Stosunek mieszkańców Grudziądza i Powiatu Grudziądzkiego do Armii Czerwonej w 1945 r. w kontekście przestępczej działalności czerwonoarmistów

• Authors: Ławniczak Remigiusz

Title variants

DE

Einstellung der Einwohner von Grudziądz (Graudenz) und des Kreises von Grudziądz (Graudenz) zur Roten Armee im Jahre 1945. Im Zusammenhang mit den kriminellen Aktivitäten der Roten Armee

EN

Attitude of Grudziądz and Grudziądz district inhabitants towards the Red Army in 1945 in the context of criminal activity of the Red Army

• Languages of publication: PL

Abstracts

EN

In January 1945, as part of the Wisła–Odra operation, the advancing Red Army ousted the Germans and won Grudziądz along with the district. The Soviet army played a decisive socio-political and economic role in the controlled area. It was responsible, among others, for the creating the structures of Polish administration, arresting Poles – conspiracy members and civilians – and their deportation to labor camps in the Soviet Union. The ruthlessness of NKVD in this matter was evidenced by the fact that there were also the youth among the detained people. From the very first moment of their presence, the Red Army began to dismantle the local factories and industrial plants, and the equipment was transported to the USSR. The Soviet soldiers stole private property of the inhabitants (watches, bicycles, pianos, furniture, clothes, etc.). Property and farms were seized in the district, animals, grains, crops, equipment and tools were seized, cattle were chased out of the fields destroying crops. What is more, fixed properties, such as small manors and apartments, were devastated and fires were started. Its consequence was the inability to rebuild the destroyed cities, towns and countryside, to withdraw compulsory quota to the benefit of the state, and to live everyday life. Apart from the theft and plunder, the Red Army soldiers raped women, including minors, beat them, and exploited the local population for work. The offices at that time recorded several murders by the Soviets. It should be noted that the inhabitants did not report all crimes to the Polish authorities, so it is impossible to prepare reliable statistics. Interventions with the Soviet authorities had no effect, and the Polish administration and security apparatus were not able to cope with the wave of crimes. Sometimes there were clashes and armed skirmishes between the militia and the Red Army soldiers. The Soviets were the perpetrators of most of the criminal acts committed in the district. In July, the district starost stated that they remained unpunished in general, and this feeling caused that the crimes happened almost every night. The Red Army soldiers were contemptous towards the local population; the following statements were recorded: “Polish bastards – the land is ours”, or “wait Lach, we’ll show you”. That is why they aroused widespread fear and distrust throughout the year, and Poles were hostile towards them. At the end of the year, Polish people happily welcomed the fact that the Soviet troops were leaving the district.

• Publisher: Muzeum w Grudziądzu
• Journal: Rocznik Grudziądzki
• Year: 2021
• Volume: 29
• Pages: 119-144

Dates

published

2021

Contributors

author

Ławniczak Remigiusz