Settlers who arrived in Bolesławiec County in 1945 had to harvest crops from the fields to avoid starvation. For this purpose, Bernard Rykowski established the Settlement Committee for Bolesławiec County, with its staging post in Bolesławice.
No one disrupted the harvest until July 20, 1945, when tragedy occurred. Nineteen families were working at the so-called staging post in Tillendorf (Bolesławice). It was these settlers who were attacked by, as Rynkowski described them, “unidentified criminals.” Witnesses testified that the attackers were dressed in Red Army uniforms and spoke Russian. Rynkowski described it in his report as follows:
“They robbed our settlers in a brazen manner, taking their clothing, cash, footwear and everything else of any value, and raped their wives and underage daughters. An investigation by the Citizens’ Militia established that they were unidentified robbers dressed in Red Army uniforms, with spray guns in their hands. As long as a military guard was stationed in Tylinów, our settlers could work peacefully. After a few days, the military guard left for the barracks. That very night, the attack on our settlers was repeated, and they were robbed of everything again—terrorized with weapons, they were even stripped of the shoes from their feet; finally, the attackers set fire to the barn prepared for hauling in the grain and calmly left.”
The brutal attack caused the families willing to work to leave Bolesławice in order to protect their own lives and those of their loved ones. Officials from the county office arrived at the scene. The grain had to be harvested to avoid the
threat of starvation. On July 21, from the morning onward, Bolesław Kubik and his officials began working on the abandoned harvest. It was the mayor’s last day of life... to be continued.
Bolesławice, or Tiellendorf
Until 1945, this was an area inhabited by Germans, who called it Tiellendorf. In the first years after World War II, the settlement operated under the names Tułowice and Tylinów; over time, it was renamed with the name used today.
Bolesławice is one of the oldest settlements in our region and gave rise to the development of the town of Bolesławiec. This is confirmed by a treasure found in 1907, which included coins from the time of Otto III, produced more than 1,000 years ago at the mint in Cologne. The find testifies to the village’s development and its trade connections. The treasure was handed over to the museum in Bolesławiec, but was lost in the spring of 1945 amid the turmoil of war.
More about Bolesławice in Sebastian Zielonka’s feature: Former Bolesławice