Grudziadz
Encyclopedia
Grudziądz AUD is a city
in northern Poland
on the Vistula River, with 96 042 inhabitants (2010). Situated in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship
(since 1999), the city was previously in the Toruń Voivodeship
(1975–1998).
founded by Polish ruler Bolesław Chrobry, the settlement adopted Kulm law in 1291 while under the rule of monastic state of the Teutonic Knights
becoming a city. In 1440, the city joined the Prussian Confederation
, and between 1466 and 1772, the city belonged to Polish province of Royal Prussia
.
in 1772, the city was annexed by the German Kingdom of Prussia
and became part of the unified German Empire
in 1871.
The city was place of a military prison for Polish activists-those released formed Gromada Grudziądz in Portsmouth
on 1835, as part of Great Emigration
movement
After the construction of a railroad bridge across the Vistula
in 1878, Graudenz became a rapidly growing industrialized city as well as a district centre
in 1900.
A light cruiser
of the German Imperial Navy, built in 1912-1914, was named after the city.
, where Germanisation was enforced beginning with 1772. Frederick had previously regarded the Polish government as the worst government in Europe, apart from Turkey, scorning the aristocratic anarchy there Guided by the interests of the state but not believing in the importance of race, he preferred to introduce German or Frisian workers and peasants, who in his opinion were more suitable for building up a new civilization than the “physically and morally ruined serfs of the Polish nobility”. Frederick settled around 300,000 colonists in the eastern provinces of Prussia
. Using funds for colonization, German craftsmen were placed in Polish cities A second colonization attempt aimed at Germanisation was pursued by Prussia after 1832. Laws were passed in Prussia aimed at Germanisation of the Polish inhabited areas and 154,000 colonists were settled by the Prussian Settlement Commission before World War I.
Professor Martin Kitchen
writes that in areas where Polish population lived along with Germans a virtual apartheid existed,with bans on Polish language and religious discrimination, besides attempts to colonize the areas with Germans
To resist Germanisation, Polish activists in 1894 started to publish the newspaper "Gazeta Grudziądzka", the newspaper advocated social and economical emancipation of the rural society and opposed Germanization, publishing articles critical of Germany; German attempts to repress the newspaper's editor Wiktor Kulerski only helped to raise its popularity further.
From 1898 to 1901, there was a secret society
of Polish students in the city, seeking the restoration of Polish independence, until the activists were tried by German courts in 1901, frustrating their efforts.
In Grudziądz German soldiers were stationed in the local fortress as part of Germanization measures, and authorities placed soldiers with chauvinistic attitude towards Poles there
German government introduced stationed military, merchants and state officials to influence population figures, and in census of 1910 84% of the population of the town and 58% of the county declared to be German Census numbers published by the German Empire have been criticised as unreliable and Polish historians believe they have a high degree of falsfification; potential pressure from census takers(predominatly schoolteachers) takes couldn't be excluded, additionally a bilingual category was created further complicating the results. Some analysts asserted that all people registering as bilingual have been classified as Germans
Estimates of Polish population in this heavily Germanised city are around 12 to 15% during this period, Polish population rose steadily before First World War
In the 1912 Reichstag
elections, the National Liberal Party of Germany
received 53% of all votes, whilst Polish candidates won 21% of votes. In 1912 Wiktor Kulerski founded Polish Catholic Peasant Party in the city, which aimed at protecting local Polish population
In 1913 the Polish Gazeta Grudziądzka reached the circulation of 128,000, rendering this at the time the third largest Polish newspaper in the whole world.
, Grudziądz became part of the Polish state
. At that time Josef Włodek, the newly appointed Polish mayor, described his impression of the town as "modern but unfortunately completely German"
Between 1926 and 1934 the number of Germans (34,194 in 1910) rose from 3,542 in 1926 to 3,875 in 1934. Some Polish authors emphasize a wider emigration pattern motivated chiefly by economic conditions and unwillingess of the German minority to live in Polish state.
The German author Christian Raitz von Frentz writes that after First World War ended, the Polish government tried to reverse the systematic Germanization from the past decades
Prejudices, stereotypes and conflicts dating back to the German rule influenced the Polish minority policies in the now independent Polish state.
