opoczno, Lublin , Sandomierz , as well as the Wawel Castle . Also, during his reign (1333–1370), Casimir the Great founded on Magdeburg rights several cities, urbanizing hitherto rural province. Among major Lesser Poland's cities founded by the King, there are: In the Kingdom of Poland , Lesser Poland was made of three voivodeships – Kraków Voivodeship , Sandomierz Voivodeship , and Lublin Voivodeship , created in 1474 out of eastern part of

22875-520: The province, together with the city of Częstochowa, and its vicinity, which became part of the newly created province of South Prussia . Therefore, in late 1793, Lesser Poland was already divided between three countries – Austrian Empire (south of the Vistula), Kingdom of Prussia (Częstochowa and northwestern corner), and still existing Commonwealth. After the Third Partition (1795), most of Lesser Poland

23058-599: The province. In 1499, hitherto Gothic Wawel Castle was damaged in a fire, and a few years later, Sigismund I, with help of the best native and foreign artists (such as Francesco the Florentine, Bartholomeo Berrecci or Niccolo Castiglione ) refurbished the complex into a splendid Renaissance palace. Furthermore, in the early 16th century, several palaces were built in Lesser Poland – in Drzewica , Szydłowiec , Ogrodzieniec , and Pieskowa Skała . The province became rich mostly due to

23241-428: The province. The brand new city of Stalowa Wola was established in dense forests, around a steel mill . In the late 1930s, Lesser Poland was quickly changing, as construction of several factories, and job opportunities caused influx of rural inhabitants to the towns. Such towns, as Dębica , Starachowice , Puławy , or Kraśnik , quickly grew, with their population rising. Earlier, in 1927, Lesser Poland's Dęblin became

23424-589: The same company of Hiwis in October 1942. There were 5,000 more Jews in the ghetto. They were massacred in a mass shooting action and deported, at which point the town was declared Judenfrei ("free of Jews"). The Parczew partisans anti-Nazi fighter group operated in the forests around the town, which included Jewish men and women who managed to escape the slaughter. Among points of interest there are: Lesser Poland Lesser Poland , often known by its Polish name Małopolska ( pronounced [mawɔˈpɔlska] ; Latin : Polonia Minor ),

23607-502: The same time by the Ukrainian side), which served in the 1920s and 1930s to make a stronger connection of the area between rivers of San and Zbruch with the Polish state and to emphasize the allegedly indigenously Polish nature of that region. In late 1918, Lesser Poland emerged as one of main centers of fledgling Polish administration and independence movement. According to historian Kazimierz Banburski of Tarnów's District Museum, Tarnów

23790-481: The same time, escapes, expulsions and murders continued unabated. As a result of these, only 1,800 Jews lived in the province of West Prussia in February 1940. In the Wartheland, their number dropped to 260,000. Deportations to the General Government resumed in January 1941, but only 2140 Jews and 20,000 Poles were deported from Wartheland. At this point, efforts to concentrate Jews in a compact territory were abandoned,

23973-634: The school, there were Johannes Crellius , Corderius , and Valentinus Smalcius (who translated into German the Racovian Catechism ). In 1572, the Jagiellon dynasty died out, and next year, Henry III of France became first elected king of the country. After his short reign, and War of the Polish Succession (1587–88) , which also took place in Lesser Poland, the new ruler was Stephen Báthory of Poland , who died in 1586. The ruler from Transylvania

24156-400: The secondary lines of defences at the Vistula and San Rivers. German units entered Częstochowa on 3 September (where on the next day they murdered hundreds of civilians ), Kielce on 5 September, Kraków on 6 September, and Radom on 8 September (see also Battle of Radom ). Within a week, almost whole Lesser Poland was under Nazi occupation. Northeastern part of the province, the area of Lublin,

24339-743: The seizure of most Jewish property and the takeover of Jewish-owned businesses. When Jews were forced into ghettos, they lost their homes and belongings. The first Nazi ghettos were established in the Wartheland and General Government in 1939 and 1940 on the initiative of local German administrators. The largest ghettos, such as Warsaw and Łódź , were established in existing residential neighborhoods and closed by fences or walls. In many smaller ghettos, Jews were forced into poor neighborhoods but with no fence. Forced labor programs provided subsistence to many ghetto inhabitants, and in some cases protected them from deportation. Workshops and factories were operated inside some ghettos, while in other cases Jews left

