Jajkowo is a village in the administrative district of

Gmina Brzozie __NOTOC__ Gmina Brzozie is a rural gmina (administrative district) in Brodnica County, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-central Poland. Its seat is the village of Brzozie, Brodnica County, Brzozie, which lies approximately north-east of B ...

, within Brodnica County, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-central Poland. It lies approximately west of Brzozie, north-east of Brodnica, and north-east of Toruń. It is located in the Chełmno Land in the historic region of Pomerania.

History

In the late 19th century the village had a predominantly Catholic population. During the German occupation of Poland ( World War II), the Germans established and operated three

forced labour Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, violence including death, or other forms of ex ...

camps in the village (one for

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

men, one for Jewish women and one for Russian

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...

). Polish men aged 15–50 were deported from

Wyrzysk Wyrzysk (german: Wirsitz) is a town in Poland with 5,263 (2004) inhabitants, situated in Piła County, Greater Poland Voivodeship. Geographic location Wyrzysk is located in the ethnocultural region of Krajna in northern Greater Poland, admin ...

and Nakło nad Notecią, while Jewish women were prisoners of the Stutthof concentration camp.Paczoska, p. 50 There were terrible living and sanitary conditions in the camp for Poles, who lived in the attic above the pigsty, the basement of a burned castle, and a temporary barrack, built by them in the fall of 1944.Paczoska, p. 52 Polish prisoners slept on

straw Straw is an agricultural byproduct consisting of the dry stalks of cereal plants after the grain and chaff have been removed. It makes up about half of the yield of cereal crops such as barley, oats, rice, rye and wheat. It has a number ...

at best, and the Germans gave one blanket for every two prisoners. Polish prisoners took baths in the lake or river, and in winter in cold water in cows' abreuvoirs or in snow. There was no medical care in the camp, and the most ill were transported to nearby Brodnica. Poles were beaten for minor offenses such as singing Polish songs, and the Germans set the death penalty for any escape attempts. The camp for Poles was guarded by the '' SA'' and '' Wehrmacht'', and the camp for Jewish women was guarded by the '' SS'' and ''Wehrmacht'', and Jewish women were subjected to even worse treatment than Poles. Polish prisoners wore '' "P" badges'', and Jewish women wore '' yellow badges''. Both Polish men and Jewish women worked at digging defensive trenches for German military purposes and were given the same meager meals. Both forced labour camps were disestablished in January 1945, and the prisoners were evacuated by the Germans. During the evacuation, Polish prisoners were forcibly conscripted to the Organisation Todt; however, some managed to escape.Paczoska, p. 53 Jewish prisoners were marched towards Pruszcz Gdański despite winter conditions, and many died during the march. The forced labour camp for Russians was located at the train station.

References

Villages in Brodnica County {{Brodnica-geo-stub