out in 1940. Poles were deported to a transit camp in nearby Ozorków, and afterwards young people were deported from the camp to forced labour in Germany, and children and older people were deported to the General Government (German-occupied central Poland), while their homes, shops and workshops were handed over to German colonists as part of the Lebensraum policy. In January 1942 there was a forced labor camp operating in or near the town. Jews had been an important part of the population of Łęczyca since the late 1400s. At the beginning of the war in 1939, the Jewish population was more than 4000, about 30 percent of the community. The Germans began to terrorize, pillage, and humiliate the Jewish population from the beginning of the occupation. The Germans established a ghetto in late 1939, and later forbade any Jew to leave it on penalty of death. After the ghetto was enclosed, hunger and typhus ravaged the ghetto population. Periodically, hundreds of the community were expelled to other places, while Jews in other locations were brought to Łęczyca. In April 1942, the remaining Jews, about 1700 people, were sent to the Chełmno extermination camp where they were immediately gassed. The local Poles took over their houses and what meager possessions they left behind. After the war it was reintegrated into the People's Republic of Poland. Landmarks Royal Castle - originally dating from the 14th century, rebuilt from scratch after 1964. Church of St Andrew the Apostle—the current church dates was consecrated in 1425. Dominican monastery in Ul. Pocztowa (served as a prison from 1799 until 2006). Former political internees include Władysław Gomułka and Władysław Frasyniuk. Cistercian church and monastery in ul. Poznańska, built between 1636-1643. Defensive walls of Łęczyca, some of which are still extant. The original walls enclosed an area of approximately 9 hectares, amounted to 1150 metres in length and 7 metres in height. The town plan is still recognisably that of a medieval town. A couple of kilometres away are the Collegiate church and the earthworks at the site of the medieval settlement of Tum. Sports The local football team is . It competes in the lower leagues. Dukes of Sieradz-Łęczyca 1228-1232 Henry I the Bearded (Henryk I Brodaty) 1232-1233 Konrad of Masovia (Konrad Mazowiecki) 1234-1247 Konrad of Masovia (Konrad Mazowiecki) 1247-1260 Casimir I of Mazovia (Kazimierz I Mazowiecki) 1260-1275 Leszek the Black (Leszek Czarny) 1275-1294 divided