| Raków | |
| Settlement Type: | Village |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Type1: | Voivodeship |
| Subdivision Name1: | Greater Poland |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Kępno |
| Subdivision Type3: | Gmina |
| Subdivision Name3: | Łęka Opatowska |
| Pushpin Map: | Poland |
| Coordinates: | 51.2°N 24°W |
| Timezone: | CET |
| Utc Offset: | +1 |
| Timezone Dst: | CEST |
| Utc Offset Dst: | +2 |
| Registration Plate: | PKE |
Raków is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Łęka Opatowska, within Kępno County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, in west-central Poland.[1] It lies approximately 2km (01miles) south of Łęka Opatowska, 130NaN0 south-east of Kępno, and 1570NaN0 south-east of the regional capital Poznań.
In 1360, the village was granted by Bishop of Wrocław Przecław of Pogorzela to canon of Poznań Stefan Gromassy.[2] Later on, it was a private village of Polish nobility, including the Rakowski and Siemiański families.[2]
Following the joint German-Soviet invasion of Poland, which started World War II in September 1939, the village was occupied by Germany until 1945. In September 1941, the German gendarmerie carried out expulsions of Poles, who were deported to a temporary transit camp in nearby Opatów, while their houses were handed over to new German colonists as part of the Lebensraum policy.[3] The Poles were soon enslaved as forced labour and either sent to Germany or to German colonists in the county.[3]