Pruszków
Encyclopedia
Pruszków AUD is a town in central Poland
, situated in the Masovian Voivodeship
since 1999. It was previously in Warszawa Voivodeship (1975-1998). Pruszków is the capital of Pruszków County
, located along the western edge of the Warsaw
urban area. The town's population has grown significantly, from 16,000 in the early part of the 20th century to 55,387 in the 2006 census by the Central Statistical Office of Poland. According to the 2004 census, Pruszków had a population of 54,893.
in the 19th Century and the construction of the Elektryczna Kolej Dojazdowa
, Poland’s first electrified commuter train line, in 1928. A large psychiatric hospital opened in the outlying village of Tworki
in 1891 and is still operating to this day.
for the purpose of persecution and exploitation. The ghetto was liquidated on January 31, 1941, when all its 1,400–3,000 inhabitants were transported in cattle trucks to Warsaw Ghetto
, the largest ghetto in all of Nazi occupied Europe with over 400,000 Jews crammed into an area of 1.3 square miles (3.4 km²). From there, most victims were sent to Treblinka extermination camp
.
During the 1944 Warsaw Uprising
, the Nazis created a large transit camp (Durchgangslager) in Pruszków on the site of the Train Repair Shops (Zakłady Naprawcze Taboru Kolejowego) to intern there the evacuees expelled from the capital
. Around 550,000 Warsaw residents and approximately 100,000 more from its outskirts were incarcerated in the Durchgangslager 121 (Dulag 121) set up for this purpose. The SS and Gestapo segregated the victims before transport. Approximately 650,000 Poles passed through the Pruszków camp in August, September and October of 1944. Approximately 55,000 were sent to concentration camps, including 13,000 to Auschwitz. They included people from a variety of social classes and occupations (government officials, scholars, artists, physicians, merchants, and blue-collar workers), in varying physical condition (the injured, the sick, invalids, and pregnant women), and of various ages from infants only a few weeks old to the elderly, aged 86 or more. In a few cases, these were also people of different ethnic backgrounds including Jews living on “Aryan papers.”
Following the Soviet westward offensive, on March 26, 1945, the 16 members of the Polish Underground Government were invited by the Russians for talks, to a house in Pruszków on Armii Krajowej Street. They were captured by the Soviet NKVD
agents, transported to USSR, imprisoned, tortured and sentenced in Moscow during the so-called Trial of the Sixteen
.
After World War II Pruszków became one of Mazovia’s largest industrial centers. Due to its proximity to Warsaw, it is now home to several factories and companies, including Herbapol, Daewoo Electronics
, L'Oréal Cosmetics
as well as logistic centers. It is also an important sports center, with a sports gymnasium, soccer stadium and a cycling course. As of the 2007-08 season, the local football team, Znicz Pruszków
compete in the Polish First League
(second division).
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...
, situated in the Masovian Voivodeship
Masovian Voivodeship
-Administrative division:Masovian Voivodeship is divided into 42 counties : 5 city counties and 37 "land counties"...
since 1999. It was previously in Warszawa Voivodeship (1975-1998). Pruszków is the capital of Pruszków County
Pruszków County
Pruszków County is a unit of territorial administration and local government in Masovian Voivodeship, east-central Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its administrative seat and largest town is Pruszków, which lies ...
, located along the western edge of the 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...
urban area. The town's population has grown significantly, from 16,000 in the early part of the 20th century to 55,387 in the 2006 census by the Central Statistical Office of Poland. According to the 2004 census, Pruszków had a population of 54,893.
History
Pruszków was incorporated as a town in 1916 following World War I, although a village has existed there since the 16th century. The development of the town was aided by the construction of the Warsaw-Vienna RailwayWarsaw-Vienna Railway
The Warsaw-Vienna Railway was a railway system which operated in Congress Poland, a part of the Russian Empire, from 1845 until 1912, when it was nationalized by the Russian government...
in the 19th Century and the construction of the Elektryczna Kolej Dojazdowa
Warszawska Kolej Dojazdowa
Warszawska Kolej Dojazdowa is a suburban light rail line in Poland's capital city of Warsaw. The line, together with its two branches, links Warsaw with the municipalities of Michałowice, Pruszków, Brwinów, Podkowa Leśna, Milanówek and Grodzisk Mazowiecki to the south-west of Warsaw.-History:The...
, Poland’s first electrified commuter train line, in 1928. A large psychiatric hospital opened in the outlying village of Tworki
Tworki
District of Pruszków, a town on the outskirts of Warsaw, Poland. Famous for the large psychiatric hospital, which opened in 1891 and is still operating to this day as a part of the Medical University of Warsaw. The birthplace of modern Polish psychiatry....
in 1891 and is still operating to this day.
