Chelmno

[Wise1]

The first written mention of Chełmno is known from a document allegedly issued in 1065 by Duke Boleslaus II of Poland for the Benedictine monastery in Mogilno. In 1226 Duke Konrad I of Masovia invited the Teutonic Knights to Chełmno Land (Kulmerland). In 1233 Chełmno was granted city rights known as "Kulm law" (renewed in 1251), the model system for over 200 Polish towns. The town grew prosperous as a member of the mercantile Hanseatic League. Chełmno and Chełmno Land were part of the Teutonic Knights' state until 1466, when after the Thirteen Years' War Chełmno was incorporated back into Poland and made the capital of Chełmno Voivodeship.

In 1772, following the First Partition of Poland, Chełmno was taken over by the Kingdom of Prussia. Between 1807 and 1815 Chełmno was part of the Duchy of Warsaw. In 1874 as part of the Kulturkampf policy that endorsed the Germanisation of Polish territories, Chełmno was officially renamed to Kulm.

Chełmno returned to Poland in 1920 following World War I. During the interwar period the town experienced renewed economic growth. The city had a mixed German/Polish population during most of his history. At the turn of the century (from 19th to 20th century) the city was about one-third German and two-thirds Polish.

When World War II broke out in 1939, Nazi German authorities murdered 5,000 Polish civilians upon taking control of the territory. The atrocities took place in Klamry, Małe Czyste, Podwiesk, Plutowo, Dąbrowa Chełmińska, and Wielkie Łunawy, while many other Poles were executed in forests. The rest of the Polish population was expelled to the General Government in line with the German policy of Lebensraum. Polish resistance groups such as Polska Żyje ("Poland Lives"), Rota, Grunwald, and Szare Szeregi were also active in the area. On 25 January 1945 German forces set fire to several buildings in the city, including a hospital, a railway terminal, and a brewery, while retreating.

[Antipodean Andy]

Wasn't just the concentratin camps. That's what I always forget because of the focus on Auschwitz etc. The persecution was widespread and not just limited to the Jewish.

As an aside, I think I sprained my tongue on some of those Polish names!