Бендзин: История и трагедия польского города.

Będzin (; also Bendzin in English; ) is a city in the Dąbrowa Basin, in southern Poland. It lies in the Silesian Highlands, on the Czarna Przemsza River (a tributary of the Vistula). Even though part of Silesian Voivodeship, Będzin belongs to historic Lesser Poland, and it is one of the oldest towns of this region. Będzin is regarded as the capital of industrial Dąbrowa Basin. It has been situated in the Silesian Voivodeship since its formation in 1999. Before 1999, it was located in the Katowice Voivodeship. Będzin is one of the cities of the 2.7 million conurbation Katowice urban area and within a greater Upper Silesian Moravian metropolitan area populated by about 5,294,000 people. The population of the city itself as of December 2021 is 55,183. The Będzin Power Station was opened in 1913. Będzin was eventually restored to Poland, when the country regained independence in 1918, after World War I. In the Second Polish Republic Będzin was an important center of local administration and industry. New rail station, waterworks, schools and offices were built.

During the German invasion of Poland, which started World War II, the Wehrmacht entered Będzin on September 4, 1939, and in the following days the Germans committed the first atrocities in the city. On September 6, the Germans murdered 20 Poles, and on September 9, they murdered 100 Jews, set fire to the synagogue and Jewish houses, and then in attempt to blame the Poles they arrested and executed 42 Poles. Local Polish parish priest rescued a group of Jews who escaped the German massacre by opening the gates of the Holy Trinity church to them and giving them shelter. Inhabitants of Będzin were also among Poles murdered in Celiny in June 1940. The Będzin Ghetto was established by the German occupational authority in July 1940. During the occupation, the city's name was changed to a German form, Bendsburg, and it was part of Upper Silesia Province, as the capital of Landkreis Bendsburg. During the war the city was the base for a working party (E716) of British and Commonwealth prisoners of war, under the administration of Stalag VIII B/344 at Łambinowice (then known as Lamsdorf). In January 1945, as the Soviet armies resumed their offensive and advanced from the east, the prisoners were marched westward in the so called Long March or Death March. Many of them died from the bitter cold and exhaustion. The lucky ones got far enough to the west to be liberated by the allied armies after some four months of travelling on foot in appalling conditions. Their sufferings, though severe, pale by comparison to those of the Jews of Będzin (see below). In 1943–1944, the Germans also operated a subcamp of the Auschwitz concentration camp in the present day district of Łagisza, in which they held and brutalized from 300 to over 700 prisoners as forced labourers. In August 1943, as the Germans attempted to round up the last Jews still in Będzin, Jewish resistance fighters staged an armed revolt that lasted several days. One of the leaders was a woman, Frumka Plotnicka, who had earlier been a fighter in Warsaw in the ghetto revolt there. All the resistance fighters were killed in the action. More than 1000 Będzin Jews survived the war, several given help by local Poles. On January 27, 1945, the town was captured by the Red Army. Subsequently, the castle was rebuilt, now housing the Museum of Zagłębie. New districts with blocks of flats were built and new factories were opened, including the Łagisza Power Station.

Until World War II, Będzin had a vibrant Jewish community. Bedzin was known as "Yerushalayim de Zeglembie" ("Jerusalem of Zagłębie). According to the Russian census of 1897, out of the total population of 21,200, Jews constituted 10,800 (around 51% percent). According to the Polish census of 1921 the town had a Jewish community consisting of 17,298 people, or 62.1 percent of its total population. In September 1939, the German Army (Wehrmacht) overran this area, followed by the SS death squads (Einsatzgruppen), who burned the Będzin synagogue and murdered 200 Jewish inhabitants. A Będzin Ghetto was created in 1942. Eventually, in the summer of 1943, most of the Jews in Będzin were deported to Auschwitz concentration camp. After World War II, the Mizrachi synagogue was used as a storage room by residents of the building until its discovery by a member of the city council who became interested in preserving the city's Jewish heritage. The synagogue has since been renovated and is open to visitors who register in advance. Close by is another synagogue, Brama Cukerman (Cukerman's Gate), which had been turned into a residential apartment and has also been restored.

Będzin is conveniently located at the intersection of two national roads the 94th (Zgorzelec Kraków), and the 86th (Katowice Warsaw). Katowice International Airport is located away, at Pyrzowice. The town also is a rail hub, where two connections meet. Będzin has three rail stations (Będzin Miasto, Będzin and Będzin Ksawera), and convenient bus and tram connections to neighboring cities. The first tram line was opened there in 1928. At that time the Black Przemsza River which runs through the city was also an important transport hub. The "Black" Przemsza is so named because the river bed as it flows through Będzin exposes a coal seam, making the water above it appear black.

The city's most notable sports club is volleyball team MKS Będzin, which competes in the PlusLiga (Poland's top division). Other clubs include association football teams and , which compete in the lower leagues, and American football team Zagłębie Steelers.