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{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{Infobox settlement {{Infobox settlement
| name = Grudziądz | name = Grudziądz
| motto = Grudziądz - miasto na szczęście<br />(''Grudziądz - city of good luck'') | motto = Grudziądz Miasto Otwarte<br/>(''Grudziądz – Open city'')
| image_skyline = Panorama Grudziądza 2007.jpg | image_skyline = {{Photomontage
| imagesize = 250px | color = #ffffff
| photo1a = Grudziądz1.jpg{{!}}City panorama and the Grudziądz Granaries
| image_caption = Panorama of Grudziądz Old Town district
| photo2a = Rynek (Dzielnica staromiejska).jpg{{!}}Market Square
| photo2b = Grudziądz, kolegium jezuickie.JPG{{!}}Town Hall
| photo3a = Grudziądz, Brama Wodna.jpg{{!}}Water Gate
| photo3b = Klasztor Opatek - ul. Klasztorna.JPG{{!}}Former Benedictine monastery
| spacing = 2
| border = 0
| size = 280
}}
| imagesize =
| image_caption = {{hlist|From top, left to right: City panorama and the ]|Market Square|Town Hall|Water Gate|Former Benedictine monastery}}
| image_flag = POL Grudziądz flag.svg | image_flag = POL Grudziądz flag.svg
| image_shield = POL Grudziądz COA.svg | image_shield = POL Grudziądz COA.svg
| pushpin_map = Poland | pushpin_map = Poland
| pushpin_label_position = bottom | pushpin_label_position = bottom
| subdivision_type = ]
| coordinates_region = PL
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = {{POL}} | subdivision_name = {{POL}}
| subdivision_type1 = ] | subdivision_type1 = ]
Line 17: Line 27:
| subdivision_name2 = ''city county'' | subdivision_name2 = ''city county''
| leader_title = Mayor | leader_title = Mayor
| leader_name = Robert Malinowski | leader_name = Maciej Glamowski
| established_title = Established | established_title = First mentioned
| established_date = 11th century | established_date = 11 April 1065
| established_title3 = Town rights | established_title3 = Town rights
| established_date3 = 1291 | established_date3 = 18 June 1291
| area_total_km2 = 57.76 | area_total_km2 = 57.76
| population_as_of = 31 December 2021
| population_as_of = 2010<ref></ref>
| population_total = 92,552 {{decrease}}<ref name="population">{{cite web|url=https://bdl.stat.gov.pl/bdl/dane/teryt/jednostka|title=Local Data Bank|access-date=9 August 2022|publisher=Statistics Poland}} Data for territorial unit 0462000.</ref> (40th)
| population_total = 96042
| population_density_km2 = auto | population_density_km2 = auto
| timezone = ] | timezone = ]
Line 30: Line 40:
| timezone_DST = ] | timezone_DST = ]
| utc_offset_DST = +2 | utc_offset_DST = +2
| coordinates = {{coord|53|29|15|N|18|45|18|E|region:PL|display=title,inline}}
| latd = 53 | latm = 29 | lats = 33 | latNS = N | longd = 18 | longm = 46 | longs = 34 | longEW = E
| elevation_m = 50 | elevation_m = 50
| postal_code_type = Postal code | postal_code_type = Postal code
| postal_code = 86-300 to 86-311 | postal_code = 86–300 to 86–311
| area_code = +48 056 | area_code = +48 056
| blank_name = ] | blank_name = ]
| blank_info = CG | blank_info = CG
| blank_name_sec2 = ]
| website = http://www.grudziadz.pl }}
| blank_info_sec2 = ] ]
| website = http://www.grudziadz.pl
}}
'''Grudziądz''' {{IPAc-pl|AUD|Pl-Grudziądz.ogg|'|g|r|u|dzi|o|n|c}} ({{langx|la|Graudentum, Graudentium}}, {{langx|de|Graudenz}}) is a city in northern ], with 92,552 inhabitants (2021).<ref name="population"/> Located on the ], it lies within the ] and is the fourth-largest city in its province. The Old Town of Grudziądz and 14th-century ] were declared ].


== Geographical location ==
'''Grudziądz''' {{IPAc-pl|AUD|Pl-Grudządz.ogg|'|g|r|u|dzi|o|n|c}} ({{lang-de|Graudenz}}, {{lang-la|Graudensis}}) is a ] in northern ] on the ], with 96 042 inhabitants (2010). Situated in the ] (since 1999), the city was previously in the ] (1975–1998).
Grudziądz is located close to the east shore of the river ],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Grudziądz {{!}} Poland {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Grudziadz |access-date=2023-04-05 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> approximately {{cvt|22|km|0|abbr=off}} north-east of ], {{cvt|93|km|0}} south of ] and {{cvt|170|km|0}} south-west of ]. It is located in ].


== History == == History ==
=== Early medieval Poland ===
{{Ref improve section|date=December 2010}}
Grudziądz was founded by the ], ]<ref>''Wielka encyklopedia polski: Tom 1'' Wojciech Słowakiewicz, Jacek Słowiński, Piotr Turkot page 270 Fogra, 2000</ref> of the ].


Initially Grudziądz was a defensive stronghold, known as a ]. The fortress and tower were built to protect the Poles from attacks by the Baltic Prussians.<ref name=britannica/>
]]]


=== Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights ===
===Early history===
The settlement was re-fortified again from 1234 by the ]. The erection of the castle, with the help of stone as building material, was begun around the middle of the 13th century. Under the protection of the castle the settlement gradually began to develop into a town.
Initially a defensive ] founded by Polish ruler ]<ref>Wielka encyklopedia polski: Tom 1 Wojciech Słowakiewicz, Jacek Słowiński, Piotr Turkot page 270 Fogra, 2000</ref>, the settlement adopted ] in 1291 while under the rule of ] becoming a city. In 1440, the city joined the ], and between 1466 and 1772, the city belonged to Polish province of ].


In 1277 both "the castle and the town" were besieged heavily by the ].{{citation needed|date=April 2013}} The settlement adopted ] in 1291 while under the rule of the ].<ref name="britannica">{{cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/247334/Grudziadz |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica Online |title=Grudziądz |access-date=8 May 2013 |archive-date=22 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140322071451/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/247334/Grudziadz |url-status=live }}</ref>
===Prussia and Germany===
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 oldest building parts of the Catholic St. Nicholas' Church stem from the end of the 13th century. The Holy Spirit Church, which apparently was founded during the 13th century, is mentioned together with the town's hospital for the first time in 1345.{{citation needed|date=April 2013}} Other documents reveal that in the 14th century the town already had a well-developed infrastructure. A document of 1380, as an example, refers to the construction of an aqueduct, a fountain and a town-hall cellar.{{citation needed|date=April 2013}}
]


In the 14th century, papal verdicts ordered the restoration of the town and region to Poland, however, the Teutonic Knights did not comply and continued to occupy it.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://encyklopedia.pwn.pl/haslo/wojny-polsko-krzyzackie;3997560.html|title=wojny polsko-krzyżackie|website=Encyklopedia PWN|access-date=19 April 2024|language=pl}}</ref> During the era of the Teutonic Knights, Graudenz had become a distinguished trade center in particular for textiles and agricultural products including grain.{{citation needed|date=May 2013}} Around 1454, Graudenz had already reached about the same level of economic development as other towns in the western part of the ], such as ] (''Gdańsk''), ] (''Elbląg''), ] (''Toruń''), ] (''Malbork''), ] (''Chełmno''), ] (''Chojnice''), ] (''Nowe Miasto Lubawskie'') and ] (''Starogard Gdański'').{{citation needed|date=April 2013}}
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>


