Toszek

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Toszek
Toszek Castle
Toszek Castle
Coat of arms of Toszek
Coat of arms
Toszek is located in Poland
Toszek
Toszek
Coordinates: 50°27′N 18°31′E / 50.450°N 18.517°E / 50.450; 18.517Coordinates: 50°27′N 18°31′E / 50.450°N 18.517°E / 50.450; 18.517
Country Poland
VoivodeshipSilesian
CountyGliwice
GminaToszek
City rightsabout 1235
Government
 • MayorGrzegorz Kupczyk
Area
 • Total9.67 km2 (3.73 sq mi)
Population
 (2019-06-30[1])
 • Total3,600
 • Density370/km2 (960/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
44-180
Car platesSGL
ClimateCfb
Websitehttp://www.toszek.pl/

Toszek [ˈtɔʂɛk] (German: Tost) is a small town in southern Poland. It is situated within Gliwice County in the Silesian Voivodeship (province), and its population was estimated at 3,600 inhabitants in 2019.

History[]

The beginning of the settlement and fortified keep dates back to the 9th and 10th centuries when the area was ruled by the Piasts, Mieszko I of Poland and later Bolesław I the Brave.[2] The fortified keep had grown to the size of a town during the rule of Duke of Wrocław Bolesław I the Tall 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 Crown of Bohemia. In 1536, the city received Magdeburg rights from Ferdinand I, Holy Roman 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.[3] Tost burned down on 18 August 1677, and was looted in 1807. From 1742, the town belonged to Prussia and from 1871 was also part of Germany. Administratively, it was part of the Tost-Gleiwitz district in the Province of Silesia. It became part of the Province of Upper Silesia in 1919, close to the Polish border. According to the German census of 1871, the town had a population of 1,775, of which 900 (50.7%) were Poles.[4] On 20 March 1921, the Upper Silesia plebiscite was held in which a majority of inhabitants voted to remain in Germany rather than join Poland (1348 or 86% vs. 217 or 13.8%, at 97.4% turnout). During Kristallnacht, the Jews of Toszek were sent to concentration camps, where later they were all murdered.[5]

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 3 September 1940. The 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...".[6] After the Second World War, a Soviet NKVD camp was established in the town where between June–December 1945 about 3,000 incarcerated people died. About 1,000 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[7] from Saxony, whose father died in the Tost prison, and others, traced the prisoner lists and over 4,500 are identified by now with 800 more yet unidentified.[8] A memorial to NKVD victims is placed in Toszek.[9]

Following the 1945 Potsdam Agreement the town once more became part of Poland.

Notable people[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Population. Size and structure and vital statistics in Poland by territorial division in 2019. As of 30th June". stat.gov.pl. Statistics Poland. 2019-10-15. Retrieved 2020-03-13.
  2. ^ "Toszek Town and Commune - History of the city and region". toszek.pl. City Hall in Toszek. 22 April 2005. Archived from the original on 13 May 2007.
  3. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-06-08. Retrieved 2007-12-28.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ^ Neumann, Gustav (1874). Das Deutsche Reich in geographischer, statistischer und topographischer Beziehung (in German). Müller.
  5. ^ "Toszek". cmentarze-zydowskie.pl. Jewish cemeteries in Poland. 2006.
  6. ^ David Langton (4 June 2007). "Letter reveals Wodehouse's pain at being branded a collaborator". The Independent.
  7. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-02-20. Retrieved 2007-12-28.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-06-11. Retrieved 2007-12-28.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. ^ de:Bild:Massengrab der Opfer des NKWD Lagers Toszek 1.jpg

Literature[]

  • : Geschichte der Städte Peiskretscham und Tost sowie des in Ober-Schlesien (Verlag: G. Palla, Peiskretscham, 1900)
  • : 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 3-927067-16-4

External links[]

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