Treuenbrietzen () is a town in the

Potsdam-Mittelmark Potsdam-Mittelmark is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the western part of Brandenburg, Germany. Its neighbouring administrative units are (clockwise from the north) the district of Havelland (district), Havelland, the free cities of Brandenburg (town), ...

district of

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Geography

The municipality Treuenbrietzen is situated 32 km northeast of

Wittenberg Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is the fourth-largest town in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, in the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. It is situated on the River Elbe, north of Leipzig and south-west of the reunified German ...

and includes the localities * city of Treuenbrietzen with its agglomerated suburbs ''Lüdendorf'' and ''Tiefenbrunnen'' * ''Bardenitz'' with ''Klausdorf'' and ''Pechüle'' * ''Brachwitz'' * ''Dietersdorf'' * ''Feldheim'' with ''Schwabeck'' * ''Frohnsdorf'' * ''Lobbese'' with ''Pflügkuff'' and ''Zeuden'' * ''Lühsdorf'' * ''Marzahna'' with ''Schmögelsdorf'' * ''Niebel'' * ''Niebelhorst'' * ''Rietz'' with ''Neu-Rietz'', ''Rietz-Ausbau'' and ''Rietz-Bucht''

History

The town has existed since the

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

and the first written evidence about it is from 1217. From 1348 to 1350 the town remained loyal to the Wittelsbach

Louis V Louis V may refer to: * Louis V of France (967–987) * Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor and V of Germany (1282–1347) * Louis V, Duke of Bavaria (1315–1361) * Louis V, Elector Palatine (ruled 1508–1544) * Louis V, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt (r ...

, the legitimate

Margrave of Brandenburg This article lists the Margraves and Electors of Brandenburg during the time when Brandenburg was a constituent state of the Holy Roman Empire. The Mark, or ''March'', of Brandenburg was one of the primary constituent states of the Holy Roman Emp ...

since 1323, against the revolt of the

False Waldemar The False Waldemar (died 1356), also known as the Wrong Waldemar, was an impostor who from 1348 to 1350 was invested with the Margraviate of Brandenburg by Charles IV. Life The legitimate Waldemar, Margrave of Brandenburg-Stendal was buried i ...

. This event was the origin of the town's name, "true" or "faithful" Brietzen. During the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...

came in 1537 to preach in the town, but his way to the church was blocked. He preached instead under a

basswood ''Tilia americana'' is a species of tree in the family Malvaceae, native to eastern North America, from southeast Manitoba east to New Brunswick, southwest to northeast Oklahoma, southeast to South Carolina, and west along the Niobrara River to ...

, or lime tree, which is called to this day the ''Lutherlinde''. During the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...

, several

textile Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and different types of #Fabric, fabric. ...

factories were founded in the town. After the opening of the

Sachsenhausen concentration camp Sachsenhausen () or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a German Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used from 1936 until April 1945, shortly before the defeat of Nazi Germany in May later that year. It mainly held political prisoners t ...

in 1936, a sub-camp was opened in the town, where slave labourers were forced to work in the local weapons plants. ''Dr. Kroeber & Sohn GmbH'' (formerly Gehre Dampfmesser GmbH) was a local firm that made steam, gas and fluid gauges, small internal combustion engines, and the Kroeber M4 light aircraft engine. They made

BRAMO Siemens-Schuckert (or Siemens-Schuckertwerke) was a German electrical engineering company headquartered in Berlin, Erlangen and Nuremberg that was incorporated into the Siemens AG in 1966. Siemens Schuckert was founded in 1903 when Siemens & H ...

/ BMW Flugwerk aircraft engine parts for the Luftwaffe. ''Treuenbrietzener Metallwarenfabrik GmbH'' had two factories that produced cartridges: Werk Sebaldushof ("Werk A") north of the town, and Werk Selterhof ("Werk S") south of the town. It had three more plants in the towns of Roederhof (a hamlet of Belzig), Metgethen, and

Salzwedel Salzwedel (, officially known as Hansestadt Salzwedel; ) is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is the capital of the district (''Kreis'') of Altmarkkreis Salzwedel, and has a population of approximately 21,500. Salzwedel is located on the Ger ...