=== Kingdom of Poland ===
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 1440, the city co-founded the ] which opposed the Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights. At the beginning of the ] (1454–66), the citizens forced the Teutonic Order to hand over the castle. The confederation asked the King of Poland, ] to join Poland. The King agreed and signed the act of incorporation in ] in March 1454.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Górski|first=Karol|title=Związek Pruski i poddanie się Prus Polsce: zbiór tekstów źródłowych|year=1949|publisher=Instytut Zachodni|location=]|language=pl|page=54}}</ref> Although there was support the Knights inside the city walls {{citation needed|date=December 2021}} during the entirety of the war, both the city and the castle remained under Polish control. The ] confirmed the re-incorporation of Grudziądz to Poland.<ref>Górski, p. 88-89, 206-207</ref>


Between 1454 and 1772 the city was part of the Polish ], which itself was since 1466 part of the Polish province of ], soon included in the larger ]. The Grudziądz Castle was seat of the local ]s (royal administrative officials). It was often visited by Polish kings.
A ] of the German Imperial Navy, built in 1912-1914, was named after the city.


]
===Germanization and Polish resistance===
After the great depression of the Thirteen Years' War, new economical growth in the town was slow before the middle of the 16th century. Economic progress was hampered by the religious struggles and by the ] throughout the 17th century.{{citation needed|date=April 2013}} At the end of 1655, during the ], the city and its castle were captured by the Swedes and occupied for four years. In 1659, the Swedes had been besieged for several days and retreated. During their departure, part of the town was destroyed by fire.{{citation needed|date=April 2013}}
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 1522, ], who aside from his astronomical work was also an economist, presented his ] '']'' in Grudziądz. In it he postulated the principle that "bad money drives out good" which became known as the ] or the Gresham–Copernicus law. This work included an early version of the ] – a key concept in economics.<ref>Angus Armitage, ''The World of Copernicus'', 1951, p. 91.</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
Following ], in 1569 the local Protestants were given access to the Holy Spirit Church; in 1572 ] seemed to have vanished almost entirely in the town.{{citation needed|date=April 2013}} In 1597 King ] gave order that the Protestants had to return all churches taken over by them in the past to the Catholics, including all accessories. The Protestants remained in possession solely of St. George's Church until in 1618 when the base of the building was washed away by the ] River and the church was torn down. For a while, they used once more the vacant Holy Spoirit Church, until in 1624 this building together with the hospital had to be handed over to nuns of the ] for the purpose of founding an affiliated institution.{{citation needed|date=April 2013}}
Instytut Zachodni 2001, page 116</ref>


Since 1622 ] from ] had a station in Grudziądz, which in 1640 was already so strong that it was able to form a residence in Grudziądz, despite objections from the side of the magistrate of the town.{{citation needed|date=April 2013}} In 1648 construction work for building a Jesuit church was taken up.{{citation needed|date=April 2013}} The Jesuits also founded the Jesuit College, which was the first high school in Grudziądz.<ref>Roman Pawlak, ''Zabytkowe ratusze''. Warsaw, MUZA SA, 2003, p. 68-69</ref>
===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>
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 ].
The town proper was surrounded by town walls, except on the side of river ], where instead of walls there stood huge massive grain silos, from where grain could be transported through wooden pipes to the embankment of the river.<ref name="JFG">]: ''Vollständige Topographie des Königreichs Preußen''. Teil II, Marienwerder 1789, </ref>


===Prussian Partition of Poland===
]]]
]
The 64th and 65th ] Regiments and the 16th ] Regiment of the ] 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 ]'s famous 18th Pomeranian ]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 ], the Air School of Shooting and Bombarding, and the N.C.O. Professional School, which offered courses for infantry reserve officer cadets.
Following the ] declared on 5 August 1772, the city was annexed by the ]. In 1773, it had a population of only 2,172 persons.{{citation needed|date=April 2013}} In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, it was part of the area affected by the ].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Partitions of Poland Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/facts/Partitions-of-Poland |access-date=2022-05-17 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> To stimulate municipal trade, ] brought in 44 colonist families. ] flourished. Among the most successful grain traders were the Schönborn family.<ref>Hans-Jürgen Bömelburg: ''Zwischen polnischer Ständegesellschaft und preußischem Obrigkeitsstaat'', Oldenbourg, Munich 1995, p. 404 ( {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160425133259/https://books.google.de/books?id=Lkz516M5jmoC&pg=PA404 |date=25 April 2016 }})</ref> In 1776, a decision was made to build a fortress in the town. Between 1796 and 1804, by decision of the King of Prussia, the Grudziądz Castle was demolished. During the Napoleonic invasion in Prussia in 1806–1807, the fortress ] by ] ] against attacks by French troops.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fischer |first1=Paul |title=Feste Graudienz 1807 unter Gouverneur de Courbiere - Geschichte der Blockade und Belagerung |date=1907 |publisher=Verlag Arnold Kriedte |location=Graudenz |url=https://kpbc.umk.pl/Content/216684/Gromadzenie_POPC_003_54_HD_009.pdf |language=de |access-date=22 September 2020 |archive-date=1 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201001203628/https://kpbc.umk.pl/Content/216684/Gromadzenie_POPC_003_54_HD_009.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>


In 1871, Graudenz became part of the unified ]. Administratively it belonged to the administrative district of ] in the ]. With the improvement of the railway network in Germany, Graudenz transiently lost its meaning as an important trading place for grain. In 1878, the railway line to ] (then Germanized as ''Goßlershausen'') opened. After the construction of a railroad bridge across the ] in 1878, a railway line to ] (''Laskowitz'') opened. Graudenz became a rapidly growing industrialized city. In 1883 also the Thorn (Toruń)-Graudenz-Marienburg (Malbork) railway line went into operation.{{citation needed|date=April 2013}}
<div style="float:right;margin:.5em .5em .5em 0;" class="toccolours">
'''Historical population <br />of Grudziądz'''
{| cellpadding=2 style="background:transparent;"
|-
| 1880
| align="right" |
|17,321
|-
| 1905
| align="right" |
|35,958
|-
| 1980
| align="right" |
|90,000
|-
| 1990
| align="right" |
|102,300
|-
| 1995
| align="right" |
|102,900
|-
| 1999
| align="right" |
|102,434
|-
| 2000
| align="right" |
|100,787
|-
| 2006
| align="right" |
|99 578
|-
| 2007
| align="right" |
|99 090
|-
| 2010
| align="right" |
|96 042
|-
|}
</div>


In 1899, the Chamber of Commerce was established in Graudenz. The ] named a ] and its lead ship, the ], after the city. The newspaper ''Der Gesellige'', founded by book seller Rothe in 1826, belonged up to the end of ] to the most widely spread newspapers of east Germany.{{citation needed|date=April 2013}} Around the turn to the 20th century, Graudenz had become an important cultural centre in east Germany with numerous schools, municipal archives and a museum.
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/>


