Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

(German: ''Breslau)'' has long been the largest and culturally dominant city in

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

, and is today the capital of

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 populou ...

's Lower Silesian Voivodeship. The history of Wrocław starts at a crossroads in

Lower Silesia Lower Silesia ( pl, Dolny Śląsk; cz, Dolní Slezsko; german: Niederschlesien; szl, Dolny Ślōnsk; hsb, Delnja Šleska; dsb, Dolna Šlazyńska; Silesian German: ''Niederschläsing''; la, Silesia Inferior) is the northwestern part of the ...

. It was one of the centres of the Duchy and then Kingdom of Poland, and briefly, in the first half of the 13th century, the centre of half of the divided

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 exi ...

. German settlers arrived in increasing numbers after the

first Mongol invasion of Poland The Mongol Invasion of Poland from late 1240 to 1241 culminated in the Battle of Legnica, where the Mongols defeated an alliance which included forces from fragmented Poland and their allies, led by Henry II the Pious, the Duke of Silesia. ...

in 1241, and Wrocław eventually became part of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

after the extinction of local Polish dukes in 1335. It was ruled by

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

between 1469 and 1490, and after the

War of Austrian Succession War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

in the 18th century, the city and region were annexed by the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918. Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. ...

, and in 1871 became part of the German Empire. In the interwar period and during

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 opposing ...

, the city witnessed discrimination and persecution of its

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 ...

and Jewish inhabitants, including deportations to forced labour and

Nazi concentration camps From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps, (officially) or (more commonly). The Nazi concentration camps are distinguished from other types of Nazi camps such as forced-labor camps, as well as con ...

, and in addition, tens of thousands of forced labourers and prisoners of war of various nationalities were imprisoned in multiple German labour camps and prisons throughout the city. After World War II, Wrocław and most of Silesia were transferred again to Poland and the German-speaking majority of its population was expelled to Germany.

Origin

The city of Wrocław originated as a stronghold situated at the intersection of two long-existing trading routes, the

Via Regia The Via Regia (Royal Highway) is a European Cultural Route following the route of the historic road of the Middle Ages. There were many such ''viae regiae'' associated with the king in the medieval Holy Roman Empire. History Origins The V ...

and the

Amber Road The Amber Road was an ancient trade route for the transfer of amber from coastal areas of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. Prehistoric trade routes between Northern and Southern Europe were defined by the amber trade. ...

. The city was founded in the 10th century, possibly by a local duke Wrocisław, who the city might also bear its name after. At the time the city was limited to the district of Ostrów Tumski (the Cathedral Island) and was first mentioned by

Thietmar of Merseburg Thietmar (also Dietmar or Dithmar; 25 July 9751 December 1018), Prince-Bishop of Merseburg from 1009 until his death, was an important chronicler recording the reigns of German kings and Holy Roman Emperors of the Ottonian (Saxon) dynasty. Two ...

in 1000 as "''Wrotizlava''".

Poland

In 985 Duke

Mieszko I of Poland Mieszko I (; – 25 May 992) was the first ruler of Poland and the founder of the first independent Polish state, the Duchy of Poland. His reign stretched from 960 to his death and he was a member of the Piast dynasty, a son of Siemomysł and a ...

of the Piast dynasty conquered Silesia and Wrocław. In 1000 Mieszko's son, Duke and future King

Bolesław I of Poland Boleslav or Bolesław may refer to: In people: * Boleslaw (given name) In geography: *Bolesław, Dąbrowa County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland *Bolesław, Olkusz County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland *Bolesław, Silesian Voivodeship, Pol ...

, in the then capital of Poland,

Gniezno Gniezno (; german: Gnesen; la, Gnesna) is a city in central-western Poland, about east of Poznań. Its population in 2021 was 66,769, making it the sixth-largest city in the Greater Poland Voivodeship. One of the Piast dynasty's chief cities, ...

, established the

Bishopric of Wrocław In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associat ...

, along with the bishoprics of

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

and Kołobrzeg and the

Archbishopric of Gniezno The Archdiocese of Gniezno ( la, Archidioecesis Gnesnensis, pl, Archidiecezja Gnieźnieńska) is the oldest Latin Catholic archdiocese in Poland, located in the city of Gniezno.Odra river. Hugo Weczerka writes that around 1000 the town had approximately 1000 inhabitants. and after an uprising in 1037/38 against the church and probably also against the bishop and the representatives of the Polish king, who were expelled.Weczerka, p. 40 In 1038 Bohemia captured the city and owned her until 1054 when Poland regained control. In 1138 it became the capital of the Piast-ruled Duchy of Silesia, which slowly detached from Poland. By 1139 two more settlements were built. One belonged to Governor

Piotr Włostowic Herb ŁabędźPiotr Włostowic ( 1080 – 1153), also known as Peter Wlast or ''Włost'') was a Polish noble, castellan of Wrocław, and a ruler (''możnowładca'') of part of Silesia. From 1117 he was voivode (''palatyn'') of the Duke of Poland ...

(a.k.a. Piotr Włast Dunin; ca. 1080–1153) and was situated near his residence on the Olbina by the St. Vincent's Benedictine Abbey. The other settlement was founded on the left bank of the Oder River, near the present seat of the university. It was located on the Via Regia that lead from

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

and Legnica) and followed through Opole, and

Kievan Rus' Kievan Rusʹ, also known as Kyivan Rusʹ ( orv, , Rusĭ, or , , ; Old Norse: ''Garðaríki''), was a state in Eastern and Northern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical Atlas of ...

Bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

, Jewish, Walloon and German communities existed in the city. In the first half of the 13th-century duke

Henry I the Bearded Henry the Bearded ( pl, Henryk (Jędrzych) Brodaty, german: Heinrich der Bärtige; c. 1165/70 – 19 March 1238) was a Polish duke from the Piast dynasty. He was Duke of Silesia at Wrocław from 1201, Duke of Kraków and High Duke of all Pol ...

of the Silesian line of the Piast dynasty, managed to reunite much of the divided Polish kingdom. He became the duke of

(

Polonia Minor Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name Małopolska ( la, Polonia Minor), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a ...

) in 1232, which gave him the title of the senior duke of Poland (see

Testament of Bolesław III Krzywousty A testament is a document that the author has sworn to be true. In law it usually means last will and testament. Testament or The Testament can also refer to: Books * ''Testament'' (comic book), a 2005 comic book * ''Testament'', a thriller nov ...

). Henry started striving for the Polish crown. His activity in this field was continued by his son and successor

Henry II the Pious Henry II the Pious ( pl, Henryk II Pobożny; 1196 – 9 April 1241) was Duke of Silesia and High Duke of Poland as well as Duke of South-Greater Poland from 1238 until his death. Between 1238 and 1239 he also served as regent of Sandomierz and ...

whose work towards this goal was halted by his sudden death in 1241 ( Battle of Legnica). Polish territories acquired by the Silesian dukes in this period are called "The monarchy of the Silesian Henries". Wrocław was the centre of the divided

. The city was devastated in 1241 during the

. The inhabitants burned down their own city to force the Mongols to a quick withdrawal. The invasion, according to Norman Davies, led German historiography to portray the Mongol attack as an event which eradicated the Polish community. However, in light of historical research this is doubtful, as many Polish settlements remained, even in the 14th century, especially on the right bank of the Oder and Polish names such as Baran or Cebula appear including among Wrocław's ruling elite. Georg Thum, Maciej Lagiewski, Halina Okolska and Piotr Oszczanowski write that the decimated population was replenished by many Germans.Thum, p. 316 A different thesis is presented by Norman Davies who writes that it is wrong to portray people of that time as "Germans" as their identities were those of Saxons and Bavarians, while historian Norbert Conrads argues that a Polish identity didn't exist either, a view shared by Czech author František R. Kraus. While Germanisation started, Norman Davies writes that "Vretslav was a multi-ethnic city in the Middle Ages. Its ethnic composition moved in an endless state of flux, changing with each political and cultural ebb and flow to which it was exposed". German author Georg Thum states that Breslau, the German name of the city, appeared for the first time in written records, and the city council from the beginning used only the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

and German. In 1245, in Wrocław,

Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

friar Benedict of Poland, considered one of the first Polish explorers, joined Italian diplomat

Giovanni da Pian del Carpine Giovanni da Pian del Carpine, variously rendered in English as ''John of Pian de Carpine'', ''John of Plano Carpini'' or ''Joannes de Plano'' (c. 11851 August 1252), was a medieval Italian diplomat, archbishop and explorer and one of the firs ...

