Initially Zelwa was a private possession of various nobles, by the mid-16th century it became a possession of the Polish Crown, and in the 17th century it became again a private possession of nobility, including the Sapieha, Połubiński, Radziwiłł, Jarmołowicz and Konarzewski families.[3] In 1720 weekly markets and annual fairs were established.[3] In 1739 a Piarist monastery was founded.[3]
In the interbellum, it was administratively located in the Wołkowysk County in the Białystok Voivodeship of Poland. According to the 1921 census, the population was 63.4% Jewish, 31.1% Polish and 5.3% Belarusian.[4]
Following the joint German-Soviet invasion of Poland in September 1939, it was first occupied by the Soviet Union until 1 July 1941, and then by Nazi Germany until 12 July 1944 and administered as a part of Bezirk Bialystok. When the Germans entered the town, they killed 40 to 50 Jewish men and kept the Jews of the town imprisoned in a ghetto in very harsh conditions. In November 1942, the Jews were deported and murdered at the Treblinka extermination camp.[5]
↑ Gaponenko, Irina Olegovna (2004). Назвы населеных пунктаў Рэспублікі Беларусь: Гродзенская вобласць. Minsk: Тэхналогія. p.205. ISBN985-458-098-9.
1 2 3 Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich, Tom XIV (in Polish). Warszawa. 1895. pp.566–567.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
↑ Skorowidz miejscowości Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej. Tom V (in Polish). Warszawa: Główny Urząd Statystyczny. 1924.
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