Red Army Cemetery

There is a sobering amount of war history in Katowice that I have yet to fully put together. I have a feeling that in order to fully understand the city, these pieces of the recent past are important. This post skims the bare surface of a small portion of these events.

   With land rich in coal and booming steel and iron industries during the years of World War I (1914-1918), Germany was hot and heavy to gain the area of Silesia (the region containing Katowice) as they needed the abundant resources available to pay for their war debts.

   Katowice was plundered and residences were burned and many of the people were taken away to work in Soviet mines while occupied by Nazi Germany from 1939 to 1945. In 1939, the Soviet Union also began invading Poland and took in over 250,000 Polish soldiers and policemen as prisoners.

   After the Polish prisoners that had either been freed or had escaped, 125,000 became imprisoned into camps run by the Peoples Commissariat for Internal Affairs (NKVD, a law enforcement agency of the Soviet Union). This all leads up to the twisted story of the Katyn massacre in 1940, which I will get to in a future post.

   In a 1945 battle to liberate Katowice from Germany, 300 Soviet soldiers lost their lives and are now laid to rest at the Red Army Cemetery. In 1967, the Red Army Cemetery was moved to Kościuszki Park to make way for the Silesian Insurgents' monument that was erected in its original location.

Fence surrounding the Red Army Cemetery

   Katowice was renamed "Stalinogród" (Stalin City) in 1953 by the Polish Communist Government (the Communist party governed Poland from 1948-1989) to honor the death of the Soviet dictator. (Stalin was the Communist leader of the Soviet Union from the mid 1920's until his death in 1953.)

   The city name of Stalinogród was dropped in 1956 due to lack of acceptance. Also note that Stalin approved and signed the orders to execute all members of the Polish Officer Corps, the event that started the Katyn massacre.

Gates to the Red Army Cemetery

   A city who's stories are perhaps left untold to the common tourist, chances are you won't find them without putting in a bit of effort. As Katowice continues to develop beyond that of just an industrial center, may it be these stories of struggle and promise that endure the city to the hearts of those that have yet to meet her.