, on his journey to the seat of the Mongol Khan near

Karakorum Karakorum (Khalkha Mongolian: Хархорум, ''Kharkhorum''; Mongolian Script:, ''Qaraqorum''; ) was the capital of the Mongol Empire between 1235 and 1260 and of the Northern Yuan dynasty in the 14–15th centuries. Its ruins lie in th ...

, the capital of the Mongol Empire. It was the first such journey by Europeans, and they returned with the letter from Güyük Khan to Pope Innocent IV. The new and rebuilt town adopted

Magdeburg rights Magdeburg rights (german: Magdeburger Recht; also called Magdeburg Law) were a set of town privileges first developed by Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (936–973) and based on the Flemish Law, which regulated the degree of internal autonomy within ...

in 1262 and, at the end of the 13th century joined the Hanseatic League. The expanded town was around 60 hectares in size and the new Main Market Square (Rynek), which was covered with timber-framed houses, became the new centre of the town. The original foundation, Ostrów Tumski, was now the religious centre. With the ongoing Ostsiedlung the Polish Piast dynastyEncyklopedia Powszechna PWN Warsaw 1975 vol. III page 505 dukes remained in control of the region, however, their influence declined continuously as the self-administration rights of the city council increased. German historian Norbert Conrads writes that they adopted the German language and culture and became Germanized in the 13th century. Norman Davies writes that German historiography has tried to present the Silesian branch of Polish Piasts as subjects of early Germanization who wished to enter the Holy Roman Empire, but that this theory is inaccurate. Wrotzila – despite the beginnings of Germanization – remained in close union with the Polish church, and local Piasts remained active in Polish politics, while Polish was still used at the court in the 14th century During much of the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

Wrocław was ruled by Dukes of the Piast dynasty. In 1335 the last Piast Duke of Wrocław,

Henry VI the Good Henry VI the Good (also known as of Wrocław) ( pl, Henryk VI Dobry or Wrocławski) (18 March 1294 – 24 November 1335) was a Duke of Wrocław from 1296 (with his brothers as co-rulers until 1311). He was the second son of Henry V the Fat, Du ...

died. As a result, the city passed to

John of Luxembourg John the Blind or John of Luxembourg ( lb, Jang de Blannen; german: link=no, Johann der Blinde; cz, Jan Lucemburský; 10 August 1296 – 26 August 1346), was the Count of Luxembourg from 1313 and King of Bohemia from 1310 and titular King of ...

, who fought a war with Casimir the Great over Silesia. John died, while fighting in France, and the war ended inconclusively. The issue was closed only in 1372 between Charles IV of Luxembourg and Louis I of Hungary; and while the city lost political ties to the Polish state, it remained connected to Poland by religious links and the existence of Polish population within it.

Jan Długosz Jan Długosz (; 1 December 1415 – 19 May 1480), also known in Latin as Johannes Longinus, was a Polish priest, chronicler, diplomat, soldier, and secretary to Bishop Zbigniew Oleśnicki of Kraków. He is considered Poland's first histo ...

described the foreign rule over Wrocław as unlawful and expressed hope that it would eventually return to Poland. Ratusz2noc

Bishop of Wrocław was known as the prince-bishop ever since Bishop Przecław of Pogorzela (1341–1376) bought the Duchy of

Grodków Grodków (; szl, Grodkōw) is a town in Brzeg County, Opole Voivodeship in Poland, the administrative seat of Gmina Grodków. It is located in the Silesian Lowlands of the Oder basin, in the historic Upper Silesia region, about south of Brz ...

from Duke

Bolesław III the Generous Boleslaw III the Wasteful ( pl, Bolesław III Rozrzutny; 23 September 1291 – Brieg, 21 April 1352), was a Duke of Legnica, Brzeg (Brieg) from 1296 until 1342, and Duke of Wrocław from 1296 until 1311. He was the eldest son of Henry V the Fa ...

and added it to the episcopal Duchy of Nysa, after which the

Bishops of Wrocław A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

had the titles of Prince of Nysa and Dukes of Grodków, taking precedence over the other Silesian rulers.

Holy Roman Empire and Hungary

In 1348, the city was incorporated with almost the entirety of Silesia into the

, and a ''Landeshauptmann'' (Provincial governor) was appointed to administrate the region. Between 1342 and 1344 two fires destroyed large parts of the city. In 1352 Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, visited the town. His successors

Wenceslaus Wenceslaus, Wenceslas, Wenzeslaus and Wenzslaus (and other similar names) are Latinized forms of the Czech name Václav. The other language versions of the name are german: Wenzel, pl, Wacław, Więcesław, Wieńczysław, es, Wenceslao, russian ...

and

Sigismund Sigismund (variants: Sigmund, Siegmund) is a German proper name, meaning "protection through victory", from Old High German ''sigu'' "victory" + ''munt'' "hand, protection". Tacitus latinises it '' Segimundus''. There appears to be an older form of ...

became involved in a long-lasting feud with the city and its magistrate, culminating in the revolt of the guilds in 1418 when local craftsmen killed seven councillors. In a tribunal two years later, when Sigismund was in town, 27 ringleaders were executed. He also called up for a Reichstag in the same year, which discussed the earlier happenings in the city. In June 1466, in Wrocław, Polish diplomat

held a meeting with a papal legate, starting a

peace process A peace process is the set of sociopolitical negotiations, agreements and actions that aim to solve a specific armed conflict. Definitions Prior to an armed conflict occurring, peace processes can include the prevention of an intra-state or in ...

between

and the

Teutonic Order The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...

, which a few months later culminated in the signing of a

peace treaty A peace treaty is an agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually countries or governments, which formally ends a state of war between the parties. It is different from an armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring ...

Toruń )'' , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_flag = POL Toruń flag.svg , image_shield = POL Toruń COA.svg , nickname = City of Angels, Gingerbread city, Copernicus Town , pushpin_map = Kuyavian-Pom ...

that ended the Thirteen Years' War, the longest of Polish–Teutonic wars. Modlitwy drukowane po polsku w r

When

George of Poděbrady George of Kunštát and Poděbrady (23 April 1420 – 22 March 1471), also known as Poděbrad or Podiebrad ( cs, Jiří z Poděbrad; german: Georg von Podiebrad), was the sixteenth King of Bohemia, who ruled in 1458–1471. He was a leader of the ...

was elected as Silesia's overlord, the city opposed him since he was a

Hussite The Hussites ( cs, Husité or ''Kališníci''; "Chalice People") were a Czech proto-Protestant Christian movement that followed the teachings of reformer Jan Hus, who became the best known representative of the Bohemian Reformation. The Huss ...

and instead sided with his Catholic rival

Matthias Corvinus Matthias Corvinus, also called Matthias I ( hu, Hunyadi Mátyás, ro, Matia/Matei Corvin, hr, Matija/Matijaš Korvin, sk, Matej Korvín, cz, Matyáš Korvín; ), was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1458 to 1490. After conducting several m ...

. After Breslau fought alongside Corvinus against George in 1466, the local classes rendered homage to the king on 31 May 1469 in the city, where the king also met the daughter of mayor Krebs, Barbara, whom he took as his mistress. In 1474 the city was besieged by combined Polish-Bohemian forces, however in November 1474 Kings

Casimir IV of Poland Casimir is classically an English, French and Latin form of the Polish name Kazimierz. Feminine forms are Casimira and Kazimiera. It means "proclaimer (from ''kazać'' to preach) of peace (''mir'')." List of variations *Belarusian: Казі ...

