Szczebrzeszyn (; ) is a town in southeastern Poland in Lublin Voivodeship, in Zamość County, about west of Zamość. The town serves as the seat to the Gmina Szczebrzeszyn district. A 2004 census counted 5,357 inhabitants. It lends its name to the Szczebrzeszyn Landscape Park. Szczebrzeszyn is often called the "Capital City of Polish Language".
History
Early history
thumb|left|Medieval castle ruins
Szczebrzeszyn's history can be traced back to 1352, during the reign of Casimir III, although archaeological evidence suggests the area had been settled for several centuries prior to this. Neighboring villages named in Nestor's 11th century chronicle of Rus further support that Szczebrzeszyn is much older, once lying beside a major commercial route running from south to north.
By 1492, trade had developed enough to warrant a special act imposed by John I Albert of Poland. The Act specified which roads Szczebrzeszyn merchants could use when traveling through Lesser Poland with their wares. As merchants traveled through Szczebrzeszyn, they paid set taxes which proved to be an excellent source of revenue. Isaac Bashevis Singer's grandmother, Tema Blima Szejner was from the town. Singer mentions his grandmother Tema in his autobiographical novel 'In My Father's Court'. On October 14, 1939—in spite of the fact it was the Jewish Sabbath—the Germans ordered the Jews to clean the streets for the entire day. They treated them brutally by cutting or tearing off their beards, cursing them, and beating them. In mid-October a police force was formed in Szczebrzeszyn—composed of 60 men—and was instructed to persecute the Jewish population of the town.
Several hundred Jews from Kalisz and Włocławek were re-settled in Szczebrzeszyn. The Judenrat was forced to provide several dozen men for work in Zamość each day. According to a Polish doctor in the town and Polish resistance member, Zygmunt Klukowski: "The Jewish laborers are sent to Bortatycze and Bialobrzeg outside of Zamość. The work consists of digging ditches in order to drain the swamps there. They must work standing in the water. They sleep in barracks that are incredibly dirty. They must make this trip (to the labor camp) every day, and if they make the slightest mistake they are beaten with clubs. The Jewish slave laborers are covered with lice. They are mostly boys, 17–20 years old."
thumb|[[Home Army Monument]]
On November 10, 1942, Klukowski wrote: "In principle, all the Jews in the settlements of the Biłgoraj district, to which Szczebreszyn belongs, have been killed. The only ones remaining are those in the forests, valleys, etc." In total, there were six separate transports from Szczebrzeszyn to Bełżec extermination camp between May and November 1942—totaling more than 5,500 Jewish men, women and children to their immediate deaths. Hundreds of other Jews were murdered in Szczebrzeszyn, hunted down by German SS troops and then murdered. One Polish couple did shelter a Jewish family and were named Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem after the war. The once vibrant Jewish community of Szczebrzeszyn ceased to exist.