The city was the site of a military prison for Polish activists. In 1832, also 249 Polish insurgents the ] were imprisoned by the Prussians in the local fortress and subjected to forced labour, malnutrition, beatings and insults.<ref>{{cite book|last=Kasparek|first=Norbert|editor-last=Katafiasz|editor-first=Tomasz|year=2014|title=Na tułaczym szlaku... Powstańcy Listopadowi na Pomorzu|language=pl|location=Koszalin|publisher=Muzeum w Koszalinie, Archiwum Państwowe w Koszalinie|pages=177–178|chapter=Żołnierze polscy w Prusach po upadku powstania listopadowego. Powroty do kraju i wyjazdy na emigrację}}</ref> Released prisoners who left Europe formed the ] in ], England in 1835 as part of the ] movement.<ref>Historia Polski, 1795–1918 Stefan Kieniewicz Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1975 page 142</ref>


==== Germanisation of the Poles in the Prussian Partition ====
===German invasion and occupation during Second World War===
] had nourished a particular contempt for the Polish state and people. ] was enforced to assimilate residents.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ritter |first=Gerhard|author-link=Gerhard Ritter |title=Frederick the Great: A Historical Profile |year=1974 |publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley |isbn=0-520-02775-2 |pages= |url=https://archive.org/details/stayawayjoenovel00cush/page/172}}</ref><ref>Hans-Jürgen Bömelburg: ''Zwischen polnischer Ständegesellschaft und preußischem Obrigkeitsstaat'', Oldenbourg, Munich 1995, p. 205 ff. ()</ref> He brought in German and Frisian workers and peasants, who in his opinion, were more suitable for building up his new civilization.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ritter |first=Gerhard|author-link=Gerhard Ritter |title=Frederick the Great: A Historical Profile |year=1974 |publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley |isbn=0-520-02775-2 |pages= |url=https://archive.org/details/stayawayjoenovel00cush/page/180}}</ref> Frederick settled around 300,000 colonists in the eastern provinces of ]. Using state funds for colonization, German craftsmen were placed in all local Polish cities.<ref>Fryderyk II Stanisław Salmonowicz Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich, 1985 "Z funduszy na kolonizację osiedlano w miastach fachowców z krajów niemieckich"</ref> A second ] wave of ethnic Germans 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 aimed at Germanisation of the Polish inhabited areas and 154,000 colonists were settled by the ] before ].
Professor ] writes that in areas where the Polish population lived alongside Germans a virtual apartheid existed, with bans on the Polish language and religious discrimination, besides attempts to colonize the areas with Germans.<ref>A history of modern Germany, 1800–2000 Martin Kitchen Wiley-Blackwel 2006, page 130</ref>


Approximately 16,850 Poles and about 26,000 Germans lived in the district of ].<ref name="VWG" >Michael Rademacher: '' {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130527083452/http://www.verwaltungsgeschichte.de/dan_graudenz.html |date=27 May 2013 }}'' (2006).</ref>
]
To resist Germanisation,<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> Polish activists started to publish the newspaper "Gazeta Grudziądzka" in 1894. It advocated the social and economic emancipation of rural society and opposed Germanization – publishing articles critical of Germany. German attempts to repress its editor Wiktor Kulerski only helped to increase its circulation.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> From 1898 to 1901, a ] of Polish students seeking to restore Polish independence operated in the city, but the activists were tried by German courts in 1901, frustrating their efforts.<ref>''Filomaci Pomorscy: tajne związki młodzieży polskiej na Pomorzu Gdańskim w latach 1830–1920'', Jerzy Szews, Polska Akademia Nauk, Instytut Historii Nauki, Oświaty i techniki, Zakład Dziejów Oświaty, 1992 – page 129</ref>
On September 3, 1939 ] of ] ] and, as Graudenz, annexed the city into the ], starting a five-year long occupation lasting till the end of ].


In Graudenz, German soldiers were stationed in the local fortress as part of the Germanization measures, and the authorities placed soldiers with the most chauvinistic attitude towards the Poles there.<ref>Studia i materiały do dziejów Wielkopolski i Pomorza, Tom 18, Wydanie 1 Polskie Towarzystwo Historyczne. Oddział w Poznaniu, page 119, Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe</ref> The German government brought in more stationed military, merchants and state officials to influence population figures.<ref>{{cite book|last=Chwalba|first=Andrzej|author-link=Andrzej Chwalba|year=2007|title=Historia Polski 1795–1918|language=pl|publisher=Wydawnictwo Literackie|page=444}}</ref> In the 1910 census 84% of the population of the town and 58% of the county was recorded as German.<ref>{{cite book |title=Gemeindelexikon für die Regierungsbezirke Allenstein, Danzig, Marienwerder, Posen, Bromberg und Oppeln |location=Berlin |publisher=Königlich Preußisches Statistisches Landesamt |year=1912 |language=de}}</ref>
====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>
Census figures published by the German Empire have been criticised as unreliable. Historians believe they have a high degree of falsification; formal pressure on census takers (predominantly school-teachers) was possible, and a new bilingual category was created to further complicate the results, as bilingual people (that is those who could speak both German and Polish) were classified as Germans.<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 have asserted that all people registering as bilingual were 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> The Polish population in this heavily Germanised city has been officially estimated at around 12–15% during this period.
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>


The Polish population numbers rose steadily before the ].<ref>''Przegląd zachodni'', Tom 34, Instytut Zachodni, Instytut Zachodni., 1978 page 214</ref><ref>Życie kulturalno-literackie Grudziądza w latach 1918–1939 Eugenia Sławińska Gdańskie Towarzystwo Naukowe, 1980 – 211, page 11</ref> In the German election of 1912, the ] received 53% of all votes, whilst Polish candidates won 23% of votes. In 1912, Wiktor Kulerski founded the Polish Catholic Peasant Party in the city, which aimed at protecting the local Polish population<ref>''Dzieje Wielkopolski: Lata 1793–1918'', Jerzy Topolski, Wydawn. Poznańskie 1973, page 503,</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>


In 1913, the ''Polish Gazeta Grudziądzka'' reached a circulation of 128,000, making it the third largest Polish newspaper 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>
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>


===Interwar Poland===
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>
On 23 January 1920, the regulations of the ] became effective, the city was reincorporated under its Polish name Grudziądz into the reborn Polish state (]), although a majority of its inhabitants were German. At that time Józef Włodek, the newly appointed Polish mayor, described his impression of the town as "modern but unfortunately completely German"<ref>{{cite book |title=Als der Osten noch Heimat war |first1=Wlodzimierz |last1=Borodziej |first2=Gerald |last2=Endres |first3=Ulla |last3=Lachauer |publisher=Rowohlt |page=127 |year=2009 |language=de |isbn=978-3-87134-644-6}} Quotation:"Es habe auf ihn,..., den Eindruck einer modernen und "leider völlig deutschen" Stadt gemacht,"</ref>


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


Between 1926 and 1934 the number of Germans (34,194 in 1910) rose from 3,542 to 3,875.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KVg_tMs_ZPIC&q=+Graudenz&pg=PA365 |title=Polens Politik gegenüber seiner deutschen Minderheit 1919–1939 |first1=Albert S. |last1=Kotowski |page=55 |publisher=Forschungsstelle Ostmitteleuropa, ] |year=1998 |language=de |isbn=3-447-03997-3 |access-date=2 October 2020 |archive-date=25 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210925073331/https://books.google.com/books?id=KVg_tMs_ZPIC&q=+Graudenz&pg=PA365 |url-status=live }}</ref> Some Polish authors emphasize a wider emigration pattern motivated chiefly by economic conditions and the unwillingness of the German minority to live in the 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>
]


