JUNE 14 - DAILY CHRONICLES OF HISTORY

JUNE 14

1634

Russia and Poland signed Peace Treaty of Polianow:  The Treaty of Polyanovka (Polish: Polanów) was signed on June 14, 1634 between the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Tsardom of Russia in the village of Semlevo located near the Polyanovka River. The accord was signed in the aftermath of the Smolensk War. The negotiations began on April 30 after the failure of the Polish siege of Belaya. Overall, the agreement confirmed the pre-war status quo, with Russia paying a large war indemnity (20,000 rubles in gold) for Władysław IV agreeing to surrender his claim to the Russian throne and return the royal insignia to Russia. Władysław, despite holding an upper hand, was trying to bring Russia into an anti-Sweden alliance; hence in a gesture of goodwill he agreed to give the Russians the border town of Serpeysk and nearby territories. However, the alliance never came through, as the Polish Sejm, unwilling to fight Sweden after the Treaty of Sztumska Wieś, subsequently objected, and Russians saw no benefit in such an alliance.

1906

Pogrom against Jews in Bialystok in Russian Empire: The pogrom occurred between from June 14–16, 1906 in then part of the Russian Empire. Between 81 and 88 people were murdered and about 80 people wounded.  Just as shots were fired, the violence suddenly erupted as mobs of thugs began looting Jewish stores and apartments. The police did nothing to stop it and even participated. By the next day, the attacks on Jewish people no longer appeared as a spontaneous outbreak of violence but rather systematic as in a coordinated military attack.  Russian authorities tried to blame the pogrom on the local Polish population in order to stir up hatred between the Jews and Poles (both of which were opposed to the Tsar).  However Jewish survivors of the violence reported that the local Polish population had in fact sheltered many Jews during the pogrom and did not participate in it. Apolinary Hartglas, a Polish Jewish leader and later a member of the Polish Sejm, together with Ze'ev Jabotinsky, managed to obtain secret documents issued by Szeremietiev which proved that the pogrom was planned in advance by Russian authorities and that the murderers were Russian railroad workers transported from Russia to instigate the violence.

1940

Auschwitz concentration camp began to operate in Nazi controlled Poland. The first transport, from the southern Polish city of Tarnów, consisted of 728 Poles, including 20 Jews. (eventually  3 million would die within its confines). The inmate population grew quickly as the camp absorbed Poland's intelligentsia and dissidents, including members of the Polish underground resistance. By March 1941, 10,900 were imprisoned there, most of them Poles. By the end of 1940, the Nazis had confiscated land in the surrounding area to create a 40-square-kilometre (15 sq mi) "zone of interest" surrounded by a double ring of electrified barbed wire fences and watchtowers.


German forces occupied Paris unopposed on June 14 after a chaotic period of flight of the French government that led to a collapse of the French army. The Battle of France was fought from May 10 to June 25, 1940.  French divisions made a determined resistance but were unable to overcome the German air superiority and armoured mobility. Though the French believed that the Maginot Line would be sufficient defence, German tanks charged through its defenses and deep into France. German commanders met with French officials on June 18 with the objective of forcing the new French government to accept an armistice that amounted to surrender. On June 22, the Second Armistice at Compiègne was signed by France and Germany, resulting in a division of France. The neutral Vichy government led by Marshal Philippe Pétain superseded the Third Republic and Germany occupied the north and west. Italy took control of a small occupation zone in the south-east, and the Vichy regime was left in control of unoccupied territory in the south known as the zone libre.

1944

The Battle of Porytowe Wzgórze began between Polish and Russian partisans and Nazi German forces:  Polish and Russian partisans, numbering around 3,000 found themselves overwhelmed and surrounded by 25,000 to 30,000 German soldiers backed by artillery, tanks, armored cars and air support.  The Germans managed to break through the partisans' line of defense and despite high casualties among the Poles and Russians, they managed to drive the Germans back. The Germans took cover in the woods nearby from which they could keep the partisans under constant fire, increasing the number of casualties, then capturing the western side of the Porytowe Hill, they succeeded in breaching the main line of defense. The Poles and Russians counterattacked, and were able to recover their lost positions and break out of the trap. After fierce fighting, and heavy losses, the main columns of partisans, managed to reach the safety of the Solska Wilderness after a march of 40 kilometers.