Opoczno S.A. or ZPC Opoczno, known in Polish as the ''Zespół Zakładów Płytek Ceramicznych Opoczno'', is the largest producer of ceramic tiles in Poland. For almost half a century the foundry enjoyed a monopoly status in the local market. Opoczno S.A. dzisiaj Eksporterzy - Baza Danych Producentów. 2015 Polishexport.info. Established in the town of
Opoczno
Opoczno () is a town in south-central Poland, seat of Opoczno County in the Łódź Voivodeship. It has a long and rich history, and in the past it used to be one of the most important urban centers of northwestern Lesser Poland. Currently, Opoczno ...
originally in the mid 19th century, it became the first and largest
ceramic tiles
Tiles are usually thin, square or rectangular coverings manufactured from hard-wearing material such as ceramic, stone, metal, baked clay, or even glass. They are generally fixed in place in an array to cover roofs, floors, walls, edges, or ot ...
manufacturer already in
Congress Poland
Congress Poland or Congress Kingdom of Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It was established w ...
under the Russian partition.Paweł Budziński Towarzystwo Akcyjne Dziewulski i Lange the article published in ''Tygodnik Opoczyński (TOP)'' weekly by engineer Paweł Budziński. Quote in translation: ''"... the old logo of the company, showing between the big letters D and L the Six-Arm Star in a circle with the dot in the middle – because of the similarity to the Star of David – is sometimes wrongfully associated today with the Jewish memorabilia instead of the Opoczno factory."'' — Dr of Eng. Paweł Budziński. Original: ''"... dawne logo firmy przedstawiające umieszczoną pomiędzy dużymi literami D i L sześcioramienną gwiazdę w okręgu z kropką pośrodku, ze względu na podobieństwo do Gwiazdy Dawida bywa dziś niesłusznie kojarzone z pamiątkami po Żydach zamiast z opoczyńską fabryką."'' The author states that the logo association with religious practices is wrong (''niesłuszne''). He does not elaborate on it. Budziński does not say, not even suggests in his article, the original meaning of the logo. The tiles are stamped with what ''appears'' to be the
Star of David
The Star of David (, , ) is a symbol generally recognized as representing both Jewish identity and Judaism. Its shape is that of a hexagram: the compound of two equilateral triangles.
A derivation of the Seal of Solomon was used for decora ...
The company was formed by brothers Józef and Władysław Lange with businessman Jan Dziewulski.Official website Opoczno, since 1883. 125 Years of Tradition. Brief history. Retrieved July 9, 2015. Under the name of ''Dziewulski i Lange'' it began producing tiles in 1886. After World War II the foundry was nationalized by the communists and renamed in 1950 as ZPC Opoczno.Waldemar Oszczęda Opoczno.Republika.pl, 2015. ''Source:'' B./Wł. Baranowski, J. Koloński, ''Katalog zabytków budownictwa przemysłowego w Polsce'', PAN, 1970. The
Revolutions of 1989
The revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, were a revolutionary wave of liberal democracy movements that resulted in the collapse of most Communist state, Marxist–Leninist governments in the Eastern Bloc and other parts ...
and the fall of totalitarianism in Eastern Europe brought dramatic changes – with introduction of the free market economy – prompting further structural changes. Opoczno S.A. was privatized on . At present, the majority of shares in the ownership of the company belong to foreign investors.gieldowe.pl/others /ref>
Opoczno foundry has a staff of 2,500 and in part, the shares of its capital stock are still owned by the state according to ''
Wprost
''Wprost'' (, meaning "Directly") is a Polish weekly news magazine published in Poznań, Poland.Credit Suisse
Credit Suisse Group AG (, ) was a global Investment banking, investment bank and financial services firm founded and based in Switzerland. According to UBS, eventually Credit Suisse was to be fully integrated into UBS. While the integration ...
First Boston Ceramic Partners (Poland) Sarl – 50.2%, the State Treasury – 39.1%, and Opoczno employees – 10.7%. First-class technologies. New tile production plant at OPOCZNO S.A. – Poland. Company profile. Retrieved July 9, 2015. The Sarl consortium sold its shares to Cersanit S.A. (pl) according to ''Bankier.pl'' magazine. Credit Suisse First Boston Ceramic Partners Poland Sarl w likwidacji o zbyciu wszystkich posiadanych przez siebie akcji. ''Bankier.pl'' magazine. Retrieved July 9, 2015.
Company history and the Treblinka findings
The original Dziewulski & Lange factory of Opoczno received recognition in relation to history of
the Holocaust in occupied Poland
The Holocaust saw the ghettoization, robbery, deportation and mass murder of Jews, alongside other groups under similar racial pretexts in occupied Poland by the Nazi Germany. Over three million Polish Jews were murdered, primarily at the ...
. The tiles stamped with the D✡L logo were unearthed in 2010 on the grounds of the former
Treblinka extermination camp
Treblinka () was the second-deadliest extermination camp to be built and operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland during World War II. It was in a forest north-east of Warsaw, south of the village of Treblinka in what is now the Mas ...
. An archaeological team performing excavations, led by
Caroline Sturdy Colls
Caroline Sturdy Colls (born 1985) is a British archaeologist and academic, specializing in Holocaust studies, identification of human remains, forensic archaeology and crime scene investigation. She is Professor of Holocaust Archaeology and Geno ...
of
Staffordshire
Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...
