Pasłęk ( pronounced [ˈpaswɛŋk] ; formerly known in Polish as Holąd Pruski , German : Preußisch Holland , Old Prussian : Pāistlauks ) is a historic town in northern Poland , within Elbląg County in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship . In 2017, the town had 12,298 registered inhabitants.
117-469: The oldest record of the name of the Pasłęk territory appears as Pozolucensis provincia in a petition of Polish Dominicans to Pope Gregory IX from 1231. Later in the 13th and 14th century the settlement was mentioned in documents as Pazluch , Pazlok , Paslok . In 1393 it was mentioned by a frater Heinricus de Castro alias Pasloci . Pasłęk is one of two historic Polish names of the town and it derives from
234-476: A "dormant Polishness" and to determine which were redeemable as Polish citizens; few were actually expelled. The verification procedure varied in different territories and was changed several times. Initially, the applicants had to prove their past membership in a Polish minority organization of the German Reich, and in addition needed a warrant where three Polish locals testified their Polishness. In April 1945,
351-610: A chaotic situation in the American and British zones of occupation. The Soviet Union transferred territories to the east of the Oder–Neisse line to Poland in July 1945. Subsequently, most of the remaining Germans were expelled to the territories west of the line. President Harry S. Truman complained that there were now five occupation zones because the Soviets had turned over the area extending along
468-780: A general loss of sense for right and wrong. Much abuse also came from large Soviet contingents stationed in Poland after the war . A high number of crimes committed by regular Soviet soldiers - on both Germans and Poles - had been reported (see Rape during the liberation of Poland ). A high death toll among the few Polish officials who dared to investigate these cases followed. Yet, Soviet troops played an ambiguous role, as there are also cases where Soviets freed local Germans imprisoned by Poles, or delayed expulsions to keep German workforce, for example on farms providing Soviet troops (for instance in Słupsk ). The damaged infrastructure and quarrels between
585-472: A lesser extent, even the newly arrived Poles were facing was an enormous crime wave, most notably theft and rape, committed by gangs not only consisting of regular criminals but also Soviet soldiers, deserters or former forced laborers (Ost-Arbeiter), coming back from the west. In Upper Silesia , a party official, complained about some Polish security forces and militia raping and pillaging the German population and
702-510: A letter to Roosevelt expressed his concerns about the idea of compensating Poland in the west. However, pressed by Churchill, he was forced to accept the Tehran decision, which was the direct cause of his resignation from his post. The next Polish Prime Minister, Tomasz Arciszewski claimed that Poland did not "want neither Breslau nor Stettin". Although the Polish government-in-exile was recognised by
819-464: A proof of a continual Polish settlement. The Polish government aimed to retain as many "autochthons" as possible, as they were needed both for economic reasons and also for propaganda purposes, as their presence on former German soil was used to indicate an intrinsic "Polishness" character of the area and justify its incorporation into the Polish state as " Recovered Territories ". "Verification" and "national rehabilitation" processes were set up to reveal
936-583: A small cellar were set up. The attitude of Polish civilians, many of whom had experienced brutalities during the preceding German occupation , was varied. There were incidents when Poles, even freed slave labourers, protected Germans, for example by disguising them as Poles. The attitude of the Soviet soldiers was ambivalent. Many committed numerous atrocities, most prominently rapes and murders, and did not always distinguish between Poles and Germans, often mistreating them alike. Other Soviets were taken aback by
1053-590: A total number of 120,000, making Poles the largest immigrant group in Norway. Only in recent years has the population abroad decreased, specifically in the UK with 116.000 leaving the UK in 2018 alone. There is a large minority of Polish people in Ireland that makes up approximately 2.57% of the population. Flight and expulsion of Germans from Poland during and after World War II The flight and expulsion of Germans from Poland
1170-728: A treaty regulating the new Polish-Soviet border. A year later, before the Potsdam Conference, the western Allies followed Stalin, recognized the Soviet-sponsored government, which accepted the shift of the borders westwards, and withdrew their recognition for the Polish government-in-exile. Poles were classified as sub-humans (Untermenschen) by the Nazis, with their ultimate fate being slavery and extermination, while Germans occupied position of privileged "Uebermenschen" that were to rule over Poles and other nations; when Stanisław Mikołajczyk joined
1287-623: Is Polonia Pasłęk with football , athletics and kickboxing sections. Pasłęk is twinned with: Polish people Polish people , or Poles , are a West Slavic ethnic group and nation who share a common history , culture , the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in Central Europe . The preamble to the Constitution of the Republic of Poland defines
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#17328687508781404-460: Is a West Slavic language of the Lechitic group and the sole official language in the Republic of Poland. Its written form uses the Polish alphabet , which is the basic Latin alphabet with the addition of six diacritic marks , totalling 32 letters. Bearing relation to Czech and Slovak , it has been profoundly influenced by Latin , German and other languages over the course of history. Poland
1521-594: Is hearty and Poles are one of the more obese nations in Europe – approximately 58% of the adult population was overweight in 2019, above the EU average. According to data from 2017, meat consumption per capita in Poland was one of the highest in the world, with pork being the most in demand. Alcohol consumption is relatively moderate compared to other European states; popular alcoholic beverages include Polish-produced beer , vodka and ciders . Poles have traditionally adhered to
1638-515: Is linguistically homogeneous – nearly 97% of Poland's citizens declare Polish as their mother tongue. Polish-speakers use the language in a uniform manner throughout most of Poland, though numerous dialects and a vernacular language in certain regions coexist alongside standard Polish. The most common lects in Poland are Silesian , spoken in Upper Silesia , and Kashubian , widely spoken in historic Eastern Pomerania ( Pomerelia ), today in