, his son Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Matthias Corvinus of Hungary met in the nearby village of Muchobór Wielki (present-day district of Wrocław) and in December 1474 a

ceasefire A ceasefire (also known as a truce or armistice), also spelled cease fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be between state act ...

was signed, according to which the city remained under Hungarian rule. Matthias Corvinus incorporated the city with Silesia in his dominion, which he controlled until his death in 1490. 1475 marks the beginning of movable type printing in the city and in Silesia, when opened his printing shop ('' Drukarnia Świętokrzyska''). That same year he published the ', which contains the first-ever text printed in

. It was also the first ever printing in Silesia. The first illustration of the city was published in the '' Nuremberg Chronicle'' in 1493. Documents of that time referred to the town by many variants of the name including ''Wratislaw'', ''Bresslau'' and ''Presslau''.

Habsburg Monarchy

The ideas of the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and ...

reached Breslau already in 1518, and in 1519 the writings of

Luther Luther may refer to: People * Martin Luther (1483–1546), German monk credited with initiating the Protestant Reformation * Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968), American minister and leader in the American civil rights movement * Luther (give ...

, Eck and the opening of the

Leipzig Disputation The Leipzig Debate (german: Leipziger Disputation) was a theological disputation originally between Andreas Karlstadt, Martin Luther and Johann Eck. Karlstadt, the dean of the Wittenberg theological faculty, felt that he had to defend Luther ...

by Mosellanus were published by local printer Adam Dyon. In 1523 the town council unanimously, appointed Johann Heß as the new pastor of St. Maria Magdalena and thus introduced the Reformation in Breslau. In 1524 the town council issued a decree that obliged all clerics to the Protestant sermon and in 1525 another decree banned a number of Catholic customs. Breslau had become dominated by Protestants although a Catholic minority remained. Norman Davies states that as a city it was located on the borderline between Polish and German parts of Silesia, writing that "Vretslav lay astride the dividing line"; it also hosted a Czech community. After the death of Louis II in the

Battle of Mohács The Battle of Mohács (; hu, mohácsi csata, tr, Mohaç Muharebesi or Mohaç Savaşı) was fought on 29 August 1526 near Mohács, Kingdom of Hungary, between the forces of the Kingdom of Hungary and its allies, led by Louis II, and thos ...

in 1526, the Habsburg monarchy of

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

inherited Silesia and the city of Breslau. In 1530 Ferdinand I awarded Breslau its current coat of arms. On 11 October 1609 German emperor

Rudolf II Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–1608). He was a member of the Hous ...

granted the

Letter of Majesty The Letter of Majesty (1609) was a 17th-century European document, reluctantly signed by the Holy Roman Emperor, Rudolf II, granting religious tolerance to both Protestant and Catholic citizens living in the estates of Bohemia. The letter also ...

, which ensured the free exercise of church services for all Silesian Protestants. During

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...

the city suffered badly, was occupied by Saxon and

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

troops and lost 18,000 of its 40,000 residents to

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pe ...

. The Counter-Reformation had started with Rudolf II and Martin Gerstmann, bishop of Breslau. One of his successors, bishop Charles of Austria, did not accept the letter of the majesty on his territory. At the same time, the emperor encouraged several Catholic orders to settle in Breslau. The Minorites came back in 1610, the Jesuits arrived in 1638, the Capuchins in 1669, the Franciscans in 1684 and the Ursulines in 1687. These orders undertook an unequalled amount of construction which shaped the appearance of the city until 1945. The Jesuits were the main representatives of the Counter-Reformation in Breslau and Silesia. Much more feared were the Liechtensteiner dragoons, which converted people by force and expelled those who refused. At the end of the Thirty Years' War, Breslau was only one of a few Silesian cities which stayed Protestant, and after the Treaty of Altranstädt of 1707 four churches were given back to the local Protestants. During the Counter-Reformation, the intellectual life of the city, which was shaped by Protestantism and

Humanism Humanism is a philosophy, philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and Agency (philosophy), agency of Human, human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical in ...

, flourished, as the Protestant bourgeoisie of the city lost its role as the patron of the arts to the Catholic orders. Breslau and Silesia, which possessed 6 of the 12 leading grammar schools in the Holy Roman Empire, became the centre of German Baroque literature. Poets such as

Martin Opitz Martin Opitz von Boberfeld (23 December 1597 – 20 August 1639) was a German poet, regarded as the greatest of that nation during his lifetime. Biography Opitz was born in Bunzlau (Bolesławiec) in Lower Silesia, in the Principality of ...

Andreas Gryphius Andreas Gryphius (german: Andreas Greif; 2 October 161616 July 1664) was a German poet and playwright. With his eloquent sonnets, which contains "The Suffering, Frailty of Life and the World", he is considered one of the most important Baroque ...

Christian Hoffmann von Hoffmannswaldau Christian Hoffmann von Hoffmannswaldau (baptised 25 December 1616 – 4 April 1679) was a German poet of the Baroque era. He was born and died in Breslau (Wrocław) in Silesia. During his education in Danzig (Gdańsk) and Leiden, he befrie ...

Daniel Casper von Lohenstein Daniel Casper (25 January 1635 in Nimptsch, Niederschlesien – 28 April 1683 in Breslau, Niederschlesien), also spelled Daniel Caspar, and referred to from 1670 as Daniel Casper von Lohenstein, was a Baroque Silesian playwright, lawyer, diplo ...

and

Angelus Silesius Angelus Silesius (9 July 1677), born Johann Scheffler and also known as Johann Angelus Silesius, was a German Catholic priest and physician, known as a mystic and religious poet. Born and raised a Lutheran, he adopted the name ''Angelus'' (Lati ...

formed the so-called First and Second Silesian school of poets which shaped the German literature of that time. The dominance of the German population under the Habsburg rule in the city became more visible, while the Polish population diminished in numbers, although it did not disappear.Microcosm, page 182 Only a few families from the upper and middle classes celebrated their Polish roots, despite having Polish ancestors, and while the Polish population was reinforced by migrants and merchants, many of them became Germanized. Nevertheless, Poles continued to exist in the city, mostly living on the right bank of Oder river also known as "Polish side". The Polish community was led by such priests as Stanislaw Bzowski or Michał Kusz, who fought for the continued existence of Polish schools in the city, and addressed their flock in Polish; Latin masses were interspersed with hymns and prayers in Polish. In 1702 the Jesuit academy was founded by Leopold I and named after himself, the Leopoldine Academy. Breslau c1736

Prussia

During the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession () was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George's ...

in the 1740s, most of Silesia was annexed by the

. Prussia's claims were derived from the agreement, rejected by the Habsburgs, between the Silesian Piast rulers of the duchy and the Hohenzollerns who secured the Prussian succession after the extinction of the Piasts. The Protestant citizenry didn't fight against the armies of Protestant Prussia and Frederick II of Prussia captured the city without a struggle in January 1741. In November 1741 the Silesian classes rendered homage to Frederick. In the following years, Prussian armies often stayed in the city during the winter month. After three wars Empress Maria Theresa renounced Silesia and Breslau in the

Treaty of Hubertusburg The Treaty of Hubertusburg (german: Frieden von Hubertusburg) was signed on 15 February 1763 at Hubertusburg Castle by Prussia, Austria and Saxony to end the Third Silesian War. Together with the Treaty of Paris, signed five days earlier, it mark ...

in 1763. The Protestants of the city could now express their faith without limitation, and the new Prussian authorities also allowed the establishment of a Jewish community. Entrée du Prince Jérôme à Breslau le 7 janvier 1807

Entrée du Prince Jérôme à Breslau le 7 janvier 1807

After the demise of the

in 1806, Breslau was occupied by an army of the

Confederation of the Rhine The Confederated States of the Rhine, simply known as the Confederation of the Rhine, also known as Napoleonic Germany, was a confederation of German client states established at the behest of Napoleon some months after he defeated Austria an ...

between 6 December 1806 to 7 January 1807. The

Continental System The Continental Blockade (), or Continental System, was a large-scale embargo against British trade by Napoleon Bonaparte against the British Empire from 21 November 1806 until 11 April 1814, during the Napoleonic Wars. Napoleon issued the Berli ...

disrupted trade almost completely. The fortifications of the city were levelled and almost every monastery and cloister secularized. The Protestant Viadrina university of Frankfurt (Oder) was relocated to Breslau in 1811, united with the local Catholic university of the Jesuits and formed the new Schlesische Friedrich-Wilhelm-Universität (

Wrocław University Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, ro ...

