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===Prussia and Germany=== ===Prussia and Germany===
Following the ] in 1772, the city (then called ''Graudenz'') was annexed by the German ] and became part of Following the ] in 1772, the city was annexed by the German ] and became part of the unified ] in 1871 under the Germanised version of the name Graudenz.
the unified ] in 1871.


] ]
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The city was place of a military prison for Polish activists-those released formed ] in ] on 1835, as part of ] movement<ref>Historia Polski, 1795-1918 Stefan Kieniewicz Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1975 page 142</ref> The city was place of a military prison for Polish activists-those released formed ] in ] on 1835, as part of ] movement<ref>Historia Polski, 1795-1918 Stefan Kieniewicz Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1975 page 142</ref>


After the construction of a railroad bridge across the ] in 1878, Graudenz became a rapidly growing industrialized city as well as a ] in 1900.
⚫ After the construction of a railroad bridge across the ] in 1878, Graudenz became a rapidly growing industrialized city as well as a ] in 1900. In the official German census of 1910 84% of the population of the town and 58% of the county declared to be German<ref>{{cite book|title=Gemeindelexikon für die Regierungsbezirke Allenstein, Danzig, Marienwerder, Posen, Bromberg und Oppeln |author= |location=Berlin |work= |publisher=Königlich Preußisches Statistisches Landesamt |year=1912 |language=German}}</ref><ref>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, additionaly a bilingual category was created further complicating the results (''Neither German nor Pole: Catholicism and National Indifference in a Central European Borderland'' James E. Bjork 2008 page 152-153 University of Michigan Press). Some analysts asserted that all people registering as bilingual have been classified as Germans (National Identity and Weimar Germany: Upper Silesia and the Eastern Border, 1918-1922 T. Hunt Tooley page 14 University of Nebraska Press){{Failed verification|date=January 2011}}</ref>


⚫ ]
A ] of the German Imperial Navy, built in 1912-1914, was named after the city. A ] of the German Imperial Navy, built in 1912-1914, was named after the city.

⚫ In the 1912 ] elections, 21% of the votes were given to Polish candidates, while the ] received 53% of all votes. To organise defense against oncroaching Germanisation, Polish activists started publishing the newspaper "Gazeta Grudziądzka", which in 1913 reached 128.000 issue, making it the third largest Polish newspaper at the time in the world<ref name="ReferenceA">''Kraj a emigracja. Ruch ludowy wobec wychodźstwa chłopskiego do krajów Ameryki Łacińskiej (do 1939 roku)'' Muzeum Historii Polskiego Ruchu Ludowego 2006, page 285</ref>. Besides fighting against Germanisation, the newspaper advocated social and economical emancipation of rural society, published critical articles regarding Germany and aimed to protect Polish areas-all of which made it popular among rural readers;additionally the repressions against its editor Wiktor Kulerski by Germany authorities helped to raise popularity<ref name="ReferenceA"/>. It's chief activity-resistance against anti-polish policies of Prussian government, made it the opponent of organised and well-functioning state mechanism<ref>''Kraj a emigracja. Ruch ludowy wobec wychodźstwa chłopskiego do krajów Ameryki Łacińskiej (do 1939 roku)'' Muzeum Historii Polskiego Ruchu Ludowego 2006, page 290</ref>.
===Germanization and Polish resistance===
In the 18th and 19th century the city was part of areas suffering from Germanisation enforced first by Frederick the Great's Prussia in 1772, who settled around 300,000 colonists in the eastern provinces of ] and aimed at a removal of the Poles which he treated with contempt, callled 'slovenly Polish trash' and compared to the ].<ref>{{cite book |last=Ritter|first=Gerhard|authorlink=Gerhard Ritter|title=Frederick the Great: A Historical Profile|year=1974|publisher=University of California Press|location=Berkeley|isbn=0-520-02775-2|pages=179–180}}</ref>. A second ] attempt aimed at Germanisation was pursued by Prussia after 1832.<ref>Wielka historia Polski t. 4 Polska w czasach walk o niepodległość (1815 - 1864). Od niewoli do niepodległości (1864 - 1918)Marian Zagórniak, Józef Buszko 2003 page 186</ref> Laws were passed in Prussia aimed at Germanisation of the Polish inhabited areas, also 154,000 colonists, were settled by the ] before World War I. German government introduced stationed military, merchants and state officials to influence population figures<ref>Historia Polski 1795-1918. ]. Page 444 Wydawnictwo Literackie 2007</ref>
⚫ German Empire thus conducted census of 1910 in which it claimed 84% of the population of the town and 58% of the county declared to be German<ref>{{cite book|title=Gemeindelexikon für die Regierungsbezirke Allenstein, Danzig, Marienwerder, Posen, Bromberg und Oppeln |author= |location=Berlin |work= |publisher=Königlich Preußisches Statistisches Landesamt |year=1912 |language=German}}</ref>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, additionaly a bilingual category was created further complicating the results<ref> (''Neither German nor Pole: Catholicism and National Indifference in a Central European Borderland'' James E. Bjork 2008 page 152-153 University of Michigan Press</ref>. Some analysts asserted that all people registering as bilingual have been classified as Germans <ref>National Identity and Weimar Germany: Upper Silesia and the Eastern Border, 1918-1922 T. Hunt Tooley page 13 University of Nebraska Press)</ref>