24522-582: The site of the former Warsaw Ghetto and is connected with earlier memorials such as the 1948 Monument to the Ghetto Heroes and the memorial at the Umschlagplatz. The phenomenon of Holocaust tourism exploded after 1989 due to reduced travel restrictions and brought along with it increasing tourism and commercialization that sometimes was criticized as kitsch . In 1999, the Institute of National Remembrance

24705-664: The size of Kraków Voivodeship was 19,028 km . Sandomierz Voivodeship had an area of 25,762 km , and Lublin Voivodeship had an area of 11,033 km . Together with the Duchy of Siewierz (607 km ), and the parts of Spiš that belonged to Poland after the Treaty of Lubowla (1211 km ), the total area of Lesser Poland was 57,640 square kilometers. Apart from the three historic lands, Lesser Poland includes other smaller regions, such as Podhale , Ponidzie , and Zagłębie Dąbrowskie . Zygmunt Gloger in his work Historical geography of land of ancient Poland ( Geografia historyczna ziem dawnej Polski ) states that according to

24888-673: The so-called Brest Bible was translated into Polish. In 1570, the Sandomierz Agreement was signed by a number of Protestant groups, with the exception of the Polish Brethren , another religious group very influential in Lesser Poland. The Brethren had their center in Lesser Poland's village of Raków , where a main Arian printing press, as well as a college, known as Akademia Rakowska ( Gymnasium Bonarum Artium ) founded in 1602 were located. Among distinguished European scholars associated with

25071-669: The southeastern corner on Lesser Poland's historical Lublin Voivodeship, close to the border with Red Ruthenia/Cherven Cities. The border then goes west of Biłgoraj, turning south, towards Leżajsk (which belongs to Red Ruthenia/Cherven Cities). The boundary between Lesser Poland and Red Ruthenia/Cherven Cities was described by Ukrainian historian and geographer Myron Korduba as being along the line Dukla – Krosno – Domaradz – Czudec – Krzeszów nad Sanem . The border towns of Lesser Poland were: Rudnik , Kolbuszowa , Ropczyce , Sędziszów Małopolski , Strzyżów , Jasło , Gorlice , and Biecz . The southern border of Lesser Poland goes along

25254-549: The spring and summer of 1942. Jews from the Galicia district were transported to the extermination centres at Belzec and Sobibor, among them some 150,000 Jews deported to Galicia by the Romanian authorities. Plans to kill most of the Jews in the General Government were affected by various goals of the SS ( Schutzstaffel ), military, and civil administration; stretching from purely racial one to

25437-525: The spring of 1947 only 90,000 Jews remained in Poland. Britain demanded that Poland (among others) halt the Jewish exodus, but their pressure was largely unsuccessful. Around 13,000 Polish Jews left the country between 1968 and 1972 because of the Communist state antisemitic campaign , as much as one-third of those remaining back then. An apology was made by the democratic Polish government in March 2018. In 2019,

25620-474: The swampy areas of Polesia . In the fall of 1941, any such plans were abandoned. During the invasion, synagogues were burned and thousands of Jews fled or were expelled into the Soviet occupation zone. Various anti-Jewish regulations were soon issued. In October 1939, adult Jews in the General Government were required to perform forced labor. In November 1939 they were ordered to wear white armbands. Laws decreed

25803-654: The town. During the Polish–Soviet War , the town was briefly occupied by the Russian invaders, before it was recaptured by the Poles on August 16, 1920. In the interbellum, the town had a population of 10,000. Following the joint German-Soviet invasion of Poland , which started World War II in September 1939, the town was occupied by Germany . It was a center of Polish resistance . In local forests, numerous Home Army and Armia Ludowa units operated. On July 22, 1944, Parczew

25986-569: The verge of extinction, most notably Wymysorys -speaking Vilamovians , Halcnovians , Gorals , Lemkos , and once Polish Jews and Walddeutsche Germans . Lesser Poland lies in the area of the upper confluence of the Vistula river and covers a large upland, including the Świętokrzyskie Mountains with the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland further west, Małopolska Upland , Sandomierz Basin , and Lublin Upland . Unlike other historical parts of