The German author Christian Raitz von Frentz writes that after the First World War ended, the Polish government tried to reverse the systematic Germanization of the past decades<ref>A Lesson Forgotten: Minority Protection Under the League of Nations: The Case of the German Minority in Poland, 1920-193 page 8 LIT Verlag Berlin-Hamburg-Münster, 1999</ref>
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>
Prejudices, stereotypes and conflicts dating back to German harsh rule and discrimination of Poles influenced Polish policies towards minorities in the new independent Polish state.<ref>Polens Politik gegenüber seiner deutschen Minderheit 1919–1939 Albert S. Kotowski p. 43</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>


The Polish authorities, supported by the public (e.g. the "explicitly anti-German" Związek Obrony Kresów Zachodnich), initiated a number of measures to further ].<ref>Polens Politik gegenüber seiner deutschen Minderheit, 1919–1939 (Studien der Forschungsstelle Ostmitteleuropa an der Universität Dortmund). S. 94.</ref> The local press was also hostile towards the Germans.
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>.
]
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 ] "Deutsche Bühne". The theatre was funded by money from ].<ref>{{cite book|last=Hauser|first=Przemysław|year=1998|title=Mniejszość niemiecka na Pomorzu w okresie międzywojennym|language=pl|publisher=UAM|page=219}}</ref> Created before the war, its actors were mostly German officers stationed with the local garrison<ref>Historia Pomorza: 1850–1918, pt. 2. Polityka i kultura Gerard Labuda, Stanisław Salmonowicz – 2002, page 398 -</ref>
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 policy towards the German minority.<ref>Polens Politik gegenüber seiner deutschen Minderheit, 1919–1939 (Studien der Forschungsstelle Ostmitteleuropa an der Universität Dortmund). S. 94–95.</ref>
The German theatre was re-opened by the Nazis in 1943,<ref>Pamiętnik teatralny:
kwartalnik poświẹcony historii i krytyce teatru, Tom 46 Państwowy Instytut Sztuki (Poland), Instytut Sztuki (Polska Akademia Nauk)
page 464</ref> while the last director of the Polish theatre in the city in the years 1922–24 was murdered by them.<ref>Rocznik Gdański, Tom 50, Wydanie 2, Gdańskie Towarzystwo Naukowe. Wydział I Nauk Społecznych i Humanistycznych, page 215</ref>


In the interbellum, Grudziądz served as an important centre of culture and education with one of the biggest Polish military ] and several military schools located both in and around the city. 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 ], President of the ].


]]]
The 64th and 65th ] Regiments and the 16th ] Regiment of the ] were stationed in Grudziądz during the 19 years of the inter-war period. They were part of the 16th Infantry Division, which had its headquarters in the city, as did the ]'s famous ]. The Grudziądz Centre of Cavalry Training educated many notable army commanders, including future Polish resistance hero ]. Military education in Grudziądz was also provided by the Centre of the ], the Air School of Shooting and Bombarding, and the N.C.O. Professional School, which offered courses for infantry reserve officer cadets.


In 1920 a German-language school was founded.<ref name=Bor/> In 1931 the Polish government decreed a reduction in 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 prepared, some of the children were transferred, which led to a school-strike.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SE4yRIlcs48C&q=graudenz&pg=PA532 |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=de |isbn=978-3-447-06233-6 |access-date=2 October 2020 |archive-date=25 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210925073332/https://books.google.com/books?id=SE4yRIlcs48C&q=graudenz&pg=PA532 |url-status=live }}</ref> The German school followed ideas and customs as those in ].<ref>{{cite book|last=Hauser|first=Przemysław|year=1998|title=Mniejszość niemiecka na Pomorzu w okresie międzywojennym|language=pl|publisher=UAM|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>
===End of German occupation===
The Polish authorities were alarmed when a notebook of one female student was discovered by them, which contained the Nazi party anthem, the Horst Wessel Lied and revisionistic text. The discovery caused outrage and calls to dismiss Hilgendorf due to his irredentist beliefs<ref>Volk, Staat, Gott!«Die deutsche Minderheit in Polen und ihr Schulwesen 1918–1939, page 585</ref> In November 1933 two German craftsmen were killed by a Polish mob during a local election campaign.<ref name=Bor/>
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 ].


===World War II===
== Notable residents ==
]
On 3 September 1939 units from the ] entered the town after the ] and then ] it. From 26 October 1939 to 1945 the city was part of the administrative district of ] in the new province of ].

====Nazi atrocities====
{{Further|Intelligenzaktion Pommern}}

Following the German invasion, the '']'' and '']'' IV and V entered the city to commit ].<ref name=mw109>Maria Wardzyńska: ''Był rok 1939. Operacja niemieckiej policji bezpieczeństwa w Polsce. Intelligenzaktion.'' Warszawa: ], 2009, p. 109.</ref> They also carried out mass searches of Polish courthouses, organizations, police stations, etc., and seized large amounts of grain, textiles, coffee, equipment, and even ]s.<ref name=mw109/> On 7 September, 25 Polish citizens were detained as hostages<ref name=mw110/> – priests, teachers and other members that enjoyed the respect of local society. They were threatened with execution if any harm came to the ] from the city who were detained and held by the Polish authorities during the ]. After their initial release on the return of the members of the German minority, they were re-arrested and most of them were shot.<ref>]: ''Eksterminacja inteligencji polskiej na Pomorzu Gdańskim (wrzesień – grudzień 1939).'' Poznań: Instytut Zachodni, 1972, pp. 78–79.</ref>
On 9 September a further 85 Poles were imprisoned by the Germans.<ref name=mw110>Maria Wardzyńska: ''Był rok 1939. Operacja niemieckiej policji bezpieczeństwa w Polsce. Intelligenzaktion.'' p. 110.</ref>
The German authorities destroyed the city's monuments to Polish independence,<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 during church masses.<ref>Jan Sziling. Niektóre problemy okupacji hitlerowskiej w Grudziądzu (1939–1945). "Rocznik Grudziądzki". V-VI, ss. 448–449, 1962.</ref>

On 4 September, the Einsatzgruppe V demanded a list of names of all members of the 600-strong Jewish community within 14 hours, as well as a list of all their possessions. They were also fined 20,000 zlotych<ref>Jochen Böhler, Klaus-Michael Mallmann, ]: Einsatzgruppen w Polsce. Warszawa: Bellona, 2009, page. 89</ref>

On 6 September, the whole city was covered with posters demanding that Jews and "mixed races" of category I and IInd degree (so-called '']e'', i.e. persons of mixed race) gather at the headquarters of the Einsatzgruppe V (established in the local school). Around 100 people responded to the demand and were immediately arrested and robbed. After this they were transported to an unknown destination and disappeared – it is believed that they were most likely executed by the Germans in the ]-] forests.<ref>Jan Sziling. Niektóre problemy okupacji hitlerowskiej w Grudziądzu. S. 450.</ref><ref>]: ''Eksterminacja inteligencji polskiej na Pomorzu Gdańskim'' p. 124.</ref>

On 19 October, the city was visited by the ] Gauleiter (regional chief) ]. In a public speech to the ''Volksdeutsche'', he declared that the area was to become "one hundred percent" German, and that 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>

Grudziądz was the location of the ] Graudenz, a subcamp of ].