⚫ ]
⚫ In the 1912 ] elections, 21% of the votes were given to Polish candidates, while the ] received 53% of all votes. To organise defense against oncroaching Germanisation, Polish activists started publishing the newspaper "Gazeta Grudziądzka", which in 1913 reached 128.000 issue, making it the third largest Polish newspaper at the time in the world<ref name="ReferenceA">''Kraj a emigracja. Ruch ludowy wobec wychodźstwa chłopskiego do krajów Ameryki Łacińskiej (do 1939 roku)'' Muzeum Historii Polskiego Ruchu Ludowego 2006, page 285</ref>. Besides fighting against Germanisation, the newspaper advocated social and economical emancipation of rural society, published critical articles regarding Germany and aimed to protect Polish areas-all of which made it popular among rural readers;additionally the repressions against its editor Wiktor Kulerski by Germany authorities helped to raise popularity<ref name="ReferenceA"/>. It's chief activity-resistance against anti-polish policies of Prussian government, made it the opponent of organised and well-functioning state mechanism<ref>''Kraj a emigracja. Ruch ludowy wobec wychodźstwa chłopskiego do krajów Ameryki Łacińskiej (do 1939 roku)'' Muzeum Historii Polskiego Ruchu Ludowego 2006, page 290</ref>. Additionally in the heavy germanized city, several German nationalistic and chauvinistic groups existed<ref>Przegląd zachodni, Tom 57,Wydania 1-2
Instytut Zachodni 2001, page 116</ref>


===Interwar years=== ===Interwar years===
On January 23, 1920, in accordance with the ], Grudziądz was restored to ], which the official website of the city notes as the end of "150 years of slavery"<ref>]</ref>
On January 23, 1920, in accordance with the ], Grudziądz, described as "unfortunately completely German" by the newly appointed Polish mayor,<ref name=Bor/> became part of the ]. The local populace had to acquire Polish citizenship or leave the country. This led to a significant decline of ethnic Germans, whose number within the town decreased from 34,194 in 1910 to 3,542 in 1926 and from 28,698 to 9,317 in the district,<ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.de/books?id=KVg_tMs_ZPIC&pg=PA365&dq=Goetheschule+Graudenz&hl=de&ei=j-AlTdz_JsvDswaVy9DMAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CDoQ6AEwBTgo#v=onepage&q=%20Graudenz&f=false|title=Polens Politik gegenüber seiner deutschen Minderheit 1919-1939|first1=Albert S.|last1=Kotowski|page=55|publisher=Forschungsstelle Ostmitteleuropa, ] |year=1998 |language=German|ISBN=3-447-03997-3}}</ref> however in 1920 a German-language school was founded.<ref name=Bor/> During the interwar years the number of Germansn decreased from 34,194 in 1910 to 3,542 in 1926<ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.de/books?id=KVg_tMs_ZPIC&pg=PA365&dq=Goetheschule+Graudenz&hl=de&ei=j-AlTdz_JsvDswaVy9DMAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CDoQ6AEwBTgo#v=onepage&q=%20Graudenz&f=false|title=Polens Politik gegenüber seiner deutschen Minderheit 1919-1939|first1=Albert S.|last1=Kotowski|page=55|publisher=Forschungsstelle Ostmitteleuropa, ] |year=1998 |language=German|ISBN=3-447-03997-3}}</ref>, a part of wider emmigration pattern motivated chiefly by economic conditions and unwillingess of German minority to live in Polish state<ref>Niemiecka mniejszość narodowa w Polsce w latach 1919-1939, Paweł Kacprzak, Wydawnictwo Państwowej Wyższej Szkoły Zawodowej,Studia Lubuskie. 2007, 3, s. 145-158</ref>.
While the city was heavily germanised, its restoration to Poland led to quick rebirth of Polishness <ref>Rocznik Gdański
,Volume 50,Wydanie 2 Gdańskie Towarzystwo Naukowe. Wydział I Nauk Społecznych i Humanistycznych
eBiblioteka Miejska, 1992, page 213</ref>


