Dzialdowo
Encyclopedia
Działdowo dź is a town
in north-central Poland
with 24,830 inhabitants (2006), the capital of Działdowo County. Situated in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship
(since 1999), Działdowo previously belonged to Ciechanów Voivodeship
(1975–1998). The town is a major railroad junction, in Dzialdowo the strategic connection from Warsaw
splits into two directions - towards Gdańsk
and towards Olsztyn
.
known as Sassen in German and Sasinowie in Polish. The Teutonic Knights
conquered the region and built a castle
named Soldau, a wing of which still remains. Grand Master Ludolf König
granted the settlement near the castle Kulm law town privileges in 1344. It was then also known in Polish
as Soldov. By 1920, the keep was stripped of all interior finishing, flooring, and stone carvings to the state of an empty shell. A major reconstruction is underway.
Within the Duchy of Prussia the settlement converted to Lutheranism
during the Protestant Reformation
of the 16th century, according to the choice of its Prince. The following communes belonged to the Evangelical parish of Soldau: Amalienhof, Borowo, Bursch, Cämmersdorf, Gajowken, Hohendorf, Kyschienen, Königshagen, Kurkau, Niederhof, Pierlawken, Pruschinowo, and Rudolfsfelde.
Within the Kingdom of Prussia
and the later German Empire
, the settlement developed into an important Prussian Eastern Railway junction in the second half of the 19th century. At the same time the Prussian authorities were hostile to the local population due to its Polish pro-independence activity during the November
and January Uprising
s in Congress Poland
. During the January Uprising of 1863 an ammunition depot and contact point was secretly established by local people trying to help their fellow Poles in the struggle against the Russian Empire
; it was located at the house of Doctor Russendorf. Prussian authorities arrested several locals and harassed the local population which tried to form military units to aid the uprising. The area remained Polish despite attempts at Germanisation. In 1815 79% of the local population were Poles, and only 21% Germans. In 1837 74% were Poles and 26% Germans. In the second half of the 19th century 87% of the district's population were Poles. With the increase of Germanisation efforts in 1910, the whole district population was divided among 57% Poles, 42% Germans and 1% Jews according to official German statistics. In 1910 the town itself had 4,728 inhabitants, 3,589 of them Germans.
In 1912 the Germans introduced the terms "Masurs" and "Masurian language" instead of "Pole" and "Polish language" in the census in the area.
It was part of the Landkreis Neidenburg district in East Prussia
, and it was the southernmost town in the province.
Despite the attempts of the local German populace, the German authorities within Działdowo and the German Government, the town together with a few neighboring villages was transferred after World War I
by the Treaty of Versailles
from Weimar Germany
to the Second Polish Republic
on January 17, 1920 without a plebiscite, as the area provided the Prussian Eastern Railway connection between Warsaw and Danzig (Gdańsk). An offer by the Germans to build a new railroad if the town could join the plebiscite was rejected by Poland. The rail connections to towns in Germany such as Deutsch Eylau, Osterode
, and Neidenburg
in East Prussia were broken after the border changes. After the town was ceded to Poland, a large number of the German inhabitants left the area. The candidate of the German Party, Ernst Barczewski, was elected to the Sejm
with 74.6% of votes in 1920 and to the Polish Senate with 34.6% of votes for the Bloc of National Minorities
in 1928. In 1921, the Polish census gave the following data regarding the ethnic composition of the whole district: Poles, 15496; Germans, 8187; others, 44.
During the Polish-Soviet War
Działdowo was briefly occupied by the Red Army
which was cheered as a liberator by the local populace, and the town hoisted the German flag again but it was soon recovered by the Polish Army.
