Sharkawshchyna

Sharkawshchyna (Belarusian: Ша́ркаўшчына; official transliteration: Šarkaŭščyna, also Sharkovshchina Russian: Шарковщина; Polish: Szarkowszczyna; Yiddish: שאַרקוישטשינע‎ Sharkoyshtchine) is a town in Vitebsk Region of Belarus and the center of Sharkawshchyna District.[1] The population is 6,900 (2010).[2]

Sharkawshchyna Orthodox church, founded in 1639, rebuilt in 1912.

History

Within the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Sharkawshchyna was part of Vilnius Voivodeship. In 1793, the town was acquired by the Russian Empire as a result of the Second Partition of Poland.

From 1921 until 1939, Sharkawshchyna was part of the Second Polish Republic. In September 1939, Sharkawshchyna was occupied by the Red Army and, on 14 November 1939, incorporated into the Byelorussian SSR.

From 30 June 1941 until 1 July 1944, Sharkawshchyna was occupied by Nazi Germany and administered as a part of the Generalbezirk Weißruthenien of Reichskommissariat Ostland. In October 1941, 1,900 Jews of the town and surroundings were kept imprisoned in a ghetto. Many died of disease and starvation.[3] On July 17, 1942, 1 200 Jews were murdered in a mass execution perpetrated by an einsatzgruppen,[4] some managed to escape.[5]

References
  1. Sharkawshchyna Raion on the website of Vitebsk Region Archived 2010-05-09 at the Wayback Machine
  2. Численность населения по Республике Беларусь, областям и г. Минску (тысяч человек) на 1 января 2010 года Archived 2010-09-18 at the Wayback Machine
  3. http://data.jewishgen.org/wconnect/wc.dll?jg~jgsys~community~-1949290
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-05-05. Retrieved 2016-04-20.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. http://www.yadvashem.org/yv/he/research/ghettos_encyclopedia/ghetto_details.asp?cid=1102

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