In the 20 years between the ]s, Grudziądz served as an important centre of culture and education with one of the biggest Polish military ] 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 ]n Tax Office and the Pomeranian Chamber of Industry and Trade, helped Grudziądz become the economic capital of the ] in the ]. Grudziądz's economic potential was featured at the First Pomeranian Exhibition of Agriculture and Industry in 1925, officially opened by ], the President of the ]. In the 20 years between the ]s, Grudziądz served as an important centre of culture and education with one of the biggest Polish military ] 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 ]n Tax Office and the Pomeranian Chamber of Industry and Trade, helped Grudziądz become the economic capital of the ] in the ]. Grudziądz's economic potential was featured at the First Pomeranian Exhibition of Agriculture and Industry in 1925, officially opened by ], the President of the ].
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|} |}
</div> </div>

In 1931 the Polish government decreed to expel Catholics and those pupils with a "Polish-sounding" name from the German school to Polish ones regardless of their ethnicity.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.de/books?id=SE4yRIlcs48C&pg=PA532&dq=graudenz&hl=de&ei=dPUaTezbId6K4gbxvrmGAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCYQ6AEwADha#v=onepage&q=graudenz&f=false|title=Volk, Staat, Gott, Die deutsche Minderheit in Polen und ihr Schulwesen 1918-1939|first1=Ingo|last1=Eser|page=415|publisher=Nordost Institut, ] |year=2010 |language=German|ISBN=978-3-447-06233-6}}</ref> In 1920 a German-language school was founded.<ref name=Bor/> 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 from the German school.Although the list was not prepered, some of the children were transfered, which led to a school-strike. The Polish authorities viewed those children as victims of Germanization.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.de/books?id=SE4yRIlcs48C&pg=PA532&dq=graudenz&hl=de&ei=dPUaTezbId6K4gbxvrmGAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCYQ6AEwADha#v=onepage&q=graudenz&f=false|title=Volk, Staat, Gott, Die deutsche Minderheit in Polen und ihr Schulwesen 1918-1939|first1=Ingo|last1=Eser|page=415|publisher=Nordost Institut, ] |year=2010 |language=German|ISBN=978-3-447-06233-6}}</ref> The German school followed ideas and customs as those in ]<ref>Mniejszość niemiecka na Pomorzu w okresie międzywojennym Przemysław Hauser UAM, 1998, page 293</ref>. It was headed by a Nazi sympathiser Hilgendorf who praised Nazi ideology<ref>Mniejszości narodowe i wyznaniowe na Pomorzu w XIX i XX wieku:
zbiór studiów Mieczysław Wojciechowski Uniwersytet Mikołaja Kopernika, 1998 - 292, page 82,90</ref>
In November 1933 two German craftsmen were killed by a Polish mob in the context of a local election campaign.<ref name=Bor/> In November 1933 two German craftsmen were killed by a Polish mob in the context of a local election campaign.<ref name=Bor/>