World War II
The city had a large Jewish population before the Nazi–Soviet Invasion of Poland. In 1940, the German occupation authorities established a Jewish ghetto in Pruszków, in order to confine its Jewish populationHistory of the Jews in Poland
The history of the Jews in Poland dates back over a millennium. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Jewish community in the world. Poland was the centre of Jewish culture thanks to a long period of statutory religious tolerance and social autonomy. This ended with the...
for the purpose of persecution and exploitation. The ghetto was liquidated on January 31, 1941, when all its 1,400–3,000 inhabitants were transported in cattle trucks to Warsaw Ghetto
Warsaw Ghetto
The Warsaw Ghetto was the largest of all Jewish Ghettos in Nazi-occupied Europe during World War II. It was established in the Polish capital between October and November 15, 1940, in the territory of General Government of the German-occupied Poland, with over 400,000 Jews from the vicinity...
, the largest ghetto in all of Nazi occupied Europe with over 400,000 Jews crammed into an area of 1.3 square miles (3.4 km²). From there, most victims were sent to Treblinka extermination camp
Treblinka extermination camp
Treblinka was a Nazi extermination camp in occupied Poland during World War II near the village of Treblinka in the modern-day Masovian Voivodeship of Poland. The camp, which was constructed as part of Operation Reinhard, operated between and ,. During this time, approximately 850,000 men, women...
.
During the 1944 Warsaw Uprising
Warsaw Uprising
The Warsaw Uprising was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance Home Army , to liberate Warsaw from Nazi Germany. The rebellion was timed to coincide with the Soviet Union's Red Army approaching the eastern suburbs of the city and the retreat of German forces...
, the Nazis created a large transit camp (Durchgangslager) in Pruszków on the site of the Train Repair Shops (Zakłady Naprawcze Taboru Kolejowego) to intern there the evacuees expelled from the capital
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...
. Around 550,000 Warsaw residents and approximately 100,000 more from its outskirts were incarcerated in the Durchgangslager 121 (Dulag 121) set up for this purpose. The SS and Gestapo segregated the victims before transport. Approximately 650,000 Poles passed through the Pruszków camp in August, September and October of 1944. Approximately 55,000 were sent to concentration camps, including 13,000 to Auschwitz. They included people from a variety of social classes and occupations (government officials, scholars, artists, physicians, merchants, and blue-collar workers), in varying physical condition (the injured, the sick, invalids, and pregnant women), and of various ages from infants only a few weeks old to the elderly, aged 86 or more. In a few cases, these were also people of different ethnic backgrounds including Jews living on “Aryan papers.”
Following the Soviet westward offensive, on March 26, 1945, the 16 members of the Polish Underground Government were invited by the Russians for talks, to a house in Pruszków on Armii Krajowej Street. They were captured by the Soviet NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
agents, transported to USSR, imprisoned, tortured and sentenced in Moscow during the so-called Trial of the Sixteen
Trial of the Sixteen
The Trial of the Sixteen was a staged trial of 16 leaders of the Polish Underground State held by the Soviet Union in Moscow in 1945.-History:Some accounts say approaches were made in February with others saying March 1945...
.
After World War II Pruszków became one of Mazovia’s largest industrial centers. Due to its proximity to Warsaw, it is now home to several factories and companies, including Herbapol, Daewoo Electronics
Daewoo Electronics
Daewoo Electronics is a home electronics company. Established in 1971, it has since grown into a global business with more than 64 production sites, R&D and sales centres in more than 40 countries worldwide. Daewoo Electronics Sales UK was established in November 1993. It is the third largest...
, L'Oréal Cosmetics
L'Oréal
The L'Oréal Group is the world's largest cosmetics and beauty company. With its registered office in Paris and head office in the Paris suburb of Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine, France, it has developed activities in the field of cosmetics...
as well as logistic centers. It is also an important sports center, with a sports gymnasium, soccer stadium and a cycling course. As of the 2007-08 season, the local football team, Znicz Pruszków
Znicz Pruszków
Miejski Klub Sportowy Znicz Pruszków is a football club based in Pruszków, Poland.Znicz Pruszków achieved its best performance in the Polish First League with fifth place finishes in the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons.-Current squad:As of February 2009....
compete in the Polish First League
Polish First League
I Liga is the second level of the Polish association football league, below the Ekstraklasa and above the II Liga. Run by the Polish Football Association since its inception in 1948, all teams from 2002 onwards must have professional status and a licence, issued by the Association...
(second division).
Tourism
- The Museum of Ancient Mazovian Metallurgy
- Nineteenth century manor with landscaped gardens.
- BGŻ ArenaBGŻ ArenaThe BGŻ Arena is a velodrome in Pruszków, Poland. Opened in 2008 as Poland's first indoor velodrome, it hosted the 2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships. It also hosted the 2008 European Track Championships at under-23 and junior level and will host the 2010 European Track Championships at...
(indoor velodromeVelodromeA velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights...
)
Education
- Physical Culture and Tourism High School (Wyższa Szkoła Kultury Fizycznej i Turystyki)