Bentschen
| Zbąszyń | |||
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 Zbąszyń
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| Coordinates: 52°15′11″N 15°55′4″E / 52.25306°N 15.91778°E | |||
| Country |
 Poland
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| Voivodeship | Greater Poland | ||
| County | Nowy Tomyśl | ||
| Gmina | Zbąszyń | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 5.57 km2 (2.15 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2006) | |||
| • Total | 7,300 | ||
| • Density | 1,300/km2 (3,400/sq mi) | ||
| Postal code | 64-360 | ||
| Website | http://www.zbaszyn.pl | ||
Zbąszyń [ˈzbɔ̃ʂɨɲ] (German: Bentschen) is a town in Poland, in Greater Poland Voivodeship, in Nowy Tomyśl County. It has 7,319 inhabitants (2004).
The town was first mentioned in historical sources from 1231, and it received its city charter before 1311. As a result of the Second Partition of Poland in 1793 it became part of the Kingdom of Prussia and was administered within South Prussia. After the Napoleonic Wars, the town was within the Grand Duchy of Posen and later the Province of Posen. It became part of the German Empire in 1871. In 1918 it became part of the Second Polish Republic.
During the interwar era (1918–1939) it was a town on the border with Germany. In 1938 the town’s population stood at 5,400 which included 360 Germans and 52 Jews. In October 1938 Nazi Germany decided to expel those German Jews who did not hold German citizenship or had it taken away, and who originally hailed from Poland. On the 27 October 1938 the Nazis began arresting Jews of Polish nationality in Germany with the intention of expelling them to Poland. The Nazis took this decision was the issuing of a decree by the Polish Ministry of the Interior on the 6 October 1938 which called for the passports of Polish citizens residing abroad would have to be checked and revalidated. A few days before that decree was to come into force, 17,000 German Jews that were or could be considered to be citizens of Poland were rounded up and unceremoniously dumped on the Polish border at Zbąszyń and other border towns. The Polish government in turn refused to admit those of them who did not hold valid Polish passports. The Polish authorities hoped that the concentration of large numbers of Jews expelled from Germany near the border would exert pressure on the Germans and induce them to begin negotiations to hasten the return of the Jews back to their former homes. As a result, thousands of Jews were stuck on the border in makeshift facilities for several days or weeks in appalling conditions.
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Wikipedia