1755-697: Is located in the Prussian historical region of Pogesania . After the Polish victory at the Battle of Grunwald in 1410, the castle was plundered by the retreating Teutonic Knights . Then it was taken over by Poles without a fight. In 1440 the town joined the Prussian Confederation , at the request of which King Casimir IV Jagiellon signed the act of incorporation of the region to the Kingdom of Poland in 1454. The town joined Poland and recognized Polish rule. During
1872-568: Is uncertain, though it is generally assumed that the majority emigrated. The German society of Wałbrzych has maintained a continuous existence since 1957. People from all over Poland moved in to replace the former German population in a process parallel to the expulsions. While the Germans were interned and expelled, up to 5 million settlers were either attracted or forced to settle the area. The settlers can be grouped according to their background: After 1 January 1948, Germans were primarily shipped to
1989-450: Is used in most world languages when referring to Poles (Spanish polaco , Italian polacche , French polonais , German Pole ). Among other foreign exonyms for the Polish people are Lithuanian Lenkai ; Hungarian Lengyelek ; Turkish Leh ; Armenian : Լեհաստան Lehastan ; and Persian : لهستان ( Lahestān ). These stem from Lechia , the ancient name for Poland, or from the tribal Lendians . Their names are equally derived from
2106-698: Is usually used in Poland to refer to people of Polish origin who live outside Polish borders. There is a notable Polish diaspora in the United States , Brazil , and Canada . France has a historic relationship with Poland and has a relatively large Polish-descendant population. Poles have lived in France since the 18th century. In the early 20th century, over a million Polish people settled in France , mostly during world wars, among them Polish émigrés fleeing either Nazi occupation (1939–1945) or Communism (1945/1947–1989). In
2223-573: The Americas , and Australasia . Today, the largest urban concentrations of Poles are within the Warsaw metropolitan area and the Katowice urban area . Ethnic Poles are considered to be the descendants of the ancient West Slavic Lechites and other tribes that inhabited the Polish territories during the late antiquity period. Poland's recorded history dates back over a thousand years to c. 930–960 AD, when
2340-725: The Armia Krajowa , Soviet records indicated 506 of the Poles died in captivity. Tomasz Kamusella maintains that in early 1945, some 165,000 Germans were transported to the Soviet Union, where most perished. According to Gerhardt Reichling, 520,000 German civilians from the Oder-Neisse region were conscripted for forced labor by both the USSR and Poland, he maintains that 206,000 perished. Ethnic German citizens from pre-war Poland, who collaborated with
2457-549: The Coat of arms of Poland ( godło ). The national colours are white and red, which appropriately appear on the flag of Poland ( flaga ), banners, cockades and memorabilia. Personal achievement and education plays an important role in Polish society today. In 2018, the Programme for International Student Assessment ranked Poland 11th in the world for mathematics, science and reading. Education has been of prime interest to Poland since
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#17328687508782574-647: The European Union in 2004 and with the opening of the EU's labor market; an approximate number of 2 million, primarily young, Poles taking up jobs abroad. It is estimated that over half a million Polish people went to work in the United Kingdom from Poland. Since 2011, Poles have been able to work freely throughout the EU where they have had full working rights since Poland's EU accession in 2004 . The Polish community in Norway has increased substantially and has grown to
2691-542: The Grünhagen railway accident or wartime evacuees , left in May 1947. As of 1950, 373 pre-war inhabitants lived in the area, a number reduced to 20 in 1958. The town was repopulated by Poles , many of whom displaced from the former eastern territories of Poland annexed by the Soviet Union . In 1969, the "Pasłęczanka" Housing Cooperative was founded, which built the "Osiedle Ogrodowa" district. In 1975 an economic and technical school
2808-764: The November Uprising stopped in the town on the way to their internment places. Part of the Kingdom of Prussia since 1701, it became part of the German Empire in 1871. Following the defeat of Germany in the First World War and the Versailles Treaty the town remained the seat of Landkreis Preußisch Holland within Weimar Germany 's exclave East Prussia . With the arrival of the Red Army on 23 January 1945, and
2925-529: The Old Polish term lęda , meaning plain or field. Slavs have been in the territory of modern-day Poland for over 1500 years. During the Migration Period , central Europe was becoming increasingly settled by the early Slavs (500–700 AD). They organized into tribal units , of which the larger ones further west were later known as the Polish tribes ( Lechites ); the names of many tribes are found on
3042-537: The Old Prussian place name Passis Lukis . The second name is Holąd Pruski. The town in the place of the old settlement was founded by settlers imported from Holland by the Teutonic Order in the late 13th century — hence the name Hollant or Holland , later changed to Preußisch Holland , by adding the adjective Preußisch meaning "Prussian". It is the oldest former Dutch settlement in present-day Poland. It
3159-583: The Polish Government were not present at any of those conferences and felt betrayed by their western Allies who decided about future Polish borders behind their backs. Following the Tehran Conference (November–December 1943) Joseph Stalin and Winston Churchill made it clear that the Soviets would keep the Polish territories east of the Curzon Line and offered Poland territorial compensation in
3276-802: The Soviet occupation zone (after 7 October 1949, the German Democratic Republic (GDR)), based on a Polish-Soviet agreement. Most Germans had been expelled by the end of 1947. In entire 1948, a relatively small number of 42,700 were expelled, and another 34,100 in 1949. In 1950, 59,433 Germans were expelled following a bi-lateral agreement between the People's Republic of Poland and the GDR, 26,196 of whom however headed for West Germany . Between October 1948 and December 1950 all 35,000 German prisoners of war detained in Poland were shipped to Germany. On 10 March 1951,
3393-702: The Western Polans – an influential tribe in the Greater Poland region – united various Lechitic clans under what became the Piast dynasty , thus creating the first Polish state. The subsequent Christianization of Poland by the Catholic Church , in 966 CE, marked Poland's advent to the community of Western Christendom . However, throughout its existence, the Polish state followed a tolerant policy towards minorities resulting in numerous ethnic and religious identities of