=====Selbstschutz participation in mass murder=====
]

Alongside the military and ''Einsatzgruppen'' administration, the first structures of '']'' were established – a paramilitary formation of members of the German minority in the region. The head of ''Selbstschutz'' in Grudziądz was Doctor Joachim Gramse.<ref name=js>Jan Sziling. Niektóre problemy okupacji hitlerowskiej w Grudziądzu... p. 451</ref><ref name=hb9>Henryk Bierut: ''Martyrologia grudziądzan podczas okupacji hitlerowskiej.'' Grudziądz: Wydawnictwo Komitetu Ochrony Pamięci Walk i Męczeństwa w Grudziądzu, 1999, p. 9</ref>
In October 1939, ''Selbstschutz'' created an internment camp for Poles seeking to restore Polish independence, whose commandant was a local German Kurt Gotze.<ref name=hb9/>

Teachers, officials, social workers, doctors, merchants, members of patriotic organisations, lawyers, policemen, farmers and 150 Polish priests were held in this camp.<ref name="Maria Wardzyńska 1939. page 171"/> There were also around 200 Polish boys, students of local schools, who were soon deported to ] in Germany.<ref name="Maria Wardzyńska 1939. page 171" /> It is estimated that around 4,000 to 5,000 people went through the camp.<ref name="Maria Wardzyńska 1939. page 171">Maria Wardzyńska: Był rok 1939... page 171.</ref> Other arrested Poles were held in the cellars of the ].<ref name=js/> The local Germans who ran the camp established their own "court" which decided the fate of the prisoners. The "court" comprised: Kurt Gotze, Helmut Domke, Horst Kriedte, Hans Abromeit (owner of a drugstore), Paul Neuman (barber).<ref name=hb10>Henryk Bierut: ''Martyrologia grudziądzan podczas okupacji hitlerowskiej.'' pages 10–11</ref> Based on their decisions, some of the prisoners were sent to concentration camps, 300 were murdered ''en masse''; only a few were released.<ref name="Maria Wardzyńska 1939. page 171"/><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 the ''Selbstschutz'' in ] near Grudziądz; in October and November 1939 several hundred people were murdered there and their bodies buried in five mass graves.<ref name=mw172>Maria Wardzyńska: ''Był rok 1939'', page 172</ref> The victims were usually shot at the edges of already dug out graves.<ref>Henryk Bierut: ''Martyrologia grudziądzan podczas okupacji hitlerowskiej'', page 54.</ref>

Further executions were carried out in desolate areas of Grudziądz: on 11 November 1939 near Grudziądz Fortress, the ''Selbstschutz'' executed ten Polish teachers, four Polish priests and four 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 name=mw172/> On 29 October 1939 a unit of ''Selbstschutz'' mass-murdered ten Polish hostages as revenge for posters that had appeared in the city calling for resistance against Nazi occupation.<ref name=hb10/>

====World War II aftermath====

]
As the result of heavy fighting in 1945, over 60% of the city was destroyed. Soviet Major ] participated in those battles and covered the final surrender of the German garrison in his book "To Be Preserved Forever". He describes the joint psychological warfare in March 1945 by the Red Army and members of the ]. As the war ended, the German population of the city fled or was ] in accordance with the ].<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=de |isbn=978-3-87134-644-6}}</ref> The city became home to Poles who had emigrated from ] east of the ], where they had been asked by the Soviet authorities to either accept incorporation into the U.S.S.R. or to leave what had been their former homeland.

== Population ==
In 2018, it was populated by 95,045 inhabitants. {{citation needed|date=December 2021}}

== Education ==
]]]
* Nicolaus Copernicus University
* Grudziądzka Szkoła Wyższa

==Sport==
Grudziądz has two professional sports teams. The largest following has the popular ] team ], who race at the ] and compete in the ] (Poland's top division), whereas the local ] team ] has a slightly more modest following, playing in the lower leagues (as of 2022). GKS Olimpia Grudziądz is also a multi-sports club with ] and ] sections.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://gksolimpiagrudziadz.pl|title=Oficjalna Strona GKS Olimpia Grudziądz|access-date=12 March 2023|language=pl}}</ref>

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


* ] (ca. 1400-ca. 1480), composer * ] ({{circa|1400–1480}}), composer
* ] (1580–1646), composer * ] (1580–1646), composer
* ] (1863–1946), German chemist * ] (1863–1946), German chemist
* ] (1865–1952), politician
* ] (1875–1961) was Mayor of Graudenz
* ] (1875–1961), Mayor of Graudenz
* ] (1876–1947), writer * ] (1876–1947), writer
* ] (1880–1934), U-boat commander
* ](1852-1902) Polish publisher
* ] (1880–1934), U-Boat commander
* ] (1882–1948), stage performer * ] (1882–1948), stage performer
* ](1895- 1963), Polish engineer * ] (1895–1963), Polish engineer
* ] (1899–1992), Polish aviator and test pilot * ] (1899–1992), Polish aviator and test pilot
* ] (1901–1991), Admiral * ] (1901–1991), Admiral
* ] (1911–2008), stage actor, operatic tenor and opera director
* ] (1915–2003), Polish 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 * ] (1935–2011), Olympic champion weightlifter
* ] (born 1943), ] singer * ] (born 1943), ]
* ] (1951–1981), Olympic Champion in the 3000m steeplechase race, 1980 Summer Olympics * ] (1951–1981), Olympic Champion in the 3000m steeplechase race, 1980 Summer Olympics
* Mateusz "scriptwelder" Sokalszczuk (born 1985), flash game developer, author of ], a game that takes place in the city
* ] (born 1986), ] rider * ] (born 1986), ] rider


==Twin towns – sister cities==
== Education ==

* Nicolaus Copernicus University
* Grudziądzka Szkoła Wyższa

==International relations==
{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Poland}} {{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Poland}}
Grudziądz is ] with:
{| class="wikitable"
|- valign="top"
|
*{{flagicon|RUS}} ''], Russia''
*{{flagicon|SWE}} ], Sweden
||
*{{flagicon|GER}} ], Germany
*{{flagicon|CHN}} ], China
|}
''italicized'' that this city is suspended due to ].


== Sights ==
===Twin towns — Sister cities===
<gallery mode="packed">

File:PORT SCHULZA GRUDZIĄDZ.JPG|Szultz Port (at present Grudziadz ])
*{{Flagicon|Russia}} ] (])
File:MonumentOfPolishSoldierInGrudziadz.jpg|Memorial to Polish soldiers, main market square
*{{Flagicon|Sweden}} ] (])
*{{Flagicon|Germany}} ] (])

== Gallery ==
<gallery perrow="4">
File:Grudziadznoca.jpg|Night-time landscape
File:Grudziadz kolegium jez.jpg|Former Jesuit college, today City Council
File:Grudziąc ulica st.jpg|Spichrzowa Street
File:Graudenz Rynek.jpg|Memorial to a Polish soldier in the main square
File:Grudziadz Kosciol Niepokalanego Serca NMP.JPG|St. Mary's Church File:Grudziadz Kosciol Niepokalanego Serca NMP.JPG|St. Mary's Church
File:Graudenz Kirche.jpg|Church of St. Francis Xavier File:Kościół grudziądz1.JPG|Church of ]
File:II Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. Króla Jana III Sobieskiego w Grudziądzu 2013 09 21.jpg|Sobieski High School
File:Grudziadz kosciol sw Mikolaja.jpg|St. Mikołaj (Nicholas) church
File:Grudziadz kosciol sw Mikolaja.jpg|St. Nicholas' Basilica (''Bazylika św. Mikołaja'')
File:Parkb cg hdr.jpg|Miejski Park
File:Parkb cg hdr.jpg|The ] City Park (''Park Miejski im. Piotra Janowskiego'')
File:Grudziądz - Poczta Polska - panoramio.jpg|Main Post Office
File:Grudziądz, Wieża Klimek.jpg|Klimek Tower (''Wieża Klimek'')
File:PileckiGrudziadz.JPG|] monument
File:Pomnik grudziądz1.JPG|] and Girl Monument
File:Most im. Bronisława Malinowskiego (cropped).jpg|The ] Bridge
File:Wieża ciśnień na terenie byłej fabryki Ventzkiego.jpg|After factory water tower
File:War cemetery in Grudziądz A 975.JPG|War cemetery
</gallery> </gallery>