⚫ On September 3, 1939 ] of ] ] and, as Graudenz, annexed the city into the ], starting a five-year long occupation lasting till the end of ]. Poles and Jews were classified by German state as ] and subject to repressions and murder, with their ultimate fate to be slavery and extermination;Grudziądz was the location of the ] Graudenz, a subcamp of the ]. As the result of heavy fighting in 1945, over 60% of the city was destroyed. Soviet Major ] is reporting those battles and the final surrender of the German garrison in his book "To Be Preserved Forever". As the war ended and German plans to exterminate Poles and Jews were stopped by the Allies, the German-speaking population of the city fled or was ],<ref name=Bor>{{cite book|title=Als der Osten noch Heimat war|first1=Wlodzimierz |last1=Borodziej|first2=Gerald |last2=Endres|first3=Ulla|last3=Lachauer|publisher=Rowohlt |year=2009 |language=German|ISBN=978-3871346446 }}</ref> the city also became home to Poles moved from ].
===German invasion and occupation during Second World War===

]
On September 3, 1939 ] of ] ] and, as Graudenz, annexed the city into the ], starting a five-year long occupation lasting till the end of ].

====German atrocities during occupation====
{{See|Intelligenzaktion Pommern}}
Poles and Jews were classified by German state as ] and subject to repressions and murder, with their ultimate fate to be slavery and extermination;Grudziądz was the location of the ] Graudenz, a subcamp of the ].

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 ] 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<ref>Barbara Bojarska: Eksterminacja inteligencji polskiej na Pomorzu Gdańskim (wrzesień – grudzień 1939). Poznań: Instytut Zachodni, 1972, ss. 78-79. </ref>
On 9 September further 85 people were imprisoned by Germans <ref>Maria Wardzyńska: Był rok 1939. Operacja niemieckiej policji bezpieczeństwa w Polsce. Intelligenzaktion. Warszawa: Instytut Pamięci Narodowej, 2009, ss. 109–110.</ref>
The German authorities destroyed the Polish monuments to independence in the city<ref>Zbigniew Otremba: Grudziądz. Kronika miasta. Gdańsk: wydawnictwo Regnum, 2007, page 81–82. ISBN 978-83-920686-1-7</ref> and banned Polish priests from speaking Polish language during church masses<ref>Jan Sziling. Niektóre problemy okupacji hitlerowskiej w Grudziądzu (1939-1945). „Rocznik Grudziądzki”. V-VI, ss. 448–449, 1962.</ref>

On 4th of 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 posessions. They were also fined with 20.000 zlotych <ref>Jochen Böhler, Klaus-Michael Mallmann, Jürgen Matthäus: Einsatzgruppen w Polsce. Warszawa: Bellona, 2009,page. 89</ref>

On 6th of 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.<ref>Jan Sziling. Niektóre problemy okupacji hitlerowskiej w Grudziądzu. S. 450. </ref><ref>Barbara Bojarska: Eksterminacja inteligencji polskiej na Pomorzu Gdańskim. s. 124. </ref>

On 19th of October occupied Grudziądz was visited by ]-the gauleiter of ], 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"<ref>Zbigniew Otremba: Grudziądz. Kronika miasta. Gdańsk: wydawnictwo Regnum, 2007, ss. 81–82. ISBN 978-83-920686-1-7. </ref>

=====Patricipation of local German minority in mass murder of Poles and Jews=====

]