). In 1813 King Frederick William III of Prussia gave a speech in Breslau signalling Prussia's intent to join the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

against

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

during the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

. He also donated the

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia es ...

and issued the proclamation "An mein Volk" (to my people), summoning the Prussian people to war against the French. The city became the centre of the

Liberation movement A liberation movement is an organization or political movement leading a rebellion, or a non-violent social movement, against a colonial power or national government, often seeking independence based on a nationalist identity and an anti-imperial ...

against Napoleon Bonaparte as volunteers from all over Germany gathered in Breslau, among them Theodor Körner, Friedrich Ludwig Jahn and

Ludwig Adolf Wilhelm von Lützow Ludwig Adolf Wilhelm Freiherr von Lützow (18 May 17826 December 1834) was a Prussian general notable for his organization and command of the '' Lützow Freikorps'' of volunteers during the Napoleonic Wars. Early life Lützow was born in Berlin ...

, who set up his

Lützow Free Corps Lützow Free Corps ( ) was a volunteer force of the Prussian army during the Napoleonic Wars. It was named after its commander, Ludwig Adolf Wilhelm von Lützow. The Corpsmen were also widely known as the “''Lützower Jäger''“ or “''Schwarz ...

in the city. The Prussian reforms of

Stein Stein is a German, Yiddish and Norwegian word meaning "stone" and "pip" or "kernel". It stems from the same Germanic root as the English word stone. It may refer to: Places In Austria * Stein, a neighbourhood of Krems an der Donau, Lower Aust ...

and

Hardenberg Hardenberg (; nds-nl, Haddenbarreg or '' 'n Arnbarg'') is a city and municipality in the province of Overijssel, Eastern Netherlands. The municipality of Hardenberg has a population of about 60,000, with about 19,000 living in the city. It recei ...

led to a sustainable increase in prosperity in Silesia and Breslau. Due to the levelled fortifications, the city could grow beyond her old borders. Breslau became an important railway hub and a major industrial centre, notably of linen and cotton manufacture and the metal industry. Thanks to the unification of the Viadrina and Jesuit universities the city also became the biggest Prussian centre of sciences after Berlin, and the secularization laid the base for a rich museum landscape. In 1836 the Slavonic Literary Society was founded in the city by Czech scholar

Jan Evangelista Purkyně Jan Evangelista Purkyně (; also written Johann Evangelist Purkinje) (17 or 18 December 1787 – 28 July 1869) was a Czech anatomist and physiologist. In 1839, he coined the term '' protoplasm'' for the fluid substance of a cell. He was one of ...

with the assistance of Polish scholars Władysław Nehring and Wojciech Cybulski, its aim was to develop studies on Slavic languages and cultures; the Prussian authorities disbanded it in 1886 On 15 January 1841, the Chair of Slavistics was formed in the city, and headed by Professor

František Čelakovský František Ladislav Čelakovský (7 March 1799 Strakonice - 5 August 1852 Prague) was a Czech poet, translator, linguist, and literary critic. He was a major figure in the Czech " national revival". His most notable works are ''Ohlas písní rus ...

, it was the first institution of this kind in Germany In 1854 the Jewish Theological Seminary was created, one of the first modern rabbi seminars in Europe. Its first director,

Zecharias Frankel Zecharias Frankel, also known as Zacharias Frankel (30 September 1801 – 13 February 1875) was a Bohemian-German rabbi and a historian who studied the historical development of Judaism. He was born in Prague and died in Breslau. He was the foun ...

, was the principal founder of conservative Judaism.

German Empire

Breslau became part of the German Empire in 1871, which was established at Versailles in defeated France. The early years were characterized by rapid economic growth, the so-called

Gründerzeit (; "founders' period") was the economic phase in 19th-century Germany and Austria before the great stock market crash of 1873. In Central Europe, the age of industrialisation had been taking place since the 1840s. That period is not precisely ...

, although Breslau was hampered by protectionist policies of its natural markets in Austria-Hungary and Russia and had to turn to the German domestic market. Breslau's population grew from 208,000 in 1871 to 512,000 in 1910, yet the city was pushed down from being the third- to the seventh-biggest city in Germany. Among the population were the Polish and Jewish minorities. The city spread out and incorporated outlying villages, like Kleinburg (Dworek) and Pöpelwitz (Popowice) in 1896, Herdain (Gaj) and Morgentau (Rakowiec) in 1904 and Gräbschen (Grabiszyn) in 1911. With the regulation of the Oder (Odra) modern garden suburbs like Leerbeutel (Zalesie) and Karlowitz (Karlowice) were built. The official German census of 1905 listed 470,904 residents, thereof 20,536 Jews, 6,020 Poles and 3,752 others. Polish historians point to distortion of that number by German officials, and speak of several thousand more, or even 20,000 Poles living in it. Estimates however are difficult, since foreign residents were registered by citizenship rather than by nationality. Most of suburbs on right bank of Oder were Polish-speaking communities according to a source from 1874, and many photographs from this period indicate widespread use of Polish names;. As a frontier city on the edge of the Slavonic world, Breslau was more assertively German than other cities of the empire, and Breslau was less friendly to Poles, Czechs or unassimilated Jews than, for example, Berlin was. During his one-year tenure as rector of the university

Felix Dahn Felix Dahn (9 February 1834 – 3 January 1912) was a German law professor, German nationalist author, poet and historian. Biography Ludwig Julius Sophus Felix Dahn was born in Hamburg as the oldest son of Friedrich (1811–1889) and Constanze ...

for instance banned all Polish student associations. Woodworking, brewing, textiles and agriculture, Breslau's traditional industries, flourished, and service and manufacturing sectors were established, which benefited from the nearby heavy industry of Upper Silesia. Linke-Hofmann, specialized in locomotives, became one of the city's largest employers and one of Europe's biggest manufacturers of railway carriages. By the end of the 19th century, Breslau threatened to eclipse Berlin, the capital of Prussia and the German Empire, as the financial centre of the country. The retail sector flourished too, represented by modern stores of Barasch, Molinari, Wertheim or Petersdorff. At the end of the German Empire Breslau had become the economic, cultural and administrative centre of Eastern Germany. While Breslau itself was mostly Protestant the city also housed the Roman Catholic Diocese of Breslau, the second-largest diocese in the world, and thus became entangled in Bismarcks Kulturkampf. According to Norman Davies, the city had a population divided among 63% Protestants, 32% Catholics and 5% Jews. At the time of the German Empire Although the open conflict between Breslau's Protestant majority and Catholics was avoided, public resentment was notable, most notably in the affairs of the numerous student corporations. Meanwhile, Breslau became the focus of the Old Lutheran Church. In 1883 the Old Lutheran Theological Seminar was opened, which attracted numerous scholars, among them Rudolf Rocholl. By 1905 the community already had 75 pastors and 52,000 members. The German Jewry of Breslau formed the ''Einheitsgemeinde'' (united community) of Orthodox and Reform Jews and thus narrowing the gap between both schools. In 1872 Reformed Rabbi Joel and his Orthodox counterpart Gedaliah Tiktin jointly consecrated Breslau's New Synagogue. From 14,000 in 1871 the Jewish community grew to 20,000 in 1910, thus becoming the third-largest in Germany. Breslau's confident, vibrant and assimilated community, with countless social, charitable, cultural and educational organisations, became a model for others. The first Jewish students' fraternity in the German Empire, the Viadrina, was created in 1886 in Breslau. Polish student organisations included Concordia, Polonia, and a branch of the

Sokol The Sokol movement (, ''falcon'') is an all-age gymnastics organization first founded in Prague in the Czech region of Austria-Hungary in 1862 by Miroslav Tyrš and Jindřich Fügner. It was based upon the principle of " a strong mind in a ...

association. While most of Silesia's greats of the 19th century, such as

Gustav Freytag Gustav Freytag (; 13 July 1816 – 30 April 1895) was a German novelist and playwright. Life Freytag was born in Kreuzburg (Kluczbork) in Silesia. After attending the school at Oels (Oleśnica), he studied philology at the universities of ...