== Notes == == References ==
{{reflist}} {{Reflist}}


== External links == == External links ==
{{Commons-inline|Grudziądz}} * {{Commons-inline|Grudziądz}}
* * {{Official website|http://grudziadz.pl/en}}
* *
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Graudenz |volume=12|page=381|short=x}}
*


{{Vistula}}
{{Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship}} {{Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship}}
{{Grudziądz County}} {{Grudziądz County}}
{{Authority control}}
{{coord|53|29|N|18|46|E|region:PL_type:city|display=title}}


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Latest revision as of 17:03, 6 January 2025

Place in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland
Grudziądz
City panorama and the Grudziądz GranariesMarket SquareTown HallWater GateFormer Benedictine monastery
  • From top, left to right: City panorama and the Grudziądz Granaries
  • Market Square
  • Town Hall
  • Water Gate
  • Former Benedictine monastery
Flag of GrudziądzFlagCoat of arms of GrudziądzCoat of arms
Motto(s): Grudziądz – Miasto Otwarte
(Grudziądz – Open city)
Grudziądz is located in PolandGrudziądzGrudziądz
Coordinates: 53°29′15″N 18°45′18″E / 53.48750°N 18.75500°E / 53.48750; 18.75500
Country Poland
VoivodeshipKuyavian-Pomeranian
Countycity county
First mentioned11 April 1065
Town rights18 June 1291
Government
 • MayorMaciej Glamowski
Area
 • Total57.76 km (22.30 sq mi)
Elevation50 m (160 ft)
Population
 • Total92,552 Decrease (40th)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code86–300 to 86–311
Area code+48 056
Car platesCG
Highways
Websitehttp://www.grudziadz.pl

Grudziądz (Latin: Graudentum, Graudentium, German: Graudenz) is a city in northern Poland, with 92,552 inhabitants (2021). Located on the Vistula River, it lies within the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship and is the fourth-largest city in its province. The Old Town of Grudziądz and 14th-century granaries were declared National Historic Monuments of Poland.

Geographical location

Grudziądz is located close to the east shore of the river Vistula, approximately 22 km (14 mi) north-east of Świecie, 93 km (58 mi) south of Gdańsk and 170 km (106 mi) south-west of Kaliningrad. It is located in Chełmno Land.

History

Early medieval Poland

Grudziądz was founded by the Duke of Poland, Bolesław I the Brave of the Piast dynasty.

Initially Grudziądz was a defensive stronghold, known as a gord. The fortress and tower were built to protect the Poles from attacks by the Baltic Prussians.

Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights

The settlement was re-fortified again from 1234 by the Teutonic Order. The erection of the castle, with the help of stone as building material, was begun around the middle of the 13th century. Under the protection of the castle the settlement gradually began to develop into a town.

In 1277 both "the castle and the town" were besieged heavily by the Yotvingians. The settlement adopted Kulm law in 1291 while under the rule of the monastic state of the Teutonic Knights.

The oldest building parts of the Catholic St. Nicholas' Church stem from the end of the 13th century. The Holy Spirit Church, which apparently was founded during the 13th century, is mentioned together with the town's hospital for the first time in 1345. Other documents reveal that in the 14th century the town already had a well-developed infrastructure. A document of 1380, as an example, refers to the construction of an aqueduct, a fountain and a town-hall cellar.

In the 14th century, papal verdicts ordered the restoration of the town and region to Poland, however, the Teutonic Knights did not comply and continued to occupy it. During the era of the Teutonic Knights, Graudenz had become a distinguished trade center in particular for textiles and agricultural products including grain. Around 1454, Graudenz had already reached about the same level of economic development as other towns in the western part of the State of the Teutonic Order, such as Danzig (Gdańsk), Elbing (Elbląg), Thorn (Toruń), Marienburg (Malbork), Kulm (Chełmno), Konitz (Chojnice), Neumark (Nowe Miasto Lubawskie) and Preußisch Stargard (Starogard Gdański).

Kingdom of Poland

The Water Gate and the city walls of Grudziądz, 14th/15th century

In 1440, the city co-founded the Prussian Confederation which opposed the Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights. At the beginning of the Thirteen Years' War (1454–66), the citizens forced the Teutonic Order to hand over the castle. The confederation asked the King of Poland, Casimir IV Jagiellon to join Poland. The King agreed and signed the act of incorporation in Kraków in March 1454. Although there was support the Knights inside the city walls during the entirety of the war, both the city and the castle remained under Polish control. The 1466 peace treaty confirmed the re-incorporation of Grudziądz to Poland.

Between 1454 and 1772 the city was part of the Polish Chełmno Voivodeship, which itself was since 1466 part of the Polish province of Royal Prussia, soon included in the larger Greater Poland Province. The Grudziądz Castle was seat of the local starostas (royal administrative officials). It was often visited by Polish kings.

Siege of Grudziądz by the Swedes in 1655

After the great depression of the Thirteen Years' War, new economical growth in the town was slow before the middle of the 16th century. Economic progress was hampered by the religious struggles and by the Polish–Swedish wars throughout the 17th century. At the end of 1655, during the Swedish Deluge, the city and its castle were captured by the Swedes and occupied for four years. In 1659, the Swedes had been besieged for several days and retreated. During their departure, part of the town was destroyed by fire.

In 1522, Nicolaus Copernicus, who aside from his astronomical work was also an economist, presented his treatise Monetae cudendae ratio in Grudziądz. In it he postulated the principle that "bad money drives out good" which became known as the Gresham's law or the Gresham–Copernicus law. This work included an early version of the quantity theory of money – a key concept in economics.

Grudziądz Town Hall, former Jesuit college building

Following Protestant Reformation, in 1569 the local Protestants were given access to the Holy Spirit Church; in 1572 Catholicism seemed to have vanished almost entirely in the town. In 1597 King Sigismund III Vasa gave order that the Protestants had to return all churches taken over by them in the past to the Catholics, including all accessories. The Protestants remained in possession solely of St. George's Church until in 1618 when the base of the building was washed away by the Vistula River and the church was torn down. For a while, they used once more the vacant Holy Spoirit Church, until in 1624 this building together with the hospital had to be handed over to nuns of the Order of Saint Benedict for the purpose of founding an affiliated institution.

Since 1622 Jesuits from Toruń had a station in Grudziądz, which in 1640 was already so strong that it was able to form a residence in Grudziądz, despite objections from the side of the magistrate of the town. In 1648 construction work for building a Jesuit church was taken up. The Jesuits also founded the Jesuit College, which was the first high school in Grudziądz.

Grudziądz Castle in the 18th century

The town proper was surrounded by town walls, except on the side of river Vistula, where instead of walls there stood huge massive grain silos, from where grain could be transported through wooden pipes to the embankment of the river.

