Toszek
Encyclopedia
Toszek ' is a town in Poland
, in Gliwice County
, Silesian Voivodeship
, with 4,000 inhabitants.
and later Bolesław I the Bravehttp://www.toszek.pl//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2&Itemid=3.
The fortified keep had grown to the size of a town during the rule of Duke of Wrocław Bolesław Wysoki and during his rule it received city rights in 1235. After 1281 it became the seat of the regional Duchy and title of local ruler Bolesław was "the enlightened Bolesław, Duke of Toszek".
In the 14th century the original Piast settlement passed to the Habsburg
s. In 1536, the city received Magdeburg rights
from King Ferdinand I
(later Emperor). In 1593 Rudolf II
sold the castle and the area to Freiherr von Redern auf Groß Strehlitz. It was owned by Joseph von Eichendorff from 1791 to 1797.
Like many other areas in Silesia, the Toszek area was subjected to Germanisation
when the Silesian dukes became independent from Poland.
Tost burned down on 18 August 1677, and was looted in 1807.
On 20 March 1921 during voting a majority of inhabitants voted to remain in Germany rather than be moved to Poland (1348 or 86% vs. 217 or 13,8 %, at 97,4 % turnout). During Kristallnacht
, the Toszek Jews were sent to concentration camps, where later they all were murdered.
During the Second World War the civilian internment camp IIag VIII was situated in the city. English civilians, interned in the Camp Schoorl (Netherlands), were transferred to Tost on Sept. 3, 1940. A leading writer, P. G. Wodehouse was among the British internees: he is recorded as having commented on the region, "If this is Upper Silesia
, one wonders what Lower Silesia
must be like..."
After the Second World War a Soviet NKVD
camp was established in the city where between June-December 1945 about 3000 incarcerated people died. About 1000 prisoners were from Silesia including Breslau, but from July 1945 the NKVD brought in thousands more prisoners from the Bautzen
area of Saxony. Sybille Krägel from Saxony, whose father died in the Tost prison, and others, traced the prisoner lists and over 4500 are identified by now with 800 more yet unidentified; also see Soviet NKVD. A memorial to NKVD victims is placed in Toszek.
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, in Gliwice County
Gliwice County
Gliwice County is a unit of territorial administration and local government in Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its administrative seat is the city of Gliwice, although the city is not...
, Silesian Voivodeship
Silesian Voivodeship
Silesian Voivodeship, or Silesia Province , is a voivodeship, or province, in southern Poland, centering on the historic region known as Upper Silesia...
, with 4,000 inhabitants.
History
The beginning of the settlement and fortified keep is dated in the 9th and 10th centuries when the area was ruled by the Piasts, Mieszko I of PolandMieszko I of Poland
Mieszko I , was a Duke of the Polans from about 960 until his death. A member of the Piast dynasty, he was son of Siemomysł; grandchild of Lestek; father of Bolesław I the Brave, the first crowned King of Poland; likely father of Świętosława , a Nordic Queen; and grandfather of her son, Cnut the...
and later Bolesław I the Bravehttp://www.toszek.pl//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2&Itemid=3.
The fortified keep had grown to the size of a town during the rule of Duke of Wrocław Bolesław Wysoki and during his rule it received city rights in 1235. After 1281 it became the seat of the regional Duchy and title of local ruler Bolesław was "the enlightened Bolesław, Duke of Toszek".
In the 14th century the original Piast settlement passed to the Habsburg
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...
s. In 1536, the city received Magdeburg rights
Magdeburg rights
Magdeburg Rights or Magdeburg Law were a set of German town laws regulating the degree of internal autonomy within cities and villages granted by a local ruler. Modelled and named after the laws of the German city of Magdeburg and developed during many centuries of the Holy Roman Empire, it was...
from King Ferdinand I
Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand I was Holy Roman Emperor from 1558 and king of Bohemia and Hungary from 1526 until his death. Before his accession, he ruled the Austrian hereditary lands of the Habsburgs in the name of his elder brother, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor.The key events during his reign were the contest...