Adolph Menzel Adolph Friedrich Erdmann von Menzel (8 December 18159 February 1905) was a German Realist artist noted for drawings, etchings, and paintings. Along with Caspar David Friedrich, he is considered one of the two most prominent German painters of t ...

Willibald Alexis Willibald Alexis, the pseudonym of Georg Wilhelm Heinrich Häring (29 June 179816 December 1871), was a German historical novelist, considered part of the Young Germany movement. Life Alexis was born in Breslau, Silesia. His father, who cam ...

, had to leave Silesia to get recognized, the cultural exodus was stopped by the 1890s. In a few decades, Breslau was turned into a cultural centre of international notability. The old Art Academy moved into a bigger home and attracted artists like painter Max Wislicenus, sculptor Theodor von Gosen and future

Nobel prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

winner Gerhard Hauptmann. The architectural section of the academy rose to prominence under the directorship of

Hans Poelzig Hans Poelzig (30 April 1869 – 14 June 1936) was a German architect, painter and set designer. Life Poelzig was born in Berlin in 1869 to Countess Clara Henrietta Maria Poelzig while she was married to George Acland Ames, an Englishman. Uncerta ...

, who contributed greatly, along with Max Berg, to the Neues Bauen movement, and Breslau gained fame as a centre of modernist architecture. New Market Square, Plac Nowy Targ, Neumarkt in Wrocław

New Market Square, Plac Nowy Targ, Neumarkt in Wrocław

Performing arts in the city received a notable boost too. In 1861 the Orchestral Society (''Orchesterverein'') was founded, which achieved a good reputation in 1880 when

Max Bruch Max Bruch (6 January 1838 – 2 October 1920) was a German Romantic composer, violinist, teacher, and conductor who wrote more than 200 works, including three violin concertos, the first of which has become a prominent staple of the standard ...

was conductor of the orchestra, and later the Polish musician Rafał Ludwik Maszkowski, who conducted the orchestra till his death in 1901; he along with other Polish artists like

Wanda Landowska Wanda Aleksandra Landowska (5 July 1879 – 16 August 1959) was a Polish harpsichordist and pianist whose performances, teaching, writings and especially her many recordings played a large role in reviving the popularity of the harpsichord in ...

Józef Śliwiński Józef Śliwiński (15 December 1865, in Warsaw – 1930) was a Polish classical pianist, one of the outstanding interpreters of the poetic and romantic repertoire, especially Chopin and Schumann. He was taught by Theodor Leschetizky and Anton Rub ...

Bronisław Huberman Bronisław Huberman (19 December 1882 – 16 June 1947) was a Polish violinist. He was known for his individualistic interpretations and was praised for his tone color, expressiveness, and flexibility. The '' Gibson ex-Huberman Stradivarius'' ...

and Władysław Żeleński performed Polish-themed plays as part of the repertoire of the Orchesterverein. The Opera house (''Stadttheater''), which was reopened in 1871 after two fires, attracted artists like

Leo Slezak Leo Slezak (; 18 August 1873 – 1 June 1946) was a Moravian dramatic tenor. He was associated in particular with Austrian opera as well as the title role in Verdi's '' Otello''. He is the father of actors Walter Slezak and Margarete Slezak a ...

and

Wilhelm Furtwängler Gustav Heinrich Ernst Martin Wilhelm Furtwängler ( , , ; 25 January 188630 November 1954) was a German conductor and composer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century. He was a major ...

. Johannes Brahms paid tribute to the city when he composed the ''Akademische Festovertüre, Op. 80'' upon receiving an honorary doctorate in 1879. Modern science flourished in the city, with a wide array of achievements in almost every department. During the German Empire, Breslau's scientists received four Nobel Prizes (plus two in literature). Above all, medical sciences were the flagship of academic research, where Breslau not only presented new theories but also new disciplines. Ferdinand Cohn, the director of the Institute of Plant Physiology, is considered a pioneer of bacteriology, while Albert Neisser, director of the Dermatology Clinic, discovered gonorrhoea, and

Alois Alzheimer Alois Alzheimer ( , , ; 14 June 1864 – 19 December 1915) was a German psychiatrist and neuropathologist and a colleague of Emil Kraepelin. Alzheimer is credited with identifying the first published case of "presenile dementia", which Kraep ...

, professor at the university, discovered the Alzheimer disease. In the 1890s Breslau developed into a centre of Social Democracy in Germany. With one exception at least one member of the Silesian

SPD The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been t ...

was sent to the Reichstag in Berlin, among them several prominent socialists like Eduard Bernstein, the former secretary of

Friedrich Engels Friedrich Engels ( ,"Engels"
'' Schlieffen plan The Schlieffen Plan (german: Schlieffen-Plan, ) is a name given after the First World War to German war plans, due to the influence of Field Marshal Alfred von Schlieffen and his thinking on an invasion of France and Belgium, which began on ...

, while the 1st ''Leibkürassiere'' saw action at the battle of the Marne before they were moved to the Eastern Front. The end of Germany's western offensive and the absence of the VI. Army Corps left Silesia and Breslau dangerously exposed. In 1914/15 the Russian army stopped only 80 km to the east of Breslau, which led to the evacuation of children and the erection of barbed-wire defenses. The Silesian

Landwehr ''Landwehr'', or ''Landeswehr'', is a German language term used in referring to certain national armies, or militias found in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Europe. In different context it refers to large-scale, low-strength fortificatio ...

under General Remus von Woyrsch was rapidly deployed to face the Russian army, but German victories at the Masurian lakes and Gorlice soon eliminated this threat. The population in the city suffered badly during the war. Food was rationed, and prices for potatoes or eggs skyrocketed by more than 200%, resulting in food riots. The "

Turnip Winter The Turnip Winter (German: ''Steckrübenwinter'') of 1916 to 1917 was a period of profound civilian hardship in Germany during World War I. Introduction For the duration of World War I, Germany was constantly under threat of starvation due to t ...

" of 1916/17 left many on the verge of starvation. Food hoarding was decreed with capital punishment in the city. After four years of war, Breslau's trade had fallen by 66 per cent. More than 8,000 people died of tuberculosis, and the population dropped from 540,000 to 472,000. The end of World War I was followed by civil unrest and revolution in Germany. The garrison in Breslau mutinied in November, liberated convicts from jail, among them Rosa Luxemburg, looted shops and seized the offices of the ''Schlesische Zeitung'', Breslau's biggest newspaper. When emperor

Wilhelm II , house = Hohenzollern , father = Frederick III, German Emperor , mother = Victoria, Princess Royal , religion = Lutheranism (Prussian United) , signature = Wilhelm II, German Emperor Signature-.svg Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor ...

left the country the German Empire dissolved.

Weimar Republic

Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1983-024-25, Bekanntmachung der sozialistischen Regierung

The end of the German Empire led to anarchy all over Germany. In Breslau however, the imperial authorities were deposed without larger tumults. While, among others, Lord Mayor Paul Mattig and Archbishop Bertram called for a continuance of public duty and ordered General Pfeil of the VI Army Corps to release all political prisoners, ordered his soldiers to leave the barracks and, as his last military order, allowed a demonstration of the Social Democrats in the ''Jahrhunderthalle''. One day later soldiers councils in the army and the Committee of Public Safety were formed. On the same day, a ''Volksrat'' (peoples council) of Social Democrats, Liberals, the Catholic Centre Party and trade unions was founded, led by Social Democrat

Paul Löbe Paul Gustav Emil Löbe (14 December 1875 – 3 August 1967) was a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), a member and president of the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic, and member of the Bundestag of West Germany. He ...

