How Breslau became Wrocław

1 - Wrocłav is one of the largest cities in Poland. More than 640,000 people live here today. Wrocłav is the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, one of Poland’s 16 voivodeships. They are equivalent to our federal states.

2 - This city was once called Breslau. For about 700 years, most people here spoke German or Silesian. Over its long history, it belonged to the Kingdom of Poland, then to Hungary, Bohemia and Austria. The Prussian king Frederick II conquered Silesia in 1742. It eventually became part of the German Empire as part of Prussia. In 1933, Breslau was the eighth-largest city in Germany. Then the dictator Adolf Hitler came to power.

3 - On September 1, 1939, German soldiers invaded Poland on Adolf Hitler’s orders. This marked the beginning of the Second World War. Hitler reached an agreement with the dictator of the Soviet Union at the time, Josef Stalin, to divide Poland between Germany and the Soviet Union.

4 - German soldiers also invaded other European countries. Then, in June 1941, Hitler’s troops invaded the Soviet Union, which included what are now Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. At first, they conquered vast areas. But from January 1943 onward, they were forced to retreat more and more. 5 - British and American planes now dropped bombs on German cities. They brought death and destruction. Soldiers were not the only ones killed: women, children and elderly people died too. From the east, the Soviet Union’s “Red Army” continued to advance. 6 - By the end of the war, more than 50 million people had lost their lives. Germans had committed terrible crimes, especially against Jews. On May 8, 1945, Germany was finally defeated. Many cities had been destroyed, and the country was occupied by troops from the United States, England, the Soviet Union and France. Hitler took his own life a few days before the war ended.

7 - In the summer of 1945, US President Truman, British Prime Minister Churchill and Soviet dictator Stalin met at Cecilienhof Palace in Potsdam. They decided that Germany had to give up all territories east of the Oder and Neisse rivers, most of them to Poland. 8 - Breslau was affected too. In the final months of the war, the city had been completely destroyed, and many people had fled west. After the war ended in May 1945, the new Polish government forced all Germans still living in the city to leave their homes and apartments. People from the eastern part of Poland, which had to be ceded to the Soviet Union, were settled here instead. Breslau became Wrocłav.

9 - The expulsion and resettlement caused great suffering. For those who had once lived in Breslau, Silesia and other areas in the east, starting over in western Germany was often difficult, and they suffered from the loss of their homeland. The Polish people who were resettled here had also been forced to leave their homeland.

10 - It took a long time for German governments to acknowledge that Breslau and Silesia now belonged to Poland. Many people in Poland have not forgotten what the Germans did to their country. Germany and Poland are now both members of the European Union (EU) and the NATO military alliance. Much has been done to improve relations between the two countries.

11 - Today, the city of Wrocłav is a vibrant, modern metropolis. The destroyed buildings have been rebuilt. The centre, especially the area around the Market Square, shines with a new splendour. Tourists from all over the world visit the city. Many things still recall that it was once a German city. Above all, however, it reminds us of the suffering, death, destruction and discord that wars and tyrannical rulers can cause.