Polish authorities, supported by the public (e.g. the “explicitly anti-German” Związek Obrony Kresów Zachodnich), initiated a number of measures to further Polonization
. Local press was also hostile towards the Germans.
Fearful of a re-Germanization of the city, the Polish paper Słowo Pomorskie (23.19.1923) criticized the authorities of Grudziądz for tolerating the local German amateur theatre
"Deutsche Bühne". The theatre was funded by money coming from Berlin Created before the war, its actors came mostly from German officers stationed in local garrison
The mayor responded by pointing out that the theatre was being monitored because of suspected “anti-state activities”. According to Kotowski, this episode indicates that even the most minor activities of the German minority were closely scrutinized by the Polish authorities beginning with the earliest phase of Polish minority policy towards Germans
The German theatre was re-opened by Nazis in 1943, while the last director of the Polish theatre in the city in the years 22-24 was murdered by them
In the 20 years between the world war
s, Grudziądz served as an important centre of culture and education with one of the biggest Polish military garrisons and several military schools located both within the confines of the city and around it. A large economic potential, and the existence of important institutions like the Pomerania
n Tax Office and the Pomeranian Chamber of Industry and Trade, helped Grudziądz become the economic capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship
in the interwar period
. Grudziądz's economic potential was featured at the First Pomeranian Exhibition of Agriculture and Industry in 1925, officially opened by Stanisław Wojciechowski, the President of the Second Polish Republic
.
The 64th and 65th Infantry
Regiments and the 16th Light Artillery Regiment of the Polish Army were stationed in Grudziądz during the 19 years of interwar period. They were part of the 16th Infantry Division, which had its headquarters in the city, as did the cavalry
's famous 18th Pomeranian Uhlan
s Regiment. The Grudziądz Centre of Cavalry Training educated many notable army commanders. Military education in Grudziądz was also provided by the Centre of the Gendarmerie
, the Air School of Shooting and Bombarding, and the N.C.O. Professional School, which offered courses for infantry reserve officer cadets.
of Grudziądz
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
in northern 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...
on the Vistula River, with 96 042 inhabitants (2010). Situated in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship
Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship
-Transportation:Transportation infrastructure is of critical importance to the voivodeship's economy. Kuyavia-Pomerania is a major node point in the Polish transportation system. Railway lines from the South and East pass through Bydgoszcz in order to reach the major ports on the Baltic Sea...
(since 1999), the city was previously in the Toruń Voivodeship
Torun Voivodeship
Toruń Voivodeship was a unit of administrative division and local government in Poland in the years 1975–1998, superseded by the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship. Its capital city was Toruń.-Major cities and towns :...
(1975–1998).
History
Early history
Initially a defensive gródGrod
Grod may refer to:* Caspar Maria Grod, Wilhelm Riphahn's co-worker from 1913 to 1931* Weilern Grod, a village in Brittnau, Switzerland* Grod, 520s–528 ruler after Utigur in Patria Onoguria. He was succeeded by his brother Mugel.-See also:...
founded by Polish ruler Bolesław Chrobry, the settlement adopted Kulm law in 1291 while under the rule of monastic state of the Teutonic Knights
Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights
The State of the Teutonic Order, , also Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights or Ordensstaat , was formed in 1224 during the Northern Crusades, the Teutonic Knights' conquest of the pagan West-Baltic Old Prussians in the 13th century....
becoming a city. In 1440, the city joined the Prussian Confederation
Prussian Confederation
The Prussian Confederation was an organization formed in 1440 by a group of 53 gentry and clergy and 19 cities in Prussia to oppose the monastic state of the Teutonic Knights. It was based on the basis of an earlier similar organization, the Lizard Union...
, and between 1466 and 1772, the city belonged to Polish province of Royal Prussia
Royal Prussia
Royal Prussia was a Region of the Kingdom of Poland and of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth . Polish Prussia included Pomerelia, Chełmno Land , Malbork Voivodeship , Gdańsk , Toruń , and Elbląg . It is distinguished from Ducal Prussia...