Alongside military and Einsatgruppen administration first structures of ] were established-a paramilitary formation made from German minority in the region, the head of Selbstschutz in Grudziądz was doctor Joachim Gramse<ref> Jan Sziling. Niektóre problemy okupacji hitlerowskiej w Grudziądzu... „op.cit.”. page 451</ref><ref>Henryk Bierut: Martyrologia grudziądzan podczas okupacji hitlerowskiej. Grudziądz: Wydawnictwo Komitetu Ochrony Pamięci Walk i Męczeństwa w Grudziądzu, 1999, page 9</ref>
Selbstschutz created in October 1939 a interment camp for Poles, whose commendant was local German Kurt Gotze<ref>Henryk Bierut: Martyrologia grudziądzan podczas okupacji hitlerowskiej. Grudziądz: Wydawnictwo Komitetu Ochrony Pamięci Walk i Męczeństwa w Grudziądzu, 1999, s. 9. </ref>
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 this camp<ref>Maria Wardzyńska: Był rok 1939... page 171. </ref>. Other arrested Poles were held in cellars of Grudziądz fortress<ref>Jan Sziling. Niektóre problemy okupacji hitlerowskiej w Grudziądzu...page 451.</ref>.The local Germans who run the camp, established their own "court" which decided about the fate of those imprisoned, the "court" was made out of:Kurt Gotze,Helmut Domke, Horst Kriedte,Hans Abromeit(owner of a drugstore),Paul Neuman(barber)<ref>enryk Bierut: Martyrologia grudziądzan podczas okupacji hitlerowskiej. pages 10-11</ref> Based on their decisions part of the prisoners were sent to concentration camps, 300 were mass murdered;only a few were released<ref>Maria Wardzyńska: Był rok 1939... page 171. </ref><ref>Bogdan Chrzanowski: Eksterminacja ludności polskiej w pierwszych miesiącach okupacji (wrzesień − grudzień 1939) w: Stutthof: hitlerowski obóz koncentracyjny. Warszawa: Interpress, 1988, page 16. </ref> Those sentenced to death were mostly executed through shooting by members of Selbstschutz in ] under Grudziądz;in October and November 1939 several hundred people were murdered there and their bodies buried in five mass graves<ref>Maria Wardzyńska: Był rok 1939....page 172</ref>, the victims were usually shot at the edges of already dig out graves<ref>Henryk Bierut: Martyrologia grudziądzan podczas okupacji hitlerowskiej., page 54 </ref>

Further executions were made in desolate areas of Grudziądz:on 11 November 1939 near Grudziądz Fortress Selbstschutz executed 10 Polish teachers, 4 Polish priests and 4 women <ref>Zbigniew Otremba: Grudziądz. Kronika miasta. Gdańsk: wydawnictwo Regnum, 2007, pages 81–82.</ref>. Additionally 37 people were murdered in Grudziądz city park<ref>Maria Wardzyńska: Był rok 1939.... page 172. </ref>.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<ref>Henryk Bierut: Martyrologia grudziądzan podczas okupacji hitlerowskiej, page 10-11. </ref>.



===End of German occupation===
⚫ As the result of heavy fighting in 1945, over 60% of the city was destroyed. Soviet Major ] is reporting those battles and the final surrender of the German garrison in his book "To Be Preserved Forever". As the war ended and German plans to exterminate Poles and Jews were stopped by the Allies, the German-speaking population of the city fled or was ],<ref name=Bor>{{cite book|title=Als der Osten noch Heimat war|first1=Wlodzimierz |last1=Borodziej|first2=Gerald |last2=Endres|first3=Ulla|last3=Lachauer|publisher=Rowohlt |year=2009 |language=German|ISBN=978-3871346446 }}</ref> the city also became home to Poles moved from ].


== Notable residents == == Notable residents ==
{{See also |Category:People from Grudziądz}} {{See also |Category:People from Grudziądz}}


* Petrus Wilhelmi de Grudencz, Polish: ] (ca. 1400-ca. 1480), composer * ] (ca. 1400-ca. 1480), composer
* ] (1580–1646), composer * ] (1580–1646), composer
* ] (1863–1946), German chemist * ] (1863–1946), German chemist
* ] (1875–1961) was Mayor of Graudenz * ] (1875–1961) was Mayor of Graudenz
* ] (1876–1947), writer * ] (1876–1947), writer
* ](1852-1902) Polish publisher
* ] (1880–1934), U-Boat commander * ] (1880–1934), U-Boat commander
* ] (1882–1948), stage performer * ] (1882–1948), stage performer
* ](1895- 1963), Polish engineer
* ] (1899–1992), Polish aviator and test pilot * ] (1899–1992), Polish aviator and test pilot
* ] (1901–1991), Admiral * ] (1901–1991), Admiral
* ] (1915–2003), boxing champion * ] (1915–2003), Polish boxing champion
* ] (1925–1984), dean of ] College of London Institute * ] (1925–1984), dean of ] College of London Institute
* ] (born 1935), Olympic champion weightlifter * ] (born 1935), Olympic champion weightlifter

Revision as of 00:12, 30 January 2011

Place in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland
Grudziądz
Panorama of Grudziądz Old Town districtPanorama of Grudziądz Old Town district
Flag of GrudziądzFlagCoat of arms of GrudziądzCoat of arms
Motto(s): Grudziądz - miasto na szczęście
(Grudziądz - city of good luck)
Country Poland
VoivodeshipKuyavian-Pomeranian
Countycity county
Established11th century
Town rights1291
Government
 • MayorRobert Malinowski
Area
 • Total57.76 km (22.30 sq mi)
Elevation50 m (160 ft)
Population
 • Total96,042
 • Density1,700/km (4,300/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code86-300 to 86-311
Area code+48 056
Car platesCG
Websitehttp://www.grudziadz.pl

Grudziądz (Template:Lang-de, Template:Lang-la) 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).