26169-478: The war. Some Polish peasants participated in German-organized Judenjagd ("Jew hunt") in the countryside, where according to Jan Grabowski , approximately 80% of the Jews who attempted to hide from the Germans ended up being murdered. According to Grabowski, the number of "Judenjagd" victims could reach 200,000 in Poland alone; Szymon Datner gave a lower estimate - 100,000 Jews who "fell prey to

26352-677: The war. The most notable incident was the Kielce pogrom in July 1946, which cost 42 lives. The Polish state held trials of war criminals under the decree of 31 August 1944 . Historian Andrew Kornbluth estimates that "several dozen Poles were executed for denouncing, capturing, and killing their Jewish neighbors during the war", and thousands more perpetrators were investigated or received a lesser sentence. Many Jews, fearing for their lives, fled to displaced persons camps in Germany. The pogrom prompted General Spychalski of PWP from wartime Warsaw, to sign

26535-545: The younger men conscripted to the Red Army from the Kresy in 1940–1941. Their families were murdered in the Holocaust. Gunnar S. Paulsson estimated that 30,000 Polish Jews survived in the labor camps; but according to Engel as many as 70,000–80,000 of them were liberated from camps in Germany and Austria alone, except that declaring their own nationality was of no use to those who did not intend to return. Dariusz Stola found that

26718-557: Was a key center of pro-independence movements, with such individuals, as Józef Piłsudski , being actively involved in those activities. In August 1914, after the outbreak of World War I, Pilsudski's Legions crossed the Austrian – Russian border north of Kraków, and entered Congress Poland . However, the Pilsudski and his soldiers were disappointed to see that the inhabitants of Kielce did not welcome them with joy. The division of Lesser Poland

26901-482: Was a key factor in managing to survive, as were financial resources to pay helpers. The death penalty was threatened for individuals hiding Jews and their families. Each village head was responsible for handing over all Jews and escaped Soviet prisoners of war, partisans, and other strangers to the German occupation authorities under the threat of collective punishment for the village. Although one study found that at least 700 Poles were executed for helping Jews,

27084-510: Was administered by Austria, while northern, larger part of the province ( Częstochowa , Sosnowiec , Kielce, Radom, Lublin, Sandomierz ) was forcibly part of the Russian Empire . Inhabitants of Austrian part of Poland enjoyed limited autonomy, with Polish language institutions, such as Jagiellonian University . At the same time, Russian-controlled Poland was subject to Russification . As a result of decades of this division, most inhabitants of

27267-472: Was almost destroyed. All Poles, Christian or Jewish, were bound for total annihilation. In 1939, Nazi Germany invaded Poland while the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east . In German-occupied Poland, Jews were killed, subjected to forced labor, and forced to move to ghettos. Some 7,000 Jews were killed in 1939, but open mass killings subsided until June of 1941. The Soviet Union deported many Jews to

27450-501: Was almost exclusively Polish, its towns and cities were inhabited by numerous Jews , whose communities were very vibrant. In Kraków, Jews made 25% of the population, in Lublin – 31%, in Kielce – 30%, and in Radom – 32%. Apart from the Jews, and Gypsies scattered in the south, there were no other significant national minorities in interbellum Lesser Poland. Since Lesser Poland was safely located in

27633-426: Was annexed by Austria, with all major cities. Prussia managed to seize a small, western part of the province, with the towns of Siewierz , Zawiercie , Będzin , and Myszków , calling this land New Silesia , while the Austrians decided to name newly acquired lands of northern Lesser Poland West Galicia . In 1803, West Galicia was merged with Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria , but retained some autonomy. Lesser Poland

27816-598: Was codified in the Łaski's Statute , and the Crown Tribunal (the highest appeal court in the Crown of the Polish Kingdom) held its sessions in Lublin. In 1525, the Treaty of Kraków was signed, ending the Polish–Teutonic War . Lesser Poland also is home to the oldest Polish university – the Jagiellonian University , founded in 1364 by Casimir the Great, and several outstanding figures of early Polish culture were born here, such as Jan Kochanowski , Mikołaj Rej , Jan z Lublina , Mikołaj Gomółka , Maciej Miechowita , Marcin Kromer , Łukasz Górnicki , and Mikołaj Radomski . In