.
Prussia and Germany
Following the First Partition of PolandPartitions of Poland
The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland for 123 years...
in 1772, the city was annexed by the German 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 became part of the unified 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...
in 1871.
The city was place of a military prison for Polish activists-those released formed Gromada Grudziądz in Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
on 1835, as part of Great Emigration
Great Emigration
The Great Emigration was an emigration of political elites from Poland from 1831–1870. Since the end of the 18th century, a major role in Polish political life was played by people who carried out their activities outside the country as émigrés...
movement
After the construction of a railroad bridge across the Vistula
Vistula
The Vistula is the longest and the most important river in Poland, at 1,047 km in length. The watershed area of the Vistula is , of which lies within Poland ....
in 1878, Graudenz became a rapidly growing industrialized city as well as a district centre
Districts of Germany
The districts of Germany are known as , except in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein where they are known simply as ....
in 1900.
A light cruiser
Graudenz class light cruiser
The Graudenz class of light cruisers was a class of two ships built for the German Imperial Navy. The ships were laid down in 1912, and completed within the first few months of World War I.-Dimensions and machinery:...
of the German Imperial Navy, built in 1912-1914, was named after the city.
Prussian rule and Germanization
In the 18th and 19th century the city was part of areas of the Prussian Partition of PolandPrussian partition
The Prussian partition refers to the former territories of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth acquired during the partitions of Poland in the late 18th century by the Kingdom of Prussia.-History:...
, where Germanisation was enforced beginning with 1772. Frederick had previously regarded the Polish government as the worst government in Europe, apart from Turkey, scorning the aristocratic anarchy there Guided by the interests of the state but not believing in the importance of race, he preferred to introduce German or Frisian workers and peasants, who in his opinion were more suitable for building up a new civilization than the “physically and morally ruined serfs of the Polish nobility”. Frederick settled around 300,000 colonists in the eastern provinces of Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
. Using funds for colonization, German craftsmen were placed in Polish cities A second colonization attempt aimed at Germanisation was pursued by Prussia after 1832. Laws were passed in Prussia aimed at Germanisation of the Polish inhabited areas and 154,000 colonists were settled by the Prussian Settlement Commission before World War I.
Professor Martin Kitchen
Martin Kitchen
Martin Kitchen is a British-Canadian historian, specialized in modern European history, with an emphasis on Germany. Professor Emeritus of history at Simon Fraser University, he started teaching in 1966...
writes that in areas where Polish population lived along with Germans a virtual apartheid existed,with bans on Polish language and religious discrimination, besides attempts to colonize the areas with Germans
To resist Germanisation, Polish activists in 1894 started to publish the newspaper "Gazeta Grudziądzka", the newspaper advocated social and economical emancipation of the rural society and opposed Germanization, publishing articles critical of Germany; German attempts to repress the newspaper's editor Wiktor Kulerski only helped to raise its popularity further.
From 1898 to 1901, there was a secret society
Secret society
A secret society is a club or organization whose activities and inner functioning are concealed from non-members. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence agencies or guerrilla insurgencies, which hide their...
of Polish students in the city, seeking the restoration of Polish independence, until the activists were tried by German courts in 1901, frustrating their efforts.
In Grudziądz German soldiers were stationed in the local fortress as part of Germanization measures, and authorities placed soldiers with chauvinistic attitude towards Poles there
German government introduced stationed military, merchants and state officials to influence population figures, and in census of 1910 84% of the population of the town and 58% of the county declared to be German Census numbers published by the German Empire have been criticised as unreliable and Polish historians believe they have a high degree of falsfification; potential pressure from census takers(predominatly schoolteachers) takes couldn't be excluded, additionally a bilingual category was created further complicating the results. Some analysts asserted that all people registering as bilingual have been classified as Germans
Estimates of Polish population in this heavily Germanised city are around 12 to 15% during this period, Polish population rose steadily before First World War
In the 1912 Reichstag
Reichstag (German Empire)
The Reichstag was the parliament of the North German Confederation , and of the German Reich ....