. As relations between the Volksrat and his opponents were mostly consensual the "revolution" in Breslau was peaceful. Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1983-0225-309, Wohnungselend

Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1983-0225-309, Wohnungselend

Despite the largely peaceful transition Breslau faced several challenges which radicalized the political landscape of the city. Social conditions got worse as 170,000 soldiers and displaced persons were expected to return, with only 47,000 available quarters. The prospect of a Communist government was a major fear. The loss of nearby Posnania to a newly created

, the prospect of further losses in Upper Silesia and the transformation of neighbouring Bohemia into a hostile new state called

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

spread anxiety among people, who saw their city turn into an advance post of Germany. The number of Poles in the city dropped from an already low 4–5.000 to 0.5 per cent 20 years later. Riots of the Spartacists in February resulted in the death of five protesters and injured nineteen. A month later the

Freikorps (, "Free Corps" or "Volunteer Corps") were irregular German and other European military volunteer units, or paramilitary, that existed from the 18th to the early 20th centuries. They effectively fought as mercenary or private armies, rega ...

revolted, but only in Silesia did the

Kapp Putsch The Kapp Putsch (), also known as the Kapp–Lüttwitz Putsch (), was an attempted coup against the German national government in Berlin on 13 March 1920. Named after its leaders Wolfgang Kapp and Walther von Lüttwitz, its goal was to undo th ...

receive solid backing. The commander of the military district supported the coup d'état and four Freikorps peacefully took over large parts of the city. The governor of Silesia, Breslau's Chief of Police and the SPD President of Breslau was immediately purged. Kapp's government, however, collapsed after a week and the Freikorps in Breslau withdrew, killing 18 people and wounding countless others. Anti-Semitic propaganda, moreover, culminated in the murder of Bernhard Schottländer, the Jewish editor of the ''

Schlesische Arbeiter-Zeitung ''Schlesische Arbeiter-Zeitung'' ('Silesian Workers Newspaper') was a left-wing German language newspaper published from Breslau, Province of Lower Silesia, Weimar Germany (present-day Wrocław in Poland) between 1919 and 1933.Bibliothek der Fried ...

''. Jewish stores and hotels were attacked by mobs in the city. St Martin Church in Wroclaw 03

After First World War the Polish community started having masses in Polish in the Churches of Saint Ann and since 1921 in St. Martin Church; the Polish consulate was opened on the Main Square, additionally, a Polish School was formed by Helena Adamczewska.Microcosm, page 361 Soon after tensions around the Upper Silesian plebiscite sparked violence in Breslau, where widespread rioting was mostly directed against the Inter-Allied Plebiscite Commission, especially the French, but also the Polish. The buildings of the Polish consulate and school were demolished and Polish library was burned along with several thousand volumes Problems culminated however in 1923. Hyperinflation ruined many people, and strikes and walk-outs swept all over Germany. 50 large shops in the commercial centre were looted in the city when partly anti-Semitic, riots broke out on 22 July, and six looters were killed. In 1919, Breslau became the capital of the newly created

Province of Lower Silesia The Province of Lower Silesia (german: Provinz Niederschlesien; Silesian German: ''Provinz Niederschläsing''; pl, Prowincja Dolny Śląsk; szl, Prowincyjŏ Dolny Ślōnsk) was a province of the Free State of Prussia from 1919 to 1945. Between ...

, and its first head of government (German: Oberpräsident) was social democrat Felix Philipp. The

Social democrats Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...

also won the Lower Silesian elections of 1921 with 51.19%, followed by the Catholic centre with 20.2%, DVP with 11.9%, DDP with 9.5% and the Communists with 3.6%. The mid-1920s brought political stability, mostly due to the leadership of

Gustav Stresemann Gustav Ernst Stresemann (; 10 May 1878 – 3 October 1929) was a German statesman who served as chancellor in 1923 (for 102 days) and as foreign minister from 1923 to 1929, during the Weimar Republic. His most notable achievement was the reconci ...

. In 1 Election result in Lower Silesia and Breslau showed a solid Socialist majority in 1924 and 1928. In 1925 the Silesian

NSDAP The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...

was founded, the party however garnered only 1 per cent of the votes in 1928, well below the national average of 2,8 per cent. Bundesarchiv Bild 102-10821, Breslau, Verhaftung von Nationalsozialisten

Bundesarchiv Bild 102-10821, Breslau, Verhaftung von Nationalsozialisten

After the incorporation of 54 communes between 1925 and 1930, the city expanded to 175 km² and housed 600,000 people. Between 26 and 29 June 1930 it hosted the ''Deutsche Kampfspiele'', a sporting event for German athletes after Germany was excluded from the Olympic Games after World War I. Wroclaw ul

This peaceful period ended with the Wall Street Crash and the following collapse of the German economy. Unemployment rose from 1.3 million in September 1929 to 6 million (1/3 of the working population) in 1933; in Breslau from 6,672 persons in 1925 to 23,978 in 1929, the worst figures in Germany after Chemnitz. The number of families living on welfare support was more than twice as high as in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

. Public faith in democratic institutions faded and anti-democratic parties – Communists and Nazis – gained support. The battles of both were played out all over Germany, also in Breslau. In June 1931 the annual rally of the Stahlhelm, marked by violent rhetoric and clashes, took place in the city. The violence in the city spiralled in the summer of 1932. On 23 June a column of SA men was attacked by Communists, with eleven seriously injured, followed by a killed Socialist three days later. On 6 August grenades were thrown during battles between Nazis and Communists. In July 1932 Hitler spoke in Breslau, attracting 16,000 listeners. In the following elections, his party received 43% of the Breslau vote, the third-highest result in Germany. On 30 January 1933, he was appointed Chancellor of Germany. Despite all turbulences, the cultural scene in the Weimar Republic and in Breslau flourished. The reorganized Academy of Arts reached its creative height under the directorship of Oskar Moll and can be considered a predecessor of the first

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the Bauhaus (), was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., 20 ...

. Many Bauhaus artists, among them

Oskar Schlemmer Oskar Schlemmer (4 September 1888 – 13 April 1943) was a German painter, sculptor, designer and choreographer associated with the Bauhaus school. In 1923, he was hired as Master of Form at the Bauhaus theatre workshop, after working at the w ...

and

Georg Muche Georg Muche (8 May 1895 – 26 March 1987) was a German painter, printmaker, architect, author, and teacher. Early life and education Georg Muche was born on 8 May 1895 in Querfurt, in the Prussian Province of Saxony, and grew up in the Rhön ...

, taught in Breslau, while several lecturers and students of the academy became leading protagonists of the main artistic trends in the Weimar Republic, like Alexander Kanoldt, who was co-founder of the ''Munich New Secession'' and became one of the stars of the

Neue Sachlichkeit The New Objectivity (in german: Neue Sachlichkeit) was a movement in German art that arose during the 1920s as a reaction against expressionism. The term was coined by Gustav Friedrich Hartlaub, the director of the '' Kunsthalle'' in Mannheim, w ...

, or

Hans Scharoun Bernhard Hans Henry Scharoun (20 September 1893 – 25 November 1972) was a German architect best known for designing the Berliner Philharmonie (home to the Berlin Philharmonic) and the Schminke House in Löbau, Saxony. He was an important ...

, an important exponent of

Organic architecture Organic architecture is a philosophy of architecture which promotes harmony between human habitation and the natural world. This is achieved through design approaches that aim to be sympathetic and well-integrated with a site, so buildings, furn ...

. In 1929 the Werkbund opened '' WuWa'' (german: link=no, Wohnungs-und Werkraumausstellung) in Breslau-Scheitnig, an international showcase of modern architecture by architects of the Silesian branch of the Werkbund. During the inter-war years, the city was also the centre of the Polish national movement radiating towards other groups of Poles in Lower Silesia; it focused on Polish cultural life and organisational efforts.