27999-417: Was declared an independent Voivodeship as early as 1474, it still has speakers of the Lesser Polish dialect . Across history, many ethnic and religious minorities existed in Lesser Poland as they fled persecution from other areas or countries. Poland's once tolerant policy towards these minorities allowed them to flourish and create separate self-governing communities. Some minorities still remain, but are on

28182-539: Was discussed. Anti-Nazi resistance was particularly strong in Lesser Poland, and it was in the extreme northwestern corner of the province (around Opoczno), that armed struggle against the occupiers began in late 1939 and early 1940 (see Henryk Dobrzański ). Structures of the Home Army were well-developed in the region. Lesser Poland's independent areas of the Home Army were located in Kraków, Kielce-Radom, and Lublin. During Operation Tempest in mid-1944, several Lesser Poland's towns were liberated, also uprising in Kraków

28365-465: Was established in order to promote state-sponsored historical narratives, although the degree to which it is politicized has changed over time. In 2018 the Polish government caused a diplomatic crisis by proposing the Amendment to the Act on the Institute of National Remembrance , that would have prescribed up to three years' imprisonment for someone who "attributes to the Polish Nation or Polish State...co-responsibility for Nazi crimes committed by

28548-423: Was excluded from the negotiations. The territory of Poland was reduced by approximately 20 percent. Before the end of 1946 some 1.8 million Polish citizens were expelled and forcibly resettled within the new borders. For the first time in its history Poland became a homogeneous one nation-state by force, with the national wealth reduced by 38 percent. Poland's financial system had been destroyed. Intelligentsia

28731-417: Was expanded by adding Galicia District ; the Białystok District was administered separately. During the invasion, local inhabitants carried out at least 219 pogroms , killing around twenty-five thousand to fifty thousand Jews. The pogroms were extremely violent with many Jews beaten, raped, stolen from, and brutally murdered. Although German forces tried to incite pogroms, their role in causing violence

28914-411: Was followed by Sigismund III Vasa of Sweden, whose election marked gradual decline of the province. Sigismund's eyes were set on Sweden, and for many years he concentrated his efforts on a futile attempt to regain his former Swedish throne (see Polish–Swedish union , War against Sigismund ). Therefore, Lesser Poland, located in southwestern corner of the Commonwealth, began to lose its importance, which

29097-458: Was held by the Poles until 17 September, but eventually, and after fierce battles (see Battle of Tomaszów Lubelski ), all Lesser Poland was firmly under Nazi control. First draft of Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact stipulated that northeastern Lesser Poland (east of the Vistula river) was to be occupied by the Soviet Union, and forces of the Red Army reached the area of Lublin after 20 September, but withdrew east on 28 September. On 12 October 1939, upon

29280-410: Was intensified during World War I , when many Jews from the occupied eastern territories moved to Germany. They were accused by antisemitic press and politicians of criminal activity, lack of hygiene, spreading disease, speculation, trafficking of women, spreading revolution, and were eventually blamed for Germany's defeat in the war and interwar economic problems faced by Germany. Soon, especially in

29463-426: Was largely obliterated along with the Jews, and the population reduced by about 33 percent. Many non-Jews had obtained property or jobs vacated by Jews during the war, and refused to give up these gains to Jewish survivors. The elimination of the Polish aristocracy as well as Polish Jews cleared the way for the foundation of an ethnically Polish middle class. An estimated 650 to 1,200 Jews were killed in Poland after

29646-429: Was liberated by the Home Army, and in the summer of 1945, the anti-Communist unit of Leon Taraszkiewicz attacked a local Urząd Bezpieczeństwa prison. In 1955, Parczew County was created, and in 2001, the town celebrated its 600th anniversary. From 1975 to 1998, it was administratively located in the Biała Podlaska Voivodeship . An organized Jewish community existed in the town since the early 16th century. Just before

29829-456: Was marked in 1596, when Sigismund moved his permanent residence, court and the crown headquarters to centrally-located Warsaw. Even though first half of the 17th century was filled with wars, all major conflicts did not reach Lesser Poland, and the province continued to prosper, which was reflected in its castles and palaces, such as the enormous Krzyztopor . Apart from minor wars, such as Zebrzydowski Rebellion , and Kostka-Napierski Uprising ,

