Kolno
Encyclopedia
Kolno' is a town in northeastern Poland
, located in the Podlaskie Voivodeship
, about 150 km northeast of Warsaw
. It is the seat of Kolno County
, and the seat of the smaller administrative district (gmina
) called Gmina Kolno
, but it is not part of this district, as the town has gmina status in its own right. Kolno has 10,730 inhabitants (2007).
in 1425. The major economic expansion took place in the 16th century, with more trade and crafts. Kolno was destroyed by fire during the Kościuszko Uprising
(1794). After the Partitions of Poland
(1795) it became part of Prussia, till 1807, and subsequently, part of Duchy of Warsaw
(Księstwo Warszawskie). From 1815 it belonged to Congress Poland
(Królestwo Polskie). Kolno was destroyed again in the First World War, during battle between Russian and German empires. The population of Kolno during the interwar period
increased to 5,163 persons, 70% of them Jewish.
Following the Nazi German and Soviet Invasion of Poland
in World War II
Kolno was taken over by the German forces on 8 September 1939. On 29 September Soviets enter the area in accordance with the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact. The town remained in Soviet hands until Operation Barbarossa
(22 June 1941) when it was overrun again by the Wehrmacht
. In August 1941, nearly the entire Jewish population of Kolno was executed by the SS Einsatzgruppe killing squads into mass graves around the nearby villages of Kolimagi
and Mściwuje
. These mass executions took place in 3 actions, with the final one taking place early August 1941, when only 90 of the original 2000 plus Jews remained. Dina Chludniewicz, 21 at the time, was the only Jewish person in Kolno to survive the last action, when she ran for the woods, surviving a hail of machine gun fire. She survived the war and married a Neach Kancepolski from Slonim and emigrated to Australia.
The first 16 victims, accused of collaboration with the Soviets, were murdered by the Nazis on 15 July 1941 and buried at the Jewish cemetery together with the statue of Lenin erected by the NKVD
.
The Soviet Army
liberated Kolno on the night of 23–24 January 1945 and ceded the city back to People's Republic of Poland
in accordance with Yalta Conference
.
(1786–1861) was the first to gather all available mentions of Jan of Kolno known as Johannes Scolnus, and claimed that Scolvus was really Jan z Kolna (English: John of Kolno), a Polish navigator of the Danish fleet. He also found mentions of a Joannis de Colno who studied at the Kraków Academy in 1455, and a Colno or Cholno family of merchants and sailors living in Gdańsk.
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, located in the Podlaskie Voivodeship
Podlaskie Voivodeship
Podlaskie Voivodeship , is a voivodeship in northeastern Poland. It borders on Masovian Voivodeship to the west, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship to the northwest, Lublin Voivodeship to the south, the Belarusssian Voblasts of Grodno and Brest to the east, the Lithuanian Counties of Alytus and...
, about 150 km northeast of Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
. It is the seat of Kolno County
Kolno County
Kolno County is a unit of territorial administration and local government in Podlaskie Voivodeship, north-eastern Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its administrative seat and largest town is Kolno, which lies west...
, and the seat of the smaller administrative district (gmina
Gmina
The gmina is the principal unit of administrative division of Poland at its lowest uniform level. It is often translated as "commune" or "municipality." As of 2010 there were 2,479 gminas throughout the country...
) called Gmina Kolno
Gmina Kolno, Podlaskie Voivodeship
Gmina Kolno is a rural gmina in Kolno County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland. Its seat is the town of Kolno, although the town is not part of the territory of the gmina....
, but it is not part of this district, as the town has gmina status in its own right. Kolno has 10,730 inhabitants (2007).
History
Kolno was first mentioned in 1222. The town first belonged to the Masovian Dukes, and then to the Polish crown. Kolno received city rights from Prince Janusz III of MasoviaJanusz III of Masovia
Janusz III Mazowiecki was a Polish duke of Masovia, last male of the Masovian Piast dynasty. Son of Konrad III Rudy. Until 1518 Masovia was under regency of his mother Anna Radziwiłł, then he was a co-regent with his brother Stanisław until Stanisław's death in 1524...
in 1425. The major economic expansion took place in the 16th century, with more trade and crafts. Kolno was destroyed by fire during the Kościuszko Uprising
Kosciuszko Uprising
The Kościuszko Uprising was an uprising against Imperial Russia and the Kingdom of Prussia led by Tadeusz Kościuszko in Poland, Belarus and Lithuania in 1794...