3510-533: The end of Communism in Poland in 1989 . In Brazil, the majority of Polish immigrants settled in Paraná State. Smaller, but significant numbers settled in the states of Rio Grande do Sul , Espírito Santo and São Paulo (state) . The city of Curitiba has the second largest Polish diaspora in the world (after Chicago) and Polish music , dishes and culture are quite common in the region. A recent large migration of Poles took place following Poland's accession to
3627-412: The mazurka , krakowiak and polonaise , were popularized by Polish composer Frédéric Chopin , and they soon spread across Europe and elsewhere. Latin songs and religious hymns such as Gaude Mater Polonia and Bogurodzica were once chanted in churches and during patriotic festivities, but the tradition has faded. According to a 2020 study, Poland ranks 12th globally on a list of countries which read
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3744-475: The "Government of National Unity" as a deputy prime minister in 1945, he justified the expulsions of Germans by national terms following communist Władysław Gomułka , but also as a revolutionary act, freeing the Poles of exploitation by a German middle and upper class. In general the Polish historiography views the expulsion of Germans as justified and correct, even when describing it as a "lesser evil". The majority of German citizens and ethnic Germans who left
3861-449: The Allied authorities in the occupation zones of Germany and the Polish administration caused long delays in the transport of expellees, who were first ordered to gather at one of the various PUR transportation centers or internment camps and then often forced to wait in ill-equipped barracks, exposed both to criminals, aggressive guards and the cold and not supplied sufficiently with food due to
3978-710: The Allies at that time, the Soviet Union broke off all diplomatic relations with it in April 1943 after Polish government demanded the investigation of the Katyn massacre . On April 20, 1944, in Moscow, the Soviet sponsored Polish Communist cell founded the Polish Committee of National Liberation (PKWN) on Stalin's initiative. Just one week later the representatives of the PKWN and the Soviet Union signed
4095-548: The Christian faith; an overwhelming majority belongs to the Roman Catholic Church , with 87.5% of Poles in 2011 identifying as Roman Catholic . According to Poland's Constitution , freedom of religion is ensured to everyone. It also allows for national and ethnic minorities to have the right to establish educational and cultural institutions, institutions designed to protect religious identity, as well as to participate in
4212-600: The German minority engaged in mass murder, rapes and plunder of Polish citizens, in addition to making lists of people that were to be sent to German concentration camps. Poles wanted to avoid such events in the future and as a result, Polish exile authorities proposed a population transfer of Germans as early as 1941. In 1941, Władysław Sikorski of the Polish government-in-exile insisted on driving "the German horde (...) back far [westward]", while in 1942 memoranda he expressed concern about Poland acquiring Lower Silesia , populated with "fanatically anti-Polish Germans". Yet as
4329-600: The German occupiers, were considered "traitors of the nation" and sentenced to forced labor. In territories that belonged to Poland before the war, Germans were treated even more harshly than in the former German territories. Deprived of any citizen rights, many were used as forced labor prior to their expulsion, sometimes for years, in labor battalions or in labour camps. The major camps were at Glatz , Mielęcin , Gronów , Sikawa , Central Labour Camp Jaworzno , Central Labour Camp Potulice , Łambinowice (run by Czesław Gęborski ), Zgoda labour camp and others. When Gęborski
4446-507: The German population. In July 1945, at the Potsdam Conference , the Allies placed most former eastern territories of Germany east of the Oder–Neisse line under Polish administration. Article XIII concerning the transfer of Germans was adopted at the Potsdam Conference in July 1945. It was an emergency measure, drafted and adopted in great haste, a response to the wild expulsions of Germans from Czechoslovakia and Poland, which had created
4563-510: The Germans have to be driven out. The main objective has to be the cleansing of the terrain of Germans, the building of a nation state". To ensure the Oder–Neisse line would be accepted as the new Polish border at a future Allied Conference (Potsdam Conference), up to 300,000 Germans living close to the rivers' eastern bank were expelled subsequently. On May 26, 1945, the Central Committee ordered all Germans to be expelled within one year and
4680-547: The Germans in Poland to go west, to Germany proper, where they belong". On February 6, 1945, Soviet NKVD ordered mobilisation of all German men (17 to 50 years old) in the Soviet-controlled territories. Many of them were then transported to the Soviet Union for forced labour . In the former German territories the Soviet authorities did not always distinguish between the Poles and Germans and often treated them alike. German civilians were also held as "reparation labor" by
4797-429: The Nazis to replace Poles removed or killed during the occupation. Germany deported millions of Poles either to other territories, to concentration camps or as slave workers. Many others were deported by the Soviet Union during the years 1939-1941, when Germany and Soviet Union cooperated against Poles . German communities living within the pre-war borders of Poland participated in wartime German activities, starting with
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4914-449: The Oder and Neisse rivers eastward before Polish authorities closed the river crossings, another 800,000 entered Silesia from Czechoslovakia, bringing up Silesia's population to 50% of the pre-war level. This led to the odd situation of treks of Germans moving about in all directions, to the east as well as to the west, each warning the others of what would await them at their destination After
5031-473: The Oder and western Neisse to Poland and was concerned about Germany's economic control and war reparations. Churchill spoke against giving Poland control over an area in which some eight million Germans lived. Stalin insisted that the Germans had all fled and that the Poles were needed to fill the vacuum. On July 24, the Polish communist delegation arrived in Berlin, insisting on the Oder and western Neisse rivers as
5148-605: The Poles, such as Polish Jews . The Polish endonym Polacy is derived from the Western Polans , a Lechitic tribe which inhabited lands around the River Warta in Greater Poland region from the mid-6th century onward. The tribe's name stems from the Proto-Indo European *pleh₂- , which means flat or flatland and corresponds to the topography of a region that the Western Polans initially settled. The prefix pol-