. With the approach of the Red Army, on April 23, 1945, the Wehrmacht executed 127

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

POWs A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held 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 prisoners of war for a ...

who were interned in the camp. Between April 24 and May 1, 1945, the region was the scene of the

Battle of Halbe The Battle of Halbe (, Battle of the Halbe Pocket; , Halbe pocket) was a battle lasting from April 24 – May 1, 1945 in which the German Ninth Army—under the command of General Theodor Busse—was destroyed as a fighting force by the Red A ...

between the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

and the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

. The town was first occupied by the

5th Guards Mechanised Corps Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth Avenue * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a cont ...

on April 21, 1945, but German Wehrmacht and

Waffen SS The (; ) was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's paramilitary ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with volunteers and conscripts from both German-occupied Europe and unoccupied lands. ...

troops managed to return for a short time, finally retreating on April 23. Subsequently, Red Army soldiers rounded up between 30 and 166 civilians and murdered them in a nearby forest.Petra Görlich: Die Toten von Treuenbrietzen. In: Referat für Presse- und Öffentlichkeitsarbeit der Universität Potsdam (Hrsg.): Portal - Das Potsdamer Universitätsmagazin. Nr. 04/2010, S. 41. See " Treuenbrietzen massacres" for more details. The town suffered considerable damage during the war, although the historic town centre remained intact. Since 1945, the town's economy has been concentrated on

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...

farming. In 2005, it had 8,548 residents. The mayor of Treuenbrietzen is Michael Knape, of the Treuenbrietzener Bürgerverein (Treuenbrietzen Civic Association).

Demography

File:Bevölkerungsentwicklung Treuenbrietzen.pdf, Development of population since 1875 within the current Boundaries (Blue Line: Population; Dotted Line: Comparison to Population development in Brandenburg state; Grey Background: Time of

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 ...

; Red Background: Time of communist

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

) File:Bevölkerungsprognosen Treuenbrietzen.pdf, Recent Population Development and Projections (Population Development before Census 2011 (blue line); Recent Population Development according to the

Census in Germany A national census in Germany (, ) was held every five years from 1875 to 1910. After the World Wars, only a few full population censuses have been held, the last in 1987. The most recent census, though not a national census, was the 2011 Europea ...

in 2011 (blue bordered line); Official projections for 2005-2030 (yellow line); for 2017-2030 (scarlet line); for 2020-2030 (green line)

Famous residents

Martin Chemnitz Martin Chemnitz (9 November 1522 – 8 April 1586) was an eminent second-generation German Confederation, German, Lutheranism, Evangelical Lutheran, Christian theology, Christian theologian, and a Protestant Reformers, Protestant reformer, c ...

(1522–1586), theologian *

Christoph Nichelmann Christoph Nichelmann (13 August 1717 – 20 July 1762) was a German composer and harpsichordist. He was second keyboard player in the Royal Ensemble of Frederick the Great. Biography Born in Treuenbrietzen, from 1730 on the advice of a relative ...

(1717–1762), composer and harpsichordist *

Friedrich Heinrich Himmel Friedrich Heinrich Himmel (November 20, 1765 – June 8, 1814) was a German composer. Biography Himmel was born at Treuenbrietzen in Brandenburg, Prussia, and originally studied theology at Halle before turning to music. During a temporary sta ...

(1765–1814), composer * Johann Tobias Turley (1773–1829), pipe organ builder * Johann Friedrich Turley (1804–1855), pipe organ builder *

Gottlob Ludwig Rabenhorst Gottlob Ludwig Rabenhorst (22 March 1806 – 24 April 1881) was a German botanist and mycologist. Biography Rabenhorst was born in Treuenbrietzen. He studied in Berlin and Belzig from 1822 to 1830, worked as a pharmacist in Luckau until 1840, ...

(1806–1881), botanist and mycologist *

Hanns Heise Hanns Horst Heise (1 February 1913 – 18 May 1992) was a highly decorated Oberstleutnant in the Luftwaffe during World War II, and a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise ...

(1913–1992), military officer *

Henry Maske Henry Maske (, ; born 6 January 1964) is a German former professional boxer and one of Germany's most popular sports figures. He held the IBF light heavyweight title from 1993 until 1996. Amateur career Maske was born in Treuen ...

(born 1964), boxer * Eric Fish (born 1969), rock singer

Notes

External links