Prussian Partition of Poland

19th century view of the Klimek Tower, the last remaining part of the Grudziądz Castle, after its destruction by the Prussian authorities

Following the First Partition of Poland declared on 5 August 1772, the city was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia. In 1773, it had a population of only 2,172 persons. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, it was part of the area affected by the Partitions of Poland. To stimulate municipal trade, Frederick the Great brought in 44 colonist families. Grain trade flourished. Among the most successful grain traders were the Schönborn family. In 1776, a decision was made to build a fortress in the town. Between 1796 and 1804, by decision of the King of Prussia, the Grudziądz Castle was demolished. During the Napoleonic invasion in Prussia in 1806–1807, the fortress was successfully defended by General of Infantry Wilhelm René de l'Homme de Courbière against attacks by French troops.

In 1871, Graudenz became part of the unified German Empire. Administratively it belonged to the administrative district of Regierungsbezirk Marienwerder in the Province of West Prussia. With the improvement of the railway network in Germany, Graudenz transiently lost its meaning as an important trading place for grain. In 1878, the railway line to Jabłonowo Pomorskie (then Germanized as Goßlershausen) opened. After the construction of a railroad bridge across the Vistula in 1878, a railway line to Laskowice (Laskowitz) opened. Graudenz became a rapidly growing industrialized city. In 1883 also the Thorn (Toruń)-Graudenz-Marienburg (Malbork) railway line went into operation.

In 1899, the Chamber of Commerce was established in Graudenz. The Imperial German Navy named a light cruiser class and its lead ship, the SMS Graudenz, after the city. The newspaper Der Gesellige, founded by book seller Rothe in 1826, belonged up to the end of World War I to the most widely spread newspapers of east Germany. Around the turn to the 20th century, Graudenz had become an important cultural centre in east Germany with numerous schools, municipal archives and a museum.

The city was the site of a military prison for Polish activists. In 1832, also 249 Polish insurgents the November Uprising were imprisoned by the Prussians in the local fortress and subjected to forced labour, malnutrition, beatings and insults. Released prisoners who left Europe formed the Gromada Grudziądz in Portsmouth, England in 1835 as part of the Great Emigration movement.

Germanisation of the Poles in the Prussian Partition

Frederick had nourished a particular contempt for the Polish state and people. Germanisation was enforced to assimilate residents. He brought in German and Frisian workers and peasants, who in his opinion, were more suitable for building up his new civilization. Frederick settled around 300,000 colonists in the eastern provinces of Prussia. Using state funds for colonization, German craftsmen were placed in all local Polish cities. A second colonization wave of ethnic Germans was pursued by Prussia after 1832. Laws were passed 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 the Polish population lived alongside Germans a virtual apartheid existed, with bans on the Polish language and religious discrimination, besides attempts to colonize the areas with Germans.

Approximately 16,850 Poles and about 26,000 Germans lived in the district of Graudenz. To resist Germanisation, Polish activists started to publish the newspaper "Gazeta Grudziądzka" in 1894. It advocated the social and economic emancipation of rural society and opposed Germanization – publishing articles critical of Germany. German attempts to repress its editor Wiktor Kulerski only helped to increase its circulation. From 1898 to 1901, a secret society of Polish students seeking to restore Polish independence operated in the city, but the activists were tried by German courts in 1901, frustrating their efforts.

In Graudenz, German soldiers were stationed in the local fortress as part of the Germanization measures, and the authorities placed soldiers with the most chauvinistic attitude towards the Poles there. The German government brought in more stationed military, merchants and state officials to influence population figures. In the 1910 census 84% of the population of the town and 58% of the county was recorded as German.

View of the city between 1914 and 1918

Census figures published by the German Empire have been criticised as unreliable. Historians believe they have a high degree of falsification; formal pressure on census takers (predominantly school-teachers) was possible, and a new bilingual category was created to further complicate the results, as bilingual people (that is those who could speak both German and Polish) were classified as Germans. Some analysts have asserted that all people registering as bilingual were classified as Germans. The Polish population in this heavily Germanised city has been officially estimated at around 12–15% during this period.

The Polish population numbers rose steadily before the First World War. In the German election of 1912, the National Liberal Party of Germany received 53% of all votes, whilst Polish candidates won 23% of votes. In 1912, Wiktor Kulerski founded the Polish Catholic Peasant Party in the city, which aimed at protecting the local Polish population

In 1913, the Polish Gazeta Grudziądzka reached a circulation of 128,000, making it the third largest Polish newspaper in the world.

Interwar Poland

On 23 January 1920, the regulations of the Treaty of Versailles became effective, the city was reincorporated under its Polish name Grudziądz into the reborn Polish state (Second Polish Republic), although a majority of its inhabitants were German. At that time Józef Włodek, the newly appointed Polish mayor, described his impression of the town as "modern but unfortunately completely German"

Townhouses on the Market Square

Between 1926 and 1934 the number of Germans (34,194 in 1910) rose from 3,542 to 3,875. Some Polish authors emphasize a wider emigration pattern motivated chiefly by economic conditions and the unwillingness of the German minority to live in the Polish state.

The German author Christian Raitz von Frentz writes that after the First World War ended, the Polish government tried to reverse the systematic Germanization of the past decades

Prejudices, stereotypes and conflicts dating back to German harsh rule and discrimination of Poles influenced Polish policies towards minorities in the new independent Polish state.

The Polish authorities, supported by the public (e.g. the "explicitly anti-German" Związek Obrony Kresów Zachodnich), initiated a number of measures to further Polonization. The local press was also hostile towards the Germans.

Cityscape of Grudziądz in 1928

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 from Berlin. Created before the war, its actors were mostly German officers stationed with the 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 policy towards the German minority. The German theatre was re-opened by the Nazis in 1943, while the last director of the Polish theatre in the city in the years 1922–24 was murdered by them.

In the interbellum, Grudziądz served as an important centre of culture and education with one of the biggest Polish military garrisons and several military schools located both in and around the city. 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, President of the Second Polish Republic.

The famous Grudziądz 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 the inter-war 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 Regiment. The Grudziądz Centre of Cavalry Training educated many notable army commanders, including future Polish resistance hero Witold Pilecki. 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.

In 1920 a German-language school was founded. In 1931 the Polish government decreed a reduction in 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 prepared, some of the children were transferred, which led to a school-strike. The German school followed ideas and customs as those in Germany. 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, which contained the Nazi party anthem, the Horst Wessel Lied and revisionistic text. The discovery caused outrage and calls to dismiss Hilgendorf due to his irredentist beliefs In November 1933 two German craftsmen were killed by a Polish mob during a local election campaign.

World War II

German residents in Grudziądz welcome forces of Nazi Germany in 1939.

On 3 September 1939 units from the Wehrmacht entered the town after the Battle of Grudziądz and then occupied it. From 26 October 1939 to 1945 the city was part of the administrative district of Regierungsbezirk Marienwerder in the new province of Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia.

Nazi atrocities

Further information: Intelligenzaktion Pommern

Following the German invasion, the Einsatzkommando 16 and Einsatzgruppen IV and V entered the city to commit crimes against the population. They also carried out mass searches of Polish courthouses, organizations, police stations, etc., and seized large amounts of grain, textiles, coffee, equipment, and even homing pigeons. On 7 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 came to the ethnic Germans from the city who were detained and held by the Polish authorities during the invasion of Poland. After their initial release on the return of the members of the German minority, they were re-arrested and most of them were shot. On 9 September a further 85 Poles were imprisoned by the Germans. The German authorities destroyed the city's monuments to Polish independence, and banned Polish priests from speaking Polish during church masses.