5265-428: The Polish "Bureau for Repatriation" (PUR) was disbanded; all further resettlement from Poland to Germany was carried out in a non-forcible and peaceful manner by the Polish state travel agency Orbis. According to the Polish census of 1946, there were still 2,036,400 Germans in the " Recovered Territories ", 251,900 in the pre-war Polish territories (primarily eastern Upper Silesia , Pomerelia and Greater Poland ) and
5382-405: The Polish administration had set up a State Repatriation Office ( Państwowy Urząd Repatriacyjny, PUR ), the bureau and its administrative subunits proved ineffective due to quarrels between Communists and opposition and a lack of equipment for the giant task of expelling Germans and resettling Poles in an area devastated by war. Furthermore, rivalry occurred between the Soviet occupation forces and
5499-620: The Polish authorities in 1995, are the Native Polish Church ( Rodzimy Kościół Polski ), which represents a pagan tradition going back to Władysław Kołodziej 's 1921 Holy Circle of Worshippers of Światowid ( Święte Koło Czcicieli Światowida ), and the Polish Slavic Church ( Polski Kościół Słowiański ). There is also the Native Faith Association ( Zrzeszenie Rodzimej Wiary , ZRW ), founded in 1996. Polish people are
5616-472: The Polish nation as comprising all the citizens of Poland, regardless of heritage or ethnicity. The majority of Poles adhere to Roman Catholicism . The population of self-declared Poles in Poland is estimated at 37,394,000 out of an overall population of 38,512,000 (based on the 2011 census), of whom 36,522,000 declared Polish alone. A wide-ranging Polish diaspora (the Polonia ) exists throughout Eurasia ,
5733-437: The Polish post-war census of December 1950, data about the pre-war places of residence of the inhabitants as of August 1939 was collected. In case of children born between September 1939 and December 1950, their place of residence was reported based on the pre-war places of residence of their mothers. Thanks to this data it is possible to reconstruct the pre-war geographical origin of the post-war population. Many areas located near
5850-585: The Potsdam Conference, Poland was officially in charge of the territories east of the Oder–Neisse line. Despite the fact that article 12 of the Potsdam agreement from August 2, 1945, stated that "population transfer" should be performed in ordered and humane manner, and should not commence until after the creation of an expulsion plan approved by the Allied Control Council, the expulsions continued without rules and were associated with many criminal acts. While
5967-452: The Republic of Poland can register their institution with the Ministry of Interior and Administration creating a record of churches and other religious organizations who operate under separate Polish laws. This registration is not necessary; however, it is beneficial when it comes to serving the freedom of religious practice laws. Slavic Native Faith ( Rodzimowiercy ) groups, registered with
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#17328687508786084-536: The Soviet Zone from Poland in 1947. An unknown number remained; a small German minority continues to reside in Upper Silesia and Masuria. The regions were typically evacuated of its population village by village. On short notice, Germans were ordered to assemble in the local market square to march on to a relocation camp (obozy tranzytowe), allowed to take with them as much as they could carry. Deportation of Germans
6201-530: The Soviets, reparations were more important than boundaries, and Stalin might have given up on the Poles if they had not so vociferously protested when, in spite of his 'illness', he consulted with them during the evening of July 29. With German communities living within the pre-war borders of Poland, there was an expressed fear of disloyalty of Germans in Eastern Upper Silesia and Pomerelia , based on wartime German activities. As Germany invaded Poland,
6318-482: The Swedes and the next year it was captured by the Poles. In 1635, peace negotiations between Poland and Sweden took place in the town. In 1655 it was captured again by the Swedes. In 1659 it was besieged by Sweden again, but this time without success. It was the location of " The Great Sleigh Drive ", a military operation in 1678. In 1688 a horse post service connecting Marienburg ( Malbork ) with Königsberg ( Kaliningrad )
6435-793: The USSR. Data from the Russian archives published in 2001, based on an actual enumeration, put the number of German civilians deported from Poland to the USSR in early 1945 for reparation labor at 155,262 where 37% (57,586) died. However, the West German Red Cross estimated in 1964 that 233,000 German civilians were deported to the USSR from Poland as forced laborers where 45% (105,000) were dead or missing. The West German Red Cross also estimated 110,000 German civilians were held as forced labor in Kaliningrad Oblast where 50,000 were dead or missing. The Soviets also deported from Poland 7,448 Poles of
6552-527: The United States, a significant number of Polish immigrants settled in Chicago (billed as the world's most Polish city outside of Poland), Milwaukee, Ohio, Detroit, New Jersey , New York City, Orlando , Pittsburgh , Buffalo , and New England . The highest concentration of Polish Americans in a single New England municipality is in New Britain, Connecticut . The majority of Polish Canadians have arrived in Canada since World War II. The number of Polish immigrants increased between 1945 and 1970, and again after
6669-437: The Upper Silesian voivode declared the fulfillment of only one of these requirements to be sufficient. In Masuria, a Polish last name or a Polish-speaking ancestor was sufficient. On the other hand, in areas like Lower Silesia and the province of Pomerania , verification was handled much more strictly. Of the 1,104,134 "verified autochthons" in the census of 1950, close to 900,000 were natives of Upper Silesia and Masuria. To
6786-426: The West. The final decision to move Poland's boundary westward, preconditioning the expulsion of Germans, was made by Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States at the Yalta Conference in February 1945, when the Curzon line was irrevocably fixed as the future Polish-Soviet border. The precise location of the Polish western border was left open and, though basically the Allies had agreed on population transfers,
6903-458: The area of post-war Poland fled or were evacuated before the arrival of Polish authorities. After the Red Army had advanced into the eastern parts of post-war Poland in the Lublin–Brest Offensive , launched on 18 July 1944, Soviet spearheads first reached eastern German territory on 4 August 1944 at northeastern East Prussia and Memelland , causing a first wave of refugees . With the Soviet Vistula–Oder Offensive , launched on 12 January 1945, and