30012-405: Was more visible than ever. During World War I, Lesser Poland became one of main theaters of the Eastern Front . Russian push into the territory of Austria – Hungary resulted in the Battle of Galicia . Among other major battles which took place in Lesser Poland, there are the Battle of the Vistula River , and the Gorlice-Tarnów Offensive . After Russian troops had retreated east , whole province

30195-492: Was often raided by the Lithuanians , Rusyns , Yotvingians , and Old Prussians . The city of Lublin suffered most frequently – among others, it was burnt by the Rusyns in 1244, the Lithuanians 1255, the Prussians in 1266, and the Yotvingians in 1282. Another center of the province, Sandomierz, was destroyed by the Tartars in 1260, and burnt by the Lithuanians in 1349. Unlike other Polish provinces, especially Silesia , Lesser Poland did not undergo further fragmentation, and in

30378-475: Was one of main centers of the Bar Confederation . On 21 June 1786 in Kraków, local confederation was announced, and on the same day Voievode of Kraków, Michal Czarnocki, urged his citizens to join the movement. Soon afterwards, Kraków was captured by the Russian troops, and the center of Lesser Poland's insurgency moved to the mountainous south – areas around Dukla and Nowy Sącz. During the Confederation, several battles and skirmishes took place there. In 1770, after

30561-420: Was one of major centers of Polish resistance against the occupiers. On 24 March 1794 in Kraków, Tadeusz Kościuszko announced the general insurrection (see Kościuszko Uprising ), mobilising all able males of Lesser Poland. Two weeks later, Battle of Racławice took place, ending with a Polish victory. The uprising was suppressed by combined Prusso – Russian forces, and among battles fought in Lesser Poland, there

30744-518: Was opened in 1918. Several important figures of interbellum political, military, and cultural life of Poland were born in Lesser Poland. Among them were Wincenty Witos , Władysław Sikorski , Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski , Józef Dowbor-Muśnicki , Józef Haller , Władysław Belina-Prażmowski , Tadeusz Kutrzeba , Feliks Koneczny , Stefan Żeromski , Tadeusz Peiper , Maria Pawlikowska-Jasnorzewska , Witold Gombrowicz , Jan Kiepura , Stefan Jaracz . In 1920, in Lesser Poland's town of Wadowice , Karol Wojtyla ,

30927-415: Was opened on 14 June 1940, and on 1 October 1941, the Germans opened Majdanek concentration camp on the outskirts of Lublin. The third concentration camp in Lesser Poland was in Kraków's district of Płaszów . In late 1939 and early 1940, in Lesser Poland's spa of Zakopane , and in Kraków, several Gestapo–NKVD Conferences took place, during which the mutual cooperation between Nazi Germany and Soviet Union

31110-490: Was prepared, but never realized. Apart from the Home Army, other resistance groups were strong in the province, such as pro-Communist Armia Ludowa , peasant's Bataliony Chłopskie , and right-wing National Armed Forces , with its Holy Cross Mountains Brigade . The Holocaust in occupied Poland The Holocaust in Poland was the ghettoization, robbery, deportation and mass murder of Jews, alongside other groups under similar racial pretexts in occupied Poland by

31293-478: Was quickly suppressed by the Austrian troops, and as a result, the Free City was annexed by the Austrian Empire. In the same year, Austrian part of Lesser Poland was witness to a massacre of Polish nobility by the peasantry, known as Galician slaughter . The peasants, led by Jakub Szela , murdered about 1000 nobles, and destroyed about 500 manors. These events took place in three counties – Sanok , Jasło and Tarnów . Northern and central Lesser Poland (the part of

31476-445: Was recaptured on 18 August 1657. After these invasions, the province was ruined, with hundreds of villages, towns and cities burned. The population decreased (the urban population by nearly half ), the peasantry starved, and like other parts of the Commonwealth, Lesser Poland was devastated. The period of peace lasted for about forty years, when in 1700, another major conflict, the Great Northern War began. Lesser Poland once again became

31659-452: Was regained by Poles following the Austro-Polish War of 1809, and included within the short-lived Duchy of Warsaw . After the duchy's dissolution, it was part of Russian-controlled Congress Poland . During the January Uprising , on June 29, 1863, it was the site of a skirmish between Polish insurgents and Russian troops. In 1898, the rail line from Lublin, via Parczew, to Łuków was built. In 1918, Poland regained independence and control of