Nazi period and World War II

The city became one of the largest support bases of the NSDAP movement, and in the 1932 elections the Nazi party received in it 43.5% of votes, achieving the third biggest victory in Weimar Germany A reason for the strong NSDAP support may have been that Breslau was the city among the eight largest cities of Germany with the highest rate of unemployment, which the Nazi party promised to tackle. Before the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

, Breslau was home to the fourth-largest Jewish community in Germany. In 1933 the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one orga ...

began actions against Jewish and Polish students in the cityDavies, Moorhouse, p. 395 who were issued special

segregationist Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crime against humanity under the Statute of the Interna ...

ID documents like those of

Communists Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

Social Democrats Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...

, trade unionists, and other people deemed threats to the state. Laws against Jews came into power, limiting their involvement in all spheres of life. People were arrested and beaten for using Polish in public.Kulak, p. 252 The Polish cultural centre (the Polish House) in Breslau was destroyed by the police. In 1938 The New Synagogue, along with many Jewish-owned businesses and properties were destroyed during the ''

Kristallnacht () or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (german: Novemberpogrome, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's (SA) paramilitary and (SS) paramilitary forces along with some participation fro ...

'', and many of the city's 23,240 Jews were deported to pre-war

; those who remained were also murdered by the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

in the

. In June 1939, Polish students were expelled from the university. The city's coat of arms was changed by the Nazis in 1938, as it contained the letter '' W'' in reference to its original name, and thus was considered "too Slavic" Additionally 88 locations in the city received new German names as part of the campaign of

Germanization Germanisation, or Germanization, is the spread of the German language, people and culture. It was a central idea of German conservative thought in the 19th and the 20th centuries, when conservatism and ethnic nationalism went hand in hand. In ling ...

During the

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

, in September 1939, the Germans carried out mass arrests of local Polish activists and banned Polish organizations. The city became the headquarters of the southern district of the ''

Selbstschutz ''Selbstschutz'' (German for "self-protection") is the name given to different iterations of ethnic-German self-protection units formed both after the First World War and in the lead-up to the Second World War. The first incarnation of the ''Selb ...

'', which task was to commit atrocities against Poles. Most of the Polish elites also left during the 1920s and 1930s while Polish leaders who remained were sent to

concentration camps Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...

. During the war, 363 Czech and 293 Polish prisoners, as well as resistance members from Western Europe, were executed by

guillotine A guillotine is an apparatus designed for efficiently carrying out executions by beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secured with stocks at t ...

in the city's prison. In total, the German regime killed 896 people in this way. In 1941 the remaining pre-war Polish minority in the city, as well as Polish slave labourers organised a resistance group called Olimp. In 1942 additional Polish resistance groups were reported to be in existence in the city, "Jaszczurka", Siła Zbrojna Polski and Polska Organizacja Polityczna Wroclaw-plaque-Swobodna-street-170225-01

Wroclaw-plaque-Swobodna-street-170225-01

In addition, a network of concentration camps and forced labour camps, or

Arbeitslager ''Arbeitslager'' () is a German language word which means labor camp. Under Nazism, the German government (and its private-sector, Axis, and collaborator partners) used forced labor extensively, starting in the 1930s but most especially durin ...

, was established in the district around Breslau, to serve the city's growing industrial concerns, including

FAMO FAMO, short for Fahrzeug- und Motoren-Werke (''Automobile and Engine Works'') was a German vehicle manufacturer in the early 20th century. Products * Sd.Kfz. 9: Heavy half-track used by German forces in World War II; some were also produced by V ...

, Junkers and Krupp. The total number of prisoners held at such camps exceeded many tens of thousands. Official Nazi estimates reported 43,950 forced labourers in 1943 and 51,548 in 1944, most of them being Poles. At the end of 1944 between 30,000 and 60,000 captured Poles were sent to Breslau after the defeat of

Warsaw uprising The Warsaw Uprising ( pl, powstanie warszawskie; german: Warschauer Aufstand) was a major World War II operation by the Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. It occurred in the summer of 1944, and it was led ...

. There were four subcamps of the Gross-Rosen concentration camp in the city, in which Nazi Germany imprisoned about 3,400-3,800 men of various nationalities, including Poles,

Russians , native_name_lang = ru , image = , caption = , population = , popplace = 118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 '' Winkler Prins'' estimate) , region1 = , pop1 ...

, Italians,

Frenchmen The French people (french: Français) are an ethnic group and nation primarily located in Western Europe that share a common Culture of France, French culture, History of France, history, and French language, language, identified with the cou ...

Ukrainians Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian. The majority of Ukrainians are Eastern Ort ...

Czechs The Czechs ( cs, Češi, ; singular Czech, masculine: ''Čech'' , singular feminine: ''Češka'' ), or the Czech people (), are a West Slavic ethnic group and a nation native to the Czech Republic in Central Europe, who share a common ancestry, ...

Belgians Belgians ( nl, Belgen; french: Belges; german: Belgier) are people identified with the Kingdom of Belgium, a federal state in Western Europe. As Belgium is a multinational state, this connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultur ...

Yugoslavs Yugoslavs or Yugoslavians ( Bosnian and Croatian: ''Jugoslaveni'', Serbian and Macedonian ''Jugosloveni''/Југословени; sl, Jugoslovani) is an identity that was originally designed to refer to a united South Slavic people. It has b ...

, Chinese, and about 1,500 Jewish women. Many of the prisoners died, and the remaining were evacuated to the main camp of Gross-Rosen in January 1945. The Germans also operated three subcamps of the

Stalag VIII-B Stalag VIII-B was a German Army prisoner-of-war camp during World War II, later renumbered Stalag-344, located near the village of Lamsdorf (now Łambinowice) in Silesia. The camp initially occupied barracks built to house British and French pri ...

/344

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. ...

, and two Nazi prisons, including a youth prison, both with multiple forced labour subcamps. Dworzec Główny-tablica2

Throughout most of World War II Breslau was not close to the fighting. The city became a haven for refugees, swelling in population to nearly one million. Polish resistance from the group

Zagra-Lin Zagra-Lin (full name Kosa Zagra w Linie) was a special operations unit of the Polish Home Army which was active between December 1942 and July 1943. Its main task was to carry out diversion and sabotage actions on the territory of the Third Reich ...

successfully attacked a Nazi Germany's troop transport on the main railway station in the city on 23 April 1943, and a commemorative plate honouring their actions was placed after Nazi Germany was defeated in 1945. In February 1945 the Soviet

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...

approached the city.

Gauleiter A ''Gauleiter'' () was a regional leader of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) who served as the head of a '' Gau'' or '' Reichsgau''. ''Gauleiter'' was the third-highest rank in the Nazi political leadership, subordinate only to '' Reichsleiter'' and to ...

Karl Hanke Karl August Hanke (24 August 1903 – 8 June 1945) was an official of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) during its rule over Germany and served as the fifth and last '' Reichsführer'' of the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS). He also served as ''Gauleiter'' of ...

declared the city a ''Festung'' (fortress), i.e. a stronghold to be held at all costs. Concentration camp prisoners were forced to help build new fortifications (see

Arbeitseinsatz ''Arbeitseinsatz'' (german: for 'labour deployment') was a forced labour category of internment within Nazi Germany (german: Zwangsarbeit) during World War II. When German men were called up for military service, Nazi German authorities rounded ...