, explained that the evidence is of paramount importance, because the
gas chambers
A gas chamber is an apparatus for killing humans or animals with gas, consisting of a sealed chamber into which a poisonous or asphyxiant gas is introduced. Poisonous agents used include hydrogen cyanide and carbon monoxide.
History
Gener ...
at Treblinka were the only brick structure in the camp. The old Opoczno tiles provided the first physical proof for their existence. The discovery of ceramic bathroom tiles became the subject of the 2014 documentary ''Treblinka: Hitler's Killing Machine'' by the
Smithsonian Channel
The Smithsonian Channel is an American pay television channel owned by Paramount Global through its media networks division under MTV Entertainment Group. It offers video content inspired by the Smithsonian Institution's museums, research facil ...
.
The tiles from Opoczno found at Treblinka were erroneously perceived as featuring a
Star of David
The Star of David (, , ) is a symbol generally recognized as representing both Jewish identity and Judaism. Its shape is that of a hexagram: the compound of two equilateral triangles.
A derivation of the Seal of Solomon was used for decora ...
. Further analysis by Polish scientists led to the discovery of the true origins of the star identified as the historic trademark of the company which made the Treblinka tiles. The theory of the Star of David was therefore put to rest.Katarzyna Markusz Odkrycie w Treblince (The discovery at Treblinka). Jewish.org.pl, 2007 Poland.Dr Caroline Sturdy Colls Preliminary Results of the Survey at Treblinka II (the extermination camp). The Centre of Archaeology, Staffordshire University's Faculty of Computing, Engineering and Sciences. University website concerning the archeological dig at Treblinka correctly identifies Dziewulski i Lange as the manufacturer of the tiles found by the Coll's team.Wiadomosci.Dziennik.pl Quote in translation from ''Dziennik.pl'': The most interesting find of the archeologists were the tiles used in the building of the old gas chambers. Two tiles were found. It has been known since several days that the tiles came from the ceramics factory ''Dziewulski i Lange'' of Opoczno.
Edward Kopówka
Edward Kopówka (born 12 October 1963) is a Polish writer and historian, graduate of the Faculty of History at the Podlasie Academy in Siedlce, political and social activist known for his active participation in the democratic process beginning wi ...
, who is probably the world's leading expert on Treblinka, said the following: 'Although the tiles display a Star of David they were produced by a Polish factory, later taken over by a German
Volksdeutsche
In Nazi Germany, Nazi German terminology, () were "people whose language and culture had Germans, German origins but who did not hold German citizenship." The term is the nominalised plural of ''wikt:volksdeutsch, volksdeutsch'', with denoting ...
." Polish original: ''"Najciekawsze odkrycie archeologów to kafelki, którymi wykończone były tzw. stare komory gazowe. Znaleziono dwie płytki. Od kilku dni wiadomo, że pochodzą one z fabryki ceramicznej Dziewulski i Lange z Opoczna. 'Mimo, że na płytkach widnieje gwiazda Dawida wyprodukowała je firma polska przejęta później przez niemieckiego volksdeutscha' – poinformował Edward Kopówka."'' Retrieved July 9, 2015. Even though all Treblinka tiles display a logo, it is not known what the meaning of the star might have been. Lange is not a Slavic
surname
In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...
. Once established, the logo remained in use during the interwar period. The foundry survived the 1939
invasion of Poland
The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...
and remained in private hands until 1949. During the darkest years of
Stalinism in Poland
Stalinism (, ) is the totalitarian means of governing and Marxist–Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union (USSR) from 1927 to 1953 by dictator Joseph Stalin and in Soviet satellite states between 1944 and 1953. Stalinism inc ...
it was appropriated by the state and renamed. Only after the Treblinka discovery, the star became the subject of intense scrutiny; described as the mullet of six points, pierced similar to a Star of David. Archeological assessments published by Staffordshire in the period following the Smithsonian documentary no longer identified the logo as Jewish in origin, an issue of central importance previously.
Treblinka
extermination camp
Nazi Germany used six extermination camps (), also called death camps (), or killing centers (), in Central Europe, primarily in occupied Poland, during World War II to systematically murder over 2.7 million peoplemostly Jewsin the Holocau ...
built by
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
in
occupied Poland
' (Norwegian language, Norwegian: ') is a Norwegian political thriller TV series that premiered on TV 2 (Norway), TV2 on 5 October 2015. Based on an original idea by Jo Nesbø, the series is co-created with Karianne Lund and Erik Skjoldbjærg. ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
operated between , and , as part of
Operation Reinhard
Operation Reinhard or Operation Reinhardt ( or ; also or ) was the codename of the secret Nazi Germany, German plan in World War II to exterminate History of the Jews in Poland, Polish Jews in the General Government district of German-occupied ...
, the most deadly phase of the
Final Solution
The Final Solution or the Final Solution to the Jewish Question was a plan orchestrated by Nazi Germany during World War II for the genocide of individuals they defined as Jews. The "Final Solution to the Jewish question" was the official ...
. During this time, between 700,000 and 900,000
Polish Jews
The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Jews, Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the long pe ...
were killed in its gas chambers disguised as shower-rooms complete with ceramic bathroom tiles. More victims were gassed at Treblinka than at any other Nazi extermination camp apart from
Auschwitz
Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It consisted of Auschw ...
.
See also
*
Economy of Poland
The economy of Poland is an emerging and developing, high-income, industrialized mixed economy that serves as the sixth-largest in the European Union by nominal GDP and fifth-largest by GDP (PPP). Poland boasts the extensive public services ch ...