7020-472: The area settled with some 3.5 million ethnic Poles; 2.5 million of them were already re-settled by summer. Germans were defined as either Reichsdeutsche or Volksdeutsche, resembling the 1st or 2nd category in the Nazis' Volksliste . People who had signed a lower category were allowed to apply for "verification", which was to determine whether they would be granted Polish citizenship as "autochthons". Before June 1, 1945, some 400,000 Germans managed to cross
7137-408: The areas east of the Oder–Neisse line before Soviet and the attached Polish Army took control of the region. Refugee treks and ships which came into reach of the advancing Soviets suffered high casualties when targeted by low-flying aircraft, torpedoes, or were rolled over by tanks. The most infamous incidents during the flight and expulsion from the territory of later Poland include the sinking of
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#17328687508787254-423: The brutal treatment of the Germans and engaged in their protection. According to the West German Schieder commission of 1953, the civilian death toll was 2 million. However, in 1974 the German Federal Archives estimated a death toll of about 400,000 (including the victims of those deported from Kaliningrad ). German settlement in the former eastern territories of Germany and pre-war Poland dates back to
7371-400: The country's current linguistic homogeneity. The culture of Poland is closely connected with its intricate 1,000-year history , and forms an important constituent in the Western civilisation . Strong ties with the Latinate world and the Roman Catholic faith also shaped Poland's cultural identity. Officially, the national and state symbol is the white-tailed eagle ( bielik ) embedded on
7488-404: The country, while Orthodox Christians can be found mostly in the far north-eastern corner, in the area of Białystok , and Protestants in Cieszyn Silesia and Warmia-Masuria regions. A growing Jewish population exists in major cities, especially in Warsaw , Kraków and Wrocław . Over two million Jews of Polish origin reside in the United States, Brazil, and Israel. Religious organizations in
7605-479: The creation of a Greater Germany , which was to be built by means of removing a variety of non-Germans from Poland and other areas in Central and Eastern Europe, mainly Slavs and Jews believed by Nazis to be subhuman . These non-Germans were targeted for slave labor and eventual extermination . While Generalplan Ost's settlement ambitions did not come into full effect due to the war's turn, millions of Germans mostly from Central and Eastern Europe were settled by
7722-622: The early 12th century, particularly for its noble classes . In 1364, King Casimir the Great founded the Kraków Academy , which would become Jagiellonian University , the second-oldest institution of higher learning in Central Europe. People of Polish birth have made considerable contributions in the fields of science, technology and mathematics both in Poland and abroad, among them Vitello , Marie Skłodowska–Curie , Rudolf Modrzejewski , Rudolf Weigl , Bronisław Malinowski , Stefan Banach , Stanisław Ulam , Leonid Hurwicz , Benoit Mandelbrot and Alfred Tarski . Poland's folk music , especially
7839-432: The east (today mainly parts of Ukraine , Belarus and Lithuania ) settled in large numbers everywhere in the Recovered Territories (but many of them also settled in central Poland). During the war the population of the annexed areas of Poland was classified by the Nazis in different categories according to their "Germanness" in the Deutsche Volksliste . While most of the Volksdeutsche population of pre-war Poland fled or
7956-594: The eastern territories was composed of both spontaneous flight and organized evacuation, starting in the summer of 1944 and continuing through the early spring of 1945. Conditions turned chaotic in the winter, when miles-long queues of refugees pushed their carts through the snow trying to stay ahead of the Red Army. From the Baltic coast , thousands were evacuated by ship in Operation Hannibal . Since February 11, refugees were shipped not only to German ports, but also to German occupied Denmark , based on an order issued by Hitler on 4 February. Of 1,180 ships participating in
8073-531: The end of the war, the town became again part of Poland, although with a Soviet-installed communist regime , which stayed in power until the 1980s. It was handed over to Polish administration on 1 June 1945 and renamed to the historic name Pasłęk on 7 May 1946. The remaining ethnic Germans were expelled in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement in several transports within the following year, e.g. 149 people on 4 September and 89 on 4 October 1947. A transport of 80 children from an orphanage, many of them survivors of
8190-729: The establishment of nationality. From the spring of 1946 the expulsions gradually became better organised, affecting the remaining German population. By 1950, 3,155,000 German civilians had been expelled and 1,043,550 were naturalised as Polish citizens. Germans considered "indispensable" for the Polish economy were retained; virtually all had left by 1960. Some 500,000 Germans in Poland, East Prussia, and Silesia were employed as forced labor in communist-administered camps prior to being expelled from Poland. Besides large camps, some of which were re-used German concentration camps , numerous other forced labour, punitive and internment camps, urban ghettos, and detention centres sometimes consisting only of
8307-413: The evacuation plans was delayed until Soviet and Allied forces had defeated the German forces and advanced into the areas to be evacuated. The responsibility for leaving millions of Germans in these vulnerable areas until combat conditions overwhelmed them can be attributed directly to the draconian measures taken by the German authorities against anyone even suspected of 'defeatist' attitudes [as evacuation
8424-556: The evacuation, 135 were lost due to bombs, mines, and torpedoes, an estimated 20,000 died. Between 23 January 1945 and the end of the war, 2,204,477 people, 1,335,585 of them civilians, were transported via the Baltic Sea, up to 250,000 of them to occupied Denmark. Most of the evacuation efforts commenced in January 1945, when Soviet forces were already at the eastern border of Germany. About six million Germans had fled or were evacuated from
8541-465: The expulsion of Germans: "We must expel all the Germans because countries are built on national lines and not on multi-national ones" was demanded by participants of a Plenum of the Central Committee of the Polish Workers Party on May 20–21, 1945. On the same Plenum, the head of the Central Committee, Władysław Gomułka, ordered: "There has to be a border patrol at the border [Oder-Neisse line] and