). In one area, the workers were ordered to construct a military airfield intended for use in resupplying the fortress, while the entire residential district along the Kaiserstraße (now Plac Grunwaldzki) was razed. The authorities threatened to shoot anyone who refused to do their assigned labour. Eyewitnesses estimated that some 13,000 died under enemy fire on the airfield alone. In the end, one of the few planes that ever used it was that of the fleeing Gauleiter Hanke.Davies, Moorhouse, p. 31 After the encirclement of the city by the Red Army, members of the resistance succeeded in making contact with the Russians. In March 1945, twelve Nazi party offices were destroyed, killing 30 Nazi members. Hanke finally lifted a ban on the evacuation of women and children, when it was almost too late. During his poorly organised evacuation in January and February 1945, around 18,000 people froze to death, mostly children and babies, in icy snowstorms and −20 °C weather. Some 200,000 civilians, less than a third of the pre-war population, remained in the city because the railway connections to the west were damaged or overloaded. By the end of the Siege of Breslau, 50% of the old town, 90% of the western and southern and 10–30% of the northern and northeastern quarters of the city had been destroyed. 40,000 inhabitants, including forced labourers, lay dead in the ruins of homes and factories. After a siege of nearly three months, "Fortress Breslau" surrendered on 7 May 1945. It was one of the last major cities in Germany to fall.

Return to Poland

People's Republic of Poland

Along with almost all of Lower Silesia, post-war Wrocław became part of Poland under the terms of the

Potsdam Conference The Potsdam Conference (german: Potsdamer Konferenz) was held at Potsdam in the Soviet occupation zone from July 17 to August 2, 1945, to allow the three leading Allies to plan the postwar peace, while avoiding the mistakes of the Paris P ...

, pending a final peace conference with Germany. The town became the biggest city of the so-called

Recovered Territories The Recovered Territories or Regained Lands ( pl, Ziemie Odzyskane), also known as Western Borderlands ( pl, Kresy Zachodnie), and previously as Western and Northern Territories ( pl, Ziemie Zachodnie i Północne), Postulated Territories ( pl, Z ...

. On 24 May 1945, the surviving members of the Polish pre-war minority from the Nazi German genocide in Wrocław were met by Polish authorities.

Bolesław Drobner Bolesław Drobner (born 28 June 1883 in Kraków, died 31 March 1968 in Kraków) was a Polish politician. A member of the Polish Socialist Party, he supported cooperation with the communists. Arrested by the NKVD after the Soviet invasion of Poland ...

, the city's newly appointed mayor, welcomed them in ''"Free Poland"'' and urged pre-war Poles from Wrocław to stay in the city, expressing his view that the Polish state needs people like them to awake to life after the war; many of the addressed heeded this call, and pre-war Poles became active members of Wrocław's political and cultural life, forming an association called "Klub Ludzi ze znakiem P"("People with the P sign"), remembering those Poles who perished under Nazi German rule in the city.Historia Wrocławia: Od twierdzy fryderycjańskiej do twierdzy hitlerowskiej Cezary Buśko, Włodzimierz Suleja, Teresa Kulak, Wydawnictwo. Dolnoślaskie, 2001, page 343 Franciszek Juszczak, a long-time leader of the Polish community in Wrocław before World War II and resistance member, was nominated by Drobner to the position of vice-president of the Lower Silesian Chamber of Crafts In close cooperation with authorities he formed Związek Polaków Byłych Obywateli Niemieckich(Union of Poles Former German Citizens). The pre-war Polish minority, though officially regarded as heroes, was subject of a "verification process" to determine their Polishness, in a procedure described as an "experience of some unpleasantness". According to German historian Gregor Thum in 1949 2,769 or about 1 per cent of the city's population were pre-war inhabitants of the city, 1,029 of them able to speak Polish fluently. BlokowiskoKozanow

In the summer of 1945, the city had a predominately German population who were expelled to one of the two post-war German states between 1945 and 1949. However, as was the case with other Lower Silesian cities, a considerable German presence remained in Wrocław until the late 1950s; the city's last German school closed in 1963. The population of Wrocław was soon increased by the resettlement of

Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in C ...

forming part of postwar

repatriation of Poles (1944–1946) Repatriation of Poles can refer to: * Repatriation of Poles (1944–1946) * Repatriation of Poles (1955–1959) See also * Expulsion of Poles (disambiguation) {{Disambiguation ...

(75%) as well as the forced

deportations Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. The term ''expulsion'' is often used as a synonym for deportation, though expulsion is more often used in the context of international law, while deportation ...

from Polish lands annexed by the Soviet Union in the east (25%) including from cities such as Lwów (now

Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukrain ...

, Ukraine), Stanisławów (now Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine), Wilno (now

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...

, Lithuania), and Grodno (now

Hrodna Grodno (russian: Гродно, pl, Grodno; lt, Gardinas) or Hrodna ( be, Гродна ), is a city in western Belarus. The city is located on the Neman River, 300 km (186 mi) from Minsk, about 15 km (9 mi) from the Polish b ...

, Belarus). After the destruction during the Siege of Breslau, the city was further destroyed by vandalism, fire, and the razing and dismantling of factories, and material assets by the Soviet Union. The economic potential of the city was decreased to 40% of the prewar situation. Wroclaw was further weakened by the so-called ''Szaber'', which transferred goods to Central Poland, and the campaign "bricks for Warsaw" by the Polish government ten years later, which provided reconstruction material for the levelled Old Town of the Polish capital. This loss of historic structures was irreversible and the consequences are still visible today. The rebuilding of the town was characterized by a mix of polonization and degermanization, which led to reconstruction and destruction. Gothic architecture was painstakingly restored, while testimonies of later eras were often neglected or destroyed. The process of degermanization also included the removal and destruction of almost all German non-religious monuments, and the elimination of inscriptions, even centuries-old epitaphs and in churches. Between 1970 and 1972 all non-Jewish German cemeteries were destroyed. Tower blocks were massively constructed both in the city and around it, e.g. Kozanów

housing estate A housing estate (or sometimes housing complex or housing development) is a group of homes and other buildings built together as a single development. The exact form may vary from country to country. Popular throughout the United States ...

. In 1964, the Monument to the Lwów Professors

massacred A massacre is the killing of a large number of people or animals, especially those who are not involved in any fighting or have no way of defending themselves. A massacre is generally considered to be morally unacceptable, especially when per ...

by the Germans in 1941, was unveiled.

After the fall of communism

In May 1997 Wrocław was visited by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

. In July 1997, the city was heavily affected by a flood of the Oder River, the worst flooding in post-war Poland, Germany, and the Czech Republic. Around one-third of the city's area stood underwater. An earlier equally devastating flood of the river took place in 1903. After the flood big areas of the city were renovated, including Main Market Square with the Town Hall and the Wrocław Palace.

Historical populations

References

Bibliography

English

* *

Polish

*Dawna Polonia wrocławska Alicja Zawisza Towarzystwo Miłośników Wrocławia, 1984 * *Historia Wrocławia w datach, Marek Cetwiński, Romuald Gelles *Historia Wrocławia: Od twierdzy fryderycjańskiej do twierdzy hitlerowskiej Cezary Buśko, Włodzimierz Suleja, Teresa Kulak. * *Polacy na studiach lekarskich we Wrocławiu w latach 1811-1918 Jan Smereka, Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich, 1979 *Sławni Polacy we Wrocławiu w XIX wieku: informator : ystawa Muzeum Historyczne we Wrocławiu Oficyna "Gryf", 1987 *Studenci Polacy na Uniwersytecie Wrocławskim w latach, 1918-1939: katalog zachowanych archiwaliów, Alicja Zawisza, Schlesische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität zu Breslau, Breslau. Uniwersytet 1972

German

Breslauer Urkundenbuch
– complete collection of all deeds of the city
Codex Diplomaticus Silesiae T.11 Breslauer Stadtbuch
– liber civitatis (town book) of Wroclaw, containing the councilmen since 1287 and documents regarding the constitutional history
Codex Diplomaticus Silesiae T.3: Henricus pauper
– account book of Wroclaw, 1299–1358 * Dorn, Leonard (2016), Regimentskultur und Netzwerk. Dietrich Goswin von Bockum-Dolffs und das Kürassier-Regiment No. 1 in Breslau 1788-1805 (Vereinigte Westfälische Adelsarchive e.V., Veröffentlichung Nr. 20). Münster * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:History Of Wrocław