Sharkawshchyna

Sharkawshchyna
Urban-type settlement
Sharkawshchyna Orthodox church, founded in 1639, rebuilt in 1912.
Sharkawshchyna Orthodox church, founded in 1639, rebuilt in 1912.
Flag of Sharkawshchyna
Flag
Coat of arms of Sharkawshchyna
Coat of arms
Sharkawshchyna is located in Belarus
Sharkawshchyna
Sharkawshchyna
Location in Belarus
Coordinates: 55°22′N 27°28′E / 55.367°N 27.467°E / 55.367; 27.467
CountryBelarus
RegionVitebsk Region
DistrictSharkawshchyna District
First mentioned1503
Elevation
166 m (545 ft)
Population
 (2024)[1]
 • Total
6,005
Time zoneUTC+3 (MSK)
Postal code
211910
Area code+375 2154
License plate2

Sharkawshchyna or Sharkovshchina (Belarusian: Шаркаўшчына, romanized: Šarkaŭščyna;[a] Russian: Шарковщина; Polish: Szarkowszczyzna; Yiddish: שאַרקוישטשינע, romanized: Sharkoyshtchine) is an urban-type settlement in Vitebsk Region, Belarus.[1] It is located 160 kilometres (99 mi) north of the capital Minsk,[2] and serves as the administrative center of Sharkawshchyna District.[3] As of 2024, it has a population of 6,005.[1]

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.

World War II

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. There were an estimated 1,500 Jews on the eve of the Second World War.[2]

Sharkawshchyna was occupied by Nazi Germany on 6–9 July 1941 and administered as a part of the Generalbezirk Weißruthenien of Reichskommissariat Ostland.[2] Between September and November, about 1,700 Jews were rounded up and confined to the local ghetto with severe overcrowding problems.[2] Many died of disease and starvation.[2] At the end of March 1942, the Germans divided the ghetto into two parts: one for "necessary workers”" and another ghetto for the others.[2] On 18 June, the German police and local collaborators surrounded the ghetto and opened fire on the ghetto.[2] 700 residents who were unable to successfully escape were escorted away and shot.[4] The Germans later recaptured 300 escapees and shot them.[4] As many as 500 of those who escaped joined the Jews of the nearby ghetto at Glebokie.[5][4] This was used by several Holocaust researchers from the "Israel school" of Holocaust research, as a study case showing the futility of Jewish resistance in those years.[6]

Population

Population: 6,107 (2023);[7] 6,330 (2017);[8] 6,900 (2010).[9]

Climate

Climate data for Sharkawshchyna (1991–2020)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 4.3
(39.7) 		5.1
(41.2) 		11.9
(53.4) 		22.3
(72.1) 		26.8
(80.2) 		28.8
(83.8) 		30.4
(86.7) 		29.9
(85.8) 		24.9
(76.8) 		18.0
(64.4) 		10.5
(50.9) 		5.8
(42.4) 		30.4
(86.7)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) −2.0
(28.4) 		−1.1
(30.0) 		4.1
(39.4) 		12.4
(54.3) 		18.6
(65.5) 		22.0
(71.6) 		24.1
(75.4) 		22.9
(73.2) 		17.3
(63.1) 		10.1
(50.2) 		3.6
(38.5) 		−0.4
(31.3) 		11.0
(51.8)
Daily mean °C (°F) −4.2
(24.4) 		−4.1
(24.6) 		0.1
(32.2) 		7.1
(44.8) 		12.8
(55.0) 		16.5
(61.7) 		18.5
(65.3) 		17.3
(63.1) 		12.2
(54.0) 		6.4
(43.5) 		1.4
(34.5) 		−2.4
(27.7) 		6.8
(44.2)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −6.9
(19.6) 		−7.1
(19.2) 		−3.5
(25.7) 		2.2
(36.0) 		7.1
(44.8) 		10.9
(51.6) 		13.2
(55.8) 		12.2
(54.0) 		7.9
(46.2) 		3.3
(37.9) 		−0.8
(30.6) 		−4.7
(23.5) 		2.8
(37.0)
Record low °C (°F) −21.1
(−6.0) 		−19.7
(−3.5) 		−12.7
(9.1) 		−4.4
(24.1) 		−0.2
(31.6) 		4.5
(40.1) 		8.0
(46.4) 		6.0
(42.8) 		0.7
(33.3) 		−4.3
(24.3) 		−10.1
(13.8) 		−14.7
(5.5) 		−21.1
(−6.0)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 38.5
(1.52) 		37.5
(1.48) 		34.7
(1.37) 		37.0
(1.46) 		58.2
(2.29) 		73.2
(2.88) 		81.0
(3.19) 		69.1
(2.72) 		57.7
(2.27) 		57.3
(2.26) 		46.0
(1.81) 		42.1
(1.66) 		632.3
(24.89)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 10.4 9.5 8.6 7.3 9.8 10.2 9.9 8.9 8.9 10.7 9.7 10.4 114.3
Mean monthly sunshine hours 37.4 64.0 142.0 199.5 269.5 273.2 281.6 253.0 166.6 91.9 33.2 27.2 1,839.1
Source: NOAA[10]

Notes

  1. ^ Official transliteration.

References

  1. ^ a b c "Численность населения на 1 января 2024 г. и среднегодовая численность населения за 2023 год по Республике Беларусь в разрезе областей, районов, городов, поселков городского типа". belsat.gov.by. Archived from the original on 2 April 2024. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Megargee & Dean 2012, p. 1289.
  3. ^ Sharkawshchyna Raion on the website of Vitebsk Region Archived 2010-05-09 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ a b c Megargee & Dean 2012, p. 1290.
  5. ^ "המכון הבין-לאומי לחקר השואה - יד ושם".
  6. ^ The Holocaust and its Aftermath Samuel Kassow, page 665, chapter 23 in The Cambridge History of Judaism, volume VIII The Modern World.
  7. ^ "Численность населения на 1 января 2023 г. и среднегодовая численность населения за 2022 год по Республике Беларусь в разрезе областей, районов, городов, поселков городского типа". belsat.gov.by. Archived from the original on 17 April 2023. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
  8. ^ "Main Geographic Characteristics of the Republic of Belarus. Territory and population density of Belarus by region as of January 1, 2017". Land of Ancestors. The Scientific and Production State Republican Unitary Enterprise “National Cadastre Agency” of the State Property Committee of the Republic of Belarus. 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  9. ^ Численность населения по Республике Беларусь, областям и г. Минску (тысяч человек) на 1 января 2010 года Archived 2010-09-18 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ "World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1991-2020 — Sharkawshchyna". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved January 13, 2024.

Sources

  • Megargee, Geoffrey P.; Dean, Martin (2012). The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos 1933–1945. Volume II. Indiana University Press, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. pp. 1289–1290. ISBN 978-0-253-35599-7.
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