Sapotskin


Sapotskin is a small town in Belarus, north-west of Hrodna with circa 2,000 inhabitants. Sapotskin became one of the centers of the Polish minority in Belarus. It is the only town in Belarus where the Polish population, consisting of the majority, was allowed to use bilingual street signs.

History

Within the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Sapotskin was part of Trakai Voivodeship. In 1795, Sapotskin was acquired by the Kingdom of Prussia as a result of the Third Partition of Poland and incorporated into the New East Prussia Province.
From 1807 until 1815, Sapotskin was part of Lomza Department of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw.
In 1815, Sapotskin was acquired by the Russian Empire. Within the Russian Empire, the town was successively part of Augustow Voivodeship, Augustow Governorate and Suwałki Governorate before German occupation between 1915 and 1918.
From 1921 until 1939, Sapotskin was part of the Second Polish Republic. It was a gmina centre in the Augustow powiat of Białystok Voivodeship.
In September 1939, Sapotskin was occupied by the Red Army and, on 14 November 1939, incorporated into the Byelorussian SSR. The area became part of the Belastok Region of the Byelorussian SSR, with Sapotskin as a regional centre.
From 22 June 1941 until 18 July 1944, Sapotskin was occupied by Nazi Germany and administered as a part of Bezirk Bialystok.
In 1941 and 1942 nearly the entire Jewish population of Sapotskin was murdered by Nazi forces in the Holocaust. A memorial book about the town's Jewish shtetl was translated into English.
Sapotskin was liberated by the Red Army on 18 July 1944. The town became a regional centre of Grodno Region.
Old photographs of the town have been collected.

Notables