Jarocin
Encyclopedia
Jarocin ( is a town
in central Poland
with 25,700 inhabitants (1995). Since 1999 Jarocin has been located in the Greater Poland Voivodeship
, prior to that it was located in the Kalisz Voivodeship
(1975–1998).
in the 1793 Second Partition of Poland
and administered within South Prussia
. It was part of the Duchy of Warsaw
from 1807–13 during the Napoleonic Wars
, but was restored to Prussia afterward.
The town was included within the Grand Duchy of Posen from 1815 and the Province of Posen
from 1848. It became part of the German Empire
in 1871. In 1889 it was included within the newly-created Jarotschin District of the Province of Posen.
Jarocin participated in the Greater Poland Uprising (1918–1919)
and had the first soldiers' council
in the Province of Posen. It was subsequently included in the Second Polish Republic
. The West German Minister and former SS officer Waldemar Kraft
was born here at Brzustow in 1898.
The town was annexed by Nazi Germany
in 1939 during World War II
and administered within Reichsgau Wartheland
as part of the district or county (kreis) of Jarotschin. Many Poles
, especially Jews, were expelled and replaced with ethnic German
s from the Baltic states, Volhynia
, and Bukovina
. A forced labor prison operated in the vicinity from January 1941 to January 1945. Following the arrival of the Red Army
and the end of the war, Jarocin was made part of the People's Republic of Poland
.
, one of the first rock
and punk
music festivals in communist
Eastern Bloc
countries. The first one was organised in 1980.
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 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 25,700 inhabitants (1995). Since 1999 Jarocin has been located in the Greater Poland Voivodeship
Greater Poland Voivodeship
Wielkopolska Voivodeship , or Greater Poland Voivodeship, is a voivodeship, or province, in west-central Poland. It was created on 1 January 1999 out of the former Poznań, Kalisz, Konin, Piła and Leszno Voivodeships, pursuant to the Polish local government reforms adopted in 1998...
, prior to that it was located in the Kalisz Voivodeship
Kalisz Voivodeship
-Kalisz Voivodeship 1975–1998:Kalisz Voivodeship 1975–1998 was a unit of administrative division and local government in Poland in years 1975–1998, superseded by Greater Poland Voivodeship.Capital city: Kalisz...
(1975–1998).
History
Jarocin was annexed by the Kingdom of PrussiaKingdom 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...
in the 1793 Second Partition of Poland
Second Partition of Poland
The 1793 Second Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was the second of three partitions that ended the existence of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. The second partition occurred in the aftermath of the War in Defense of the Constitution and the Targowica Confederation of 1792...
and administered within South Prussia
South Prussia
South Prussia was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1793 to 1807. It was created out of territory annexed in the Second Partition of Poland and included in 1793*the Poznań, Kalisz and Gniezno Voivodeships of Greater Poland;...
. It was part of the Duchy of Warsaw
Duchy of Warsaw
The Duchy of Warsaw was a Polish state established by Napoleon I in 1807 from the Polish lands ceded by the Kingdom of Prussia under the terms of the Treaties of Tilsit. The duchy was held in personal union by one of Napoleon's allies, King Frederick Augustus I of Saxony...
from 1807–13 during the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
, but was restored to Prussia afterward.
The town was included within the Grand Duchy of Posen from 1815 and the Province of Posen
Province of Posen
The Province of Posen was a province of Prussia from 1848–1918 and as such part of the German Empire from 1871 to 1918. The area was about 29,000 km2....
from 1848. It became part of the 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. In 1889 it was included within the newly-created Jarotschin District of the Province of Posen.
Jarocin participated in the Greater Poland Uprising (1918–1919)
Greater Poland Uprising (1918–1919)
The Greater Poland Uprising of 1918–1919, or Wielkopolska Uprising of 1918–1919 or Posnanian War was a military insurrection of Poles in the Greater Poland region against Germany...
and had the first soldiers' council
Workers' council
A workers' council, or revolutionary councils, is the phenomenon where a single place of work or enterprise, such as a factory, school, or farm, is controlled collectively by the workers of that workplace, through the core principle of temporary and instantly revocable delegates.In a system with...
in the Province of Posen. It was subsequently included in 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 West German Minister and former SS officer Waldemar Kraft
Waldemar Kraft
Waldemar Kraft was a German politician who served as Federal Minister for Special Affairs in the Cabinet of Chancellor Konrad Adenauer from 1953 to 1956...
was born here at Brzustow in 1898.
The town was annexed 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...
in 1939 during 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...
and administered within Reichsgau Wartheland
Reichsgau Wartheland
Reichsgau Wartheland was a Nazi German Reichsgau formed from Polish territory annexed in 1939. It comprised the Greater Poland and adjacent areas, and only in part matched the area of the similarly named pre-Versailles Prussian province of Posen...
as part of the district or county (kreis) of Jarotschin. Many Poles
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
, especially Jews, were expelled and replaced with ethnic German
Ethnic German
Ethnic Germans historically also ), also collectively referred to as the German diaspora, refers to people who are of German ethnicity. Many are not born in Europe or in the modern-day state of Germany or hold German citizenship...
s from the Baltic states, Volhynia
Volhynia
Volhynia, Volynia, or Volyn is a historic region in western Ukraine located between the rivers Prypiat and Southern Bug River, to the north of Galicia and Podolia; the region is named for the former city of Volyn or Velyn, said to have been located on the Southern Bug River, whose name may come...
, and Bukovina
Bukovina Germans
The Bukovina Germans were a German ethnic group that mainly lived from about 1780 to the 1940s in Bukovina, part of present-day western Ukraine and northern Romania...
. A forced labor prison operated in the vicinity from January 1941 to January 1945. Following the arrival of 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...
and the end of the war, Jarocin was made part of the People's Republic of Poland
People's Republic of Poland
The People's Republic of Poland was the official name of Poland from 1952 to 1990. Although the Soviet Union took control of the country immediately after the liberation from Nazi Germany in 1944, the name of the state was not changed until eight years later...
.
Jarocin Festival
The town became famous in the 1980s thanks to the Jarocin FestivalJarocin Festival
Jarocin Festival was one of the biggest and most important rock music festivals in the 1980s Europe, by far the biggest festival of alternative music in the Warsaw Pact countries....
, one of the first rock
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
and punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
music festivals in communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
Eastern Bloc
Eastern bloc
The term Eastern Bloc or Communist Bloc refers to the former communist states of Eastern and Central Europe, generally the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact...
countries. The first one was organised in 1980.
Education
- Wielkopolska Wyższa Szkoła Humanistyczno-Ekonomiczna
People
- Eduard LaskerEduard LaskerEduard Lasker was a German politician and jurist.-Biography:He was born at Jarotschin, a village in Posen, being the son of a Jewish tradesman. He attended the gymnasium, and afterwards the University of Breslau...
(1829–1884), politician - Dame Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (1915–2006), operatic lyric soprano
- Waldemar KraftWaldemar KraftWaldemar Kraft was a German politician who served as Federal Minister for Special Affairs in the Cabinet of Chancellor Konrad Adenauer from 1953 to 1956...
, West German Minister without Portfolio.