History

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Polish-Swedish war (1656), depicted by Erik Dahlbergh

Early history

Initially a defensive gród 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.

Prussia and Germany

Following the First Partition of Poland in 1772, the city was annexed by the German Kingdom of Prussia and became part of the unified German Empire in 1871 under the Germanised version of the name Graudenz.

City walls of Grudziądz, the southern side, 14th/15th century

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.

Germanization and Polish resistance

In the 18th and 19th century the city was part of areas suffering from Germanisation enforced first by Frederick the Great's Prussia in 1772, who settled around 300,000 colonists in the eastern provinces of Prussia and aimed at a removal of the Poles which he treated with contempt, callled 'slovenly Polish trash' and compared to the Iroquois.. 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, also 154,000 colonists, were settled by the Prussian Settlement Commission before World War I. German government introduced stationed military, merchants and state officials to influence population figures German Empire thus conducted census of 1910 in which it claimed 84% of the population of the town and 58% of the county declared to be GermanCensus 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, additionaly a bilingual category was created further complicating the results. Some analysts asserted that all people registering as bilingual have been classified as Germans

Memorial to Wiktor Kulerski in Grudziądz, founder of Gazeta Grudziądzka

In the 1912 Reichstag elections, 21% of the votes were given to Polish candidates, while the National Liberal Party of Germany received 53% of all votes. To organise defense against oncroaching Germanisation, Polish activists started publishing the newspaper "Gazeta Grudziądzka", which in 1913 reached 128.000 issue, making it the third largest Polish newspaper at the time in the world. Besides fighting against Germanisation, the newspaper advocated social and economical emancipation of rural society, published critical articles regarding Germany and aimed to protect Polish areas-all of which made it popular among rural readers;additionally the repressions against its editor Wiktor Kulerski by Germany authorities helped to raise popularity. It's chief activity-resistance against anti-polish policies of Prussian government, made it the opponent of organised and well-functioning state mechanism. Additionally in the heavy germanized city, several German nationalistic and chauvinistic groups existed

Interwar years

On January 23, 1920, in accordance with the Treaty of Versailles, Grudziądz was restored to Poland, which the official website of the city notes as the end of "150 years of slavery" During the interwar years the number of Germansn decreased from 34,194 in 1910 to 3,542 in 1926, a part of wider emmigration pattern motivated chiefly by economic conditions and unwillingess of German minority to live in Polish state. While the city was heavily germanised, its restoration to Poland led to quick rebirth of Polishness

In the 20 years between the world wars, 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 Pomeranian 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 famous granaries

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 Uhlans 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.

Historical population
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 from the German school.Although the list was not prepered, some of the children were transfered, which led to a school-strike. The Polish authorities viewed those children as victims of Germanization. The German school followed ideas and customs as those in Nazi Reich. It was headed by a Nazi sympathiser Hilgendorf who praised Nazi ideology In November 1933 two German craftsmen were killed by a Polish mob in the context of a local election campaign.


German invasion and occupation during Second World War

German population in Grudziądz welcomes invading Nazi forces.

On September 3, 1939 military troops of Nazi Germany entered Grudziądz and, as Graudenz, annexed the city into the Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia, starting a five-year long occupation lasting till the end of World War II.

German atrocities during occupation

Further information: Intelligenzaktion Pommern

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 camp.

