Będzieszyn, Gdańsk County

For details of the early history of the region, see History of Pomerania and of Royal Prussia.

Since 1466, when the rebels of the Prussian Confederation, only partially successful in overthrowing the governing Teutonic Order, could only partition the western parts (Culmland, Pomerelia and Warmia) of Order Prussia, Będzieszyn formed part of the Pomeranian Voivodeship in Polish-allied Royal Prussia.

In 1772, in the course of the First Partition of Poland Będzieszyn (aka Bendieszin) became part of the Kingdom of Prussia. Bendieszin then formed a manorial ward in the newly founded District of Dirschau. With partitioning Dirschau District in smaller districts in 1818, Bendieszin formed part of the new Danzig-Land District in the Danzig Region within West Prussia. In 1871 Bangschin, with all of Prussia, became part of Germany. In 1887, on partitioning Danzig-Land, Bangschin became part of the new Danzig Heights District. In 1910 Bangschin counted 174 inhabitants.[2]

Following the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles, the Bangschin manorial ward, together with most of the Danzig Heights District, became part of the Free City of Danzig, a League of Nations mandate, in January 1920, more than a year after World War I.[3] In 1929, when the Senate of Danzig dissolved all manorial wards, assigning them to one or more adjacent municipalities or transforming them into municipalities of their own, Bangschin was assigned to Praust.[4]

After the German and Soviet Invasion of Poland, in 1939 Nazi Germany annexed the mandated Danzig territory in a unilateral act, not recognised under international law, and merged Bangschin in the new Gau Danzig-West Prussia, an occupational authority not recognised under international law. Bangschin became part of the occupational Rural district of Danzig for the period until the end of World War II.

By the end of the war, in early 1945, the Red Army conquered and occupied the area. In summer 1945, following the provisions of the Potsdam Agreement, the Soviet occupation forces handed over Bangschin, like all of the mandated Danzig territory, to Polish forces. The Polish administration renamed Bangschin as Będzieszyn. As far as mandate Danzig nationals of German ethnicity had not fled the Soviet invasion, most of them were expelled in the following years.