elections, the National Liberal Party of Germany
National Liberal Party (Germany)
The National Liberal Party was a German political party which flourished between 1867 and 1918. It was formed by Prussian liberals who put aside their differences with Bismarck over domestic policy due to their support for his highly successful foreign policy, which resulted in the unification of...
received 53% of all votes, whilst Polish candidates won 21% of votes. In 1912 Wiktor Kulerski founded Polish Catholic Peasant Party in the city, which aimed at protecting local Polish population
In 1913 the Polish Gazeta Grudziądzka reached the circulation of 128,000, rendering this at the time the third largest Polish newspaper in the whole world.
Interwar years
On January 23, 1920, in accordance with the Treaty of VersaillesTreaty 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...
, Grudziądz became part of the Polish state
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...
. At that time Josef Włodek, the newly appointed Polish mayor, described his impression of the town as "modern but unfortunately completely German"
Between 1926 and 1934 the number of Germans (34,194 in 1910) rose from 3,542 in 1926 to 3,875 in 1934. Some Polish authors emphasize a wider emigration pattern motivated chiefly by economic conditions and unwillingess of the German minority to live in Polish state.
The German author Christian Raitz von Frentz writes that after First World War ended, the Polish government tried to reverse the systematic Germanization from the past decades
Prejudices, stereotypes and conflicts dating back to the German rule influenced the Polish minority policies in the now independent Polish state.
Polish authorities, supported by the public (e.g. the “explicitly anti-German” Związek Obrony Kresów Zachodnich), initiated a number of measures to further Polonization
Polonization
Polonization was the acquisition or imposition of elements of Polish culture, in particular, Polish language, as experienced in some historic periods by non-Polish populations of territories controlled or substantially influenced by Poland...
. Local press was also hostile towards the Germans.
Fearful of a re-Germanization of the city, the Polish paper Słowo Pomorskie (23.19.1923) criticized the authorities of Grudziądz for tolerating the local German amateur theatre
Amateur theatre
Amateur theatre is theatre performed by amateur actors. These actors are not typically members of Actors' Equity groups or Actors' Unions as these organizations exist to protect the professional industry and therefore discourage their members from appearing with companies which are not a signatory...
"Deutsche Bühne". The theatre was funded by money coming from Berlin Created before the war, its actors came mostly from German officers stationed in local garrison
The mayor responded by pointing out that the theatre was being monitored because of suspected “anti-state activities”. According to Kotowski, this episode indicates that even the most minor activities of the German minority were closely scrutinized by the Polish authorities beginning with the earliest phase of Polish minority policy towards Germans
The German theatre was re-opened by Nazis in 1943, while the last director of the Polish theatre in the city in the years 22-24 was murdered by them
In the 20 years between the world war
World war
A world war is a war affecting the majority of the world's most powerful and populous nations. World wars span multiple countries on multiple continents, with battles fought in multiple theaters....
s, Grudziądz served as an important centre of culture and education with one of the biggest Polish military garrisons and several military schools located both within the confines of the city and around it. A large economic potential, and the existence of important institutions like the Pomerania
Pomerania
Pomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East...
n Tax Office and the Pomeranian Chamber of Industry and Trade, helped Grudziądz become the economic capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship
Pomeranian Voivodeship
Pomeranian Voivodeship, or Pomerania Province , is a voivodeship, or province, in north-central Poland. It comprises most of Pomerelia , as well as an area east of the Vistula River...
in the interwar period
Interwar period
Interwar period can refer to any period between two wars. The Interbellum is understood to be the period between the end of the Great War or First World War and the beginning of the Second World War in Europe....
. Grudziądz's economic potential was featured at the First Pomeranian Exhibition of Agriculture and Industry in 1925, officially opened by Stanisław Wojciechowski, the President of 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...
.
