Surkanty Explained

Surkanty
Settlement Type:Village
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:Belarus
Subdivision Type1:Region
Subdivision Name1:Grodno Region
Subdivision Type2:District
Coordinates:53.9447°N 24.9758°W
Pushpin Map:Belarus
Utc Offset:+3

Surkanty (Russian: Сурканты; Russian: Сурконты|Surkonty; Polish: Surkonty) is a village in Voranava District, Grodno Region, Belarus. It is part of Boltsishki selsoviet.[1]

History

In the interwar period, the village was situated in Poland, in the Nowogródek Voivodeship, in the Lidzki County, in the Raduń Commune. After the Soviet invasion of Poland in 1939, the village became part of the BSSR. In the years 1941-1944 it was under German occupation. Then the village was again in the BSSR. From 1991 in the Republic of Belarus.

Battle of Surkonty

On August 21, 1944, a battle took place in the village between an NKVD battalion and a partisan unit of the Home Army under the command of Maciej Kalenkiewicz "Kotwicz", who died there. The funeral of the deceased Polish soldiers, for fear of the Soviets, took place not in the local cemetery, but in the field, near the cemetery of the January insurgents. The local residents did not allow the grave to be plowed for the kolkhoz. On September 8, 1991, the cemetery of Polish soldiers was opened. The inscriptions on the crosses were made in Polish, but the authorities did not agree to write with whom the deceased fought. On August 25, 2022, the Belarusian authorities leveled the cemetery using heavy machinery.[2]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Gaponenko . Irina Olegovna . Назвы населеных пунктаў Рэспублікі Беларусь: Гродзенская вобласць . 2004 . Minsk . Тэхналогія . 143 . 985-458-098-9.
  2. Web site: Poland claims Second World War grave has been destroyed by Belarus . 25 August 2022.