Byaroza (; ; also spelled Bereza, local pronunciation: [beˈrɛzɐ]), formerly Byaroza-Kartuzskaya, is a town in Brest Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Byaroza District. Within the Second Polish Republic, the town was administered as part of Polesie Voivodeship.

Polish prison

A Polish political prison camp was created in Bereza Kartuska in 1934. The former Russian barracks and prison were turned into an internment camp for both Polish right-wing extremists from the ONR, Ukrainian separatists from the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and members of the Communist Party of Poland and the Communist Party of Western Ukraine, and later also for members of opposition parties, journalists critical of the government and people suspected of common crimes. Inmates were sent there for up to three months without the involvement of the courts, based solely on the administrative decision of the police or the voivode. In this way, many Belarusians who resisted Polonization found themselves in the Bereza Kartuska camp.

The legal basis for the camp opening was openly questioned and its existence was often criticized by opponents of the Sanacja movement, which from its inception called it a "concentration camp". The camp was closed in September 1939, during the invasion of Poland.

After 1939

In 1939 the town was captured by the Red Army and incorporated into the Byelorussian SSR. After the outbreak of the German-Soviet War, the town was captured by the German Army on 23 June 1941. The German occupation lasted until 15 July 1944. During this time, Byaroza was administered as a part of Generalbezirk Wolhynien und Podolien of Reichskommissariat Ukraine.

During World War II, a ghetto was created in the town for Jews who fled there from the surrounding areas. Under the Nazi German occupying administration — which had merged Byaroza, along with most of western Polesia, into the Reichskommissariat Ukraine — more than 8,000 people were killed in mass executions or were starved to death. Numerous pro-Soviet and pro-Ukrainian partisan units were active in the area around Byaroza before Red Army troops finally liberated the town on 15 July 1944. Repopulated with Belarusian and Russian peasants, the town was rebuilt after the destruction of World War II. After a minor building materials factory was opened in the town, another period of fast growth followed.

During the postwar period a Soviet Frontal Aviation base, Osovcy was close to Biaroza.

In 1958-1967 a hydroelectric power station was built in the Biaroza Raion.

In 1991, after the dissolution of the USSR, the town became part of the independent Republic of Belarus.

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File:Бяроза. Новы касцёл.jpg|Catholic church in Byaroza

File:DSCN4095.JPG|Central street of Byaroza

File:BiarozaCyrvonyja.JPG|Memorial to Soviet pilots

</gallery>

Mayors

  • Berl (Dov) Ribak (1882–1915)
  • Naftali Levinson (1915–1919 acting, 1919–1939?)

Heads of Biaroza District Executive Committee

  • Yury Narkevich (2005–2016)
  • Leanid Martyniuk (since 2016)

Landmarks

Although the 17th-century monastery was mostly destroyed in the 19th century, there are some ruins remaining. Among them are:

  • Historical gateway with a decorative façade
  • Parts of fortifications surrounding the monastery with several towers partially preserved
  • Ruins of the octagonal church tower
  • Ruins of the hospital
  • Several buildings later incorporated into the tsarist prison.

Notable people

  • Jakob Klatzkin, Jewish philosopher
  • Kadia Molodowsky, Jewish poet and writer
  • Kseniya Koçyiğit, Belarusian-born Azerbaijani professional volleyball player

See also

  • Battle of Bereza Kartuska

Notes

References

Bibliography

  • Photos on Radzima.org
  • Biaroza on Googlemaps
  • Kartuz-Bereza, Our Town Memorial Book on JewishGen
  • Kartuz-Bereza cemetery