The 64th and 65th Infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
Regiments and the 16th Light Artillery Regiment of the Polish Army were stationed in Grudziądz during the 19 years of interwar period. They were part of the 16th Infantry Division, which had its headquarters in the city, as did the cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
's famous 18th Pomeranian Uhlan
Uhlan
Uhlans were Polish light cavalry armed with lances, sabres and pistols. The title was later used by lancer regiments in the Russian, Prussian, and Austrian armies....
s Regiment. The Grudziądz Centre of Cavalry Training educated many notable army commanders. Military education in Grudziądz was also provided by the Centre of the Gendarmerie
Gendarmerie
A gendarmerie or gendarmery is a military force charged with police duties among civilian populations. Members of such a force are typically called "gendarmes". The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary describes a gendarme as "a soldier who is employed on police duties" and a "gendarmery, -erie" as...
, the Air School of Shooting and Bombarding, and the N.C.O. Professional School, which offered courses for infantry reserve officer cadets.
of Grudziądz
| 1880 | 17,321 | |
| 1905 | 35,958 | |
| 1980 | 90,000 | |
| 1990 | 102,300 | |
| 1995 | 102,900 | |
| 1999 | 102,434 | |
| 2000 | 100,787 | |
| 2006 | 99 578 | |
| 2007 | 99 090 | |
| 2010 | 96 042 | |
In 1920 a German-language school was founded. In 1931 the Polish government decreed to reduce the number of German classes in the school and requested lists of catholic children and those pupils with Polish-sounding names which they viewed as victims of Germanization, from the German school. Although the list was not prepered, some of the children were transferred, which led to a school-strike. The German school followed ideas and customs as those in Nazi Reich. It was headed by a Nazi sympathiser Hilgendorf who praised Nazi ideology
The Polish authorities were alarmed when a notebook of one female student was discovered by them, and which contained nationalistic German song Horst Wessel Lied and revisionistic text. The discovery caused outrage and calls to dismiss Hilgendorf due to his irrendistic beliefs In November 1933 two German craftsmen were killed by a Polish mob in the context of a local election campaign.
World War II
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
of 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...
entered Grudziądz
Battle of Grudziadz
Battle of Grudziądz was a military engagement between German and Polish forces during the Invasion of Poland in 1939. It started on September 1 and ended with a German victory on September 4. German historiography has dealt with the fighting in the larger context of the Battle of Tuchola Forest.The...
and, as Graudenz, annexed the city into the Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia
Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia
The Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia was a Nazi German province created on 8 October 1939 from the territory of the annexed Free City of Danzig, the annexed Polish province Greater Pomeranian Voivodship , and the Nazi German Regierungsbezirk West Prussia of Gau East Prussia. Before 2 November 1939,...
, starting a five-year long occupation lasting till the end of 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...
.
German atrocities
Poles and Jews were classified by German state as untermenschen and subject to repressions and murder, with their ultimate fate to be slavery and extermination;Grudziądz was the location of the German concentration camp Graudenz, a subcamp of the Stutthof concentration campStutthof concentration camp
Stutthof was the first Nazi concentration camp built outside of 1937 German borders.Completed on September 2, 1939, it was located in a secluded, wet, and wooded area west of the small town of Sztutowo . The town is located in the former territory of the Free City of Danzig, 34 km east of...
.
In early September, 25 Polish citizens were detained as hostages-priests, teachers and other members that enjoyed the respect of local society, they were threatened with execution if any harm would come to Volksdeutsche
Volksdeutsche
Volksdeutsche - "German in terms of people/folk" -, defined ethnically, is a historical term from the 20th century. The words volk and volkische conveyed in Nazi thinking the meanings of "folk" and "race" while adding the sense of superior civilization and blood...
from the city that were detained and held by Polish authorities during Nazi invasion of Poland, after initial release when the German minority members returned, they were arrested again and most shot
On 9 September further 85 people were imprisoned by Germans
The German authorities destroyed the Polish monuments to independence in the city and banned Polish priests from speaking Polish language during church masses
On 4 September the Einsatzgruppe V demanded a name list of all members of 600 Jewish community within 14 hours, as well as list of all of their possessions. They were also fined with 20.000 zlotych
On 6 September the whole city was covered by posters demanding that Jews and "mixed races" of category I and IInd degree(so called mischlinge) gather in headquarters of Einsatzgruppe V(established in local school). Around 100 people responded to the demand, and were immediately arrested, and robbed. After this they were transported into unknown direction and disappeared-it is believed that most likely they were executed by Germans in Mniszek-Grupa forests.