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 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 4th of 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 posessions. They were also fined with 20.000 zlotych

On 6th of 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 19th of October occupied Grudziądz was visited by Albert Forster-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
Monument to Poles murdered by German minority organisation Selbstschutz near Książe Góry

Alongside military and Einsatgruppen administration first structures of Selbstschutz 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 a interment camp for Poles, whose commendant was 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 this camp. Other arrested Poles were held in cellars of Grudziądz fortress.The local Germans who run the camp, established their own "court" which decided about the fate of those imprisoned, the "court" was made out 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 members of Selbstschutz in Księże Góry under 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 made 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 Kopelev is reporting those battles and the final surrender of the German garrison in his book "To Be Preserved Forever". As the war ended and German plans to exterminate Poles and Jews were stopped by the Allies, the German-speaking population of the city fled or was expelled to Germany, the city also became home to Poles moved from Polish areas annexed by the Soviet Union.

Notable residents

See also: Category:People from Grudziądz

Education

  • Nicolaus Copernicus University
  • Grudziądzka Szkoła Wyższa

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Poland

Twin towns — Sister cities

Gallery

  • Night-time landscape Night-time landscape
  • Former Jesuit college, today City Council Former Jesuit college, today City Council
  • Spichrzowa Street Spichrzowa Street
  • Memorial to a Polish soldier in the main square Memorial to a Polish soldier in the main square
  • St. Mary's Church St. Mary's Church
  • Church of St. Francis Xavier Church of St. Francis Xavier
  • St. Mikołaj (Nicholas) church St. Mikołaj (Nicholas) church
  • Miejski Park Miejski Park