8658-438: The extent remained questioned. Concerning the post-war western frontier of Poland, the agreement simply read: " If a specific problem such as the frontiers of liberated Poland and the complexion of its government allowed no easy solution, hopes were held out for the future discussion of all outstanding problems in an amicable manner. " Upon gaining control of these lands, the Soviet and Polish-Communist authorities started to expel
8775-563: The families of the retained or the parts thereof remaining with them. About 250,000 had been issued East German passports in the 1950s, ending their former statelessness. Many were concentrated in the areas of Wrocław (former Breslau) Wałbrzych (former Waldenburg), and Legnica (former Liegnitz), all in Lower Silesia, and in Koszalin (former Köslin) in Pomerania. How many actually left
8892-500: The fighting in their homelands ended. Before June 1, 1945, some 400,000 crossed back over the Oder and Neisse rivers eastward, before Soviet and Polish communist authorities closed the river crossings; another 800,000 entered Silesia from Czechoslovakia. The Polish courier Jan Karski warned US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt of the possibility of Polish reprisals, describing them as "unavoidable" and "an encouragement for all
9009-638: The former eastern territories of Poland annexed by the Soviet Union. West German government figures of those evacuated, migrated, or expelled by 1950 totaled 8,030,000 (6,981,000 from the former eastern territories of Germany; 290,800 from Danzig , 688,000 from pre-war Poland and 170,000 Baltic Germans resettled in Poland during the war). Research by the West German government put the figure of Germans emigrating from Poland from 1951 to 1982 at 894,000; they are also considered expellees under German Federal Expellee Law . The German population east of Oder-Neisse
9126-430: The frontier, and they vehemently argued their case before the foreign ministers, Churchill, and Truman, in turn. The next day Churchill warned Stalin: "The Poles are driving the Germans out of the Russian zone. That should not be done without considering its effect on the food supply and reparations. We are getting into a position where the Poles have food and coal, and we have the mass of (the) population thrown at us." To
9243-555: The guards, who insisted the internees should speak Polish, even if they were Germans born in German-speaking Silesia or Pomerania." Among the interned were also German POWs . Up to 10% of the 700,000 to 800,000 POWs of the respective battlegrounds were handed over to the Poles by the Soviet military for the use of their work force. POW labor was employed on the reconstruction of Warsaw and revival of industrial, agricultural and other productive enterprises Their number in 1946
9360-401: The internment "resulted in numerous deaths, which cannot be accurately determined because of lack of statistics or falsification . Periodically, they could be 10% of inmates. Those interned are estimated at 200-250,000 Germans and the local population, and deaths might range from 15,000 to 60,000 persons." Norman Naimark cited Zygmunt Woźniczka as maintaining "that the death toll in all camps
9477-416: The invasion of Poland. Created on order of Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler , a Nazi ethnic German organisation called Selbstschutz carried out mass murder during Intelligenzaktion alongside operational groups of German military and police. In addition, the German minority engaged in such activities as identifying Poles for execution and illegally detaining them. To Poles, moving Germans out of Poland
9594-528: The list compiled by the anonymous Bavarian Geographer in the 9th century. In the 9th and 10th centuries the tribes gave rise to developed regions along the upper Vistula (the Vistulans ), the Baltic Sea coast and in Greater Poland . The ultimate tribal undertaking (10th century) resulted in a lasting political structure and the creation of a Polish state . Polish is the native language of most Poles. It
9711-464: The local German Nazi authorities headed by gauleiter Karl Hanke . The Polish historians Witold Sienkiewicz and Grzegorz Hryciuk maintain that civilian deaths in the flight and evacuation were "between 600,000 and 1.2 million. The main causes of death were cold, stress, and bombing". The Nazi German Ministry for Inner Affairs passed a decree on 14 March 1945 allowing abortion to women raped by Soviet soldiers. Many refugees tried to return home when
9828-616: The medieval Ostsiedlung . Nazi Germany used the presence and the alleged persecution of Volksdeutsche as propaganda tools in preparation for the invasion of Poland in 1939. With the invasion, Poland was partitioned between Germany and the Soviet Union according to the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact . This was followed by population exchanges, and included Baltic Germans who were settled to occupied Poland. The Nazis' Generalplan Ost strategy for Central and Eastern Europe envisioned
9945-520: The military transport ship Wilhelm Gustloff by a Soviet submarine with a death toll of some 9,000 people; the USAF bombing of refugee-crowded Swinemünde on 12 March 1945 killing an estimated 23,000 to 25,000; the desperate conditions under which refugees crossed the frozen Vistula Lagoon , where thousands broke in, froze to death, or were killed by Soviet aircraft; and the poorly organized evacuation and ultimate sacrifice of refugee-crowded Breslau by
10062-872: The most, and approximately 79% of Poles read the news more than once a day, placing it 2nd behind Sweden . As of 2021, six Poles received the Nobel Prize in Literature . The national epic is Pan Tadeusz (English: Master Thaddeus), written by Adam Mickiewicz . Renowned novelists who gained much recognition abroad include Joseph Conrad (wrote in English; Heart of Darkness , Lord Jim ), Stanisław Lem (science-fiction; Solaris ) and Andrzej Sapkowski (fantasy; The Witcher ). Various regions in Poland such as Greater Poland , Lesser Poland , Mazovia , Silesia , and Pomerania developed their own distinct cultures, cuisines, folk costumes and dialects. Also, Poland for centuries
10179-556: The newly chosen Grand Master of the Teutonic Order refused to submit to the Crown of Poland, the town was captured and held by the Poles from 1520 until the dissolution of the Teutonic state in 1525. Afterwards it became part of the secular Duchy of Prussia , a Polish fief until 1657. In 1526 a Lutheran parish was founded. In 1534 a town school was established. In 1627 the town was captured by
10296-478: The newly installed Polish administration, a phenomenon dubbed dwuwladza (double administration). The Soviets kept trains and German workmen regardless of the Polish ambitions and plans. There was a simultaneous unorganized resettling of displaced and homeless Poles. Polish settlers, who themselves had been expelled from areas east of the Curzon Line, arrived with about nothing, putting an even higher pressure on