On 19 October occupied Grudziądz was visited by Albert Forster
Albert Forster
Albert Maria Forster was a Nazi German politician. Under his administration as the Gauleiter of Danzig-West Prussia during the Second World War, the local non-German population suffered ethnic cleansing, mass murder, and forceful Germanisation...
-the gauleiter of NSDAP, during a public speech to volksdeutsche, he declared that the area will become "one hundred percent" German, and Poles "have nothing to do here, and should be evicted"
Patricipation of local German minority in mass murder of Poles and Jews
Alongside military and Einsatgruppen administration, the first structures of 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....
were established - a paramilitary formation made from German minority in the region. The head of Selbstschutz in Grudziądz was doctor Joachim Gramse.
Selbstschutz created in October 1939 an interment camp for Poles, whose commandant was a local German Kurt Gotze.
Teachers, officials, social workers, doctors, merchants, members of patriotic organisations, lawyers, policemen, farmers and 150 Polish priests were held in this camp. It is estimated that around 4000 to 5000 people went through it. Other arrested Poles were held in cellars of Grudziądz fortress. The local Germans who ran the camp established their own "court" which decided the fate of those imprisoned. The "court" was composed of: Kurt Gotze, Helmut Domke, Horst Kriedte, Hans Abromeit (owner of a drugstore), Paul Neuman(barber). Based on their decisions part of the prisoners were sent to concentration camps, 300 were mass murdered; only a few were released Those sentenced to death were mostly executed through shooting by the Selbstschutz in Księże Góry near Grudziądz; in October and November 1939 several hundred people were murdered there and their bodies buried in five mass graves. The victims were usually shot at the edges of already dig out graves
Further executions were carried out in desolate areas of Grudziądz: on 11 November 1939 near Grudziądz Fortress, Selbstschutz executed 10 Polish teachers, 4 Polish priests and 4 women. Additionally, 37 people were murdered in Grudziądz city park. On 29 October 1939 a unit of Selbstschut mass murdered 10 Polish hostages as revenge for posters that appeared in the city, calling for resistance against Nazi rule.
End of German occupation
As the result of heavy fighting in 1945, over 60% of the city was destroyed. Soviet Major Lev KopelevLev Kopelev
Lev Zalmanovich Kopelev was a Soviet author and a dissident.- Biography :...
covered those battles and the final surrender of the German garrison in his book "To Be Preserved Forever". For example, he also describes joint psychological warfare of March 1945 in the city by the Red Army and members of the NKFD
National Committee for a Free Germany
The National Committee for a Free Germany was a German anti-Nazi organization that operated in the Soviet Union during World War II.- History :...
. As the war ended, the German-speaking population of the city fled or was expelled to Germany
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...
, the city also became home to Poles moved from Polish areas annexed by the Soviet Union
Polish areas annexed by the Soviet Union
Immediately after the German invasion of Poland in 1939, which marked the beginning of World War II, the Soviet Union invaded the eastern regions of the Second Polish Republic, which Poles referred to as the "Kresy," and annexed territories totaling 201,015 km² with a population of 13,299,000...
.
Notable residents
- Piotr z GrudziądzaPiotr z GrudziadzaPetrus Wilhelmi de Grudencz or Piotr of Grudziądz was a medieval composer from Graudenz , the author of songs and motets. His music represents the culture of Central Europe from the Middle Ages...
(ca. 1400-ca. 1480), composer - Johann StobäusJohann StobäusJohann Stobäus was a North German composer.Stobäus was born at Graudenz. From 1599 to 1608 he was a pupil of Johann Eccard, the Kapellmeister of Königsberg. Then from 1601 a bassist in the princely Kapelle from 1602 Kantor at Königsberg Cathedral. Then in 1626 he succeeded Eccard as...