On 4 September, the Einsatzgruppe V demanded a list of names of all members of the 600-strong Jewish community within 14 hours, as well as a list of all their possessions. They were also fined 20,000 zlotych

On 6 September, the whole city was covered with posters demanding that Jews and "mixed races" of category I and IInd degree (so-called Mischlinge, i.e. persons of mixed race) gather at the headquarters of the Einsatzgruppe V (established in the local school). Around 100 people responded to the demand and were immediately arrested and robbed. After this they were transported to an unknown destination and disappeared – it is believed that they were most likely executed by the Germans in the Mniszek-Grupa forests.

On 19 October, the city was visited by the NSDAP Gauleiter (regional chief) Albert Forster. In a public speech to the Volksdeutsche, he declared that the area was to become "one hundred percent" German, and that Poles "have nothing to do here, and should be evicted"

Grudziądz was the location of the German concentration camp Graudenz, a subcamp of Stutthof concentration camp.

Selbstschutz participation in mass murder
Monument to Poles murdered by the German ethnic organisation Selbstschutz near Książe Góry

Alongside the military and Einsatzgruppen administration, the first structures of Selbstschutz were established – a paramilitary formation of members of the German minority in the region. The head of Selbstschutz in Grudziądz was Doctor Joachim Gramse. In October 1939, Selbstschutz created an internment camp for Poles seeking to restore Polish independence, 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. There were also around 200 Polish boys, students of local schools, who were soon deported to forced labour in Germany. It is estimated that around 4,000 to 5,000 people went through the camp. Other arrested Poles were held in the cellars of the Grudziądz Fortress. The local Germans who ran the camp established their own "court" which decided the fate of the prisoners. The "court" comprised: Kurt Gotze, Helmut Domke, Horst Kriedte, Hans Abromeit (owner of a drugstore), Paul Neuman (barber). Based on their decisions, some of the prisoners were sent to concentration camps, 300 were murdered en masse; 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 dug out graves.

Further executions were carried out in desolate areas of Grudziądz: on 11 November 1939 near Grudziądz Fortress, the Selbstschutz executed ten Polish teachers, four Polish priests and four women. Additionally, 37 people were murdered in Grudziądz city park. On 29 October 1939 a unit of Selbstschutz mass-murdered ten Polish hostages as revenge for posters that had appeared in the city calling for resistance against Nazi occupation.

World War II aftermath

The Market Square in 1983

As the result of heavy fighting in 1945, over 60% of the city was destroyed. Soviet Major Lev Kopelev participated in those battles and covered the final surrender of the German garrison in his book "To Be Preserved Forever". He describes the joint psychological warfare in March 1945 by the Red Army and members of the NKFD. As the war ended, the German population of the city fled or was expelled to Germany in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement. The city became home to Poles who had emigrated from Polish areas annexed by the Soviet Union east of the Curzon line, where they had been asked by the Soviet authorities to either accept incorporation into the U.S.S.R. or to leave what had been their former homeland.

Population

In 2018, it was populated by 95,045 inhabitants.

Education

Grudziądz Technical High School and astronomical observatory
  • Nicolaus Copernicus University
  • Grudziądzka Szkoła Wyższa

Sport

Grudziądz has two professional sports teams. The largest following has the popular speedway team GKM Grudziądz, who race at the Grudziądz Speedway Stadium and compete in the Ekstraliga (Poland's top division), whereas the local football team Olimpia Grudziądz has a slightly more modest following, playing in the lower leagues (as of 2022). GKS Olimpia Grudziądz is also a multi-sports club with athletics and judo sections.

Notable people

See also: Category:People from Grudziądz

Twin towns – sister cities

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

Grudziądz is twinned with:

italicized that this city is suspended due to Russian Invasion of Ukraine.

Sights

  • Szultz Port (at present Grudziadz Marina) Szultz Port (at present Grudziadz Marina)
  • Memorial to Polish soldiers, main market square Memorial to Polish soldiers, main market square
  • St. Mary's Church St. Mary's Church
  • Church of St. Francis Xavier Church of St. Francis Xavier
  • Sobieski High School Sobieski High School
  • St. Nicholas' Basilica (Bazylika św. Mikołaja) St. Nicholas' Basilica (Bazylika św. Mikołaja)
  • The Piotr Janowski City Park (Park Miejski im. Piotra Janowskiego) The Piotr Janowski City Park (Park Miejski im. Piotra Janowskiego)
  • Main Post Office Main Post Office
  • Klimek Tower (Wieża Klimek) Klimek Tower (Wieża Klimek)
  • Witold Pilecki monument Witold Pilecki monument
  • Uhlan and Girl Monument Uhlan and Girl Monument
  • The Bronisław Malinowski Bridge The Bronisław Malinowski Bridge
  • After factory water tower After factory water tower
  • War cemetery War cemetery

References

  1. ^ "Local Data Bank". Statistics Poland. Retrieved 9 August 2022. Data for territorial unit 0462000.
  2. "Grudziądz | Poland | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  3. Wielka encyklopedia polski: Tom 1 Wojciech Słowakiewicz, Jacek Słowiński, Piotr Turkot page 270 Fogra, 2000
  4. ^ "Grudziądz". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Archived from the original on 22 March 2014. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
  5. "wojny polsko-krzyżackie". Encyklopedia PWN (in Polish). Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  6. Górski, Karol (1949). Związek Pruski i poddanie się Prus Polsce: zbiór tekstów źródłowych (in Polish). Poznań: Instytut Zachodni. p. 54.
  7. Górski, p. 88-89, 206-207
  8. Angus Armitage, The World of Copernicus, 1951, p. 91.
  9. Roman Pawlak, Zabytkowe ratusze. Warsaw, MUZA SA, 2003, p. 68-69
  10. Johann Friedrich Goldbeck: Vollständige Topographie des Königreichs Preußen. Teil II, Marienwerder 1789, p. 28, no. 1.
  11. "Partitions of Poland Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  12. Hans-Jürgen Bömelburg: Zwischen polnischer Ständegesellschaft und preußischem Obrigkeitsstaat, Oldenbourg, Munich 1995, p. 404 (restricted preview Archived 25 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine)
  13. Fischer, Paul (1907). Feste Graudienz 1807 unter Gouverneur de Courbiere - Geschichte der Blockade und Belagerung (PDF) (in German). Graudenz: Verlag Arnold Kriedte. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 October 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  14. Kasparek, Norbert (2014). "Żołnierze polscy w Prusach po upadku powstania listopadowego. Powroty do kraju i wyjazdy na emigrację". In Katafiasz, Tomasz (ed.). Na tułaczym szlaku... Powstańcy Listopadowi na Pomorzu (in Polish). Koszalin: Muzeum w Koszalinie, Archiwum Państwowe w Koszalinie. pp. 177–178.
  15. Historia Polski, 1795–1918 Stefan Kieniewicz Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1975 page 142
  16. Ritter, Gerhard (1974). Frederick the Great: A Historical Profile. Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 172. ISBN 0-520-02775-2.
  17. Hans-Jürgen Bömelburg: Zwischen polnischer Ständegesellschaft und preußischem Obrigkeitsstaat, Oldenbourg, Munich 1995, p. 205 ff. (restricted preview)
  18. Ritter, Gerhard (1974). Frederick the Great: A Historical Profile. Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 180. ISBN 0-520-02775-2.
  19. Fryderyk II Stanisław Salmonowicz Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich, 1985 "Z funduszy na kolonizację osiedlano w miastach fachowców z krajów niemieckich"
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