Brzezinki, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship

Brzezinki
Village
Monument to the victims of Nazi German massacre in 1939
Monument to the victims of Nazi German massacre in 1939
Brzezinki is located in Poland
Brzezinki
Brzezinki
Brzezinki is located in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship
Brzezinki
Brzezinki
Coordinates: 53°18′37″N 19°24′31″E / 53.31028°N 19.40861°E / 53.31028; 19.40861
Country Poland
VoivodeshipKuyavian-Pomeranian
CountyBrodnica
GminaZbiczno
Population
 • Total240
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Vehicle registrationCBR

Brzezinki [bʐɛˈʑinki] is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Zbiczno, within Brodnica County, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-central Poland.[1] It lies 4 kilometres (2 mi) south-east of Zbiczno, 7 km (4 mi) north of Brodnica, and 62 km (39 mi) north-east of Toruń.

History[edit]

On 15 August 1920, during the Polish–Soviet War, the village was occupied by the Russian 4th Army, before it was eventually recaptured by the Poles on 18 August.[2]

During the German occupation of Poland (World War II), in autumn of 1939, the Nazi German police and Selbstschutz executed around 400 Polish civilians from Brodnica, Brzezinki and other nearby villages, in the forest in Brzezinki.[3] The massacre was part of the genocidal Intelligenzaktion campaign aimed at exterminating Polish intelligentsia. In 1944, the occupiers burnt the bodies of the victims to cover up the crime.[3]

Notable people[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Central Statistical Office (GUS) - TERYT (National Register of Territorial Land Apportionment Journal)" (in Polish). 2008-06-01.
  2. ^ Kowalski, Andrzej (1995). "Miejsca pamięci związane z Bitwą Warszawską 1920 r.". Niepodległość i Pamięć (in Polish) (2/2 (3)). Muzeum Niepodległości w Warszawie: 124. ISSN 1427-1443.
  3. ^ a b Wardzyńska, Maria (2009). Był rok 1939. Operacja niemieckiej policji bezpieczeństwa w Polsce. Intelligenzaktion (in Polish). Warsaw: IPN. p. 175.