(1580–1646), composer - Alfred WohlAlfred WohlAlfred Wohl 3 October 1863 – 25 December 1939) was a German chemist.Several chemical reactions are named after him, including the Wohl degradation, Wohl-Aue reaction and the Wohl-Ziegler reaction.-Life:...
(1863–1946), German chemist - Max WinklerMax WinklerMax Winkler was Mayor of Graudenz , Reich Trustee and Reich Commissioner for German Cinema....
(1875–1961) was Mayor of Graudenz - Ernst HardtErnst HardtFriedrich Wilhelm Ernst Hardt , born Ernst Stöckhardt,, was a German playwright, poet, and novelist.Hardt was born in Graudenz, West Prussia ....
(1876–1947), writer - Georg Jalkowski(1852–1902) Polish publisher
- Waldemar KophamelWaldemar KophamelCommander Waldemar Kophamel was a successful and highly decorated German U-boat commander in the Kaiserliche Marine during World War I....
(1880–1934), U-Boat commander - Leo WhiteLeo WhiteLeo White was a stage performer and appeared as a character actor in many Charlie Chaplin films. He started his film career in 1911 and in 1913 moved to the Essanay Studios. In 1915, he began appearing in Chaplin's comedies and continued through Chaplin's Mutual Film comedies...
(1882–1948), stage performer - Alfons HoffmannAlfons HoffmannProfessor Alfons Hoffmann was a Polish engineer and political activist.After graduating, 1911–1913 and 1918–1919, Prof...
(1895–1963), Polish engineer - Bolesław Orliński (1899–1992), Polish aviator and test pilot
- Kurt WeyherKurt WeyherKurt August Viktor Weyher was a Konteradmiral of the German Navy who, during World War II, commanded a merchant raider...
(1901–1991), Admiral - Antoni CzortekAntoni CzortekAntoni "Kajtek" Czortek was a Polish boxing champion, one of the Polish legends of this sport. Czortek was a 1939 silver medalist of Amateur Championships of Europe, multiple champion of Poland and participant of the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin...
(1915–2003), Polish boxing champion - Henryk SawistowskiHenryk SawistowskiHenryk Sawistowski was born in 1925 in Grudziądz, Poland.Sawistowski started his education in Grudziądz, during World War II while in military service...
(1925–1984), dean of City and Guilds College of London Institute - Waldemar BaszanowskiWaldemar BaszanowskiWaldemar Romuald Baszanowski , was a Polish weightlifter. He took part in four Olympic Games ....
(born 1935), Olympic champion weightlifter - Stefania ToczyskaStefania ToczyskaStefania Toczyska , born in Grudziądz, Poland, on February 19, 1943, is a Polish mezzo-soprano of international repute.She lived in Toruń, where she attended the Music School Stefania Toczyska (née Krzywinska), born in Grudziądz, Poland, on February 19, 1943, is a Polish mezzo-soprano of...
(born 1943), mezzo-sopranoMezzo-sopranoA mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...
singer - Bronisław Malinowski (1951–1981), Olympic Champion in the 3000m steeplechase race, 1980 Summer Olympics
- Krzysztof BuczkowskiKrzysztof BuczkowskiKrzysztof Buczkowski is a Polish speedway rider and has ridden for the Polish national junior team.He started speedway in 2002 with Piła, riding for GKM Grudziądz...
(born 1986), motorcycle speedwayMotorcycle speedwayMotorcycle speedway, usually referred to as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. Speedway motorcycles use only one gear and have no brakes and racing takes place on a flat oval track usually...
rider
Twin towns — Sister cities
ChernyakhovskChernyakhovsk
Chernyakhovsk is a town and the administrative center of Chernyakhovsky District of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Instruch and the Angrapa Rivers, forming the Pregolya...
(Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
) Falun
Falun
Falun is a city and the seat of Falun Municipality in Dalarna County, Sweden, with 36,447 inhabitants in 2005. It is also the capital of Dalarna County...
(Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
) Gütersloh
Gütersloh
Gütersloh is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, in the area of Westphalia and the administrative region of Detmold. Gütersloh is the administrative centre for a district of the same name and has a population of 96,320 people.- Geography :...
(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...
)