10413-504: The northwestern part of Poland. Kashubian possesses its own status as a separate language. The Goral people in the mountainous south use their own nonstandard dialect, accenting and different intonation . The geographical distribution of the Polish language was greatly affected by the border changes and population transfers that followed the Second World War – forced expulsions and resettlement during that period contributed to
10530-490: The official declaration that the former German inhabitants of the so-called Recovered Territories had to be removed quickly to house Poles displaced by the Soviet annexation, the lands initially faced a severe population shortage. By early 1946, 932,000 people had been "verified" as having Polish nationality. In the February 1946 census, 2,288,000 persons were listed as Germans and 417,400 became subject to verification aiming at
10647-561: The overall shortages. The "organized transfer" as agreed at the Potsdam Conference began in early 1946. Conditions for expellees improved, yet due to the lack of heating facilities, the cold winters of both 1945/46 and 1946/47 continued to claim many lives. On September 13, 1946 President Bierut signed a decree on "the exclusion of persons of German nationality from the Polish National Community" The major evictions were completed in 1946, although another 500,000 Germans arrived in
10764-771: The parallel East Prussian Offensive launched on 13 January 1945, Soviet gains of pre-war German and annexed Polish territory became permanent. With the subsequent East Pomeranian , Lower Silesian and Upper Silesian Offensives in February and March, the Red Army seized control of virtually all territories east of the Oder river. Wehrmacht counter-offensives like Operation Solstice and Operation Gemse were repelled, and only shrinking pockets like Breslau , Danzig , Heiligenbeil , Hela , Kolberg , Königsberg , and Pillau remained German controlled. Soviet soldiers committed reprisal rapes and other crimes In most cases, implementation of
10881-614: The pre-war German border were resettled by people from neighbouring borderland areas of pre-war Poland. For example, Kashubians from the pre-war Polish Corridor settled in nearby areas of German Pomerania adjacent to Polish Pomerania . People from the Poznań region of pre-war Poland settled in East Brandenburg . People from East Upper Silesia moved into the rest of Silesia. And people from Masovia and from Sudovia moved into adjacent Masuria. Poles expelled from former Polish territories in
10998-462: The remaining Germans to leave. For the Germans, the Potsdam Agreement eased conditions only in one way - because now the Poles were more confident in keeping the former eastern territories of Germany, the expulsions were performed with less haste, which meant the Germans were duly informed about their expulsions earlier and were allowed to carry some luggage. Another problem the Germans and, to
11115-464: The resolution of matters connected with their cultural identity. There are smaller communities primarily comprising Protestants (especially Lutherans ), Orthodox Christians (migrants), Jehovah's Witnesses , those irreligious , and Judaism (mostly from the Jewish populations in Poland who have lived in Poland prior to World War II) and Sunni Muslims ( Polish Tatars ). Roman Catholics live all over
11232-608: The sixth-largest national group in the European Union (EU). Estimates vary depending on source, though available data suggest a total number of around 60 million people worldwide (with roughly 18-20 million living outside of Poland, many of whom are not of Polish descent, but are Polish nationals). There are almost 38 million Poles in Poland alone. There are also strong Polish communities in neighbouring countries, whose territories were once occupied or part of Poland – Czech Republic , Slovakia , Lithuania , Latvia , western Ukraine , and western Belarus . The term " Polonia "
11349-511: The subsequent Thirteen Years’ War (1454–1466) it was briefly captured by the Teutonic Knights, but in 1456 it returned to Poland. The town was successfully defended against the Teutonic Knights in 1463 and 1466. After the peace treaty signed in Toruń in 1466, the town became part of Poland as a fief held by the Teutonic Order's state. During the last Polish–Teutonic War , which broke out after
11466-491: The surrender in May 1945. In 1945, the eastern territories of Germany as well as Polish areas annexed by Germany were occupied by the Soviet Red Army and communist Polish military forces . German civilians were also sent as "reparation labor" to the USSR. The Soviet Union transferred former German territories in the east of the Oder–Neisse line to Poland in July 1945. In mid-1945, 4.5 to 4.6 million Germans remained on
11583-556: The territories that were given under Polish control pending a final peace conference with Germany, which eventually never took place. Early expulsions in Poland were undertaken by the Soviet-backed communist military authorities in Poland even before the Potsdam Conference ("wild expulsions"), to ensure the later integration into an ethnically homogeneous Poland as envisioned by the Polish communists. Between seven hundred and eight hundred thousand Germans were affected. Contrary to
11700-531: The war went on, Lower Silesia also became a Polish war aim, as well as occupation of the Baltic coast west of Szczecin as far as Rostock and occupation of the Kiel Canal . Expulsions of Germans from East Prussia and pre-war Poland had become a war aim as early as in February 1940, expressed by Polish Foreign Minister August Zaleski . After Sikorski's death, the next Polish Prime Minister Stanisław Mikołajczyk in
11817-480: The war. Numbers of how many were offered to stay in Poland as Poles and eventually did are not available, but it is assumed that the vast majority had rather opted and left for Germany by 1960. Those of mixed descent from within or without the borders of pre-war Poland were also allowed to stay on the premise of Polonization, yet likewise no comprehensive data exist. Some Germans were exempted from expulsion and retained because of their professional skills, if no Pole
11934-583: The war. A similar fate occurred to the Czech speaking residents of the Czech Corner in Kladsko Land who were transferred to Czechoslovakia . The word "autochthon", introduced by the Polish government in 1945 for propaganda purposes, is today sometimes considered an offensive remark and direct naming as Kashubians, Silesians, Slovincians, and Masurians is preferred to avoid offending the people described. During
12051-649: The west of Cassubia in the area of Slovincian settlement, some residents were expelled along with the German population, but some remained. In the 1950s, mainly in the village of Kluki (formerly Klucken), a few elderly people still remembered fragments of Slovincian. Some non-German residents of the Recovered Territories and the Kaliningrad Oblast who were not of Slavic descent, such as the Lietuvininkai and Kursenieki were also expelled to Germany after
