Mateikonys
Encyclopedia
Mateikonys is a village in the Šalčininkai district municipality
, Lithuania
near the border with Belarus. According to the 2001 census it had population of 177.
From 1923 to 1939 the village was located in Wilno Voivodeship, north-east Second Polish Republic
. After the Nazi German and Soviet invasions of Poland in September of 1939
the village was transferred to Lithuania according to the Soviet–Lithuanian Mutual Assistance Treaty
.
During the Nazi occupation of Matejkany, one of its Polish defenders, Captain Stanisław Truszkowski adopted Estera Bielicka, a Jewish girl, passing her off as his own child. She was of the same age as his daughter and lived "in plain sight of all of the residents of this village. Not only did the villagers know about her, but she was also seen at church services in town and no one from among the parishioners betrayed her."
Šalcininkai district municipality
Šalčininkai district municipality is one of 60 municipalities in Lithuania.It has one of biggest Polish minority populations in Lithuania, with 31,223 or over 80% of the population claiming Polish ethnicity. Šalčininkai is the largest town in and the center of the region.-References:...
, Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
near the border with Belarus. According to the 2001 census it had population of 177.
From 1923 to 1939 the village was located in Wilno Voivodeship, north-east Second Polish Republic
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...
. After the Nazi German and Soviet invasions of Poland in September of 1939
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...
the village was transferred to Lithuania according to the Soviet–Lithuanian Mutual Assistance Treaty
Soviet–Lithuanian Mutual Assistance Treaty
The Soviet–Lithuanian Mutual Assistance Treaty was a bilateral treaty signed between the Soviet Union and Lithuania on October 10, 1939. According to provisions outlined in the treaty, Lithuania would acquire about one fifth of the Vilnius Region, including Lithuania's historical capital, Vilnius,...
.
During the Nazi occupation of Matejkany, one of its Polish defenders, Captain Stanisław Truszkowski adopted Estera Bielicka, a Jewish girl, passing her off as his own child. She was of the same age as his daughter and lived "in plain sight of all of the residents of this village. Not only did the villagers know about her, but she was also seen at church services in town and no one from among the parishioners betrayed her."