| Hantsavichy | |
| Native Name: | |
| Settlement Type: | Town |
| Pushpin Map: | Belarus |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Belarus |
| Subdivision Type1: | Region |
| Subdivision Name1: | Brest Region |
| Subdivision Type2: | District |
| Subdivision Name2: | Hantsavichy District |
| Established Title: | Founded |
| Established Date: | 1898 |
| Population As Of: | 2024 |
| Population Footnotes: | [1] |
| Population Total: | 13,355 |
| Timezone: | MSK |
| Utc Offset: | +3 |
| Coordinates: | 52.8575°N 26.4819°W |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code |
| Postal Code: | 225432 |
| Area Code: | +375 1646 |
| Blank Name: | License plate |
| Blank Info: | 1 |
Hantsavichy or Gantsevichi (Belarusian: Ганцавічы|Hantsavičy, in Belarusian pronounced as /ˈɣant͡savʲitʂɨ/; Russian: Ганцевичи, pronounced as /ru/; Polish: Hancewicze; Lithuanian: Gancevičai) is a town in Brest Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Hantsavichy District.[1] As of 2024, it has a population of 13,355.[1]
The Hantsavichy Radar Station is a part of the Russian early warning radar system.
According to Belarusian toponymist Vadzim Žučkievič name "Hantsavichy" comes from surname Hantsavich.[2]
See also: Hantsavichy Ghetto. Before World War II, 60% of the population was Jewish. In the 1920s and 1930s there were four synagogues, a Jewish library, an orphanage, a Tarbut school and school in Yiddish. Under Polish administration, in 1939, the town was retaken by the Soviets and annexed to the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. The German army arrived on June 29, 1941. German occupation of Hantsavichy lasted until 7 July 1944.
From June 30 to July 1, 1941, a pogrom occurred in which 16 Jews were murdered. On August 15, 1941, 350 Jewish men were executed in the forest 11 km away from Hantsavichy. 600 Jews were shot in the town's market place. During another action 1,000 Jewish men were taken to the forest 1 km away and shot dead. A concentration work camp was established in November 1941. Besides the local Jews, there were 230 Lenin Jews and 120 native to Pogost. Small executions of 70-150 Jews took place constantly. During one of those executions, 100 Jewish refugees from Warsaw, along with two local families, Fish and Zeiger, were executed and buried in the Peski ravine. On August 14, 1942, more than 300 Jews fled the camp and others were shot. In all, during the occupation, 3,500 Jews were murdered by the Nazis in the district of Hantsavichy, including 1,500 women and 850 children.[3]
There are 3 schools, 1 gymnasium, agricultural lyceum and a special boarding school in Hantsavichy.