(1794). After the Partitions of Poland
Partitions of Poland
The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland for 123 years...
(1795) it became part of Prussia, till 1807, and subsequently, part of Duchy of Warsaw
Duchy of Warsaw
The Duchy of Warsaw was a Polish state established by Napoleon I in 1807 from the Polish lands ceded by the Kingdom of Prussia under the terms of the Treaties of Tilsit. The duchy was held in personal union by one of Napoleon's allies, King Frederick Augustus I of Saxony...
(Księstwo Warszawskie). From 1815 it belonged to Congress Poland
Congress Poland
The Kingdom of Poland , informally known as Congress Poland , created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna, was a personal union of the Russian parcel of Poland with the Russian Empire...
(Królestwo Polskie). Kolno was destroyed again in the First World War, during battle between Russian and German empires. The population of Kolno during the interwar period
Second Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...
increased to 5,163 persons, 70% of them Jewish.
Following the Nazi German and Soviet Invasion of Poland
Invasion of Poland (1939)
The Invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign or 1939 Defensive War in Poland and the Poland Campaign in Germany, was an invasion of Poland by Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small Slovak contingent that marked the start of World War II in Europe...
in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Kolno was taken over by the German forces on 8 September 1939. On 29 September Soviets enter the area in accordance with the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact. The town remained in Soviet hands until Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
(22 June 1941) when it was overrun again by the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
. In August 1941, nearly the entire Jewish population of Kolno was executed by the SS Einsatzgruppe killing squads into mass graves around the nearby villages of Kolimagi
Kolimagi
Kolimagi is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Kolno, within Kolno County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland. It lies approximately south-west of Kolno and west of the regional capital Białystok....
and Mściwuje
Msciwuje
Mściwuje is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Mały Płock, within Kolno County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland. It lies approximately south of Kolno and west of the regional capital Białystok....
. These mass executions took place in 3 actions, with the final one taking place early August 1941, when only 90 of the original 2000 plus Jews remained. Dina Chludniewicz, 21 at the time, was the only Jewish person in Kolno to survive the last action, when she ran for the woods, surviving a hail of machine gun fire. She survived the war and married a Neach Kancepolski from Slonim and emigrated to Australia.
The first 16 victims, accused of collaboration with the Soviets, were murdered by the Nazis on 15 July 1941 and buried at the Jewish cemetery together with the statue of Lenin erected by the NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
.
The Soviet Army
Soviet Army
The Soviet Army is the name given to the main part of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union between 1946 and 1992. Previously, it had been known as the Red Army. Informally, Армия referred to all the MOD armed forces, except, in some cases, the Soviet Navy.This article covers the Soviet Ground...
liberated Kolno on the night of 23–24 January 1945 and ceded the city back to People's Republic of Poland
People's Republic of Poland
The People's Republic of Poland was the official name of Poland from 1952 to 1990. Although the Soviet Union took control of the country immediately after the liberation from Nazi Germany in 1944, the name of the state was not changed until eight years later...
in accordance with Yalta Conference
Yalta Conference
The Yalta Conference, sometimes called the Crimea Conference and codenamed the Argonaut Conference, held February 4–11, 1945, was the wartime meeting of the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union, represented by President Franklin D...
.
Notable persons
Polish historian and cartographer Joachim LelewelJoachim Lelewel
Joachim Lelewel was a Polish historian and politician, from a Polonized branch of a Prussian family.His grandparents were Heinrich Löllhöffel von Löwensprung and Constance Jauch , who later polonized her name to Lelewel.-Life:Born in Warsaw, Lelewel was educated at the Imperial University of...
(1786–1861) was the first to gather all available mentions of Jan of Kolno known as Johannes Scolnus, and claimed that Scolvus was really Jan z Kolna (English: John of Kolno), a Polish navigator of the Danish fleet. He also found mentions of a Joannis de Colno who studied at the Kraków Academy in 1455, and a Colno or Cholno family of merchants and sailors living in Gdańsk.
External links
- Kolno local government home page
- History of the Jewish community in Kolno by David Sotkowitz and Nathan Apkon