The subject of the first event in the series of historical meetings organized by the Silesian Museum in Görlitz was the national and demographic transformations in the territories incorporated into Poland after the Second World War. The lecture devoted to post-war settlement took place on October 16 at the Municipal Cultural Centre in Zgorzelec. It was delivered by habilitated doctor Małgorzata Ruchniewicz.
The second meeting in this historical series, introducing us to the history of the two neighboring cities—Zgorzelec and Görlitz—is a continuation of the story of the demographic changes that took place in post-war years in Görlitz, divided between two countries, and throughout the region. The lecture by Markus Lammert, a historian and research associate of the European Parliament in Brussels, is based on his own source research and describes the situation in post-war Görlitz, whose eastern part, as a result of the policies of the great powers, was assigned to Poland, becoming the Polish city of Zgorzelec.
The consequence of the political decisions was the expulsion of the German residents of the new Polish city, which was gradually being settled by demobilized Polish soldiers, people returning from German labor and concentration camps, and displaced persons from the eastern territories of pre-war Poland—although in this case, too, the more appropriate term seems to be “expellees.”
The lecture will present the situation of those expelled from the eastern part of the city and of the refugees, thousands of whom ended up in the western part of Görlitz.
Markus Lammert’s lecture “City of the Expelled. Görlitz 1945–1953” – Thursday, November 5, 2015, at 6 p.m., Zgorzelec Cultural Centre. Admission free.
Zgorzelec City Hall/ii