The postwar period in Bolesławiec, which until just a few decades ago bore the German name Bunzlau, was a time of degenerates in soldiers’ uniforms. Depraved by years of fighting, Russian soldiers were cruel criminals in the lands that Poles then called the “recovered” territories.
The Soviets primarily stole the possessions of settlers and the indigenous German population. They were untouchable. When someone opposed them, like the head of Gromadka in 1946 (then called Grzmiąca), they could be sure of being shot. The brave village head was to be protected from certain death by militiamen from Modła. Although MO officers also committed robbery and rape, they limited themselves to Germans.
In her work “Bolesławiec 1945–1966. Destruction and Reconstruction,” Anna Bober-Tubaj came across a survey concerning the course of wartime operations in our area. The German inhabitants of Bunzlau spoke of deliberate arson attacks on the city by the Soviets, which consequently caused extensive fires. The city did not suffer greatly as a result of military operations. It was deliberately set on fire by Red Army soldiers entering it in triumph. The Soviets dismantled and transported to the USSR equipment and furnishings from many Bolesławiec plants, including Concordia. They also committed acts of robbery and vandalism. The author found in the archive’s holdings a letter from the City Administration addressed to the Commander of the Soviet Forces concerning the firing of live ammunition at electric light bulbs (on Asnyka Street). In her book, she also writes about interventions by the city’s then mayor, who was unable to secure uninhabited houses. The Russians were dangerous looters. They removed windows, doors and portable stoves, and destroyed whatever they could not take.
At the beginning of 1947— writes Adam Baniecki in his work “Bolesławiec County 1945–1950”—the County National Council concluded that the security situation had improved because no murders had been recorded, whereas ordinary crimes were an everyday occurrence. (...) The perpetrators continued to be soldiers of the Soviet Army. This phenomenon intensified particularly in the Gromadka municipality, where hay, livestock and household equipment were illegally appropriated.