After the invasion of Poland
that began World War II
in 1939, the town was annexed back into the Neidenburg District by Nazi Germany
. The German minority in the town formed Selbstschutz
formations that captured and tortured Polish leaders and political and cultural elites before murdering them. The Soldau concentration camp
was built nearby, at which 13,000 out of 30,000 prisoners were murdered. Działdowo was heavily damaged during the fighting on the Eastern Front
. The destroyed town was restored to Poland after the war. German-speakers remaining in the town were subsequently expelled westward
after the war ended.
with: Hersfeld-Rotenburg
, Germany
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
in north-central Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
with 24,830 inhabitants (2006), the capital of Działdowo County. Situated in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship
Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship
Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, or Warmia-Masuria Province , is a voivodeship in northeastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Olsztyn...
(since 1999), Działdowo previously belonged to Ciechanów Voivodeship
Ciechanów Voivodeship
Ciechanów Voivodeship was a unit of administrative division and local government in Poland in years 1975–1998, superseded by the Masovian Voivodeship. Its capital city was Ciechanów.-Major cities and towns :* Ciechanów...
(1975–1998). The town is a major railroad junction, in Dzialdowo the strategic connection from Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
splits into two directions - towards Gdańsk
Gdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
and towards Olsztyn
Olsztyn
Olsztyn is a city in northeastern Poland, on the Łyna River. Olsztyn has been the capital of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship since 1999. It was previously in the Olsztyn Voivodeship...
.
History
The first settlement in the vicinity was by a tribe of Old PrussiansOld Prussians
The Old Prussians or Baltic Prussians were an ethnic group, autochthonous Baltic tribes that inhabited Prussia, the lands of the southeastern Baltic Sea in the area around the Vistula and Curonian Lagoons...
known as Sassen in German and Sasinowie in Polish. The Teutonic Knights
Teutonic Knights
The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem , commonly the Teutonic Order , is a German medieval military order, in modern times a purely religious Catholic order...
conquered the region and built a castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
named Soldau, a wing of which still remains. Grand Master Ludolf König
Ludolf König
Ludolf König von Wattzau was the 20th Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, serving from 1342 to 1345....
granted the settlement near the castle Kulm law town privileges in 1344. It was then also known in Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
as Soldov. By 1920, the keep was stripped of all interior finishing, flooring, and stone carvings to the state of an empty shell. A major reconstruction is underway.
Within the Duchy of Prussia the settlement converted to Lutheranism
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
during the Protestant Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
of the 16th century, according to the choice of its Prince. The following communes belonged to the Evangelical parish of Soldau: Amalienhof, Borowo, Bursch, Cämmersdorf, Gajowken, Hohendorf, Kyschienen, Königshagen, Kurkau, Niederhof, Pierlawken, Pruschinowo, and Rudolfsfelde.
Within the Kingdom of Prussia
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
and the later German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
, the settlement developed into an important Prussian Eastern Railway junction in the second half of the 19th century. At the same time the Prussian authorities were hostile to the local population due to its Polish pro-independence activity during the November
November Uprising
The November Uprising , Polish–Russian War 1830–31 also known as the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in Warsaw when the young Polish officers from the local Army of the Congress...
and January Uprising
January Uprising
The January Uprising was an uprising in the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth against the Russian Empire...
s in Congress Poland
Congress Poland
The Kingdom of Poland , informally known as Congress Poland , created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna, was a personal union of the Russian parcel of Poland with the Russian Empire...
. During the January Uprising of 1863 an ammunition depot and contact point was secretly established by local people trying to help their fellow Poles in the struggle against the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
; it was located at the house of Doctor Russendorf. Prussian authorities arrested several locals and harassed the local population which tried to form military units to aid the uprising. The area remained Polish despite attempts at Germanisation. In 1815 79% of the local population were Poles, and only 21% Germans. In 1837 74% were Poles and 26% Germans. In the second half of the 19th century 87% of the district's population were Poles. With the increase of Germanisation efforts in 1910, the whole district population was divided among 57% Poles, 42% Germans and 1% Jews according to official German statistics. In 1910 the town itself had 4,728 inhabitants, 3,589 of them Germans.
In 1912 the Germans introduced the terms "Masurs" and "Masurian language" instead of "Pole" and "Polish language" in the census in the area.
It was part of the Landkreis Neidenburg district in East Prussia
East Prussia
East Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.East Prussia...
