page_title: Siedlce
section_title: Poland in the 20th century
hierarchical_section_title: Siedlce / History / Poland in the 20th century
caption_attribution_description: Polski: Powitania marszałka Józefa Piłsudskiego przez starostę siedleckiego Józefa Felicjana Helbicha na dworcu kolejowym. Widoczny także lokalny działacz społeczny inżynier Franciszek Ksawery Godlewski (na prawo od Piłsudskiego- w meloniku), prezes syndykatu rolniczego.
context_page_description: Siedlce is a city in eastern Poland with 77,872 inhabitants. Situated in the Masovian Voivodeship, previously the city was the capital of a separate Siedlce Voivodeship. Siedlce lies between two small rivers, the Muchawka and the Helenka, along European route E30. It is the fourth largest city of the Voivodeship, and the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Siedlce. Siedlce is a local educational, cultural and business center.
context_section_description: In the Second Polish Republic, since the return to independence in 1918, Siedlce belonged to the Lublin Voivodeship (1919–39) in the central part of the country (unlike today) with the provincial capital in Lublin. The city remained an important rail junction and was the location of a military garrison, where the 9th Infantry Division was stationed before the Nazi-Soviet invasion of Poland. During World War II, the area of Siedlce was home to a large partisan force of the Home Army and other underground organizations, such as Armia Ludowa. Due to German terror, the town lost one-third of its population, including its entire Jewish community deported to extermination camps during the Holocaust. In late July 1944 (see Operation Tempest), Home Army units freed the town, together with the Red Army. After the war, 50% of Siedlce was in ruins, including the town hall.
caption: Marshall Józef Piłsudski during his visit in Siedlce in 1919
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