12168-663: Was 40,000 according to the Polish administration, of whom 30,000 were used as miners in the Upper Silesian coal industries. 7,500 Germans accused of crimes against Poles were handed over to Poland by the Western Allies in 1946 and 1947. A number of German war criminals were imprisoned in Polish jails, at least 8,000 remained in jail in 1949, many of them also being POWs. (see also Supreme National Tribunal ) Some Nazi criminals were executed ( Category:Nazis executed in Poland ), some died in prisons ( Erich Koch in 1986), Johann Kremer
12285-399: Was a refuge to many Jews and to Armenians , who became an important part of Polish society and similarly developed their own unique cultures. Popular everyday foods in Poland include pork cutlets ( kotlet schabowy ), schnitzels, kielbasa sausage, potatoes, coleslaw and salads, soups ( barszcz , tomato or meat broth ), pierogi dumplings, and bread rolls . Traditional Polish cuisine
12402-420: Was at hand to replace them. These Germans were treated as second class citizens, especially regarding salary and food supply. So-called "abandoned wives", whose husbands found themselves in post-war Germany and were not able to return, were compelled to "seek divorce" and were not allowed to leave for Germany before 1950–52. The other ones retained were not allowed to leave before 1956; these measures also included
12519-441: Was between twenty and fifty percent of the inmates." Zayas states that "in many internment camps no relief from outside was permitted. In some camps relatives would bring packages and deliver them to the Polish guards, who regularly plundered the contents and delivered only the remains, if any. Frequently, these relatives were so ill-treated that they never returned. Internees who came to claim their packages were also mistreated by
12636-842: Was by trains to the west that in reverse direction brought Polish displaced persons such as former forced laborers. Trains were sealed to prevent flight of the deported and often took days or even weeks, during which many of the old and young people died. The condition of the deported as they arrived in the British occupation zone impelled the British to raise a formal protest on April 11, 1946. Close to three million residents of Upper Silesia ( Silesians ), Masuria ( Masurs ) and Pomerania ( Slovincians , Kashubians ) were considered of Slavic descent but many of them did not identify with Polish nationality, were either bilingual or spoke German only. The Polish government declared these so-called "Autochthons" to be Germanized Poles, who would be re-Polonized and serve as
12753-452: Was considered] and the fanaticism of many Nazi functionaries in their execution of Hitler's 'no retreat' orders. Hitler and his staff refused to accept Soviet military superiority. Hitler called the Red Army "gleaned punks" and "booty divisions", who were not able to win decisive battles. Himmler called the preparation of the early 1945 Soviet offensive "the biggest bluff since Dshingis Khan". The first mass movement of German civilians in
12870-472: Was estimated at over 11 million in early 1945. The first mass flight of Germans followed the Red Army 's advance and was composed of both spontaneous flight driven by Soviet atrocities , and organised evacuation starting in the summer of 1944 and continuing through to the spring of 1945. Overall about 1% (100,000) of the German civilian population east of the Oder–Neisse line perished in the fighting prior to
12987-455: Was expelled, some were rehabilitated and offered their pre-war Polish citizenship back. While those who had signed Volksliste category "I" were expelled, rehabilitation was offered to people who had been subject to forced labour before, spoke Polish and were rated as not constituting a threat. Once granted Polish citizenship, they were encouraged to Polonize their names, or to restore their original Polish names if they had been Germanized during
13104-426: Was led through the town. Between 1758 and 1762 it was under Russian occupation. In 1807 it was captured by Napoleonic troops. French troops were stationed in the town in 1807 and 1812. In 1818 Preußisch Holland became the seat of the district or county ( landkreis ) of the same name. In 1831 the town suffered a flood. In 1831, various Polish artillery units, engineer corps, sappers, honor guards and general staff of
13221-485: Was opened. Among the historic heritage of Pasłęk are: The Polish S7 expressway (highway), which is part of European route E77 , runs through the town, connecting it with Gdańsk , Warsaw , Kraków and the border with Slovakia at Chyżne . Also the Voivodeship roads (roads of regional importance) 505, 513, 526 and 527 run through the town. Also, a railway station is located in Pasłęk. The town's main sports club
13338-466: Was released in 1958 and returned to Germany. In 1945, the territories east of the Oder-Neisse line ( Silesia , most of Pomerania , East Brandenburg and East Prussia) were occupied by Soviet and Soviet-controlled Polish military forces. Polish militia and military started expulsions before the Potsdam Conference, referred to as "wild expulsions" (German: Wilde Vertreibungen ), affecting between 700,000 and 800,000 Germans. The Polish communists ordered
13455-674: Was seen as an attempt to avoid such events in the future and, as a result, the Polish government in exile proposed a population transfer of Germans as early as 1941. During World War II, expulsions were initiated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland. The Germans deported 2.478 million Polish citizens from the Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany , murdered 1.8 to 2.77 million ethnic Poles, another 2.7 to 3 million Polish Jews and resettled 1.3 million ethnic Germans in their place. Around 500,000 Germans were stationed in Poland as part of its occupation force; these consisted of people such as clerks, technicians and support staff. Representatives of
13572-440: Was the largest of a series of flights and expulsions of Germans in Europe during and after World War II . The German population fled or was expelled from all regions which are currently within the territorial boundaries of Poland: including the former eastern territories of Germany annexed by Poland after the war and parts of pre-war Poland ; despite acquiring territories from Germany, the Poles themselves were also expelled from
13689-451: Was tried by the Polish authorities in 1959 for his wanton brutality, he stated his only goal was to exact revenge for his own treatment during the war. The German Federal Archives estimated in 1974 that more than 200,000 German civilians were interned in Polish camps, they put the death rate at 20-50% and estimated that more than likely over 60,000 persons perished . The Polish historians Witold Sienkiewicz and Grzegorz Hryciuk maintain that
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