Biskupia Górka (german: Bischofsberg, sometimes ''Bischofshügel'') is a neighbourhood and hill in
Gdańsk
Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...
,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
, located in the
Śródmieście district. Historically, Biskupia Górka had important strategic meaning, since it is a hill close to the main city.
History
As part of the
Kingdom of Poland
The Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Królestwo Polskie; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a state in Central Europe. It may refer to:
Historical political entities
*Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom existing from 1025 to 1031
*Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom exist ...
it was a possession of the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Włocławek
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Włocławek ( la, Vladislavien(sis)), until the 20th century known as the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kujawy, is a suffragan diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in the Ecclesiastical province of the ...
, administratively located in the Gdańsk County in the
Pomeranian Voivodeship
Pomeranian Voivodeship, Pomorskie Region, or Pomerania Province (Polish: ''Województwo pomorskie'' ; ( Kashubian: ''Pòmòrsczé wòjewództwò'' ), is a voivodeship, or province, in northwestern Poland. The provincial capital is Gdańsk.
The ...
. Fortifications were built on the hill in the 17th century. After the
Partitions of Poland
The Partitions of Poland were three partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place toward the end of the 18th century and ended the existence of the state, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland and Lithuania for 12 ...
,
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
insurgents of the
November Uprising
The November Uprising (1830–31), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution,
was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in W ...
were imprisoned by the Prussians in the fortifications.
Following the German
invasion of Poland
The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...
, which started
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
in 1939, the Germans established a subcamp of the
Stalag XX-A
Stalag XX-A was a German World War II prisoner-of-war camp located in Toruń in German-occupied Poland. It was not a single camp and contained as many as 20,000 men at its peak. The main camp was located in seven forts of the 19th-century Toruń ...
prisoner-of-war camp
A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured by a belligerent power in time of war.
There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, and military prisons. P ...
, in which Polish POWs were held.
It was later converted into a subcamp of the
Stalag XX-B Marienburg Stalag XXB or Stalag 20B Marienburg Danzig was a German POW camp in World War II.
Located near Marienburg, it was originally a hutted and tented camp with a double boundary fence and watchtowers. British, Poles and Serbs were held here ...
camp, and its prisoners were mostly the
French.
[ Some 1,200 POWs were held there as of December 31, 1940.]Stutthof concentration camp
Stutthof was a Nazi concentration camp established by Nazi Germany in a secluded, marshy, and wooded area near the village of Stutthof (now Sztutowo) 34 km (21 mi) east of the city of Danzig (Gdańsk) in the territory of the German-a ...
were publicly hanged for what was described as "sadistic
Sadism may refer to:
* Sadomasochism, the giving or receiving of pleasure from acts involving the receipt or infliction of pain or humiliation
* Sadistic personality disorder, an obsolete term proposed for individuals who derive pleasure from the s ...
abuse of prisoners." Among those hanged were five women: Gerda Steinhoff
Gerda Steinhoff (29 January 1922 – 4 July 1946) was a ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) Nazi concentration camps, Nazi concentration camp overseer following the 1939 German invasion of Poland.
SS career
Steinhoff was born in Wrzeszcz, Danzig-Langfuhr ...
, Wanda Klaff
Wanda Klaff (6 March 1922 – 4 July 1946) was a Nazi concentration camp overseer. Klaff was born in Danzig to German parents as Wanda Kalacinski. She was executed for war crimes.
Early life
Wanda Kalacinski was the daughter of railway wor ...
, Jenny-Wanda Barkmann
Jenny-Wanda Barkmann (30 May 1922 – 4 July 1946) was a German overseer in Nazi concentration camps during World War II. She was tried and executed for crimes against humanity after the war.
Biography
Barkmann is believed to have spent her c ...
, Ewa Paradies
Ewa Paradies (17 December 1920 – 4 July 1946) was a Nazi concentration camp overseer.
In August 1944, Paradies arrived at the Stutthof SK-III camp for training as an '' Aufseherin'', or overseer. She soon finished training and became a ward ...
and Elisabeth Becker
Elisabeth Becker (20 July 1923 – 4 July 1946) was a Nazi Nazi concentration camps, concentration camp overseer in World War II.
Life
Becker was born in Nowy Staw, Neuteich, Free City of Danzig, Danzig (today Nowy Staw, Poland) to a German f ...
, all of whom had been judged and sentenced during the first Stutthof Trial
The Stutthof trials were a series of war crime tribunals held in postwar Poland for the prosecution of Stutthof concentration camp staff and officials, responsible for the murder of up to 85,000 prisoners during the occupation of Poland by Nazi G ...
, at Gdańsk between April 25 and May 31, 1946.
The former Mennonite church is located in Biskupia Górka.
See also
* Gdańsk Biskupia Górka (train station)
References
About the execution (in German)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Biskupia Gorka
Districts of Gdańsk