Jazep Sažyč
Encyclopedia
Jazep Sažyč was a Belarus
ian politician and military commander.
Jazep Sažyč was born in Haradzieczna (now in Navahrudak district
, Hrodna Voblast
). He graduated from a Polish gymnasium in Navahrudak. In 1938 he was mobilized into the Polish army where he underwent an officer training course. During the German invasion of Poland Sažyč was commander of a minor military unit. He got wounded and taken by the Germans as a POW. He was later transferred to a hospital in Łódź from where he managed to get to Białystok and later to Navahrudak. He worked as an accountant in a village store and became enlisted as student to the University of Lviv.
However, with Germany attacking the USSR Sažyč was mobilized into the Red Army. He soon deserted and returned to Lviv, where he worked at a shop and supported the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists
.
He then went back to Navahrudak where he joined Belarusian collaborators organizing Belarusian military units. Sažyč served in the local pro-German police. In 1942 he was appointed commandant of the Under Officer School of the Belarusian Self Help. In February 1943 he was given the task to organize a Belarusian railway guard unit in Lida
. From July 1943 he taught at an officer school in Minsk.
In early 1944 Jazep Sažyč joined the Biełaruskaja Krajovaja Abarona and, at the same time, the Belarusian Independence Party
.
In July 1944 Sažyč left Belarus to the Western Front in Saarbrücken
. The Belarusian undercover government gave him the task to establish contacts with the French Resistance
. However, as the Germans got to know about that, Sažyč was immediately transferred to Berlin
. In Berlin he was participating in training the Čorny Kot partisan troup and was commandant of the officer school of the 30th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Belarussian).
, later moved to Hessen. After that he studied Medicine at the University of Marburg.
Upon graduation, in 1950 he left for the USA, where he worked as anesthesiologist
and became actively involved in the life of the Belarusian diaspora in the USA.
Jazep Sažyč was one of the founders of the Belarusian-American Association in Michigan
. From 1953 he was member of the Belarusian People's Republic government in exile; in 1982–1997 he was the government's president.
He died in Ann Arbor, Michigan
in 2007.
Памёр былы Старшыня Рады БНР Язэп Сажыч
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
ian politician and military commander.
Jazep Sažyč was born in Haradzieczna (now in Navahrudak district
Navahrudak district
Navahrudak district - a district in Hrodna vobłaść of Belarus.The administrative center is Navahrudak....
, Hrodna Voblast
Hrodna Voblast
Hrodna Voblast or Grodno Oblast is a voblast in northwestern Belarus.The capital - Grodno is the biggest city of the province. It lies on the Neman River. Grodno's existence is attested to from 1127. Two castles dating from the 14th - 18th centuries are located here on the steep right bank of...
). He graduated from a Polish gymnasium in Navahrudak. In 1938 he was mobilized into the Polish army where he underwent an officer training course. During the German invasion of Poland Sažyč was commander of a minor military unit. He got wounded and taken by the Germans as a POW. He was later transferred to a hospital in Łódź from where he managed to get to Białystok and later to Navahrudak. He worked as an accountant in a village store and became enlisted as student to the University of Lviv.
However, with Germany attacking the USSR Sažyč was mobilized into the Red Army. He soon deserted and returned to Lviv, where he worked at a shop and supported the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists
Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists
The Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists is a Ukrainian political organization which as a movement originally was created in 1929 in Western Ukraine . The OUN accepted violence as an acceptable tool in the fight against foreign and domestic enemies particularly Poland and Russia...
.
He then went back to Navahrudak where he joined Belarusian collaborators organizing Belarusian military units. Sažyč served in the local pro-German police. In 1942 he was appointed commandant of the Under Officer School of the Belarusian Self Help. In February 1943 he was given the task to organize a Belarusian railway guard unit in Lida
Lida
Lida is a city in western Belarus in Hrodna Voblast, situated 160 km west of Minsk. It is the fourteenth largest city in Belarus.- Etymology :...
. From July 1943 he taught at an officer school in Minsk.
In early 1944 Jazep Sažyč joined the Biełaruskaja Krajovaja Abarona and, at the same time, the Belarusian Independence Party
Belarusian Independence Party
The Belarusian Independence Party was a Belarusian separatist military organization during the Second World War.-Creation:The BNP was probably created in 1939—1940 in Vilnius . The initiator of its creation was padre Vincent Hadleŭski...
.
In July 1944 Sažyč left Belarus to the Western Front in Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken is the capital of the state of Saarland in Germany. The city is situated at the heart of a metropolitan area that borders on the west on Dillingen and to the north-east on Neunkirchen, where most of the people of the Saarland live....
. The Belarusian undercover government gave him the task to establish contacts with the French Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
. However, as the Germans got to know about that, Sažyč was immediately transferred to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. In Berlin he was participating in training the Čorny Kot partisan troup and was commandant of the officer school of the 30th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Belarussian).
In emigration
After war end he landed in ThuringiaThuringia
The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
, later moved to Hessen. After that he studied Medicine at the University of Marburg.
Upon graduation, in 1950 he left for the USA, where he worked as anesthesiologist
Anesthesiologist
An anesthesiologist or anaesthetist is a physician trained in anesthesia and peri-operative medicine....
and became actively involved in the life of the Belarusian diaspora in the USA.
Jazep Sažyč was one of the founders of the Belarusian-American Association in Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. From 1953 he was member of the Belarusian People's Republic government in exile; in 1982–1997 he was the government's president.
He died in Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...
in 2007.
External links
Язэп Сажыч — адзіны з былых старшыняў Рады БНР, які цяпер жыве. Інтэрвію на "Радыё Свабода" - an interview with Jazep Sažyč by Radio Free EuropeRadio Free Europe
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty is a broadcaster funded by the U.S. Congress that provides news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the Middle East "where the free flow of information is either banned by government authorities or not fully developed"...
Памёр былы Старшыня Рады БНР Язэп Сажыч