31842-426: Was seized, ransacked and burned by the Swedes (see Deluge ). After the wars of the mid-17th century, the town did not recover until the reign of Stanisław August Poniatowski . The 1st Polish Infantry Regiment was stationed in the town in 1793. Parczew administratively belonged to the Lublin Voivodeship in the Lesser Poland Province until the Third Partition of Poland in 1795, when it was annexed by Austria . It

32025-404: Was the base of the Lesser Poland Province , which covered southern lands of the vast country. The province was made of Lesser Poland itself, also Podlachia , Red Ruthenia / Cherven Cities , Volhynia , Podolia , and Ukrainian voivodeships of Kijów ( Kyiv ) and Czernihów ( Chernihiv ), which, until 1569, had been part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania . The period in Polish history known as

32208-403: Was the first Polish city which became independent, after 123 years of oppression . On 31 October 1918, at 8 am, Tarnów's inhabitants began disarming demoralized Austrian soldiers, and after three hours, the city was completely in Polish hands. On 28 October 1918, Polish Liquidation Committee was created in Kraków. A few days later, socialist peasants founded the Republic of Tarnobrzeg . In

32391-406: Was the most important province of the country , several important events took place on its territory. In 1364, Casimir the Great called the Congress of Kraków , and in 1401, the Union of Vilnius and Radom was signed. In 1505 in Radom, the Sejm adopted the Nihil novi title, which forbade the King to issue laws without the consent of the nobility. In the same year, also in the same city, Polish law

32574-437: Was the prototype camp on which the others were based. The camps were located on rail lines to make it easier to transport Jews to their deaths, but in remote places to avoid notice. The stench caused by mass killing operations was noticeable to anyone nearby. People were typically deported to the camps in overcrowded cattle cars . As many as 150 people were forced into a single boxcar . Many died en route , partly because of

32757-487: Was too young to control the state, and the Union of Krewo with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was the brainchild of Lesser Poland's szlachta . In the 15th and 16th centuries, Lesser Poland remained the most important part of the country. After the death of Casimir the Great, Lesser Poland's nobility promoted Louis I of Hungary as the new king, later supporting his daughter Jadwiga of Poland in exchange for Privilege of Koszyce . Since Jadwiga, crowned on 16 October 1384,

32940-622: Was too young to rule the country, Poland was in fact governed by the Lesser Poland's nobility, who decided to find her a husband, Grand Duke of Lithuania , Jogaila . Consequently, unions of Poland and Lithuania at Krewo and Horodło were the brainchildren of Lesser Poland's nobility, among whom the most influential individuals were Spytek z Melsztyna , and cardinal Zbigniew Olesnicki . Other famous Lesser Poland's families are Lubomirski family , Kmita family , Tarnowski family , Potocki family , Sobieski family , Koniecpolski family , Ossolinski family , Poniatowski family . Since Lesser Poland

33123-558: Was turned into Russian-ruled Congress Poland , and historical capital of the province, Kraków, was turned into Free City of Kraków , which also included the towns of Trzebinia , Chrzanów , Jaworzno , and Krzeszowice . In Congress Poland, the lands of Lesser Poland were initially divided between four palatinates – Palatinate of Kraków (with capital in Kielce), Palatinate of Sandomierz (with capital in Radom), Palatinate of Lublin, and Palatinate of Podlasie (with capital in Siedlce), (see also Administrative division of Congress Poland ). Later,

33306-400: Was under control of the Austrians and the Germans, and northern Lesser Poland was part of the German-sponsored Kingdom of Poland (1916–1918) . In later stages of the conflict, the divided province once again became a center of Polish independence movement. An independent Polish government was re-proclaimed in northern Lesser Poland's city of Lublin, on 7 November 1918. Soon afterwards, it formed

33489-423: Was very difficult due to factors such as the lack of money to pay helpers and the risk of denunciation. Only 1 to 2 percent of Polish Jews in German-occupied territory survived. After the war, survivors faced difficulties in regaining their property and rebuilding their lives. Especially after the Kielce pogrom , many fled to displaced persons camps in Allied-occupied Germany . Jews have lived in Poland since

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