(later Emperor). In 1593 Rudolf II
Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor
Rudolf II was Holy Roman Emperor , King of Hungary and Croatia , King of Bohemia and Archduke of Austria...
sold the castle and the area to Freiherr von Redern auf Groß Strehlitz. It was owned by Joseph von Eichendorff from 1791 to 1797.
Like many other areas in Silesia, the Toszek area was subjected to Germanisation
Germanisation
Germanisation is both the spread of the German language, people and culture either by force or assimilation, and the adaptation of a foreign word to the German language in linguistics, much like the Romanisation of many languages which do not use the Latin alphabet...
when the Silesian dukes became independent from Poland.
Tost burned down on 18 August 1677, and was looted in 1807.
On 20 March 1921 during voting a majority of inhabitants voted to remain in Germany rather than be moved to Poland (1348 or 86% vs. 217 or 13,8 %, at 97,4 % turnout). During Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht, also referred to as the Night of Broken Glass, and also Reichskristallnacht, Pogromnacht, and Novemberpogrome, was a pogrom or series of attacks against Jews throughout Nazi Germany and parts of Austria on 9–10 November 1938.Jewish homes were ransacked, as were shops, towns and...
, the Toszek Jews were sent to concentration camps, where later they all were murdered.
During the Second World War the civilian internment camp IIag VIII was situated in the city. English civilians, interned in the Camp Schoorl (Netherlands), were transferred to Tost on Sept. 3, 1940. A leading writer, P. G. Wodehouse was among the British internees: he is recorded as having commented on the region, "If this is Upper Silesia
Upper Silesia
Upper Silesia is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia. Since the 9th century, Upper Silesia has been part of Greater Moravia, the Duchy of Bohemia, the Piast Kingdom of Poland, again of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown and the Holy Roman Empire, as well as of...
, one wonders what Lower Silesia
Lower Silesia
Lower Silesia ; is the northwestern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia; Upper Silesia is to the southeast.Throughout its history Lower Silesia has been under the control of the medieval Kingdom of Poland, the Kingdom of Bohemia and the Austrian Habsburg Monarchy from 1526...
must be like..."
After the Second World War a Soviet NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
camp was established in the city where between June-December 1945 about 3000 incarcerated people died. About 1000 prisoners were from Silesia including Breslau, but from July 1945 the NKVD brought in thousands more prisoners from the Bautzen
Bautzen
Bautzen is a hill-top town in eastern Saxony, Germany, and administrative centre of the eponymous district. It is located on the Spree River. As of 2008, its population is 41,161...
area of Saxony. Sybille Krägel from Saxony, whose father died in the Tost prison, and others, traced the prisoner lists and over 4500 are identified by now with 800 more yet unidentified; also see Soviet NKVD. A memorial to NKVD victims is placed in Toszek.
Literature
- Johannes Chrząszcz: Geschichte der Städte Peiskretscham und Tost sowie des Toster Kreises in Ober-Schlesien (Verlag: G. Palla, Peiskretscham, 1900)
- Johannes Chrząszcz: Die Geschichte der Städte Peiskretscham und Tost sowie des Kreises Tost-Gleiwitz (2., verbesserte und erweiterte Auflage; Verlag: Palla, Peiskretscham, 1927) (djvu-Datei)
- Kurt Rosenberg: Tost vor 100 Jahren (erschienen in "Oberschlesien – Zeitschrift zur Pflege der Kenntnis und Vertretung der Interessen Oberschlesiens" (7. Jahrgang, 1908, S. 531–598).)
- Krägel: Bild-Dokumentation Tost.Gefängnis-Lager des sowjetischen NKWD in Oberschlesien, Freisinger Künstlerpresse W. Bode, 2. Aufl. 2001, ISBN 3927067164