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The Union of Poles in Germany

The Congress of the Union of the Poles in Germany in Bochum 1935
©
Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe Warszawa

The 100th Anniversary of the founding of the Union of Poles in Germany (Związek Polaków w Niemczech, ZPwN) is a good opportunity to remind ourselves of its origins, its work and its current activities. In the past, the Union underwent a number of different changes. Directly after it was founded in 1922, it quickly became the umbrella association for numerous Polish organisations in the German Reich. Its size and efficiency meant that it was also able to represent other ethnic groups which did not have minority status. However, the story of the Union cannot be considered in isolation from German history and from Polish-German relations. It has changed enormously over the course of 100 years.

 

Mediathek Sorted

Media library
  • Front page of the "Dziennik Berliński" of 9/10 December 1922 - With the news about the foundation of the Bund Polen in Germany and with the statute of the organisation.
  • Meeting of the Supreme Council (rada naczelna) and the Board of Directors (zarząd wykonawczy) of the Union of Poles in Germany on 21 January 1927 in Berlin - In the middle, the Chairman Count Stanisław Sierakowski
  • Count Stanisław Sierakowski - Chairman of the Union of Poles in Germany 1922-1933
  • Priest Bolesław Domański - Chairman of the Union of Poles in Germany 1933-1939
  • Dr Jan Kaczmarek aus Bochum - Managing director (kierownik naczelny) of the Union of Poles in Germany 1922-1939
  • Workers' bank in Bochum (Bank Robotników) on what was then Klosterstraße (today Am Kortländer), 1917. - Workers' bank in Bochum (Bank Robotników) on what was then Klosterstraße (today Am Kortländer), 1917.
  • Polish House in Bochum (Dom Polski) at the former Klosterstraße 6, today Am Kortländer 6 - Until 1939 office of the III. district of the Union of Poles (Westphalia), after 1945 until today headquarters of the organisation, photograph, ca. 1925
  • The Congress of the Union of Poles in Germany 1935 in Bochum. - The Congress of the Union of Poles in Germany 1935 in Bochum.
  • The Congress of the Union of Poles in Germany 1935 in Bochum. - The Congress of the Union of Poles in Germany 1935 in Bochum.
  • Visit of Poles from France in front of the Polish House in Bochum, 1961. - Visit of Poles from France in front of the Polish House in Bochum, 1961.
  • Am Kortländer in Bochum (formerly Klosterstraße), 1962. - Am Kortländer in Bochum (formerly Klosterstraße), 1962.
  • Am Kortländer in Bochum (formerly Klosterstraße), 2014. - Am Kortländer in Bochum (formerly Klosterstraße), 2014.

The Union of Poles in Germany
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The Congress of the Union of Poles in Germany in Bochum 1935
The Congress of the Union of the Poles in Germany in Bochum 1935
©
Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe Warszawa

Chairman of the Union of the Poles in Germany
 

Graf Stanisław Sierakowski, 1922–1933

Ks. dr Bolesław Domański, 1933–1939

Stefan Szczepaniak, 1939 until dissolution

Stefan Szczepaniak, 1950–1964

Ks. dziekan Józef Styp-Rekowski, 1964–1969

Ks. Edmund Forycki, 1970–988

Tadeusz Wesołowski, 1988–1991

S. Jabłoński, 1991–1993

Tadeusz Hyb, 1993–1997

Józef Młynarczyk ,1997–2004

Zdzisław Duda, 2004–2009

Marek Wójcicki, 2009–2013

Josef Malinowski, 2013 until today

 

Further information:

Biography of Władysław "Władek" Zarembowicz, young member of the Union of Poles in Germany and Scout from Breslau (today Wrocław), prepared as part of the project #ZumFeindGemacht of the Federal Association Information and Counselling for Victims of Nazi Persecution (Bundesverband Information und Beratung für NS-Verfolgte e.V.):  

https://zumfeindgemacht.de/fall/wladek-zarembowicz/ 

 

The Congress of the Union of the Poles in Germany in Bochum 1935
©
Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe Warszawa
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