Notes

  1. - registered press Faktygrudziadz.pl
  2. Wielka encyklopedia polski: Tom 1 Wojciech Słowakiewicz, Jacek Słowiński, Piotr Turkot page 270 Fogra, 2000
  3. Historia Polski, 1795-1918 Stefan Kieniewicz Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1975 page 142
  4. Ritter, Gerhard (1974). Frederick the Great: A Historical Profile. Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 179–180. ISBN 0-520-02775-2.
  5. Wielka historia Polski t. 4 Polska w czasach walk o niepodległość (1815 - 1864). Od niewoli do niepodległości (1864 - 1918)Marian Zagórniak, Józef Buszko 2003 page 186
  6. Historia Polski 1795-1918. Andrzej Chwalba. Page 444 Wydawnictwo Literackie 2007
  7. Gemeindelexikon für die Regierungsbezirke Allenstein, Danzig, Marienwerder, Posen, Bromberg und Oppeln (in German). Berlin: Königlich Preußisches Statistisches Landesamt. 1912.
  8. (Neither German nor Pole: Catholicism and National Indifference in a Central European Borderland James E. Bjork 2008 page 152-153 University of Michigan Press
  9. National Identity and Weimar Germany: Upper Silesia and the Eastern Border, 1918-1922 T. Hunt Tooley page 13 University of Nebraska Press)
  10. ^ Kraj a emigracja. Ruch ludowy wobec wychodźstwa chłopskiego do krajów Ameryki Łacińskiej (do 1939 roku) Muzeum Historii Polskiego Ruchu Ludowego 2006, page 285
  11. Kraj a emigracja. Ruch ludowy wobec wychodźstwa chłopskiego do krajów Ameryki Łacińskiej (do 1939 roku) Muzeum Historii Polskiego Ruchu Ludowego 2006, page 290
  12. Przegląd zachodni, Tom 57,Wydania 1-2 Instytut Zachodni 2001, page 116
  14. Kotowski, Albert S. (1998). Polens Politik gegenüber seiner deutschen Minderheit 1919-1939 (in German). Forschungsstelle Ostmitteleuropa, University of Dortmund. p. 55. ISBN 3-447-03997-3.
  15. Niemiecka mniejszość narodowa w Polsce w latach 1919-1939, Paweł Kacprzak, Wydawnictwo Państwowej Wyższej Szkoły Zawodowej,Studia Lubuskie. 2007, 3, s. 145-158
  16. Rocznik Gdański ,Volume 50,Wydanie 2 Gdańskie Towarzystwo Naukowe. Wydział I Nauk Społecznych i Humanistycznych eBiblioteka Miejska, 1992, page 213
  17. ^ Borodziej, Wlodzimierz; Endres, Gerald; Lachauer, Ulla (2009). Als der Osten noch Heimat war (in German). Rowohlt. ISBN 978-3871346446.
  18. Eser, Ingo (2010). Volk, Staat, Gott, Die deutsche Minderheit in Polen und ihr Schulwesen 1918-1939 (in German). Nordost Institut, University of Hamburg. p. 415. ISBN 978-3-447-06233-6.
  19. Mniejszość niemiecka na Pomorzu w okresie międzywojennym Przemysław Hauser UAM, 1998, page 293
  20. Mniejszości narodowe i wyznaniowe na Pomorzu w XIX i XX wieku: zbiór studiów Mieczysław Wojciechowski Uniwersytet Mikołaja Kopernika, 1998 - 292, page 82,90
  21. Barbara Bojarska: Eksterminacja inteligencji polskiej na Pomorzu Gdańskim (wrzesień – grudzień 1939). Poznań: Instytut Zachodni, 1972, ss. 78-79.
  22. Maria Wardzyńska: Był rok 1939. Operacja niemieckiej policji bezpieczeństwa w Polsce. Intelligenzaktion. Warszawa: Instytut Pamięci Narodowej, 2009, ss. 109–110.
  23. Zbigniew Otremba: Grudziądz. Kronika miasta. Gdańsk: wydawnictwo Regnum, 2007, page 81–82. ISBN 978-83-920686-1-7
  24. Jan Sziling. Niektóre problemy okupacji hitlerowskiej w Grudziądzu (1939-1945). „Rocznik Grudziądzki”. V-VI, ss. 448–449, 1962.
  25. Jochen Böhler, Klaus-Michael Mallmann, Jürgen Matthäus: Einsatzgruppen w Polsce. Warszawa: Bellona, 2009,page. 89
  26. Jan Sziling. Niektóre problemy okupacji hitlerowskiej w Grudziądzu. S. 450.
  27. Barbara Bojarska: Eksterminacja inteligencji polskiej na Pomorzu Gdańskim. s. 124.
  28. Zbigniew Otremba: Grudziądz. Kronika miasta. Gdańsk: wydawnictwo Regnum, 2007, ss. 81–82. ISBN 978-83-920686-1-7.
  29. Jan Sziling. Niektóre problemy okupacji hitlerowskiej w Grudziądzu... „op.cit.”. page 451
  30. Henryk Bierut: Martyrologia grudziądzan podczas okupacji hitlerowskiej. Grudziądz: Wydawnictwo Komitetu Ochrony Pamięci Walk i Męczeństwa w Grudziądzu, 1999, page 9
  31. Henryk Bierut: Martyrologia grudziądzan podczas okupacji hitlerowskiej. Grudziądz: Wydawnictwo Komitetu Ochrony Pamięci Walk i Męczeństwa w Grudziądzu, 1999, s. 9.
  32. Maria Wardzyńska: Był rok 1939... page 171.
  33. Jan Sziling. Niektóre problemy okupacji hitlerowskiej w Grudziądzu...page 451.
  34. enryk Bierut: Martyrologia grudziądzan podczas okupacji hitlerowskiej. pages 10-11
  35. Maria Wardzyńska: Był rok 1939... page 171.
  36. Bogdan Chrzanowski: Eksterminacja ludności polskiej w pierwszych miesiącach okupacji (wrzesień − grudzień 1939) w: Stutthof: hitlerowski obóz koncentracyjny. Warszawa: Interpress, 1988, page 16.
  37. Maria Wardzyńska: Był rok 1939....page 172
  38. Henryk Bierut: Martyrologia grudziądzan podczas okupacji hitlerowskiej., page 54
  39. Zbigniew Otremba: Grudziądz. Kronika miasta. Gdańsk: wydawnictwo Regnum, 2007, pages 81–82.
  40. Maria Wardzyńska: Był rok 1939.... page 172.
  41. Henryk Bierut: Martyrologia grudziądzan podczas okupacji hitlerowskiej, page 10-11.

External links

Media related to Grudziądz at Wikimedia Commons

Counties of Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship
City counties Coat of arms of Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship
Land counties
Grudziądz County
Seat (not part of the county): Grudziądz
Urban-rural gminas Coat of arms of Grudziądz County
Rural gminas

53°29′N 18°46′E / 53.483°N 18.767°E / 53.483; 18.767

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