, and it was the southernmost town in the province.
Despite the attempts of the local German populace, the German authorities within Działdowo and the German Government, the town together with a few neighboring villages was transferred after World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
by the Treaty of Versailles
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
from Weimar Germany
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...
to the Second Polish Republic
Second Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...
on January 17, 1920 without a plebiscite, as the area provided the Prussian Eastern Railway connection between Warsaw and Danzig (Gdańsk). An offer by the Germans to build a new railroad if the town could join the plebiscite was rejected by Poland. The rail connections to towns in Germany such as Deutsch Eylau, Osterode
Ostróda
Ostróda is a town in Ostróda County in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship in Poland, with 33,603 inhabitants as of January 1, 2005. It lies in the Masurian Lake District and is a growing tourist site owing to its relaxing natural surroundings.-History:...
, and Neidenburg
Nidzica
Nidzica is a town in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship in Poland, between Olsztyn and Mława. It has a population of 14,798 . It is the capital of Nidzica County.-History:...
in East Prussia were broken after the border changes. After the town was ceded to Poland, a large number of the German inhabitants left the area. The candidate of the German Party, Ernst Barczewski, was elected to the Sejm
Sejm
The Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament. The Sejm is made up of 460 deputies, or Poseł in Polish . It is elected by universal ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the Marshal of the Sejm ....
with 74.6% of votes in 1920 and to the Polish Senate with 34.6% of votes for the Bloc of National Minorities
Bloc of National Minorities
Blok Mniejszości Narodowych , was a political party in the Second Polish Republic, representing a coalition of various ethnic minorities in Poland, primarily Ukrainians, Belarusians, Jews and Germans. The Bloc was co-founded by Yitzhak Gruenbaum, a Polish-Jewish politician...
in 1928. In 1921, the Polish census gave the following data regarding the ethnic composition of the whole district: Poles, 15496; Germans, 8187; others, 44.
During the Polish-Soviet War
Polish-Soviet War
The Polish–Soviet War was an armed conflict between Soviet Russia and Soviet Ukraine and the Second Polish Republic and the Ukrainian People's Republic—four states in post–World War I Europe...
Działdowo was briefly occupied by the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
which was cheered as a liberator by the local populace, and the town hoisted the German flag again but it was soon recovered by the Polish Army.
After the invasion of Poland
Invasion of Poland (1939)
The Invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign or 1939 Defensive War in Poland and the Poland Campaign in Germany, was an invasion of Poland by Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small Slovak contingent that marked the start of World War II in Europe...
that began World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in 1939, the town was annexed back into the Neidenburg District by Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
. The German minority in the town formed Selbstschutz
Selbstschutz
Selbstschutz stands for two organisations:# A name used by a number of paramilitary organisations created by ethnic Germans in Central and Eastern Europe# A name for self-defence measures and units in ethnic German, Austrian, and Swiss civil defence....
formations that captured and tortured Polish leaders and political and cultural elites before murdering them. The Soldau concentration camp
Soldau concentration camp
The Soldau concentration camp was a concentration camp established by Nazi Germany during World War II in Działdowo , which after the occupation of Poland was part of East Prussia....
was built nearby, at which 13,000 out of 30,000 prisoners were murdered. Działdowo was heavily damaged during the fighting on the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
. The destroyed town was restored to Poland after the war. German-speakers remaining in the town were subsequently expelled westward
Expulsion of Germans after World War II
The later stages of World War II, and the period after the end of that war, saw the forced migration of millions of German nationals and ethnic Germans from various European states and territories, mostly into the areas which would become post-war Germany and post-war Austria...
after the war ended.
Twin towns — Sister cities
Działdowo is twinnedTown twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
with: Hersfeld-Rotenburg
Hersfeld-Rotenburg
Hersfeld-Rotenburg is a Kreis in the east of Hesse, Germany. Neighboring districts are Werra-Meißner, Wartburgkreis, Fulda, Vogelsbergkreis, Schwalm-Eder.-History:...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...