Wkroczenie Armii Czerwonej do Radzynia Chełmińskiego w styczniu 1945 roku – w źródłach historycznych i współczesnej pamięci mieszkańców

• Authors: Rybak Filip

Title variants

EN

The encroachment of the Red Army into Radzyń Chełmiński in January 1945 – in historical sources and contemporary memory of the inhabitants

DE

Der Einmarsch der Roten Armee im Januar 1945 in Radzyń Chełmiński (Rheden) – in den historischen Quellen und im zeitgenössischen Gedächtnis der Einwohner

• Languages of publication: PL

Abstracts

EN

The main subject of the article is the encroachment of the Red Army into Radzyń Chełmiński in January 1945. The text is based on historical sources and supplemented by a survey of contemporary public opinion. The aim of the publication is to disseminate knowledge about the events and experiences of the population in Radzyń Chełmiński in the first months of 1945. The article is a synthesis of the available bibliography and sources, which include eyewitness recollections, official data and reports, archives and a film source. The recollections of the witnesses have been included as four separate interviews with people living in Radzyń at the time the Red Army entered the town. The data and official reports used are contained in the “Registry of Deaths of the Town and Commune of Radzyń 1945” kept in the Registry Office at the Radzyń Chełmiński Town and Commune Office. Archival material from the first post-war years, mainly for the Grudziądz district, was taken from the State Archive in Toruń. The film source is an excerpt from a Soviet propaganda film; when subjected to historical criticism, it is an interesting depiction of the town in early 1945. An opinion poll through an online survey indicated that today’s residents consider the Soviet occupation to be as damaging as the Nazi occupation. After the military front moved, Radzyń Chełmiński was one of the least damaged towns in the region, due to the fact that the main target of the siege was Grudziądz. However, as a result of emigration and deportations, Grudziądz lost many inhabitants, and the prolonged presence of frontline units caused many dramatic situations that affected the town’s civilian population. Soviet atrocities were confirmed by interviews with witnesses to the events, which offer a glimpse of history from the point of view of a Radzyń resident at the time. This article is the first publication about Radzyń Chełmiński during the Second World War, as hitherto this theme was only incidentally mentioned in publications on the Soviet siege of Grudziądz. The Author is confident that his work will help to provide a deeper understanding of events in Radzyń Chełmiński at the time when frontline units were stationed in the town.

• Publisher: Muzeum w Grudziądzu
• Journal: Rocznik Grudziądzki
• Year: 2022
• Volume: 30
• Pages: 175-192

Dates

published

2022

Contributors

author

Rybak Filip