_ _ __ __ _ _____ _ _ _
/ \ ___| | __ | \/ | ___| |_ __ _| ___(_) | |_ ___ _ __
/ _ \ / __| |/ / | |\/| |/ _ \ __/ _` | |_ | | | __/ _ \ '__|
/ ___ \\__ \ < | | | | __/ || (_| | _| | | | || __/ |
/_/ \_\___/_|\_\ |_| |_|\___|\__\__,_|_| |_|_|\__\___|_|
querying the hive mind
What cities on the Polish Belarus border changed hands?
According to my late dad my family on his mom's side was from a town on the border of the two countries that was one country and then became another. I'm assuming it would have happened a while ago (at least +60 years) but that's all I've got.
posted by rileyray3000 on May 09, 2024 at 1:14 AM
---------------------------
You're probably looking for the region referred to as Western Belarus.
posted by kickingtheground at 1:23 AM
---------------------------
Depending on how long ago it was, it could refer to anything in Eastern Poland and to all of Belarus. Take a look at maps of the partitions (Russian portion changed a bit over the 19th century but it always included the current border area) and Poland in 1919-1939 - the post 1945 borders shifted west by hundreds of kilometres. Plus of course a lot of current Belarus was part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth before the gradual partition of that country in the late 18th century between Russia, Prussia and Austria. You're looking at a pretty big area. For example the most Polish branch of my family had land near a city that's currently in Belarus.
Genealogy research in that area gets complicated, especially in the current geopolitical situation. In the US, I'd bet on Jewish-specialised researchers having the best resources in English - it was an area with a very large Jewish population in cities. (Like a different branch of mine, natch.) Also very complex ethnic identities, people would often identify with religion more than nation.
posted by I claim sanctuary at 2:12 AM
---------------------------
The most recent major border change in Poland occurred after the end of WWII. You can see details of the changes here. The changes were significant, not just "on the border".
posted by HiroProtagonist at 8:29 PM
---------------------------